THEIR WEDDING IN VERMONT MUST HAVE
brought back some youthful memories for Jessica Rutenberg and Cyrus Peake (known as Cy), both of whom grew up skiing on the slopes of the Green mountains. Cy returned to attend school at the University of Vermont in Burlington, but the two didn’t meet until a New Year’s celebration much later, in 2002. He was living in Boston at the time; she was in D.C. They relied on phone calls and email to stay connected over the next few months, as well as back-and forth flights between their home cities. Finally, after six months of frequent flying, Jessica moved to Boston, and on New Year’s Eve, exactly four years after they met, Cyrus proposed.
It was a snowy night at home. Jessica relaxed by a crackling fire while Cy made dinner. Unable to wait till midnight as he’d planned to, Cy interrupted his cooking to serve Jessica a bottle of champagne, four dozen
roses – a dozen for each year they’d been together – and a ring. They celebrated over Cy’s home-cooked meal, and afterwards enjoyed the falling snow from the shelter of their garage, sitting in beach chairs warmed by an electric heater.
The wedding ceremony, which took place at the First Congregational Church in Manchester, incorporated elements of Jessica’s Jewish heritage – the couple was married under a chuppah, the traditional wedding canopy, and at the conclusion of their vows, broke a glass for good luck.
Both the ceremony and reception reflected the couple’s style. To highlight the beauty of their favorite season, Fall, they chose a rich color palette of burnt orange and warm copper tones that mimicked the foliage outdoors. Caramel apple martinis were served during cocktail hour, and for dessert, a Ben & Jerry’s ice cream wedding cake with comforting Fall flavors of American Pie, Oatmeal Cookie Crunch, and Pumpkin Cheesecake
(which almost melted after being placed too close to the heater!).
Cy’s love of cars and the couple’s joint passion for NASCAR were reflected in his choice of a vineyard vines tie adorned with racecars, silver racecar cufflinks and the reception tables named for NASCAR tracks.
Jessica and Cy had an “amazing” experience with the professionals who helped them realize their wedding vision. “Months later, people were still complimenting us on the flowers and décor,” Jessica says. “We were lucky to have Tara’s amazing talent – and to have it captured by the trained eye of our photographer, Dennis Curran.” To avoid getting lost in the day, says Jessica, “Try to keep yourself grounded and keep reminding yourself of what’s really important. And leave all the hard work and preparation you’ve done at the door. Turn things over to the professionals, sit back and have fun!”