There’s nothing quite like a bundle of nautical-inspired goodness to brighten the work week – and this drop-dead gorgeous Duxbury affair? Well, it’s a smile-inducing masterpiece from start to finish. Filled to the brim with brightly colored hues, gorgeous blooms by Allison Phalen Floral Design and some seriously fab stylings, it’s maritime chic meets elegant fête all in one sitting. Melissa DeSchamp Photography snapped up every last fun-filled moment and the gallery is a definite must see. Click here for more.
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From the Bride… I get a lot of questions about planning this wedding without my mother. Of course miss my mother every single day, but in wedding planning it gave Matt and I the unique opportunity to make this truly everything we wanted and work together. My mother never would have let me get away with not having a cake! In lieu of traditional wedding favors we chose to make a donation to Joslin Diabetes Center in my mother’s memory. This was important to both Matt and I as a way to honor my mother but also bring our efforts toward healthy living into our wedding day. Duxbury Bay Maritime School was the first and only venue we looked at. The setting is just so beautiful and natural, and having the wedding in my hometown and the place Matt and I hope to one day start a family meant a lot to us.
My veil was my mother’s and had to be dyed with tea in the bath tub to match my dress. My dad, brother and Matt designed and built the chuppah we were married under from scratch (the groomsmen all pitched in to assemble it on the day of), and our florist Allison added the beautiful blue hydrangea to it without ever seeing it before. I chose Allison as my florist before we had even booked our venue! She is a friend of a friend and was such a pleasure to work with throughout this year. She really saw and carried out the vision we had. My friend, Whitney Foley, is a graphic designer and designed all of our printed items based on the invitations we had purchased at Mark Harris Stationers. I highly recommend Mark Harris for any bride who feels overwhelmed by the process — it was so good to be able to go in and just look at everything without the hustle and bustle of a larger store. Matt also made the knots we used to hold the table numbers. (I know, I know — most involved groom ever, only one of the many reasons I’m so lucky!) We had seem them on Etsy but then realized making them ourselves would be much more economical. I’m not sure where we got the idea to “anchor” the place cards on the map of the bay, but we purchased the map on eBay and the stamp on Etsy to complete the idea.
Our ceremony was also uniquely ours. We wrote most of it ourselves and then each asked one of our uncles to officiate. It was important for us to feel that we were uniting not only ourselves, but also our families, and this really tied it all together and made it so special for us. Bringing in traditions from our two different religious backgrounds was easier than we thought it would be because it is a balance we work at in our every day life. It was exciting to share these traditions with our friends and family because we were able to teach them something new and give them some insight into the things that are the most important to us. Jessica Tyler of Lavishly Dunn was such a huge part of making this day come together. As you can tell there were so many elements that we were trying to bring together, and if it weren’t for her help, it might not have gone so smoothly. Melissa DeSchamp was the perfect fit as a photographer for us, not only because of her talent and style, but because we were so comfortable with her from the very start. She perfectly captured us in our natural state. This wedding was a million little things that Matt and I both love and we were so lucky to be able to share it with the people who mean the most to us.
Wedding Photography: Melissa DeSchamp Photography / Wedding Venue: Duxbury Bay Maritime School in Duxbury, Massachusetts / Floral Design: Allison Phalen Floral Design / Catering: Lavishly Dunn / Raw Bar: Island Creek Oysters / Dessert: Farfar’s Danish Ice Cream + Zaro’s Black and White Cookies / Wedding Invitations: Checkerboard via Mark Harris Stationers / Other Paper Goods: Whitney Foley, A Friend of the Bride / DJ: Dave Hodges of 5 Star Events / Table Knots: DIY by the Groom / Wedding Dress: Priscilla of Boston via Vows / Alterations: Bridal Alterations by Anahit (617-795-1940) / Hair: Adele Madden of Salon Pisano / Makeup: Aly Stadelmann of Makeup By Aly / Bridesmaids’ Dresses: Aria / Groom’s Attire: Brooks Brothers