Caroline &and Andrew

What did you base your choice of location on?

Caroline: As residents of NYC, we really wanted to get out of the city and have a setting in nature. Natirar was the perfect blend of beautiful scenery and a really special building that had old-world grandeur with cool, contemporary touches. The venue was actually under construction when we signed our contract; we committed based on a rendering. But it was exactly what we wanted and more!

Andrew:  I loved the fact that it felt both rustic but upscale, intimate inside but huge rolling fields outside. And of course, those views were something else!

What aspects of your wedding most reflected your personality?

Caroline: For Andrew’s wedding gift, I ignored tradition and got him a twelve-string guitar instead of a watch. He’s not really into that sort of thing. During our first look, I gave him a drawing of the guitar and he was really surprised.  He then surprised our wedding guests with a performance of I Saw Her Standing There and Born to Run with the band after we cut our cake, which was a great highlight.

Andrew: Like Caroline said, getting up on stage and playing with the band was definitely a highlight for me. I also couldn’t help but throw in a little joke when I thanked our guests, telling everyone how excited I was to “finally be able to call myself Mr. Karter.”

What was on your wedding day wish list?

Caroline: Good food, good weather, and just a really fun party. We ended up lucking out with all three!

Andrew: The night before the wedding, I told Caroline not to worry if something didn’t go the way we hoped.  I told her that when all was said and done, we were there to have a great time and get married! In the end, everything went the way we had hoped – the weather was great, the band was rocking, and the guests were having a great time!

Which feature of your wedding was the most unique?

Caroline: That’s hard to say. For the ceremony, we wanted to include objects of significance. We used the tallit from my bat mitzvah in our chuppah and Andrew’s tallit during the ceremony. In addition, we used the kiddush cup that my great grandparents got for their 50th wedding anniversary.

In terms of decor, I think everything really exuded our style. We wanted the room to feel really lush, elegant, and romantic, but not overdone. On the food, we worked with Natirar’s chef on a custom menu that worked in a few of our favorite things (macaroni and cheese balls for me, and chimichurri sauce to accompany the beef, for Andrew). He actually kept the amuse bouche a surprise until we sat down at our table and saw the plate (it was a whipped ricotta crostini – so good!). And of course, our passed desserts included mini tarte tatins, which is my favorite dessert.

Andrew: I’m not a flower guy by any means. I had no role whatsoever in choosing our flowers, and normally I don’t even notice them at weddings. But wow – as soon as I saw the chuppah, and again when I saw how the ballroom was decorated, even I was blown away by how amazing everything looked!  As far as the food goes, as a Philly native I made sure we had mini cheesesteaks for all of “my people.”

When and how did the two of you meet, and what is most memorable about your first meeting?

Caroline: We met online in February 2012, when we were both living in NYC. I was living with a friend from camp who noticed his profile– she called out that she knew him from home and that he went to our brother camp, Takajo. I viewed him, and then he messaged me. The rest is history. It’s also likely that we met at age 12 at camp socials– we’re still looking for the video or photos that show us crossing paths on the dance floor!

Andrew: We actually met on leap day! So when people asked me why what the hold-up was on getting engaged after five years of dating, I would say “what’s the big deal? We’ve only had one anniversary!”

What song did you dance to for your first dance? Why?

Caroline & Andrew: When we went to see Eric Clapton in concert, I had heard of Gary Clark Jr. but wasn’t too familiar with his music, and I don’t think Caroline knew much about him either. As Caroline said, he opened for Clapton and played “Our Love” as part of his set. As we sat there watching, we came to the realization at the same time: “Wow! This song is great!”  We turned to each other right there while the song was still playing and said “I think this is our first dance!”

Andrew, you performed on stage for your new wife. What was the song you chose and why? Caroline, what was going through your mind then?

Andrew: I’m a big classic rock fan, and I learned guitar by playing through Beatles albums. So I chose “I Saw Her Standing There” by the Beatles for the first song. It was an upbeat song that could get the crowd dancing, and the lyrics really worked for the occasion (except the line about being “just seventeen,” which admittedly hasn’t aged well).  Next, I chose “Born to Run” by Bruce Springsteen. Here’s a fun fact I learned during the wedding planning process: If your venue is in New Jersey and you don’t play Bruce at your wedding, technically the wedding does not count. The song also gave Caroline a great opportunity to come up to dance on stage so she could live out her own Courteney Cox moment!

Caroline: “I hope he doesn’t mess up” and “I hope I don’t fall down while dancing!”

What quality do you most admire about one another?

Andrew’s ability to go with the flow is something that I wish I could emulate. As the more Type A member of the couple, his calm and collectedness balance me out. He’s also really devoted to his family– something that’s really important to me too!

Caroline is just a really good person, which is evidenced by her many lasting friendships.  She’s the most caring person I know (she packs me a lunch for work every day!), and she’s able to tolerate my silliness, which is not for the faint of heart!  

Is there anything you would do differently?

Caroline: I might have been more involved in coordinating the people who held me up in the chair during the hora because I nearly fell off the chair– it was actually terrifying.

Andrew: During the hora I threw my napkin and it hit my poor cousin Alan square in the face. If I could do it again, I would have made sure I looked at him dead in the eyes and let him know that I was absolutely aiming for him.

Where do you see yourselves in 30 years?

Andrew: In June of 2048, I’ll be 60 years old and finally ready to quit my job as an attorney to start touring with my rock band. Then Caroline will, for the thousandth time, talk me back down to reality and tell me I’m late for my son Mario Karter’s college graduation.  

Caroline: His name won’t be Mario Karter because we already used that pun in our wedding hashtag, #marryokart. But nice try!