As avid hikers and adventurers, Stephanie and Joe fell in love with the views, architecture, and unique charm of The Abbey. They live on Long Island but chose The Abbey Inn in Peekskill as their wedding venue to be surrounded by nature and mountains. Friends and family joined them for an intimate wedding ceremony overlooking the Hudson River on the most perfect, pleasant, sunny September day.

After getting ready with her girls in the bridal suite overlooking the river and their ceremony site, Stephanie shared a tear-filled first look with her beloved grandfather.

Stephanie and Joe matched on Hinge in May of 2022 after Stephanie posted a video of herself playing “Rotten Apple” by Alice in Chains. Joe instantly recognized the 1994 song and sent a long message about how much he loved “Jar of Flies,” the album the song is from. They hit it off right away, bonding over their unique, shared obsession with grunge rock. Throughout that summer, Stephanie and Joe spent all of their free time together, going out for burgers (that’s as formal as either of them would want their dates to be) and introducing each other to their families, friends, and hobbies. Joe quickly turned Stephanie into a die-hard New York Rangers fan, despite the fact that she had never been to a sporting event in her life. Now, they have been to six games together at Madison Square Garden. Stephanie took Joe on his first hike, a 10-mile trek with more than 2,300 feet of elevation gain. Stephanie was nervous that she planned something too intense, but Joe conquered the hike with ease. Since then, they have hiked mountains all over New York and across the United States, even journeying on a 14-day cross-country road trip in 2023 from Long Island to Washington State’s Olympic Peninsula, hiking every single day along the way. On Christmas morning in 2024, with just the two of them by the tree, Joe handed Stephanie a small box as a “present” and proposed. It was simple and perfect for them.

Stephanie & Joe’s mothers held onto the rings throughout the ceremony. They honored their moms by asking them to participate in a special Blessing of Rings as part of the ceremony. Stephanie & Joe lit a unity candle to symbolize the merging of two different backgrounds into one joint future together.

Stephanie loves that Joe is reliable, more trustworthy than anyone she’s ever met, and emotionally supportive with no bounds. He also pushes her out of her Type A comfort zone and shares her sense of adventure.

Joe loves that Stephanie is independent and successful yet nurturing and always willing to go out of her way to help him and others. He loves that they share the same hobbies.

There wasn’t a dry eye in the room when Stephanie invited her grandfather out onto the dancefloor to share a special grandfather-granddaughter dance to the same song that her grandfather and late grandmother danced to at their wedding – What a Wonderful World.

Both Stephanie and Joe inherited wedding bands from their grandparents to use as their own.

Photos by Luxury Hudson Valley Wedding Photographer Lin Pernille.

VENDORS:

Venue: The Abbey Inn @abbeyinnandspa
Planner: LCR Events @lcrevents
Photographer: Lin Pernille @linpernille
Dress Designer: Pronovias @pronovias
Dress Shop: North Fork Bridal Shoppe @northforkbridal
Band: Around Town Entertainment @aroundtownent
Florist: Rubrum’s Florist @rubrumsflorist
Makeup: Emily Elle Makeup @emilyellemakeup
Hair: Kyra Hair @kyrahair
Officiant: Rev. Patti Pineda @patti_pineda
Dance Lessons: Fred Astaire Dance Studio @fredastaireds.huntingtonny
Cake: Lulu’s Bakery @lulusbakery
Bride: @StephKossman

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