"Pop Up" Wedding at Mt. Van Hoevenberg Cross Country Ski Center

After a friend recommended Mim to Olga and Colin to help coordinate their wedding just over a week ago, they called Mim of Juniper Events & Design and see if by chance she was able to help them with last minute arrangements and onsite coordination for  their July 8, 2017 wedding that was 9 days away.

After a couple of phone calls and emails to the client to asses their vision and situation, Mim met with the Taylor and sited the tent, ordered the needed supplies, found a florist and ordered flowers, got in touch with all the existing vendors and put together a timeline. Mim met with the couple to help design their perfect day, casual, relaxed and a time for friends and family from mostly Austin, Texas to enjoy the Adirondacks.
​
They were all staying a long weekend at the cabins at Mt. Van Hoevenberg and the owner had been most accommodating about them hosting this casual wedding for 50 guest on the property. 

Friday in the pouring rain, rentals were delivered and all on track. Saturday it continued to rain, A LOT, and when I did an a.m. site visit and looked at the radar I made some calls. Rebecca Dayton, Manager of the Olympic Sports Complex picked up the call right away and said she would meet us at 1 p.m. at the Cross Country Center and she’d get staff over right away. I picked up the bride and groom and her parents at the cabins, we went to the very damp grounds of the tent and then to Cross Country Center. Rain was in the forecast on and off for the rest of the day. The tent would have kept the rain off the guests when under the tent, but it was an outdoor walk to the restroom, to the kitchens for catering etc. and the ground was getting very very soft and dance floor wavy and slick. After thinking about it, and a couple of pieces of dark chocolate, the couple decided to move the event. It was now 2:17 p.m. Event was set to begin at 5 p.m. 

Enter amazing ORDA staff of the Olympic Sports Complex. Rebecca made a call and within 10 minutes a box truck was at our tent to start loading all the rentals. Mim got on the phone to notify all the vendors and the wedding started to move. Tables, chairs, linens, place settings, flowers, catering, buffet and all the alcohol--it took about 30 minutes all told before everything was trucked over to the new site less than a mile away. 

We moved tables and chairs, strung twinkle lights, draped linens, set tables. The catering that was ordered was essentially take out so there wasn’t the typical catering staff. Elaine, Shanay and Rebecca from ORDA set all the tables with Mim and her brave and willing associate Connor who carried everything double stacked in double time. Fun fact, he can carry a full keg by himself. 

By 4 p.m., The place was ready to go. DJ and bar staff loaded in, photo booth set up, tables set (complete with custom stamped napkins), flowers in place (ordered local wildflowers in bulk from Little Farmhouse and Mim and some friends at the Lodge arranged them in Ball jars on Friday night after the rehearsal). 

It was a labor of love, and the phone app Dark Sky saved the day by giving us up-to-the-minute rain predictions. So when it was 4:44 p.m. and I knew it was going to rain, by 5:07 p.m. it did start raining, first light and then very hard just as the ceremony was ending in the meadow. But the ORDA transport BUS was even there at the cabins, arranged by Rebecca, to pick up all the guests so they wouldn’t have to worry about drinking and driving.

The night was an amazing success thanks to the collective efforts of so many!

#adirondacks #rainydaywedding @MtVanHoevenberg @LtlFarmhouse