Getting Married at St. Luke's Episcopal Church in East Hampton

The organist at St. Luke's played "Moon River" as Charlotte came down the aisle on her father's arm. It is a song she has loved since she first watched Audrey Hepburn sing it out a window in Breakfast at Tiffany's, and she described it to us as "bittersweet yet happy." Her own instruction to herself on the way down was simpler: "Avoid my New York City pace and walk slowly."

St. Luke's is family ground for Charlotte. Her parents married there, and so did many of her relatives. Her grandfather is buried there. Her father had walked the same aisle with her sister a year earlier, and with her mother more than thirty years before that. When she and Sutton married there on September 7, 2024, Charlotte said it felt "like a true continuation of family history."

WHAT ST. LUKE'S Is Like

St. Luke's Episcopal Church sits at 18 James Lane in the village of East Hampton. The parish says it "welcomes couples of diverse faiths to exchange vows at its altar," and the church holds up to 300 guests. For a smaller reception, or a gathering after the ceremony, the parish hall, Hoie Hall, seats up to 120 at tables.

Charlotte's view of the room was that it needed very little help. "St. Luke's is such a beautiful church in itself we didn't want to do much," she told us. Sag Harbor Florist built an arch of flowers at the church entrance and kept the altar to two arrangements. Charlotte and Sutton both carried lily of the valley. When a church has this much of its own character, a light hand with the flowers lets the photographs show the place as your family knows it.

MAKING THE CEREMONY Personal

Episcopal ceremonies follow a set order, and there is still room inside it for the two of you. The parish's own wedding guidelines cover the basics. The organist plays for the service, hymns are encouraged, and the Mendelssohn and Wagner wedding marches aren't used. The church doesn't use an aisle runner. Couples meet with the clergy for premarital counseling, the marriage license goes to the parish at least three days ahead, and fees are due a month before the wedding. Charlotte was grateful for how much room the church gave them. "The men and women of St. Luke's church were so incredible about letting us weave moments into the ceremony," she said.

They wrote their own vows. Sutton's sister Abby gave the homily. Nicky, who ran the household when Charlotte was growing up, gave a reading, and so did Sutton's grandfather, Richard, who wrote his own and titled it "Thoughts on Love." Sutton's grandmother lent them coins that have been in his family for more than a hundred years for las arras matrimoniales, a nod to their Cuban heritage. Charlotte's uncle, a reverend, led the Prayers of the People.

PHOTOGRAPHING A CEREMONY AT St. Luke's

Every church has its own rules for photographers. At St. Luke's, flash isn't restricted, but photographers stay out of the sanctuary and can't move around in a way that distracts the priest or your guests. The parish also asks photographers to speak with the clergy before the service, which we do anyway. Wherever the parish asks us to stand during the service, we make the most of the moments outside, from arrivals on James Lane to the families gathered on the steps after the recessional.

The steps are where Charlotte and Sutton's day turned. Rain had been in the forecast all week, and on the morning of the wedding Sutton made the call: "go forward, no rain plan." It poured for less than twenty minutes, all of it while everyone was inside the church. When they came out as husband and wife, the sky had cleared and their friends were throwing petals. If you want a petal toss, plan where your guests will stand and have someone hand out the petals before the recessional. The parish doesn't allow rice, and petals are for outside the church only.

PHOTOS AROUND THE Village

The parish points couples to the setting around the church for pictures: the flower gardens just outside, and across the street Mulford Farm, Home Sweet Home, the windmill and the village green. That is a lot of East Hampton history within a short walk. Mulford Farm and Home Sweet Home are both museums, so ask ahead if you'd like portraits on their grounds.

If you are marrying at St. Luke's and holding the reception elsewhere, give yourselves twenty to thirty minutes for portraits in the village before you get in the car. Charlotte and Sutton drove off in a 1960s Mercedes SL, and Sutton took the long way to cocktail hour.

TIMING AND Getting There

For the guests, the church is in the middle of the village, so plan parking or shuttles from wherever they are staying. For the two of you, decide early whether you will see each other before the ceremony. Charlotte and Sutton had a first look at her family's home, and Charlotte remembers it as the moment the nerves of the morning gave way to calm.

Ceremony length and start times are set with the parish. Your reception venue will want to know when the church lets out, because cocktail hour starts the minute the doors open.

OUR WEDDING AT St. Luke's

Charlotte and Sutton held the ceremony at St. Luke's and the reception under a tent at the Maidstone Club, a short drive away. Read the story in Charlotte and Sutton's Maidstone Club wedding, and our notes on the club itself in the Maidstone Club wedding venue guide. For more about marrying in the village, see our East Hampton wedding photographer page.

PLANNING A CEREMONY AT St. Luke's

A church where your parents married carries its own weight on the day. Charlotte felt her grandfather was watching over them throughout the ceremony, in the church where he is buried.

We're Trent and Dara, and we've been photographing weddings out east since 2010, on 35mm and medium format film alongside digital. BRIDES named us one of the 50 best wedding photographers in the world, and our work has been featured in Over the Moon and The New York Times. More on how we work in the Hamptons is on our Hamptons wedding photographer page.

If you are getting married at St. Luke's, we would love to hear about your family's history with it. Reach out and tell us your date.