“I honestly never thought about Harry as more than a friend, he wasn’t my type!” admits Molly Kimmel, an operations manager at Maven Clinic, of how she initially viewed her husband, Harry Zwick, an investment VP at JPMorgan. The two, who first met at Skidmore College, shared several friends and were always hanging out in larger group settings, even after they both moved to New York City for jobs. One night, Harry finally asked her to go out on a date, and at first, Molly shot him down. “With a little more convincing, we had our first date a couple of weeks later and the rest is history!
Five years after she finally gave him a chance, Harry proposed in front of a small park in Tribeca. “He said the nicest things, which I definitely don’t remember,” Molly says. After she said yes, the two toasted with friends and family at their favorite bar in Brooklyn, and later headed upstate to Beacon, New York for a weekend of “slightly less rowdy” celebrations.
The couple initially considered hosting their wedding at Molly’s parent’s home in Pound Ridge, New York, but after visiting Cedar Lakes Estate in Hudson Valley—a venue Molly admits she had been Instagram stalking for years—they knew they had found their place. “Knowing we would be taking everyone’s last weekend of summer, we wanted it to feel like a fun weekend getaway for our guests with plenty of outdoor activities,” she says. “Cedar Lakes Estate is the perfect combination of a fancy camp. It was the first and only venue we looked at and by far the best decision we made!” They set the date for September 1 and hired Nicole Sheppard of All Who Wander Events and the sisters behind Cedar Lakes Estate to help with the planning process.
“My mom is obsessed with Say Yes To The Dress so we started our search at Kleinfeld’s, which is actually where she bought her wedding dress 33 years ago!” the bride says. They went to a few other appointments, before finding the one, an Oscar de la Renta gown, at Mark Ingram. “I thought the dress, while beautiful, was definitely not my style or what I was looking for and probably wouldn’t have even tried it on if my mom hadn’t loved it so much—mom knows best!” She paired her Oscar de la Renta gown with blush satin Tabitha Simmons platforms, her engagement ring, and floral diamond studs from Corey Friedman. Harry, meanwhile, chose a dark blue Ferragamo suit paired with a light blue Brioni tie and brown Ferragamo loafers for the occasion.
One of the first wedding-related decisions the couple made was to ask Molly’s grandfather to officiate the ceremony. “We wanted it to be led by someone we know and love and who in turn knows us as individuals and as a couple,” she says. “It doesn’t hurt that he happens to be a professional comedy writer, so we knew we were in good hands!” Harry and Molly wrote their own vows, and the ceremony ended up including several Jewish traditions, sprinkled with bits of humor and words of wisdom from Barack Obama and Bob Marley.
Following the ceremony, guests enjoyed a cocktail reception around the pool and later a seated dinner in a large converted barn. “Cedar Lakes Estate takes their food very seriously, much of which is sourced locally and from their property’s garden, and they truly did not disappoint,” the bride says. As for dessert, Molly admits she’s not a huge fan of cake and initially wanted to serve an ice cream version, but in order to avoid a melting mess, they ended up choosing a carrot cake with cream cheese frosting.
Another of the couple’s top priorities was to keep everyone on the dance floor all night, so picking the band was one of the hardest decisions they made during the planning process. “We listened to more bands than I can count!” Molly recalls. They ended up deciding on the Marcus Reid Band from Hank Lane. “His energy is insane and exactly what we were looking for.”
Choosing the right entertainer proved pivotal for Molly, who, looking back, says her favorite moments from the evening were the ones spent on the dance floor surrounded by her favorite people. “My first dance with my dad was also a really special moment,” she says. “We danced to “Sugar Magnolia” by the Grateful Dead, which he sang to me every night before bed when I was little. My aunt and uncle, who are both extremely talented musicians, took over for the band and performed the song, which added an extra special touch.”
After the reception ended, the party did not slow down and instead moved over to a cabin on Cedar Lakes dubbed the “tree house.” “We had created a playlist, but one of our friends who had come straight off the plane from Burning Man took over as impromptu DJ,” Molly explains. “He kept everyone dancing until about 3:00 a.m.—with some assistance from breakfast burritos and fried chicken sandwiches!”
