An Eclectic Barn Wedding in Hudson, New York

Kristy Ojala and Marc Reig Säger met at a Posies concert in Brooklyn, thanks to a mutual friend who was playing bass on the tour. After the post-show introduction, the duo also realized they had a common friend in Barcelona, where Marc lived for many years. The rest was history and four years later, on July 20, 2013, they got hitched with a wedding intended to feel like a big party and massive celebration.

The nuptials were inspired by the classic and beloved television show Twin Peaks—which was based in Washington State, where the bride grew up. Another element that came into play early on was a “Strawberry Fjords Forever” vibe encompassing a Scandinavian aesthetic and touches of the 1957 Swedish film Wild Strawberries.

So with Twin Peaks, Scandinavian strawberry field, and the Hudson Valley factoring into the look and feel of the wedding, the couple commissioned Amy Heitman to create their stationery—one suite in English and one in Catalan. An owl, black-and-white chevron stripes, strawberries, twin mountain peaks, and the Hudson River all made an appearance in the illustrated invitations.

When Marc’s parents were visiting from Spain, everyone went for a drive to check out the fall foliage and that’s when they stumbled upon Hudson, New York. The town felt like home to the couple, and during lunch in the countryside the couple asked, “Why wouldn’t we have the wedding here?” They even came up with the motto of “Hudson Forever” in honor of the spot in which they’d officially join their lives together.

After researching for a month or two and visiting several potential venues, nothing was working out. In one last attempt, Kristy looked extensively online for outdoor wedding locations, and miraculously found The Hill and Palladian Barn. Even though their website said they were booked for the year, she took a chance and filled out their online form. The owner emailed back that night saying they did have the pair’s desired weekend free, so without waiting any longer Kristy and Marc checked it out the next day and fell in love with it on the spot.

Marc sported a deep blue suit, with a pocket square, colorful socks, tie, and shoes, all from Suit Supply. Kristy had a special pair of chevron cufflinks made to round out the ensemble.

The bride chose the “Ginger” dress by Enzoani from The White Gown, cherry red Minna Parikka pumps, an Alexis Bittar cuff, and rose-gold and pave arrow earrings.

Christa Stosiek of Markristo Farms crafted all the personal flowers, including the bride’s bouquet. “I sent her my ‘Strawberry Fjords Forever’ Pinterest board, which was all lush herbs, baby pine cones, strawberry bouquets, twine-bound nonsense with pointy buds, and rich green hues,” Kristy said. “She grew strawberries in her greenhouse for months before our wedding!” The clutch consisted of white dahlias, red montbretia, white hydrangea, seeded eucalyptus, dusty miller, and pine.

To fully incorporate the wedding theme and color palette, Kristy went to her go-to nail technician, Momoko of Yukie Beauty Spa, for some custom art. On one ring finger she got an owl and on the other a chevron pattern. The rest were cherry red, of course.

Kristy had her blond locks styled into a milkmaid braid by her hairstylist. A golden mesh headband from Anthropologie that was embellished and restructured with porcelain roses and seed pearls by a bridesmaid was incorporated into the ‘do, which stayed in place well into the wee hours of the morning.

Kristy’s bridal party picked out their own green dresses, from Modcloth, Butter by Nadia, Acne, Donna Morgan, and Forever 21.

Kristy’s three-year-old niece, Adele, wore a vintage dress and tossed petals down the aisle. “She did dump her first basket of flowers and lavender on the ground before walking out for the ceremony,” Kristy recalled. “But my mom refilled it. She did a good job, but in the video you can see she lasted about two minutes before taking off and running to see the horses down below.”

Baskets of lavender, thyme, mint, and rosemary were set out with paper cones that guests were asked to stuff. After the “I Dos” everyone tossed the fragrant herbs, showering the couple during the recessional.

