As a self-admitted sucker for anything yellow + peach (and striped straws + mason jars, for that matter) this sunny wedding by Rachel Kate Photography is seriously pulling at my heartstrings! The bride hoped to recreate the feeling of laid-back backyard cocktail parties held by her parents when she was a kid, and with the help of Simply Inviting Weddings, her dream became full-blown wedding reality! This one’s not even close to over…the summery goodness continues right here!
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From the Bride… I have such fond memories of parties that my parents have thrown throughout the years, especially the backyard gatherings in the summer where as kids, we would run around barefoot in the yard and play games while parents would sip cocktails as the sun set. Friends were treated like family and family was treated like friends, and Brett and I both knew that we wanted our wedding to feel just like one of those happy times and reflect our family traditions.
Our simple and sweet ceremony took place in my hometown of Scituate, Massachusetts, in the church that I grew up in. When an actual backyard wedding reception at my parent’s house was ruled out due to logistics, we happily decided on having our reception on the lawn of the Daniel Webster Estate in Marshfield, Massachusetts. It was the perfect location as the historic home reminded me of my grandmother’s house, which I grew up next door to. We picked our colors of yellow, peach and some touches of orange — we felt they set a romantic tone while still being bright, cheerful, and fun. Our family traditions were evident throughout the day, starting with our invitations by Lynne Johnson of Inviting Company, who designed our invitations to include drawings of the horseshoes that are used to play at an annual competition at Brett’s family BBQ and a toy cannon that my family shoots off every Fourth of July. I wore a lace and tulle gown by Monique Lhuillier and was the seventh bride to wear my great-grandmother’s cathedral-length veil from 1911. Jen Cahill from the Tangled Web did an amazing job fulfilling my vision of natural, full, lush floral arrangements of garden roses, dahlias and peonies in containers I collected at flea markets. She even found a way to include out-of-season blue hyacinths in my bouquet, whose scent reminds me of my grandmother.
Cocktail hour took place on the porch and throughout the house — guests sipped Brett’s favorite Arnold Palmer from mason jars and collected their pinwheel table cards. Dinner was alfresco under a white tent strung with twinkle lights and paper lanterns that matched our colors. Our amazing caterer, The Silent Chef, presented trays of food to each guest at the table and guests served themselves as often as they wanted. Having a band was especially important to Brett and me, and First Class Band did not disappoint. They kept the party rocking all night! As per family tradition, we cut our wedding cake with an antique sword from the Revolutionary War. In addition to cake, we had a large table with different cookies prepared by friends and family members in advance of the reception, a wedding tradition said to originate in my mother’s home state of Pennsylvania. I love surprises, both giving and receiving them,so a highlight of the evening was when we surprised our guests with the arrival of an ice cream truck pulling up the estate’s drive for a mid-evening treat!
Though we created many of the details of our wedding — the wooden table numbers, menu cards and programs and ribbon wands — and collected antique tins for cookies, we could not have done it all without our amazing wedding planner, Heather Minicucci of Simply Inviting Weddings. She only made our day more perfect by introducing us to amazing vendors and managing the flow of the whole event. Because of her, Brett and I were able to enjoy our day without a care. She enabled us to have our lasting memory of standing together among the mason jar luminaria, looking back at the warmly lit tent filled with so many people we loved and cared about and realizing our vision had turned into a reality.
Wedding Photography: Rachel Kate Photography / Wedding Venue: Daniel Webster Estate in Marshfield, Massachusetts / Wedding Planning: Simply Inviting Weddings / Floral Design: The Tangled Web / Catering: The Silent Chef / Wedding Cake: Veronica’s Sweetcakes / Ice Cream Truck: Dylan and Pete’s Ice Cream / Wedding Invitations + Paper Goods: Inviting Company / Band: First Class Band / Tent: BCTent / Linens: Rentals Unlimited / Transportation: Extreme Limo & Shuttle Service + A Joyride Limousine / Wedding Dress: Monique Lhuillier / Hair: Justin Robey / Makeup: Jillian Harwich