Oheka Castle has long been one of my favorite “outside the city” New York wedding venues. The French-style chateau is the second-largest private residence ever built in America, and its proximity to Manhattan makes it perfect for couples looking to experience a sprawling estate-style wedding, while still remaining close to home.
During the Gilded Age of the 1920’s, the 109,000 square foot, 127 room estate was a summer home to financier Otto Kahn. Kahn hosted lavish parties and regularly entertained royalty, heads of state, and Hollywood stars in the stately mansion and luscious grounds.
Today however, the Oheka Castle is a member of the coveted Small Luxury Hotels of the World and a premier venue for exquisite events, such as Andrea and Nicholas’ wedding, photographed by our friends Aga and Marcin at AGAiMAGES . Take a peek… 
Cinematography: Familiar Voices
Flowers: Pedestals Florist
Ceremony and Reception: Oheka Castle
Dress: Anne Barge
Cake: Daniel Andreotti, in-house pastry chef
From the Bride: Nick and I share one awesome and powerful common denominator, and that is our faith. This factor determined much of the orchestration of our wedding, and though it did not follow the common formula of what makes weddings “fun,” it was an amazing event for us. We had family travel from all over the country {and beyond!} to be with us on our wedding day, so the celebration really transcended “us,” and became a celebration of a larger union.
Our different cultures – his Serbian, and mine Chilean – also found common ground on the importance of family and inclusion. A large portion of our wedding was focused on the children, and they were given the stage both during the ceremony and at the reception.
In planning our wedding, my efforts were geared towards creating a fun and light environment in the formal setting of the castle. We provided lawn games at cocktail hour {as well as ‘goody bags’ at the reception} for the kids, and a scrapbook station for everyone to take part in, complete with instant-photo cameras, stickers, and crafts. We hired amazing musicians for the reception – a dulcimer player, along with his accompaniments, who I had actually heard play years ago on a NYC subway platform – who kept the environment eccentric and jovial.
All in all, we think we had quite a joyous and celebratory event, which served as a wonderful platform to bring to our loving families and friends together to share in diversity and love.
About the Photographers: AGAiMAGES is the collaboration of partners in business and life : Aga + Marcin. From Aga: “Hello, we are Aga + Marcin. We live with our dog Luna. We love to travel. The world is beautiful. Moments are very significant. We see beauty and moments everywhere. We love photography and it’s not just our business, it’s our life. Being able to document people’s lives is pretty cool. A simple portrait can speak a thousand words. That’s what we are all about. Simply good photos.”
All photos courtesy AGAiMAGES
