Sydney & Cory

“It all began on a cold winter’s night in downtown Burlington. Cory was volunteering to provide music for a fundraising concert at the University of Vermont, which I was attending with my sorority sisters. We didn’t meet until later that night when our mutual friends got together for a night of dancing. Cory and I walked together with our friends to Church Street to a club where Cory paid for my admission (and everyone else’s). The true encounter happened at the end of the night at the local pizza place, where I returned Cory’s baseball hat that I had ‘borrowed’ from him. We sat and talked over BBQ chicken pizza, which I bought for us.

Cory started walking me home to my apartment, but then realized he did not know where his friend’s house was, so then I ended up walking him home. We hung out for a few hours, where we listened to Cory’s music and watched a movie. Cory then walked me home, and once we arrived he said goodbye and asked for a kiss. We would go on to talk occasionally for the next couple of months. It wasn’t until the beginning of July of 2016 that we reconnected and I would drive 200 miles to visit Cory in New York. We hit it off and fell for each other. Cory started coming up to Vermont nearly every weekend and the long-distance relationship began.

We originally planned on getting married at a venue in Saratoga NY, as we lived nearby and Cory knows a lot of vendors in the area. We changed our plans because we wanted me and my family to be able to plan the wedding from closer to my hometown. We visited a few venues, but immediately fell in love with The Villa from the moment we entered the cocktail lounge. It was as large as most ballrooms and the layout was so inviting, it created an awesome place for guests to mingle and converse. We also fell in love with the sliding doors that led to the incredible ballroom, and we immediately realized how awesome this would make our grand entrance. We had been looking for a venue that had hardwood floors and The Villa delivered exactly what we were looking for. Cory and I  knew that we wanted to have an outdoor ceremony and The Villa provided an incredible space with an amazing concrete pathway, ending at a stunning pergola. The entire staff was fantastic from the sales team to the Event Producer and day-of event manager.

The best part of the wedding day was being surrounded by all of our friends, families, and loved ones. The entire day was awesome because we had so many amazing people to share it with. The ceremony was stunning, the food was incredible, and The Villa created the perfect backdrop for an all-night dance party. The staff was so gracious and helped us in many ways throughout the day. We cannot say enough good things about Saphire Event Group and The Villa for all of the hard work and dedication they put into making our day perfect!”