Groton Wedding at The Barn at Gibbet Hill from Tony Spinelli Photography

The Barn at Gibbet Hill and its beautiful grounds never, ever cease to amaze and captivate my wedding-loving heart. Every image of this wedding from Tony Spinelli Photography is great enough to sweep me off my feet and take me away from reality, straight to wedding paradise. There lives these two sweethearts and their perfectly rustic celebration complete with cascading layers of lovely from Paloma Blanca and the most charming of gift bags around. See all of the lovely in the gallery right here.

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From the Bride… Back when I first became engaged, I fell in love with the mason jar “theme.” I hadn’t seen it done all that much at that point and certainly within my family, we STRICTLY use mason jars for jarring tomato sauce and pickled foods. My parents were born in Italy, and once I shared my wedding details with them, they were a little confused… “You want to use mason jars for what, now?” Ever the rebel, I knew I picked a detail I could run with. I suppose the mason jars were the first detail I had in mind, and from there, the other things just fell into place.

Our venue was a natural choice for my husband, Steven, and I. We fell in love with the venue for its classic, rustic elegance. (Exposed beams? Done!) We knew for sure that we didn’t want a large room in a hotel, and while we would have loved to be married on a beach, most of the venues we looked at were large rooms part of hotels. We wanted the feel to be more intimate, relaxed and fun. The venue had been recommended to me by my sister’s friend when Steven and I first started dating. Being a natural planner, and knowing where our relationship was headed (I guessed right!), I bookmarked the venue page for a later date…

One of the best pieces of wedding planning advice I received was, “If you think of your guests first, they are sure to have a great time.” I thought about what I would like to see at the wedding and what makes a wedding memorable for me. To me, this meant allowing our guests to see a glimpse of who Steven and I are together, what we like to do, our spirit… A lot of my details were DIY projects and my inspiration largely came from Style Me Pretty! Looking at the weddings on this site made my jaw drop daily, and I knew I had some serious work to do for my own wedding! I am a graphic designer by day, which came in handy with my invitations and various other signage around the venue. Our table numbers or table “names” were various cities and countries we traveled to together over the course of our relationship; each frame included when we traveled there and “fun facts” about the area. I created various props on a stick for my guests, including your standard mustache, eyewear and pipes. This tied in nicely with the cigar roller we hired after dinner. Our mason jars were filled with our signature drink of prosecco, peach juice and mint — light enough to drink all night! Wedding madlibs were provided so guests could get silly (they are also SO funny to read when you get home!). Both of my grandparents have passed away, and in their honor I hung a fedora (which my grandfather always used to wear) tied with my grandmother’s scarf and hung it on a pew in church. The fedora was then brought with us to the reception, and I love all of the pictures of my family dancing in the fedora. They couldn’t physically be at the wedding, but were certainly there in spirit. Steven and I felt such an overwhelming sense of love the entire day. We were surrounded by people who love and care about us all smiling and having a great time, and I just don’t think there is a more important detail than that.

Wedding Photography: Tony Spinelli Photography / Wedding Venue: The Barn at Gibbet Hill in Groton, Massachusetts / Floral Design: Flou(-e)r / DJ: Beat Train Productions / Wedding Dress: Paloma Blanca (4150) / Hair: Philip Ciampa / Makeup: Naz Kupelian