Despite predictions for severe thunderstorms throughout the Hudson Valley, it was a beautiful, sunny day for the outdoor ceremony. The couple’s friend officiated, opening with a touching paean to Prince's "Let's Go Crazy." Marc's mother, Murielle, read a lovely speech and welcomed Kristy to her family. And the maid-of-honor and a bridesmaid's husband sang the couple’s favorite song, "Love Goes On" by the Go-Betweens. After the couple exchanged self-penned vows, they fist-pumped their way through the recessional, set to David Bowie's "Modern Love."

A chalkboard sign outlined the timeline for the festivities.

Waiters dressed in short-sleeved plaid button-up shirts and dark jeans looked like they could have come straight off the Twin Peaks set.

Red pencils customized with six different quotes from Twin Peaks (like “In real life there is no algebra”) received tags sporting guests’ names and seating assignments. They were housed in library card catalog drawers and set out near the barn’s entrance.

Red and white paper lanterns were strung across the barn. Round tables were dressed with mixed vintage dinner plates and red-striped bistro napkins. For the family-style dinner, grilled radicchio salad with peaches and walnuts in a balsamic reduction; grilled sweet potatoes with honey, lime, and cayenne; buckwheat pasta with summer squash and ricotta; corn on the cob with chipotle mayonnaise; grilled pork tenderloin marinated in mustard and red wine vinaigrette; grilled skirt steak, and grilled Portobello mushrooms were served on platter the couple scored at Brimfield Antique Show a few months prior.

Tree slices emblazoned with table numbers were actually made by the father of a previous bride Kristy and Marc’s event planner had worked with. The planner, using flowers from a nearby farm, also made the floral and strawberry centerpieces.

Mixed in with the loose floral arrangements were terrariums made by the couple and a friend. In addition to moss and rocks, the couple crafted some with fun touches like faux strawberries, tiny bear figurines, chevron bottle caps, glitter, and their first initials.

The couple purchased library cards and pockets from Amazon and eBay for the menus. Though they initially planned to letterpress these pieces, it fell through, so at the last minute, their planner Erin Crosby of Pickles and Pies handwrote each one in a typewriter-style font. A stamp with the wedding date made it feel even more like a library card. A rubberstamp of a cherry (from Casey Rubber Stamps) was the final touch.

Just after dinner, all 85 guests emptied the barn to check out the colorful sunset. “Everyone was outside gazing at this pooling, blood-orange and purple sky,” Kristy said. “The horses were being fed carrots, the groomsmen from Spain were sitting on the fence hamming it up with the Americans…people were happy, and we were so proud.”

Matchboxes were customized through ForYourParty, with the boxes themselves covered in a wood-grain paper to keep in the rustic style of the soiree. “Love is a burning thing” was a punny ode to Johnny Cash, a little owl was in theme of the wedding, and underneath it all “Hudson Forever”—the wedding motto was printed.

Old episodes of the television show that inspired so much of the wedding were projected on the barn wall. They were subtitled for better quotability.

In keeping with the Twin Peaks theme, pie was served for dessert. Beverly Tantillo of Tantillo’s Farm made a few dozen petite pies for guests to share and one big one with “K + M 4ever” carved in the top for the bride and groom. All of the sweets were set up on a table set with a black-and-white chevron runner and old wooden crates.

One of the groomsmen and his fiancé drove two hours to pick up the pies the morning of the wedding. Their entire rental car was filled with the desserts. “They were loading them into the barn as Marc and I arrived for our first look,” Kristy said. “I was moved to tears when I saw how much work it was.”

Paper napkins followed the “in the pines” theme and accompanied the pie slices.

Photography: Jordi Reig; Jordan Van Aken
Location: The Hill and Palladian Barn
Event Planning: Erin Crosby of Pickles & Pies
Catering: Hearth and Table
Flowers: Christa Stosiek of Markristo Farms
Videography: Chris Fig Productions
Pies: Tantillo’s Farm
DJ: Play Time Entertainment
Rentals: Cantele Tent Rentals
Hair: Diana Streany
Makeup: FACE Stockholm
Transportation: Johnston & Pulcher, 518-567-5661
Lighting: Rhinebeck Rentals
Liquor: Domaney’s Liquors