I am a sucker for a rainy day. I just find them to be so romantic. The perfect kind of day to curl up with your loved ones and just love. I know I’m in the minority when it comes for hoping for rain on the wedding day though, so today I’ve got something for those of you who are dreading a little moisture in the air on your big day. This Vermont wedding from Moss + Isaac had tornados threatening to crash the party all day long, and the rain that came with that could have been a downer. But as you look at the images, you’ll start to see a warmth and intimacy that was only possible because of the storm outside.
From the beautiful bride… Mike and I met almost 15 years ago in homeroom freshman year of high school in New York. Although we spent plenty of time passing notes during class, we never dated in high school. In college, we reconnected and the age-old on-again, off-again college relationship ensued. Mike was living in Boston and I was in New York and later Los Angeles. Inevitably, we both moved back to New York and settled in Brooklyn, where Mike proposed.
Our vision for the wedding was fun! We picked things we loved and we felt represented who we are as a couple – super easy going, crazy happy, and very energetic. Mike always tells the story about when he was learning to surf, and had inadvertently cut off another surfer. He paddled over, apologized and said that he was sorry that he wasn’t a better surfer. The victim looked at him and told him that the best surfer was the one that was having the most fun. By that standard, Mike might actually have been the best one out there that day. To maintain perspective, we took that advice to heart in planning our wedding and made sure we had fun. If what we were doing wasn’t making us happy, we changed it until it felt fun again.
We looked at all different types of venues and eventually decided that we wanted to get away to a place where we could relax and enjoy the entire weekend with our nearest and dearest. My degree is in environmental law, and Mike’s motto is minimalism, so when my parent’s discovered a 100% solar-operated venue right down the road from our vacation home in southern Vermont, we knew that The Hermitage Inn was the unique, low-impact space we had been searching for. We were able to work directly with the Chef Paul Eschbach to create a vegan farm-to-table feast. My family is Italian and Irish, and Mike’s family is Cuban and Danish. We used the three main course options as an opportunity to incorporate both heritage and tradition and the fresh local flavors of late summer in Vermont.
I envisioned the dining room glowing with warmth, coziness, and intimacy, but also wanted to keep things simple to highlight Vermont’s natural beauty. Michelle Boleski of Petals Floral Design worked with me to create gorgeous arrangements of local and seasonal Vermont flowers mixed with fresh flowers from Boston’s diverse flower market. She decorated the tables with candles in clear crystal candlesticks and used silver and mercury glass containers for different sized groupings of flowers that created the perfect balance of organic and elegant.
We weren’t strict about any particular theme or color scheme. We thought the wedding should make sense. The bridesmaids wore different shades of silver and grey, in different styles of dresses they could wear again. We kept a mostly neutral palette of silver and ivory, and incorporated pops of both light and bright pinks in the flowers. We skipped things where we thought they might be wasteful, and we incorporated items we knew we could reuse in the future. My favorite DIY aspect of our wedding day was Mike’s pro sewing job. I had the idea to attach pink flowers to my shoes to embody the spirit of my Nana, who kept beautiful rose bushes while she was alive. The next thing I knew, my flowerless pink shoes had been adorned with two pink flowers and I had only to look down at my feet to think of her throughout the day.
When our wedding day finally arrived, we left all the details in the capable hands of the Hermitage staff and our very talented day-of coordinators from Christine Wheat Events. We focused only on being totally present and on the exciting new adventure we were embarking on. Cocktail hour was planned to be outdoors under the bright, twinkling strands of lights I spent (way too much) time tracking down in Manhattan. That morning, I watched as tornado warnings flashed across the television screen. Needless to say, the charming cocktail hour I had envisioned was swiftly moved indoors to a much smaller space. Despite intermittent torrential downpour, Moss + Isaac skillfully captured every memorable moment and every intricate detail. The minute it stopped raining, while all of our guests were preoccupied tearing it up to Mike’s custom-created playlist, Leigh Anna snuck us outside to snap what became our favorite wedding photo – just the two of us together, dancing in the dark under those twinkling strands of light.
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Wedding Photography: Moss + Isaac | Ceremony Venue: Our Lady of Fatima Church of Wilmington | Reception Venue: The Hermitage Inn | Wedding Invitations: Custom letterpress by Jenny Putvin of Nane Press | Floral Designer: Michelle Boleski of Petals Floral Design | Wedding Coordinators: Christine Wheat Events | Wedding Dress: Alita Graham for Kleinfeld | Bride’s Hair: Tiago Silva of Hair Junkie | Makeup: Linda Fasano of LipandLash, Linda@lipandlash.com | Bridesmaid’s Hair: Mountain Styles Salon & Spa of West Dover, Vermont | Guestbook: DIY by the Bride and Groom, using Moleskine’s Japanese Album and Fuji Instax | Cocktail Hour Jazz Trio: Wayne Tucker Band, based in New York, New York | DJ: Peak Entertainment | Guest Transportation: Valley Cab and Car Services | Couple’s Getaway Car: Tiffany blue Thunderbird, borrowed from Aunt Ceil + Uncle Joe Gomez | Wedding Cake: Krystal Yavicoli of Krystal’s Delectable Cakes and More | Wedding Pies: Dutton Berry Farm | Wedding Favors: Pure Vermont maple syrup from Patti + Bill Pusey of Shearer Hill Farm B&B | Bling: David Alan of David Alan Jewelry | Bridesmaids’ Attire: Monique Lhuillier | Groom’s Attire: Topman | Groomsmen Attire: Calvin Klein