"...It is not the literal past, the 'facts' of history, that shape us, but images of the past embodied in language." -Hugh in Translations, by Brian Friel
Jason and Nancy would like to thank all of those who made our amazing, surprising, touching wedding day possible. Foremost, we want to thank our parents, Gino and Paola Vitale, and Thomas and Gabriele Van Nest, and also our friends and family who blessed this union with their presence today:
ANGELS
These friends helped make our wedding day celebration a truly special one by gifting us with their time and talent:
Mr. Mathew Ford and Ms. Amanda Loy, Jason's toasters and friends from Yale, created the inspiring invitations and paper decor that graced the tables. For more information on their work, please visit their forthcoming website halfpearpress.com.
Ms. Cáitlín (pronounced like "Kathleen") Burke, a friend of Nancy's from Oakland University, has been singing in churches since she was a teenager. Since then, she has convincingly played the role of an African Village mother, Lysistrata, as a Spice Girl, and numerous characters from Gilbert and Sullivan and Mozart. She earned her Masters degree in Music from Indiana University and enjoys singing new pieces by emerging composers. This gifted singer can be reached at burkecaitlin@yahoo.com.
Ms. Irantzu Agirre, the featured harpist, is a friend of Nancy's from St. Agnes Residence. A Juilliard graduate and Fulbright scholar, Irantzu made her Carnegie Hall debut last year and was hailed by NY Concert Review as “a sensitive chamber musician as well as a virtuoso soloist.” She can play classical, jazz, folk and popular music as well as movie soundtracks, and she has taken an interest in bringing music into low-income neighborhoods. Please contact her at gigmasters.com/harp/IrantzuAgirreHarpist.
Mr. Bert Seager, the ceremony's featured pianist, is Jason's friend and fellow colonist from the MacDowell Colony. He is a jazz pianist and composer based in Boston, but regularly tours with his band to Japan. His twelve internationally-released albums have won him unanimous critical acclaim from the New York Times, Keyboard Magazine, The Chicago Tribune, The Boston Globe and many other publications. You can learn more about his work, tour dates, and album reviews at bertseager.com.
Ms. Ruth Gyuse, who holds a Masters Degree in both Architecture and French, is another of Jason's treasured friends from Yale. She graciously planned and baked the delicious tower of cupcakes. She has developed a variety of fantastic flavors that are available for your small and large parties. Please visit her website at brownstonebaking.com.
Ms. Emily Pepper, Nancy's friend from undergrad, holds a Masters degree from UC San Diego in Costume Design. She is a very talented stylist and theatrical costume designer in New York, and she customized Nancy's gown from an off-the-rack mess to her ideal dress. Visitors can check out her theatrical work at emilypepper.com.
Mr. Thomas Carruthers and Mrs. Jennifer Newsom, are Jason's graduate school friends who are also newlyweds. They are responsible for decorating parts of Aleo Restaurant for this event. Tom is an architect and sculptor, and is currently working on a series of sculptures in the studio of Ursula von Rydingsvard. Jennifer is an architect at Deborah Berke Partners and was recently on the second season of Bravo's "Top Design." You can learn more about both of them at thomasbenjamincarruthers.com and newsomdesignlab.com.
Ms. Carmela ("How's my Jason?") Palazzo, a holistic health counselor and friend of Nancy's, also runs a mean iPod. You can reach out to her to discuss your overall health and wellness, as Nancy has been doing for the past two years, at carmelapalazzo.com.
Ms. Megan Smith, Nancy's fellow classmate from graduate school at Columbia, is a theatre producer by day and a whiz with the flowers by night. She has coordinated our modest flowering needs for this event, thanks to her immense knowledge of the flora.
Ms. Melissa Jackson, is a scenic painter on television shows and films, and her handy tricks for leaf preservation and much more kept Nancy from a collapsing bonbonieri tree.
Ms. Theresa Vitale is Nancy's sister, a college career counselor, and recent transplant to Brooklyn. She has helped research fun things for guests to do while they're in New York. Please see her if you have any questions.
Mr. Jason Block is a former Production Managment Consultant and is currently Green Building Consultant. This man knows everything about putting together a large-scale, multi-media event and about making sure your building qualifies for LEED EA Credit 4: Elimination of HCFCs and Halons.
Ms. Holly Kindsvater, a friend of Jason and Nancy's, designed the bride's wedding earrings and necklace. Though she is a marine biologist, her jewelry-making mother has passed on the talent to her daughter.
Ms. Rakhi Roy, Nancy's friend and a campus minister of the Oakland County Vicariate in Michigan, shared the recipe for Eucharistic bread with us.
HELPERS
The bride and groom would also like you to know about those professionals whose work contributed to the evening. Please visit their websites and contact them for your future special events.
Kimberly Muffieri is an fine art photographer who also captures portraits, commercial art, and special events. She has patiently handled all the photography of the day's events. (kimberlymufferi.com)
Abe Costanza is an artist, set painter, music video director, and videographer. He handled all the videography of the day's moving events. (abecostanza.com)
Maria of the Canary Islands, Spain, designed the jewelry for Jacqueline Vitale and was so accommodating and generous with her design (LeelaBijou.etsy.com).
Jill at Sweet Blue August created custom necklaces for us. (SweetBlueAugust.etsy.com)
Elle of XOELLE designed and made Jason's bow tie and vest. (xoelle.etsy.com)
Neda at Neda Designs custom made a necklace and earrings for Momma Vitale. (nedasdesigns.etsy.com).
Kim at K.Y.M. Jewelry, who made the necklace for Cassandra. (kymjewelry.com).
Gordon Fox, who made Jason's wedding band. (gfox88.etsy.com)
