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Chris & Kristen

Walking along a beach in Montauk at midnight, Heather and I watched the waves crash in the moonlight. It was the first night we got to spend together sans Capa since he was born. Eight months of long nights, groggy mornings, and “you got this one [diaper change]?” What made the moment even sweeter was the memory of my after prom on the same beach 15 years ago. Just the thought of reliving some of those memories made me cringe. It was like the feeling of regret--but deeper, more intimate. Like I wanted to go back in time to tell myself to relax because it was all going to work out. Just then, Heather and I took a seat, leaned back, and let our heads fall into the sand.

Heather first met Chris back when she was going to equestrian school with his younger sister, Bri. Chris and Bri’s family is the kind of family to invite you over for dinner or ask you to tag along when they are going out for the night. Such was the case when Heather and I snapped Bri and her husband Tyler’s Montauk engagement photos when we all went out to dinner after. Kristen and Chris were just dating at the time, but you could tell by the relaxed way that they engaged with one another that this was just the beginning.

Maybe it’s because they both live in Montauk, but Kristen ahd Chris are laid back through-and-through. I’d never met a couple so relaxed on their wedding day. Kristen was getting ready at a beautiful harborfront spot with her closest girls, while Chris kicked it back at the family house with the boys. The overcast day created a cool afternoon, and Chris and Kristen and their bridal parties took full advantage.

From there we all went up to Chris’s family property atop a hill in Montauk with waterviews all around. A light drizzle began to come down during the ceremony right before the clouds opened up for a moment in the distance. A few sun rays popped right through and the moisture in the atmosphere appeared. The drizzle stopped but the same breeze from the afternoon had guests wrapping their sport coats around bare shoulders. A hybrid audience, half-seated and half-standing, roared at the ceremony’s conclusion and the party was set to begin.

From a full raw bar to a raucous live band, Kristen and Chris’s wedding celebration was one for the ages. There were always feet on the dance floor and someone screaming at the top of their lungs. When the sun went down on their property in Montauk you couldn’t see the water anymore but you could hear it--you could feel it. And maybe that’s what keeps us Long Islanders from leaving--when you’re only so far from the beach you can just close your eyes and feel the breeze--and know that everything is going to work out.