15-year-old Carrie Crecca first saw Anthony Maitoza in their Upstate New York hometown. “I know it sounds cliche…but I had an instant, internal ping that he was my future husband the moment I saw him,” she says. Two years later, she recognized him in a friend’s photo album from her class trip to Paris. Once Carrie shared that she was crushing on him, her friend quickly gave him Carrie’s phone number, which led to an hours-long phone call that night. “I was a grade above him, so for teenagers in a small Upstate New York town, it was pretty edgy of us to start dating back then.”
The high school sweethearts broke up due to the distance between them at college—she was attending FIT in the city and he went to RIT in Rochester. But 16 years later, they bumped into each other in Manhattan and got to talking—they got back together almost immediately.
On the one year anniversary of them running into each other, Anthony proposed while the two were in the Catskills. After repairing a flat tire in the morning, the two hiked out to Newmann’s Ledge with a view of the Hudson Valley. He sat down on the ledge and beckoned Carrie, who is weary around heights, to sit next to him. As they were heading out back on the trail, she stood up, and he took his chance to get on one knee and ask Carrie to marry him.
Since the two are from Upstate, Dear Mountain Inn in Tannersville was the perfect wedding venue for them. It reminded them of Carrie’s grandparents’ home, filled with mixed textures and prints, animal busts, nature paintings, objects from the Adirondacks, and—of course—warm memories. The couple set the date for July 10, 2021 and worked with the inn’s events director, Maureen Tussing, to help bring their vision to life.
As the bride-to-be started looking for her wedding dress during the pandemic, she felt pretty “meh” while reviewing new bridal collections, so she looked for inspiration elsewhere. “I love the costumes, lighting, and setting in the movie 20th Century Women, and while there are no wedding gowns in that movie, I decided to throw a ton of references from that movie on a Pinterest board to collect bits and pieces of the mood I was going for,” Carrie explains. Once her board was complete, it was easy for her to spot her gown, when she saw it come across her Instagram.
Independent, Chicago-based designer Sarah Varca offered at-home try-ons throughout Covid and sent Carrie three dresses. She, of course, immediately fell in love with the one she had first seen online. “I sent her my measurements, and she made the dress without meeting me in person,” the bride explains. Esin at Sew Elegant Bridal in New York did the minor alterations, and Carrie accessorized her look with Christopher Kane shoes. “I also asked [Sarah] if she could make me a custom veil that was a mix of Monica Vitti’s rosette veil and Priscilla Presley’s waterfall-proof veil from her wedding day…she nailed it.”
On the day-of, Carrie got ready with Jenny Atwood Smith and Tina LeNoble, who gave her the perfect bridal beauty look. And she paid homage to her late father with an important jewelry piece. “My dad died when I was 23, and I wanted to incorporate him in a personal way,” Carrie shares. Her father sweetly became her inspiration for her wedding band. She purchased a vintage gold band from ZacharysJewelry that looked exactly like her dad’s band. “I can still see his hands in my head with a single gold ring on his finger which is a fond memory.”
Bridesmaids complemented Carrie well in floral dresses from Significant Other and Baroque pearl and diamond earrings from Chan Luu. And the three flower girls all wore Dôen dresses with baby’s breath flower crowns.
Having worked for RRL for more than 10 years, Anthony already owned his ceremony look–aside from a new cream linen dinner jacket he purchased for the special day. He completed his look with his grandfather’s pocket square and yellow gold wedding band.
On top of the mountain at the inn, Carrie walked down the aisle to Anthony, who was standing beside urns filled with lush ferns, arranged by Stemme Fatale. The bride’s cousin, Michele, officiated the wedding beautifully. “I felt grateful to be there with my now husband and our friends and family in a very intimate setting among a beautiful backdrop of mountains, ferns, wildflowers, and trees,” the bride says. “It felt like the safest space I have ever been in.”
After exchanging vows and being announced as husband and wife, cocktail hour began on the deck, followed by a four-course family-style dinner in a private dining room. For dessert, the new mister and missus cut their cake, by The Upstate Table, which featured Carrie’s parents’ cake topper.
Later on, the newlyweds had their first dance to “Your Song” by Elton John, and then party began upstairs. “It really felt like a cozy, attic house party, which is exactly what we were going for,” Carrie explains. With DJ James Arnold, the crowd danced all night long. “It was fun to see my cousins, who are chicken farmers in Upstate New York, dancing with our fabulous New York City fashion friends and our friends who are great dancers getting our parents into the mix and on the dance floor.”
The night ended around a bonfire, and then later, the couple remembered to sign their marriage license with their two brothers-in-law as witnesses, since they were the only four people awake at that hour.
Since the wedding, many guests have exchanged numbers and are making plans to get together again, which is a really nice takeaway. They’re also loving their wedding favors—vintage owl mugs—which Carrie sourced from eBay and Etsy. “All the new friendships and the requests to get everyone together again has kept the celebration alive,” Carrie remarks. The group even arranged a reunion a few months after the wedding.
