By Neil Turitz
Photographs by Olya Vysotskaya

When writer Duncan Riddell asked jewelry designer Anna Nearburg, owner of Stone Everett in Ghent, New York, to marry him, he carved a ring out of the wood from a tree in their backyard, because he knew she would have specific ideas about an engagement ring. That’s knowing your partner.

When the pair got married in September of 2023, they did it at The Mount, a place Duncan had visited during his 37th birthday celebration, right before they met. Anna knew how much the location meant to Duncan, and the two of them really got into the Edith Wharton spirit, reading (or, for Duncan, re-reading) The Custom of The Country, The House of Mirth, and The Age of Innocence in the year before the wedding.

Originally, the pair had planned to be married in 2021, in a “post-pandemic wedding fervor,” but when COVID caused a delay and the Big Day was pushed back two whole years, they decided not to wait to start their family. Thus, that September day at The Mount was doubly blessed, because Anna and Duncan were not just surrounded by friends and family (and the spirit of Edith Wharton), they were also joined by their 4-month-old daughter, Everett (Evie), named for Anna’s late brother.

On a late-summer day, the couple was married by Anna’s college friend, reciting their own vows in the process. Anna’s ears were adorned with chandelier earrings in 18 karat gold with teardrop moonstones, cabochon sapphires, and rustic gray kite diamonds. Obviously, she designed them herself.

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