Wedding – Adrianne & Nat
On July 23rd, 2022, I, Nat M. Zorach, married my main partner in crime, Adrianne Mishal Kolano, on the coast of Maine. It was hot, sweaty, beautiful, and perfect. We had representation from all across the land, the whole way from West Palm Beach to Calgary, Los Angeles, California, to Richmond, Maine. Officiant RJ Koscielniak– who, indeed, coined the term The Handbuilt City– officiated, in a tremendous ceremony that cleverly referenced desire lines, among other urban planning concepts (he is also a planner). I’m going to go so far as to say it was definitely the party of the year. Possibly the party of the triennium. We’ll see how the next couple of years go. Anyway, as I’m reintegrating into my Detroit life after DC, I wanted to share some pretty pictures. This page will probably outlive the wedding website, so I wanted to keep the stuff here for future enjoyment!
There will eventually be a video uploaded somewhere, and I’ll link to it here.
If you missed the historical content on the wedding website, which many of you did (because I got questions as late as July being like, “oh, the wedding is in Maine?!”) definitely check it out. Robinhood is a magical place tucked away on a rocky, forested island called Georgetown. The house has a storied history, and the place itself does, too, ranging from the beginnings of white settlement in the 1600s to the expansive history of the Abenaki peoples. The island today is, like much of Maine, a weird mixture of woodsy rednecks and summer vacationer types. There’s also a lot of good food in the vicinity, ranging from Five Islands Lobster Co. to the swankier BLUE restaurant at Grey Havens. Enjoy the lobsters while you can (thanks, climate change!).
Acknowledgments: The wedding was largely a DIY affair, but it would not have been possible without an army of volunteers among our wedding party and beyond, especially my now in-laws and significant-others-in-law (or whatever you call the partner-but-not-spouse of a sister-in-law). Particularly my entire new family, which tolerated our secular ceremony and showed up in the most amazing way to rewire outlets, hang strings of lights, stitch things together, and move heavy objects– was inspirational and supportive in a major way, for which I will be forever grateful.
We also must offer a shoutout to our amazing vendors and co-conspirators who made the wedding happen, including DJ Greg Curry, bartender and mixologist Tyler Gamblin, caterer Ashley White (The Enchanted Fork), JennyPowell (coordinator), Holly Haven Photography, and One-Stop Event Rentals in South Portland. One-Stop did an amazing job of setting up and taking down the tent and provided linens, tables, chairs, and glasses. Zazzle was a slight pain in the ass for the wedding invitations, but they got the job done affordably, and they look great.
Wedding gimmicks: Every guest received approximately 2.6 favors, if you account for the fact that my arithmetically-challenged, wedding-planning-addled mind failed to purchase enough 2mL perfume vials or enough custom fans (from Ali). Every guest received a 2 oz. bottle of Maine maple syrup, because of course. Most guests received a 2mL vial of my signature perfume, Sasanoa, which you can read more about here. Guests were also given parasols to shield them from the climate-change-exacerbated, formidable Maine sun, and most received a fan, laser-etched with the names and date of the wedding. (In my next life, I’ll probably do custom Maine blueberry jam for every guest!).
The menu was a combination of self-serve hors d’oeuvres and a buffet. The latter featured tacos and accoutrements including a tofu sofritos dish, carnitas, and a half dozen other things, including salsa verde, cotija, and Southwest Detroit-made corn tortillas imported (n.b. “stuffed into Omar’s suitcase”) just for the occasion. I also insisted on a Maine seafood specialty of some sort and was able to talk our caterer into doing a massive pot of haddock chowder, which I am still dreaming about. One of the most extreme, unnecessary, and amazing parts of the food setup was a late night snack in the form of a candy charcuterie board. It took weeks to finish the candy, and by weeks I mean we still have several bags left.
The bar setup included two signature cocktails, the Foxy Maid Marian, and the Marguerit-a Zorach, both of which I contrived from scratch. The original Foxy Maid Marian was a frothy, pink drink, made of Hennessy, Chambord, and a few other magical ingredients including egg white and lemon. I had to switch to gin because Hennessy has had extremely limited availability in recent months in the United States for a few reasons, and because it made it easier to have a less alcoholic mixture (the original, I’m told, was delicious, but way too boozy).
Drink Two, The Marguerit-a Zorach was essentially just a fancy margarita, paying homage to my great-grandmother’s roots in California, and, perhaps, to our current digs in Southwest Detroit. We ran out of beer, an extensive selection of non-alcoholic beer, and flavored seltzer water, probably a product of the extreme heat on the day in question.
Stay tuned for upcoming video content. Read more about Nat’s signature wedding fragrance, Sasanoa Eau De Parfum, here, or more Robinhood history on the wedding website. And, as always, please enjoy the perpetually nerdy, topical content about city planning, sustainability, energy, and transportation on The Handbuilt City!
