A Rustic, Modern Wedding at Wheatleigh in Lenox, Massachusetts

Katie Neff (33 and a former business director of marketing) and Dave Greenberg (31 and a financial analyst) pulled off an elegant modern fete with a hint of pastoral flair for their late-September wedding in Lenox, Massachusetts. “The design concept was a delicate balance of incorporating the natural beauty of the Berkshires and other rustic motifs in a polished way without being too prescribed,” Katie says of the wedding day, which the couple planned with Leslie Price of In Any Event. Designed in the style of a Florentine palazzo, Wheatleigh provided an opulent backdrop for the affair, giving the evening a note of Gilded Age glamour. The venue's outdoor spaces were equally as alluring, boasting lush gardens and perfectly manicured lawns that guests could explore during cocktail hour on the terrace. “The team there is top-notch in every regard, from the outstanding cooking to the attentive service,” Dave says. “One of our guests at the wedding remarked, ‘I’m pretty sure that if I would have accidentally dropped my glass of wine, one of the servers would have caught it before it hit the ground.” Katie and Dave hosted their guests in the Wheatleigh gardens for their ceremony, where they said “I do” under the shade of an old-growth oak tree trimmed with floral garlands and pastel ribbons. The pair personalized the proceedings with a hand-fasting ritual, classical renditions of their favorite tunes and their own vows. A cocktail hour followed on the terrace, where guests sipped on elderflower and blackberry gimlets, while listening to the sounds of live piano music. “The cocktail hour is always one of my favorite parts of the reception; I love a good drink, and that time just has a great energy between everyone’s excitement for the newly married couple and the anticipation before the party,” David says. The couple worked closely with chef Jeffrey Thompson to create a custom menu, which featured potato latkes with creme fraiche; caviar; a salad of heirloom tomatoes, burrata and figs; and rib eye steak served with Parmesan gnocchi, local mushrooms and vegetables. After dinner, Hal Prince Music took to the stage, drawing guests out their seats with 1970s and '80s rock and pop classics. “The real highlight was Katie’s dance with her dad. The band started by playing Frank Sinatra with the two of them slow dancing so that everyone would think it was the classic, sentimental father-daughter dance,” Dave says. “After about a minute, the band broke into Three Dog Night’s ‘Joy to the World’ and the party exploded with energy as Katie and her dad did a fast-paced dance with enough spins and dips to bring the house down.” The favors reinforced the feeling of a weekend getaway, with the newlyweds treating their family and friends to cider doughnuts from a local orchard and homemade cocktail bitters. A tip from Katie and Dave: “Find vendors that see your vision and work with you to create the best possible version of it within the budget constraints.” —Libby MacCarthy