You know what’s amazing about a Fall wedding in Massachusetts? Quite literally, everything. Everything from the changing leaves to the warm and cozy vibe to the rich, warm hues that simply scream elegant wedding. And when it comes down to the perfect mix of those drop-dead gorgeous ingredients, look no further than this stunner of a day planned to perfection by Destination Bride LLC. It’s what I am calling “Autumn Chic” with lush florals from Ariella Chezar and an entire gallery of lovely from Ira Lippke Studios. Click here for every last ounce of pretty.
From the Bride... Our first decisions of where and when we would get married were no-brainers. My parents’ home in the Berkshires in Western Massachusetts had been a favorite getaway spot for years, where we love to escape from the stresses of city life. Fall is not only our favorite season but also one of the most beautiful and iconic times of year in New England. Getting married at home was incredibly special to us, creating such special memories at a place we could revisit as often as we wanted. Though we were set on having the wedding ceremony at home, during out first meeting with our incredible wedding planner, Lisa Light, she suggested that we check out Stonover Farm in Lenox as a possible reception site. As soon as we set foot on the property, the whole wedding came alive in our eyes. The big beautiful old barn could not have been a more idyllic setting. It was rustic and yet elegant, and full of classic New England charm. Having grown up riding horses, having a big party in a barn seemed to me so fitting!
We knew we wanted iconic New England touches that would really embrace the tastes and colors of the region and season. We picked a color palette of warm autumnal hues: rose gold, burgundy, burnt orange, and marigold. Like many brides I bought stacks of bridal magazines and homed in on great blogs like Style Me Pretty. I started compiling inspiration boards for everything: flower arrangements, invitations, reception décor, hair accessories, etc. I had inspiration overload. Choosing a consistent theme and style was tough because I liked so many things about very different weddings. The design inspiration came into focus when I chose my dress, a Kenneth Pool with a skirt of delicately embroidered, art deco-inspired fan shaped beadwork. Having always been enamored of the sophisticated elegance and iconic style of that era, I adopted the fan and the vintage deco feel as a unifying theme, combined with touches of rustic New England charm.
I wanted the Save-the-Dates and Invitations to make a real statement that conveyed the style and tone of the event, and get people excited to travel to the Berkshires for our big day, so this was a place we decided to spend a little so that the first impression our guests had was a wow factor. Having a background in the visual art and design industry, however, I wanted to take on some DIY projects. I used a wide range of art deco inspirations, including our stunning invitation suite and iconic Deco fonts to create the programs, menus and table seating cards. They were a really special bonding experience with my mother, who helped me every step of the way, assembling and stamping invitations, program and table seating card design tinkering and then assembling.
Joe and I both love to cook, so the food was extremely important to us, and it was another way we could bring seasonal local flavor to the day. Being British by birth, I also wanted a little infusion of British cuisine, so we had British comfort food late night snacks like fish and chips in newspaper cones. To bring in the vintage theme, we stocked up on old fashioned candies like rock candy, chocolate cigars, caramels and salt water taffies, and found some fabulous old looking apothecary glass jars to set up an old fashioned candy station with personalized paper candy bags. Instead of traditional table numbers we wanted more character, befitting of the careful arrangements of friends and family placed at each one. We decided to name the tables after our favorite cocktails – and identified tables with a framed recipe of each beverage. We also made sure that the bar could make all of the tables’ namesake drinks!
Since the Berkshires was basically a destination wedding for virtually all of our guests (and all of my extended family lives in the UK) not everyone could make it- especially elderly relatives. Still, we wanted a real feeling of family inclusion, so we asked all our family members for pictures from their weddings. From great grandparents to cousins and siblings-in-law, we ended up with over 30 family wedding pictures. We found inexpensive vintage looking frames and set them up in the gallery space for our cocktail hour at Stonover Farm. All our guests loved looking through the huge collection of our family’s love stories, and welcomed our whole family – especially those who couldn’t be with us–into the celebration.
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Photographer: Ira Lippke + Nathan Smith, Ira Lippke Studios | Ceremony Site: Private Family Residence | Reception Site: Stonover Farm | Wedding Planner: Lisa Light, Destination Bride LLC | Floral Design: Ariella Chezar | Cinematography: Adam Sjöberg + Adrian Toto, Ira Lippke Studios | Make-up: Face Haven | Hair: Michele’s Spa | Tent + Event Rentals: Classical Tents and Party Goods | Catering: Mazzone Hospitality | Cake: Chocolate Springs | Musicians: Carte Blanche | DJ: JTD Productions