Vanessa & Matt's Wedding Weekend - Aug 13-16

Congratulations to Mr. and Mrs. Matthew Capell!

The weekend arrived. After much work (and probably some stress here and there) by Vanessa and Matt, the wedding weekend arrived. The weather was perfect all weekend long - not a cloud in the sky. We got up to Tarrytown on Thursday midday. We checked out the Castle on the Hudson which was a really cool spot. It was literally an old castle that was built on top of a hill in Tarrytown that had amazing views of the hudson river. There was a trail surrounding the castle that Matt, Vanessa, Mike, Julie, Amy and Anthony decided to take a hike around before our dinner on Thursday night. There were different exercise stations along the way.

Awwww - so cute - joint push ups.



Matt showed us why he was Mr. Incredible - with 3 pull ups!



Vanessa made it all the way across the monkey bars with ease (although this picture doesnt look very graceful). Nice spotting job Matt - it would have been bad for the bride to wipe out and fall down the mountain.



There was also a balance beam - Vanessa chose to replicate a picture of her from her gym days (which we would see Friday during the slide show at the rehearsal dinner).



And finally, a jumping jack station. This brought back a lot of laughter as Matt, Vanessa and Anthony recalled an early morning workout with Garth in NYC where the 3 of them plus Amy were doing jumping jacks. Amy's form was very funny to the rest - she really pushes her legs out wide and swears this is the correct form. It looked very funny (yet graceful).



After our workout we showered and met downstairs for some drinks before dinner. The proud parents of the groom, Dan and Kathy Capell.



Anthony's brother and father



We went to Equs, the restaurant at the Castle on the Hudson, for a great dinner. The food was terrific.



At the end of the evening, after a lot of wine and tequila, the pillars of the Civale family had to "hug it out".



The next day (Friday) we woke up, had some breakfast and then headed to the pool for a little relaxation. The pool was very nice - it had a great bar area (this is where cocktails would be served prior to the rehearsal dinner).



We met up with most of the rest of the bridal party and after some lunch, hit the road in search of a hike site. It was tough to find so after circling around a while, we stopped and Mike got out to ask a stranger where the park might be. It was a funny scene as Mike was pointing in one direction and the guy was pointing in other.



After a few minutes of not being able to reconcile the directions, we all headed back to the pool for some cocktails. Then it was time for the wedding ceremony rehearsal. All of the bridesmaids....



The happy couple looking daper.

Then it was time for the rehearsal dinner and the speeches. First Matt's mom, Kathy, spoke which was very nice and moving. Then came Mr. Civale's last official speech (he was happy to retire from this responsibility but did a great job).



Then we had siblings speeches and then Vanessa and Matt's friends spoke. First Jenny, one of Vanessa's friends from growing up.



Then Marissa, who Vanessa met in San Francisco.



We had a bunch of Matt's friends speak hilariously (one even did his speech in a bathrobe - classic!). Then Cynthia, who Vanessa became very close to in Hawaii.



Then it was time for the groom to be to speak, while Vanessa and her mom listened in.



Matt thanked everyone for coming, thanked his parents, sister and the Civales and then said some very nice things about Vanessa. All of Matt's speech (and the other speeches) are captured on video and available upon request!



On to the bar for some more drinks.



Anthony's mom was having a great time hanging with the kids (Mr. Civale did his hut 2, 3, 4 up the stairs to sleep around 11pm, way past his bed time).



Vanessa, Cynthia and - wait - is that the Gourmet Dude?



Mikey and Julie.



As midnight approached, it was clear that this was a big night of drinking. Vanessa wanted to make sure Matt wasnt hung over on his wedding day, so she pulled him aside and gave him "the talk".



Vanessa and Matt's last kiss before becoming husband and wife.



Vanessa needed her beauty rest.....



The wedding day arrived! Anthony, Mike and Mr. Civale joined Matt and the groomsmen at a nice brunch while the girls began their prep (hair and make-up) in Vanessa's suite.

Amy - put the french fry down!

Meanwhile, Mike was practicing his ceremony - "Dearly beloved..."



And, don't you know it - Mike caused his father to get locked out of his room while he was just in a bathrobe. Nice work Mike.



Vanessa's wedding gift to Matt were these monkey cufflinks that he had been eyeing for a long time. One side is a monkey and the other side is a banana. Vanessa requested his reaction be documented - so here goes.



Matt and the groomsmen congregated in Anthony's room before heading downstairs for pictures and the ceremony.



Just when it seemed like the girls would never be ready (it was getting closed to Anthony's father's bedtime)......



The girls made it down to the lobby and everyone looked fantastic. Beautiful bride!



We used this time as a mini photo shoot



Vanessa and her father used the bar as their staging area right before he walked her down the aisle (unclear whether any drinks were consumed).



Some great pictures immediately following the ceremony (no pictures of the ceremony since both Amy and Anthony were in it!).



Matt was told to do a very serious face.



A nice stroll around the Castle grounds.



After all these pictures, Vanessa was ready to party - on to the cocktail hour!



Amy's parents came down from Boston on Friday to join the rehearsal dinner. Here they are during the cocktail hour. They were party animals - staying until the very last song (which was New York, New York - of course). Yes, they did join the dance floor for the song! Many thanks to Ed and Nancy for joining the wedding weekend - it was much appreciated and good to see them.



After a rousing introduction by Anthony, Matt and Vanessa had their first dance.



The father, daughter dance was very nice - "I loved her first" (a real tear jerker).



A good shot of Matt and Vanessa with the Rossi family.



Only one few shot from the reception after the dances as we were too busy dancing all night!



But, for the first time ever on the internet, a remarkable thing was captured on video. This is affectionately called the "sister dance" in the Civale family. Anthony's mom and her twin sister, Joanne, have perfected this dance from the time that they were very young. It really is a remarkable thing to see. They are totally in sync.



When 1am came around, everyone was exhausted from the dance party - great tunes all night. Mike and Anthony's Dad enjoyed the chairs to rest for a while.



A nice shot of our trot to the shuttle bus to bring us back to the Castle on the Hudson at 1:30am (along with a crazy Mike picture).



Vanessa and Matt's wedding weekend was a lot of fun. Its always good to get family and friends together for these happy occasions. Anthony is lucky to have Matt "in the family" now and couldnt have gotten a better brother in law. Congratulations Vanessa and Matt - enjoy Brazil!!