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A Pop-Up Wedding on Governor’s Island

Hallie & Scott Cohnstrenger. Photo: Khaki Bedford Photography

Early in their relationship, Hallie and Scott Cohnstrenger tripped over to Governors Island one day with a group of friends. Years later, as a couple, they decided to get married there. Rather than rent out the island’s lone venue, they ran with an idea from the woman who had toured them around: a pop-up wedding. “We were like, ‘That’s a thing?’ ” says Hallie, 30, a diversity consultant. On Labor Day, the pair took 17 family members and a chuppah onto the ferry and were married near the Castle Williams fort. “People biked past and shouted, ‘Mazel tov!’ ” says Scott, 27, who works in product at a media company. Back in Manhattan, the wedding party strolled from Battery Park to lunch at Pier A Harbor House. Afterward, Hallie and Scott went to the beer garden downstairs, “where we watched the sunset,” Scott says.

The Details
Dress: BHLDN
Flowers: Trader Joe’s
Rings: Dennis Molé Jewelry
Chuppah: DIY, with fabrics from the Garment District and wood from Home Depot
Officiants: Judge Jo Ann Ferdinand and Rabbi Zach Fredman
Photographs By: Khaki Bedford Photography

 The couple combined their last names (Cohn and Strenger) when they married. “We wanted an egalitarian last name that honored where we came from but also fit us and our new family unit,” Hallie says. Photo: Khaki Bedford Photography/© Khaki Bedford Photography / www.khakibedfordphoto.com
Under the couple’s DIY chuppah. Photo: Khaki Bedford Photography/© Khaki Bedford Photography / www.khakibedfordphoto.com
Photo: Khaki Bedford Photography/© Khaki Bedford Photography / www.khakibedfordphoto.com

*This article appears in the winter 2018 issue of New York Weddings.

Real Wedding Album: A Pop-Up Wedding on Governor’s Island