If I could spend the entire weekend at Gabriella New York Bridal Salon, I totally would. Especially if it meant that every second could be spent prancing around in this seriously stunning Anna Maier Ulla-Maija gown, which I happily rank as my favorite dress of all time. And if I looked even 1/100th as beautiful as this gorgeous Newport bride, I would consider myself lucky. Very lucky. Because this is a bride that is literally glowing in each and every glorious image captured by Charlotte Jenks Lewis Photography, dapper groom included. See so much right here.
From the Bride… We didn’t have a decorating “theme,” but I guess food ended up being the running theme for the weekend (and our lives). Other then wanting the wedding to be simple, beautiful, and fun, we wanted it to be delicious and for everyone to experience some of our favorite foods! Even though this was a sit down dinner at the New York Yacht Club, we didn’t want the meal to feel stuffy. The chef at the club was wonderful and helped us create a family style menu that reflected some of our most favorite dishes – fried chicken and macaroni n’ cheese! It was the first time they had served these dishes and they were a huge success! For dessert we had simple sheet cakes–red velvet and chocolate. As a favor at the end of the evening we handed out bottles of Cholula hot sauce. Cholula is our favorite hot sauce, so much so that we named our little Chihuahua after it (we call her Lula for short.) We had another poster made on Etsy to stand on the table, it read: “Hot Sauce So Good We Named Our Dog After It. Please Take One at Your Own Risk!”
On all of our vacations, Jason likes to take photos of EVERY meal and dish we eat at memorable restaurants. This resulted in hundreds of food images taking up space on our computers. We decided to use these as place cards at the wedding. We had tables named after various places we’ve visited (Tokyo, Kyoto, Patagonia, Napa Valley, Atlanta, etc) and at each person’s place setting they had an image of a meal we’d eaten affixed to a beautiful card with their name on it. We then wrote the name of the meal and restaurant on the back of each card. So for Tokyo there were 10 beautiful pictures of sushi, tempura, etc. waiting for people when they sat down! Everyone knows that Jason is very passionate about food so it was a great conversation starter!
After all the stressful big moments were over (like the first dance, speeches, etc) and everything had gone off without a hitch (and truly exceeded my expectations), Jason and I took a moment to just step back, take a deep breath, and appreciate how truly amazing the night was. People were having a fantastic time dancing – my uncle even danced on a chair! To see everyone having so much fun was the cherry on top of this wonderful day and such a relief after months and months of planning. It was an amazing party and that is just what we wanted. I know everyone says it, but really try to slow down, look around, and appreciate every second of the weekend. It truly goes by so fast.
Wedding Photography: Charlotte Jenks Lewis Photography / Wedding Venue: New York Yacht Club–Harbour Court in Newport, Rhode Island / Floral Design: Sayles Livingston Flowers / Wedding Cinematography: Needlegarden Projects / Wedding Cake: It’s My Party Bake Shoppe / Music: The Sultans of Swing / Wedding Stationery: Spark! via Urbanic Paper Boutique / Poster + Sticker Design: The Dapper Paper Co. / Transportation: Lands End Limousine / Wedding Dress: Bianca by Anna Maier Ulla-Maija via Gabriella New York Bridal Salon / Bride’s Veil: Sara Gabriel Veiling & Headpieces via Gabriella New York Bridal Salon / Bride’s Shoes: J.Crew / Bride’s Earrings: From Bride’s Great Grandmother / Bridesmaids’ Dresses + Sweaters: J.Crew / Hair + Makeup: The Apothecary Newport