Did you have to put the brakes on getting hitched this past year because of the pandemic? Want the world’s best—and quickest—second chance? Dr. Brent Ridge and his partner Josh Kilmer-Purcell, co-owners of the national beauty brand, Beekman 1802, have got you covered.
To celebrate Pride Month, Ridge and Kilmer-Purcell are playing wedding host, offering any engaged couple the chance to get married on the Beekman Farm on June 26, which is not only the anniversary of the Supreme Court’s decision on marriage equality, but also Ridge and Kilmer-Purcell’s own wedding anniversary. (By no means are the super-nuptials open only to LGBTQ+ couples.) Of course, there’s a minor catch: You’re only allowed to bring two guests with you, and each wedding ceremony will be 15 minutes long. Newlyweds will, however, receive a complimentary wedding photograph and then be encouraged to visit Downtown Sharon Springs to join additional loved ones and toast their big day with a glass of bubbly (try the historic American Hotel).
But where to host such a large-scale love-fest? Ridge and Kilmer-Purcell’s farm has the aptly named Matrimony Hill, and would-be married couples will exchange their vows, not amidst goatherds and farmers, but inside a sculptural installation designed by famed Brooklyn artist Tom Fruin. There will also be no need to locate a minister, priest or a rabbi: Ridge and Kilmer-Purcell will be providing couples with an army of officiants, including neighbors Stacey D’Andrea Goodman and David Washburn (both from Saratoga Springs); and Beekman 1802’s own Events Manager Alan Edstrom, CMO Brad Farrell and Chief Milkmaiden Allison Waggoner.
Say Ridge and Kilmer-Purcell of the impending wedding extravaganza: “This past year has made us all realize the importance of ‘moments’ both big and small. We thought allowing people to get married ‘inside a work of art’ was a wonderful way to celebrate love, commitment, beauty and kindness.”
Though New York State will be fully reopened by May 19—and the mask and social distancing mandates lifted for those who have been fully vaccinated—Beekman 1802 will still be following State and Centers for Disease Control guidelines for mask protocols and proof of vaccination, suggesting that all couples have masks at the ready, regardless of their vaccination status (the brand will be communicating with all couples and their guests prior to the big day).
Want to “let love bloom” at Beekman Farm? You can register for your 15-minute wedding here. It costs just $100, and a portion of the proceeds from the 24-hour event will be donated to the Ali Forney Center to support homeless LGBTQ+ youth.
