A Wedding Day Escape to the Finger Lakes
Rolling hills, breathtaking vineyards (and wine!), incredible farm-to-table food, waterfalls and glimmering lakes. The Finger Lakes are a destination for weddings for these reasons -- and many more! This past spring, we welcomed a very special couple as they celebrated their nuptials in one of our properties near Seneca Lake. Karrie and Zak chose the FLX Farmhouse as their home base during their Finger Lakes wedding ceremony in April and we couldn’t be happier for them!
Here’s more about their adventure (and how their perfect day came together!) from the bride:
Q: Why did you decide to escape to the Finger Lakes? Have you been there before or was this your first time?
We’ve been to the Finger Lakes many, many times! That’s why we decided to get married there. We love the area and really wanted to get married somewhere special, but not too far for our families to travel to.
Q: What made you choose to stay with us?
We looked at a number of properties with our photographer and planner and ultimately decided on the Farmhouse because of how beautifully decorated the inside of the house is and how great the natural lighting is. The landscape outside of the house was perfect too as we wanted specific photos taken outside, so the whole property just gave us everything we needed to make our photo ideas come to life.
We also loved that the house had the space to accommodate some of our family members the evening before the wedding for an intimate dinner. We all really enjoyed the comfort and atmosphere that the house provided!
Q: When you weren’t at the property, what did you do when you were there? Where did you go? What did you explore? Did you find any hidden gems?
Since you all were so gracious as to let us check in a bit early on Thursday, we were able to get settled in and then go visit a number of wineries with some of our family! We visited Silver Spring, Hazlitt, Leidenfrost and then had some drinks and dinner at Grist Iron Brewery. We made sure to stop in Hector so everyone could see the beautiful Hector Falls!
On Friday, Zak and I did a little hiking and visited Eagle Cliff Falls. We also drove to the top of Montour Falls to see our ceremony location from atop the town. This was really cool to see as I didn’t realize all of the levels of waterfalls way up above the main waterfall of Shequaga Falls!
Saturday, we got married! After our ceremony in Montour Falls, we had photos taken at the house before going to our reception at Barnstormer Winery. It was absolutely the most magical day!
Sunday, we slept in and enjoyed the house and property for the morning. We ventured over to Keuka Lake in the afternoon and visited some wineries. That evening we walked the property and enjoyed some time outside.
Q: When you were on the property, what did you do? What was fun? What did you enjoy?
Let me start out by saying the Farmhouse property is just absolutely gorgeous. We loved that there were no close neighbors so being outside was so serene. We enjoyed the beautiful landscape and views of the surrounding areas that the property had to offer.
We loved the old farmhouse feel with the modern décor and accommodations. It was the perfect place to have dinner with our families and provided beautiful backdrops for our wedding day, getting ready pictures and after ceremony pictures! Everyone who visited raved about how cozy the house was and how much they loved the unique furniture and décor.
Q: How did it feel to be on property? We feel that all of our properties have a vibe. Did you experience that too? What was it? What was it like for you?
Yes! The vibe was chill, cozy and inviting! Even on our wedding day we had plenty of space to spread out and get ready while maintaining that low key, comfy feeling.
Q: Can you tell us more about your wedding? Where was the ceremony, the reception, any other fun wedding things that you did?
The ceremony was in Montour Falls in front of Shequaga Falls! The whole weekend was very intimate with only our closest family members in attendance. After the ceremony, we went to Aunt Sarah’s Falls and captured some stunning photos before returning to the farmhouse for a photo shoot all around the house and property.
After photos, my husband and I had a moment alone for a champagne toast and reflection on the fact that we just got married (!!!). We then hopped back into the Escalade provided by Lightning Limousine and headed to Barnstormer Winery for cocktail hour, dancing and dinner with our family. We had sunset photos taken at the winery and concluded the evening with cake and wine before heading back to the farmhouse. The day was even better than I had imagined and I’m still so sad that it is over.
