Charlotte & Sutton's Maidstone Wedding: A Love Story Nine Years in the Making
There's something beautifully full circle about Charlotte and Sutton's wedding at The Maidstone Club in East Hampton on September 7, 2024. They first met on Charlotte's very first night at Vanderbilt. She'd actually lost her wallet that evening (quite the college debut), so their initial encounter barely registered. But life has a funny way of bringing the right people back together.
A month later, at Sutton's fraternity party, Charlotte found herself enthusiastically belting out an early 2000s rap song. Rather than running for the hills, Sutton was charmed enough to ask a friend for her number. Their first date? Splitting chicken and waffles at Flipside, a Nashville institution. Nine years later, they'd celebrate their wedding with those same college friends who witnessed their beginning.
A PROPOSAL AMONG THE Hudson Valley Hills
After seven years together, Sutton orchestrated a spring proposal in the Hudson Valley: a place that had become their escape from city life. While Charlotte was away on a London work trip, he spent the week meeting with her parents and calling every sibling to share the news. His "spontaneous" weekend hike suggestion fooled no one more completely than Charlotte herself. At a quiet overlook with just the two of them, he asked the question they both knew was coming, just not quite when.
EAST HAMPTON: WHERE Family History MEETS NEW BEGINNINGS
For Charlotte, East Hampton isn't just a wedding destination. It's home to generations of family memories. Her grandfather purchased a house there in the 1950s, and she spent childhood summers there with cousins, siblings, and friends whose connections stretched back even further. Her maid of honor's grandfather was actually one of her own grandfather's closest friends.
The ceremony unfolded at St. Luke's Episcopal Church, where Charlotte's parents exchanged vows decades earlier and where her grandfather was laid to rest. Walking down the aisle to "Moon River," played beautifully on the church organ, Charlotte carried with her not just a bouquet of lily of the valley, but the weight of family history and the promise of new traditions.
THREE DAYS OF Celebration
Rather than cramming everything into one day, Charlotte and Sutton spread their celebration across three nights, each with its own distinct personality. Thursday's rehearsal dinner in her parents' backyard was intimate and pasta-centric: "the best dinner party in the world," as Charlotte described it. Friday's welcome party brought wood-fired pizza by the ocean, Via Carota cocktails, and ice cream sandwiches from their favorite San Francisco spot.
By Saturday, any pre-wedding jitters had given way to pure joy. The rain that threatened all week held off until the ceremony, when it poured for exactly twenty minutes while everyone was safely inside the church. When Charlotte and Sutton emerged as newlyweds, the sky had cleared, and their guests showered them with petals instead of raindrops. Charlotte's grandfather, she's certain, was watching over them.
A RECEPTION THAT FELT LIKE Coming Home
The reception tent at their private club venue embodied what Charlotte calls "coastal modern": chambray blue touches evoking the East Hampton shore, balanced with minimalist design that let the natural beauty speak for itself. Social Decor created stunning lampshades while MJ Tablescapes hand-painted candles for every table. All-white florals from Sag Harbor Florist and shell-like plates from Little Masterpiece completed the seaside elegance.
But the real magic came from the details that made it theirs. Signature cocktails honored both their cat Smoky (a mezcal margarita) and Charlotte's grandfather (the venue's signature drink with a generous rum float). The wedding cake, chocolate with fresh strawberry and vanilla almond with Swiss meringue, satisfied Charlotte's notorious sweet tooth with not one but two flavors.
DANCING Into the Night
Chevy Chevis and her band read the room perfectly, creating moments of pure joy: Charlotte dancing with "all the amazing women in her life" to "I Will Survive," Sutton's 90-year-old grandparents showing off better moves than the bride and groom, and a surprise "Crank That" Soulja Boy cameo during the mother-son dance to Journey's "Lights."
