Amanda & Ian's Cavalli Hudson Valley Wedding

Amanda and Ian’s wedding at Cavalli Hudson Valley was such a nice example of a wedding day feeling personal without feeling overdone. Cavalli is an insanely beautiful Hudson Valley wedding venue, with wide open space, a gorgeous barn, and a view of the Catskills that really made sense for them. They spend a lot of time hiking in the Catskills with their dog, Willow, so having that landscape as part of the backdrop felt especially fitting.

This also was not their original venue. Amanda and Ian had to shift plans after their first venue was no longer able to host their wedding, which could have been incredibly stressful. Kelly from The Main Event By Kelly helped them find Cavalli, and it ended up feeling like the perfect spot for their day.

Food and drink were a huge part of the celebration in the best way. Crafted Catering was cooking over wood as friends and family arrived, and guests were greeted with an ice cream truck to enjoy in the sun before the ceremony. The whole day felt warm, relaxed, generous, and very Amanda and Ian.

One of my favorite things about Amanda and Ian’s day was that they did not take anything too seriously. They made space for the parts of the day that mattered, let the rest feel easy, and actually enjoyed themselves.

How We Met

We were on the same project at work. So naturally we did the thing that most millennials in their 20s would do. We waited to match on a dating app before speaking.

After a few messages back and forth with mention of ‘getting together sometime’ Amanda told Ian she was going to the Christmas Tree Lighting at The Hill and ‘you can come hang out, if you want’.

What Ian didn’t realize was that Amanda was actually going to this thing with friends. And what Amanda didn’t realize was that Ian would actually show up. A bit weird for a first date but they pushed through.

Thankfully it went well enough that we went on a 4 hour round trip drive to get beer a couple weeks later (Ian loves beer). We’ve taken the trek to Treehouse on the 4th Tuesday in November every year since.

Our Engagement Story

Ian proposed in November 2024 on a hike in the Catskills with our dog, Willow. He said something nice about having adventures together. I think Amanda said ‘oh god’

Marriage to us means…

Always being on the same team and having each other’s back.

How did you choose Cavalli?

We wanted something within a couple of hours from home for us/most of our family (Albany) and spend a lot of time hiking in the Catskills and visiting towns in the Hudson Valley so that was our starting point. We booked a venue ~15 months before our wedding date (and all of our vendors around that same time so we thought we were in good shape). 9 months out, our venue let us know they were going out of business and wouldn’t be able to host our wedding. Panic mode commenced – trying to find any venue within 30 minutes of Hudson with our June date available that ideally would allow us to keep all of the wonderful folks we already booked. We found Cavalli, Jacqueline let us check out the space that weekend, and we were booked the following week. It was one of the best things that could have happened. The space was gorgeous, the team at Cavalli was so kind and helpful, and they really allowed us to make the day our own.

A memorable moment from our wedding was…

Top 3 in no particular order: eating ham, hearing each others’ vows, seeing everyone on the dance floor

If I could give other couples to be one piece of advice…

Make it your own, break the ‘rules’, it’s not that serious, and don’t forget to go to your dessert table. It goes fast once the day gets here so make sure you have fun.