Stephanie & Philip

Picture Perfect

The Bride: Stephanie Cortes
The Groom: Philip Cohen
Date: July 16, 2011
Venue: Wentworth By the Sea Country Club (Rye, NH)

No matter if it was on a trip to San Francisco or Colorado, Philip Cohen always brought a tripod and snapped a photo of him and his girlfriend, Stephanie Cortes, kissing with some area scene in the background. Which is why Stephanie was only slightly embarrassed when he broke it out one afternoon on the Brooklyn Bridge in June 2010. “I don’t like feeling like a tourist in New York,” says Stephanie, who lived just outside the city right up until their July 2011 wedding. Philip, an on-the-side photographer now commissioned for his New England landscapes, had good reason to risk a roll of the eyes from his girlfriend – she was about to become his fiancée. While they kissed, he held a ring out in front of his face, which Stephanie didn’t see until he showed her the results on the screen and then got down on one knee. That shared passion – Stephanie was a photojournalism major in college, which also sparked their very first conversation at a party – then found its way into their nuptials at the Wentworth by the Sea Country Club in Rye, New Hampshire, a venue selected because they knew its seaside location would deliver great images.

Ceremony

Because of Philip’s Jewish heritage (Stephanie is Christian), the traditional Jewish chuppah, which represents coming together to create a dwelling, became a natural focal point of the ceremony. Crafting one that was structurally sound for a potentially windy seaside ceremony required The Flower Kiosk (who also did the bouquets and flowers for the cake) to do a trial run the day before. But the results, made from bamboo and draped with chiffon, framed the couple well against the backdrop of Little Harbor.

Ceremony

Because of Philip’s Jewish heritage (Stephanie is Christian), the traditional Jewish chuppah, which represents coming together to create a dwelling, became a natural focal point of the ceremony. Crafting one that was structurally sound for a potentially windy seaside ceremony required The Flower Kiosk (who also did the bouquets and flowers for the cake) to do a trial run the day before. But the results, made from bamboo and draped with chiffon, framed the couple well against the backdrop of Little Harbor.

Favors

Four months before the wedding, Stephanie was diagnosed with melanoma. “And here we were, planning an outdoor wedding in the blazing sun,” she remembers. Even though surgery rid her of the cancer just three months before their wedding, she wanted to make sure everyone was protected. So the couple provided parasols (and fans) for guests for relief from summer’s rays.

Favors

Four months before the wedding, Stephanie was diagnosed with melanoma. “And here we were, planning an outdoor wedding in the blazing sun,” she remembers. Even though surgery rid her of the cancer just three months before their wedding, she wanted to make sure everyone was protected. So the couple provided parasols (and fans) for guests for relief from summer’s rays.

Music

“I’ve never danced a slow song with my dad in my life,” says the bride of her relationship with her father, who grew up in Cuba. Throw in her mother’s Columbian roots and Stephanie knew dancing would be the focal point of their reception. When asked if she practiced the father-daughter dance set to a fast salsa beat ahead of time, the 29-year-old says, “We’ve been practicing for 29 years.”

Music

“I’ve never danced a slow song with my dad in my life,” says the bride of her relationship with her father, who grew up in Cuba. Throw in her mother’s Columbian roots and Stephanie knew dancing would be the focal point of their reception. When asked if she practiced the father-daughter dance set to a fast salsa beat ahead of time, the 29-year-old says, “We’ve been practicing for 29 years.”

Photographer

“If it was up to Philip, he would have been walking down the aisle with his camera,” Stephanie laughs of his passion for photography. “But [photographer Kate McElwee] was super chill with our private moments, yet assertive when it came to herding my huge family for photos that day,” says Stephanie. “Not to mention the constant e-mails from Philip [with suggestions for shots to get]. We were both very involved to say the least, and we managed to get a lasting friendship out of it.”

Photographer

“If it was up to Philip, he would have been walking down the aisle with his camera,” Stephanie laughs of his passion for photography. “But [photographer Kate McElwee] was super chill with our private moments, yet assertive when it came to herding my huge family for photos that day,” says Stephanie. “Not to mention the constant e-mails from Philip [with suggestions for shots to get]. We were both very involved to say the least, and we managed to get a lasting friendship out of it.”

The Lasting Memory

“All morning, my dad kept asking me what time we had to leave from the [Wentworth Hotel],” Stephanie remembers. Turns out, her dad was waiting for his wedding-day surprise to his daughter to arrive: a horse-drawn carriage to bring them to the ceremony just down the road. “Apparently it even rode by when we were outside taking photos that morning,” says Stephanie. What she also didn’t realize was that her dad and Philip had planned it only two weeks before. “It was the perfect way to start and end our day,” she remembers, “sharing that time with my dad on the way to the ceremony, watching Philip sobbing uncontrollably as we pulled up in it, and finally, having a quiet moment with Philip in it as we left the reception.”

The Lasting Memory

“All morning, my dad kept asking me what time we had to leave from the [Wentworth Hotel],” Stephanie remembers. Turns out, her dad was waiting for his wedding-day surprise to his daughter to arrive: a horse-drawn carriage to bring them to the ceremony just down the road. “Apparently it even rode by when we were outside taking photos that morning,” says Stephanie. What she also didn’t realize was that her dad and Philip had planned it only two weeks before. “It was the perfect way to start and end our day,” she remembers, “sharing that time with my dad on the way to the ceremony, watching Philip sobbing uncontrollably as we pulled up in it, and finally, having a quiet moment with Philip in it as we left the reception.”

Picture Perfect

The Bride: Stephanie Cortes
The Groom: Philip Cohen
Date: July 16, 2011
Venue: Wentworth By the Sea Country Club (Rye, NH)

No matter if it was on a trip to San Francisco or Colorado, Philip Cohen always brought a tripod and snapped a photo of him and his girlfriend, Stephanie Cortes, kissing with some area scene in the background. Which is why Stephanie was only slightly embarrassed when he broke it out one afternoon on the Brooklyn Bridge in June 2010. “I don’t like feeling like a tourist in New York,” says Stephanie, who lived just outside the city right up until their July 2011 wedding. Philip, an on-the-side photographer now commissioned for his New England landscapes, had good reason to risk a roll of the eyes from his girlfriend – she was about to become his fiancée. While they kissed, he held a ring out in front of his face, which Stephanie didn’t see until he showed her the results on the screen and then got down on one knee. That shared passion – Stephanie was a photojournalism major in college, which also sparked their very first conversation at a party – then found its way into their nuptials at the Wentworth by the Sea Country Club in Rye, New Hampshire, a venue selected because they knew its seaside location would deliver great images.