Your Friday morning just got a whole lot prettier thanks to our friends at Summer Street Photography! Seriously, this wedding is insanely gorgeous and filled to the brim with the most perfectly perfect traditional touches that it makes me want to have a wedding do-over, like immediately. Dogwood Floral Design totally outdid themselves and with so many pretty arrangements, it’s pretty much impossible to pick a favorite. Click here for even more!
From the Bride… Brian and I met during our sophomore year at Wake Forest. We spent the next three years getting to know each other as we grew up and enjoyed college life. After we graduated, I stayed in North Carolina for graduate school, and Brian moved to Connecticut to begin his career. Living a plane ride away from each other was difficult, but it made our relationship so much stronger. After I finished graduate school, I took a job in New York City and eventually moved to Connecticut. Around the time of our five year anniversary, Brian and I went to Barcelona for the week of New Year’s Eve. After a long day of sight-seeing, Brian and I went to a restaurant of his choice, Pla in Barri Gotic. After enjoying a fantastic meal in the privacy of the restaurant’s loft, the waitress brought what I thought was the dessert menu. Instead, the menu look-a-like was a message from Brian about our relationship and his hopes for our future together. By the time I finished reading, Brian was next to me on one knee. We celebrated our engagement among thousands of strangers and the infectious excitement of New Year’s Eve in Barcelona. It was a great start to our wedding journey.
Shortly after our engagement, we began looking for a venue in the Boston area, where I grew up. We looked at many great venues, but when we arrived at Turner Hill in Ipswich, we knew it was perfect for us. As our planning progressed, we were inspired by the garden ceremony location, and had a vision of a sun-filled, elegant, garden-brought-indoors dinner in the open-air tent, with soft green linens and fresh, colorful, naturally-composed flowers. The ballroom of the mansion at Turner Hill is also very beautiful, so we planned to move inside for dessert and dancing where guests would have access to all of the rooms, so they could either dance in the ballroom or chat with friends in a more quiet space. It was important to us that our wedding was enjoyable for us and our guests, but also personal and thoughtful. We wanted our guests to feel like they were a part of our wedding, not just observers. As our wedding approached, all of our plans were in place. However, we watched the ten day forecast, and it became certain that our garden ceremony and open-air dinner were not in Mother Nature’s plans. I was initially very upset that our wedding wouldn’t be exactly as we had envisioned. As we rehearsed the ceremony in the dining room of the mansion, the “Plan B” location, I was suddenly overcome with the emotion of the wedding itself and the love of our family and friends, and I was perfectly fine with the change in plans. The resulting ceremony was cozy, intimate, and full of love, and I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. Even as the rain poured down (and sideways), it was very important to us to do our first look and portraits in natural light. Summer Street Photography was amazing. They found two covered locations for us to take photos, and they braved the rain to photograph our bouquets and signature cocktail (the Clark Royale) outside!
My favorite part of the day was when my eyes met Brian’s as I walked down the aisle. At that moment, my nervousness about the day faded, and our love and commitment to one another were all that mattered. I could sense that Brian was feeling the same thing. Some of our guests have told me that moment was powerful for them as well, but for a different reason. My father passed away when I was young, and it was really important to us to incorporate his memory into our ceremony and celebration without taking away from the joyful nature of the day. I chose to honor him by walking myself down the aisle, and I like to think that he escorted me in spirit. We also had a wedding band made for me with diamonds from jewelry that my dad gave my mom. I wear it every day, and it serves a special reminder of him. Although our wedding ceremony and celebration did not go exactly as planned due to the weather, we couldn’t have been happier with the result. The ceremony was warm and full of love. We danced the night away and celebrated the beginning of our next chapter with all of the people that we love most. We feel very fortunate.
Wedding Photography: Summer Street Photography / Wedding Venue: Turner Hill in Ipswich, Massachusetts / Wedding Consulting: Blue Ivy Events / Floral Design: Dogwood Floral Design / Catering: Vinwood Caterers / Wedding Cake: Jenny’s Wedding Cakes / Wedding Invitations, Menus + Favor Cards: Checkerboard via Wedding Essentials by Ulrike / Programs, Signs + Escort Cards: Custom via Wedding Essentials by Ulrike / Ceremony Music: Washington Calvo Harp and Flute Duo / Reception Music: Night Rhythm, Featuring Rebecca, Meyer & Jerome / Dinner Music: Night Rhythm Jazz Trio / Rentals: Rentals Unlimited / Wedding Dress: Anne Barge via The Plumed Serpent Bridal / Bride’s Headpieces: Sara Gabriel via The Plumed Serpent Bridal / Bride’s Brooch: Toni Federici via The Plumed Serpent Bridal / Bride’s Hair: Updo’s by Ann / Bride’s Makeup: Makeovers by Ligia / Bridesmaids’ Dresses: Priscilla of Boston (Now Closed) via Bella Bridesmaid / Groom’s Tuxedo: JoS. A. Bank / Groom’s Shirt: Custom via Fairfield Clothiers