Q: Why did you decide to get married in the Finger Lakes?
We LOVE the Finger Lakes. I’ve visited at least once per year for the last 10 years. Zak and I have visited once or twice a year since we have been together, usually on a birthday or on our anniversary. We have a lot of really special memories in the area. After we got engaged, we originally planned to run away and elope. We were thinking somewhere out west…. but that idea wasn’t going over very well with our parents and the more we thought about it the more we wanted to make sure at least our parents were with us on our big day. We kept debating on what to do for months until we visited Seneca Lake on our anniversary last year and it just kind of hit us. Why not get married in our favorite place?!
Once we found our photographer and coordinator and got to planning, we realized we would like our immediate family members to all be in attendance and we really wanted them to experience all that we love most about the Finger Lakes. So, we really made it into a whole weekend experience for everyone and that just added to the amazement of our day.
We had the most beautiful backdrop for our ceremony, we showed everyone several amazing waterfalls in the area on top of the beauty that is Seneca Lake. Barnstormer is an enchanting winery on a normal day, but they really transformed it into the most warm and romantic setting for our reception. The sunset sky over the vineyard and lake made our last photos of the day just perfect.
I could go on and on but the fact that we just love everything about the Finger Lakes is why we decided to get married there.
Q: Can you tell us a little more about the two of you. How did you meet, how long have you been together? What’s your love story?
Our story is quite the whirlwind. We’re both from the same small town, but somehow growing up we never knew of each other despite running around with some of the same people. Zak moved home from Pittsburgh and started going to the gym that I went to.
Unbeknownst to either of us at the time, we both had eyes on each other from the first time our paths crossed in that gym. It took us about 2 months of watching each other from afar, learning what vehicle the other drove and hoping it would be there when we got to the gym and questioning other gym goers about the other before Zak finally broke the ice and talked to me. We have been inseparable ever since.
Neither of us ever thought we would have that fairytale type of love or that soulmates were actually a thing until we discovered each other.
We pretty quickly moved in together and about 6 months later both changed jobs and moved an hour away from our hometown. We got engaged a year later and married a year after that! We both were always kind of anti-marriage until we fell in love and really figured out what a true, loving marriage is supposed to look like. We are best friends and truly love being married to each other!
Q: How special was it to get married here? Is there anything you want to share with us about your wedding and what made it special, unique, memorable?
It was pretty unbelievable. I don’t know what it is about the Finger Lakes region, but ever since the first time I visited I just always get a certain feeling upon arriving in the area. It’s a mixture of relaxation and gratitude really. The lake, the vineyards, the waterfalls..there is just so much beauty there to take in.
Throw some wine in and it’s just magic. Getting married in a magical place, surrounded by all of the people we love most is something I will absolutely never forget. We are so happy that we did what WE wanted to do for our wedding. We didn’t spend a bunch of money to put on a big show for 200 people.
We focused on our love and being surrounded by love, happiness and beauty. So many people have asked us if we are happy or relieved now that our wedding is over because for most people, wedding planning and the big day is a very stressful event. Everything for us was fun.
Each time we drove to NY for a hair trial, to meet with our photographer or to discuss reception plans at the winery, it was fun and exciting. Our wedding weekend was beautiful and full of intimate moments with each other and family. I want to relive that day over and over again.
Q: When you’re ready to escape to the Finger Lakes again, what do you plan to do, see, explore?
We plan to come back this fall to do some hiking and more exploring! We always visit our favorite wineries, and we enjoy seeing all of the new places that seem to pop up each year. We also plan to come back on our 1-year wedding anniversary and revisit everything that we did on our wedding weekend.
Q: Is there anything you would like us, or upcoming guests, to know?
Explore the whole area! There is so much more than wine! Go for a hike, kayak on the lake, adventure to the top of the waterfall in the middle of town! Take it all in. And if you’re getting married, do it for YOU and do what YOU want.