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The Bride Played Bass and The Groom Was On Vocals at This Hudson Valley Wedding

By Alexandra Macon

Creative Directors Elizabeth Dilk and Garrett Morin first started hanging out after one of her friends began dating one of his friends. “Their relationship didn’t last, but Garrett and I started dating about a year and a half after that,” explains Elizabeth. The couple were together for six years, when one New Year’s weekend they decided to head out to the Hamptons to celebrate the holiday along with a group of friends. On the the morning of New Year’s Eve, Elizabeth and Garrett went for a run outside. “When we got to the end of the beach, he proposed right there,” she remembers. “When we got back to the house, all of our friends had decorated the house with engagement balloons and we just celebrated all weekend.”

From the beginning of the planning process, the two knew they wanted a weekend of festivities surrounded by loved ones. “We just wanted to spend as much time with people as possible, not just put all of the pressure on the wedding itself,” Elizabeth says. They found a vast property overlooking the Hudson River, and started organizing a number of events including a family reunion dinner, the annual Dilk family soccer game, a pool party, rehearsal dinner, and the wedding all by themselves. (They did hire Hudson Valley Ceremonies for day of planning help, though.) “I really enjoyed visually planning out all of the elements, probably because it’s somewhat related to what I do for a living,” she adds. “It’s basically art directing the best party you’ve ever planned.”

Much like her wedding aesthetic, which included brass candlesticks, dramatic lighting, and deep purple calla lilies, Elizabeth knew she wanted something sleek and simple when she was looking for her dress as well. She ended up choosing a Naeem Khan tailored silk dress with white beading and a low back. “I didn’t want a veil, but I did wear a black velvet ribbon in my hair around my bun,” she says. “I need an element that felt like me in the moment.” Garrett, also chose something unexpected for his wedding day look: a deep emerald Paul Smith suit, which his bride describes as “chic as hell.”

The day of the ceremony, the groomsman and groom walked down to “Bron-Yur-Aur” by Led Zeppelin, while the bride chose George Harrison’s “If Not For You” for her trip down the aisle. “We wrote our own vows, which were incredibly meaningful,” she says. “We actually read them to one another the night before, just the two of us.” In the middle of the ceremony, the best man’s phone went off, but instead of being annoyed, the couple was amused. “He felt terrible but honestly, it lightened up the whole moment and helped ease some of the nerves!”

Once they were declared husband and wife, a reception offering South American food, spicy cucumber margaritas, and strawberry shortcake for dessert followed. Music was handled by a DJ, and wedding band that included the bride on bass and the groom as a singer. “The band Garrett put together was so personal,” Elizabeth says. “It consisted of his actual band mates, some of our mutual friends, two of my bridesmaids, and myself. The first song we played was “Gonna Live Forever” by Oasis, which is epic and inspired our hashtag #GonnaLizForever. We played “Pretty Woman” for Garrett’s mom, because that song always reminds him of her.”

As you can tell, music is a pretty important part of this couple’s life, so sticking to just one first dance song wasn’t exactly easy. “Our first dance was to ‘Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You’ by Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons,” Elizabeth says. “But we also had a special dance that our friend sang to us with the band, ‘Let Me Roll It’ by Paul McCartney, which to me is really the most romantic song in the world.” The music and dancing continued late into evening, and the band ended the night with their take on “Bigmouth Strikes Again” by The Smiths. As for the bride’s favorite performance of the evening? “Playing ‘Crimson & Clover’ together as a band was pretty great,” she admits. “The band practices leading up to the wedding were crazy fun, too.”