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Of Counsel Account Director Catherine Hunt Kenny’s Timeless Wedding at Castle Hill Inn

By Shayna Seid | Photography by 

Lindsey Shorter

|Planning by 

Mavinhouse Events

Catherine Hunt, the account director of public relations firm Of Counsel, and Stuart Kenny, a vice president at CBRE, were first introduced while watching Alabama play LSU at a bar with friends in New York. “Our respective roommates at the time were dating—they are now married!—and we ended up hitting it off a few years after our initial introduction,” Catherine explains.

Five years later, Stuart proposed in their apartment in D.C. Catherine’s sister and brother-in-law were visiting, and Catherine was prepping the apartment to have friends over for drinks. “As I came down the stairs, Al Green’s ‘Love and Happiness’ was playing in the background,” she recalls. “I was wearing a new dress I had just bought that day—with my sister’s encouragement—and Stuart got down on one knee.”

Once engaged, the pair decided on hosting a destination wedding and fell in love with Castle Hill Inn in Newport, Rhode Island. Sarah Crowell Lema of Mavinhouse Events helped bring their dreamy, coastal vision to life.

For the aesthetic, I wanted the feeling to evoke a timeless American style that meets a charming English garden,” the bride shares. Neutral tones were used throughout the invitation suite by Bella Figura and wedding stationery. And Catherine fell in love with the scallop shell and made it a motif in the event’s design. “I wanted the star of the show to be the flowers, and Laura at Fig & Squill made all of my English garden dreams come true. She used roses, dahlias, delphiniums, and zinnias for our aisle garden and arrangements that set the backdrop for the escort card table and anchored the dinner tables.”

To wear to her rehearsal dinner by the Newport Harbor, the bride fell in love with a Rachel Gilbert dress. “I felt like the bow on the shoulder felt a little unexpected from my style but still classic,” she shares.

And when it came to finding a wedding dress, Catherine went into the process with an open mind but was sure she wanted to look timeless. “The second I put on my Romona Keveža dress, I knew it was the one—I loved the neckline, and most importantly, I felt so comfortable in it,” the bride recalls.

On the day-of, Catherine got ready with makeup and hair artists Erica T. Martell and Renee Russo, who she trusted wholeheartedly. “Renee and I referenced Hailey Beiber’s iconic knot bun, as I knew it had to be fully back due to the winds at Castle Hill; I loved how it turned out,” the bride gushes.

She completed her ceremony ensemble with Jennifer Behr pearl drop earrings and a diamond and sapphire bracelet that her mother gifted her on the morning-of as her “something borrowed” and “something blue.” Throughout the weekend, Catherine also carried the pearl flower clutch by ASHA from Over The Moon

On August 5, 2022, the bride’s close family friend, Judge Woodroof, officiated the outdoor ceremony. “I loved his message and how he conducted the service—it was personal, thoughtful, and spiritual,” Catherine remembers. “We each had a friend from our wedding party read; the first was Ephesians 3:14-19 and the second was my dad’s favorite poem, ‘Love’ by Roy Croft.” After the nearly out-of-body experience of sharing their vows in front of their closest family and friends, the couple shared their first kiss as a married couple and snuck away to take photos and share a private Champagne toast.

At the tented reception dinner, the wedding party, their guests, and the couple’s parents were seated at one long table. The meal was delicious, and dessert was even more decadent—a vanilla pound cake with layers of lemon chiffon and assorted fresh berries and a chocolate pound cake with chocolate mocha and toasted almond crunch by Confectionery Designs.

The newlyweds shared a first dance to “You Send Me” by Aretha Franklin. And then the Boston-based band Beantown performed all night long to enthusiastic guests. 

Halfway through her reception, the bride changed into an Anna October dress that was perfect for dancing and paired it with a Lelet New York pearl headband. “I felt totally refreshed, like I could keep dancing and twirling all night long,” Catherine shares. “My father-in-law is obsessed with dance floor props, so we had to make sure he wasn’t disappointed and had an under the sea theme with shell sunglasses and clownfish and clam hats that helped put everyone in the party mood. My planner said the sunglasses were snatched up in fewer than two minutes.” 

Once the reception came to a formal close, the party continued at Surf Club in downtown Newport, where more revelry and late-night bites were enjoyed. Shortly after the wedding, the newlyweds headed to Paris for three nights, celebrated Stuart’s birthday, and then flew to Italy to enjoy five nights in Capri and Positano. The bride exclaims, “It was a dream!”