The after-party brought everything full circle with a "Lollapalooza" theme honoring the fraternity party where they reconnected. Their Vanderbilt crew took over the dance floor, and suddenly it was 2014 again, except this time, they were married.
LOVE, FAMILY, AND Pure Joy
"We have complementary personality types," Charlotte reflects on their journey, "which has overall been a very positive contributor to our relationship." That balance, her tendency to overthink, his unflappable calm, helped them grow from college sweethearts into life partners. Through years of navigating long distance, different cities, and the thousand decisions that go into planning a wedding, they learned that sometimes you just have to choose and roll with it.
Their getaway in a 1960s Mercedes SL, nearly identical to Charlotte's parents' wedding car, gave them a few stolen moments to soak in that "just married" feeling. Sutton took the long way to cocktail hour, neither of them quite ready to share each other with their 130 guests just yet.
For Charlotte and Sutton, this wasn't just a wedding. It was a homecoming, a reunion, and the start of their next chapter all at once. In the place where Charlotte learned to love summer, surrounded by people who'd watched them grow both individually and together, they created new memories while honoring old ones.
Pure joy, indeed.
Creative PARTNERS
Photography: By Trent Bailey | @bytrentbailey
Planning: Ashley Douglass Events | @ashleydouglassevents
Ceremony Venue: St. Luke's Episcopal Church | @stlukeseh
Reception Venue: The Maidstone Club, East Hampton
Florals: Sag Harbor Florist | @sagharborflorist
Tent: Sperry Tents | @sperrytentshamptons
Reception Music: Chevy Chevis Entertainment | @chevychevisentertainment
After Party DJ: Jeremy Torres | @djlion23
Videography: Moon and Back | @moonandbackco
Lighting: Social Decor | @socialdecor
Tabletop Rentals: Small Masterpiece | @smallmasterpiece.official
Linen Rentals: BBJ La Tavola | @bbjlatavola
Additional Rentals: Stradley Davidson | @stradleydavidson
Hand-Painted Candles: MJ Tablescapes | @mjtablescapes
Bride's Ceremony Gown: Mira Zwillinger at Mark Ingram Atelier | @mirazwillinger
Bride's Reception Dress: Vivienne Westwood | @viviennewestwood
Bride's After Party Dress: Clio Peppiatt
Bride's Reception Shoes: Manolo Blahnik for Danielle Frankel | @daniellefrankelstudio
Groom's Tuxedo: Liste Rouge, Paris
Bridesmaids: Markarian | @markarian_nyc, with Louise New York, Amsale and LAPOINTE
Mother of the Bride: Carolina Herrera | @carolinaherrera
Hair: Andria Tobey | @andriatobey
Makeup: Alexa Rae | @alexaraemakeup_
Invitations: Bella Figura | @bellafigura
Welcome Party Pizza: Rolling in Dough | @rollingindoughpizza
Welcome Party Music: Joshua Brussell
Welcome Party Ice Cream: Drops of Dough
Rehearsal Dinner Catering: Acquolina Catering
Rehearsal Dinner Outfit: Emilia Wickstead
Welcome Party Outfit: Danielle Frankel
Cake: Sugar Sugar Custom Cakes
Charlotte and Sutton's East Hampton celebration wasn't just about becoming husband and wife. It was about honoring the journey that brought them here and the families that shaped them along the way.
If you're dreaming of a wedding that weaves together personal history with pure celebration, we'd love to tell your story. From intimate East Hampton ceremonies to grand Hamptons estate receptions, by Trent Bailey brings almost twenty years of experience capturing love stories across New York's most beautiful venues. Named one of the top 50 wedding photographers by Brides Magazine and recognized by Over the Moon and The Wed as a leading NYC photographer, we specialize in creating images that feel as timeless as your love story.
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 Vogue and Over the Moon. More on how we work in the Hamptons is on our Hamptons wedding photographer page.
Ready to start planning your own unforgettable celebration? Let's connect and discuss how we can capture every moment of your wedding day.