The Bride Wore All Vintage to Her Wedding at a Gilded Age Mansion in Newport

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Photo: Elena Stanton

They decided that the venue should inform all of their stylistic decisions, and created a simple mood board with just a few references for their planner, Serena Merriman, of Merriman Events. “We were inspired by Gerda Steiner and Jörg Lenzlinger’s Falling Garden exhibit from the 2003 Venice Biennale, which informed both the floral arrangements and the color palette,” Caroline explains. Given the serious, stately nature of Rosecliff, they also incorporated some whimsy with multicolored Japanese paper umbrellas at the ceremony, gold animal escort card holders, and Happy Menocal’s hand-painted dinner menus.

Early on in the planning process, Caroline knew she wanted to wear all vintage on her wedding day for the sake of sustainability. “When I saw my dress, I knew it was perfect—it was the only thing I found that made sense in such a grand space,” she says. “My mother-in-law gave me the most beautiful sapphire earring-and-necklace set to wear with my dress.” These ended up being her something blue.

For the reception, she enlisted the help of Lily Kaizer of Happy Isles in L.A., who found the perfect beaded gown. She paired it with vintage Chanel four-leaf-clover earrings—for good luck. “I of course picked everything I was wearing with such specificity and care and then completely forgot my shoes in L.A.” Caroline admits. “I called my friend Danica, who was a bridesmaid, at midnight the night before the wedding, and she saved the day—lending me the shoes she wore to her own wedding. It was a such a full-circle moment, as I had helped her put them on on her wedding day, less than a year before. As she put it, I needed my ‘something borrowed’ anyway.”

The ceremony started at 6:00 p.m. on the lawn at Rosecliff. The couple was married under a simple chuppah, with a view of Easton Bay in the background. “We could hear the waves crashing as we said our vows,” Caroline says. “We had a ceremony that included elements of both the Jewish and Catholic traditions, and it was officiated by a family friend who is also a wonderful minister. We wrote our own vows and cried our way through them. Of all of the gifts we have received in our lives, the vows we wrote to each other are our most treasured. I really felt like my heart was going to explode.”

“My worst fear is speaking candidly in front of a large group of people,” Samson reveals. “But when we were up there, I couldn’t have cared less. I felt like it was exactly where I was meant to be.”

Afterward, guests moved inside to the ballroom for the reception. Existing gold tones in the space were complemented with gold stemware and place card holders. Flowers were used to evoke an overgrown garden with fuchsia, coral, and lavender as the primary color palette. “The menu went through many iterations before I finally decided that I would just serve what I would want to eat myself: pasta,” Caroline says. “Guests had a tomato burrata salad to start. For the main course, we had cacio e pepe—my favorite—and short ribs, my husband’s favorite, by Blackstone Caterers.” Aperol spritzes and negronis were served up at the bar. In lieu of a traditional wedding cake, they found a baker in Rhode Island to make a zuppa inglese, which they topped with orange kumquats to complement the color scheme of coral, orange, and purple sorbet colors.

The Sultans of Swing had guests dancing all night. “My dad has MS, and despite being one of the most active people I know, he has to use a wheelchair to get around,” Caroline says. “For our father-daughter dance, he surprised everyone by standing up to dance with me. I am always, but was more than ever in that moment, so blown away by his strength, bravery, and spirit. There wasn’t a dry eye in the room.” Later in the evening, Samson’s childhood friend Rumer Willis gave an impromptu performance. “She surprised us and sang ‘At Last’ with the band,” Caroline says. “It meant so much to us for her to sing for us.” When it was all said and done, the newlyweds couldn’t wait to get back to their hotel room. “Neither of us have ever been so exhausted in our lives, but we were too excited to sleep,” Caroline says. “We stayed up all night ordering deviled eggs and club sandwiches from room service, rehashing every perfect, wonderful moment.”