Picture this: freshman year of college, boy meets girl June 8th, 2003. Fast forward ten years (to the very day!) they marry with the loveliest oceanside wedding you’ve probably ever seen. And on top of the coincidental cuteness, these two happened to handpick a crew of vendors that can’t be beat —Hana Floral Design, A Thyme to Cook and Wilson Stevens Productions, just to name a few. It’s classic New England to the core, and the fabulous Tony Spinelli didn’t miss a beat. Grab that coffee and cuddle up in the gallery right here.
From the Bride… Colin and I were engaged in April of 2012, and after a long week away celebrating, we knew if we wanted to get married the following spring in Watch Hill, Rhode Island where my parents live, we needed to pick a venue quickly.
After falling in love with the Jonathan Edwards Winery, we couldn’t imagine getting married anywhere else. As luck would have it, June 8th was the only day open at both the winery and at The Watch Hill Chapel where we wanted to have the ceremony. Call it fate or just some serious coincidence, but after looking through old pictures of when we met at college freshman orientation at Miami University in Ohio, we found the first picture of us, dated June 8th, 2003. 10 years later, exactly to the day, we were going to get to marry each other.
We imagined our day as really being a big celebration of our love that focused on family and close friends that are part of our lives and have helped us become who we are as individuals and as a couple. With so many people coming in from Kansas City, where Colin is from, and around the rest of the country, we wanted everyone to walk away feeling like they had an amazing weekend trip on New England coast.
With the ceremony in a chapel by the water and the reception at the winery under the tent, the settings were already naturally beautiful, and it was easy for our amazing vendors to help bring our “Rustic Elegant” vision to life. After a freak tropical storm hit on Friday and it threatened to dampen our weekend, the sun came out Saturday morning and turned it into the most beautiful early summer day which our amazing photographer Tony Spinelli captured.
We began with cocktails and hors d’oeuvres in the barn at the winery before moving into the tent, strung with bistro lights. On long farm tables, our guests enjoyed a ‘family style’ dinner of Kansas City rubbed steak local farm grilled vegetables.
Blush and white peonies adorned the table in glass vases and rustic flower boxes, with some of the leaves accented with a hint of brushed gold. Even though we had planned the wedding with our families, there were so many surprises! Before our father/daughter dance, my dad surprised me by singing Frank Sinatra’s “The Way You Look Tonight” to me. During our cake cutting, I surprised Colin with a groom’s carrot cake for his favorite team, KU, handmade by my brother’s girlfriend. Before the party ended, to treat and cool everyone off after spending the night on the dance floor with our unbelievable band Radiance, my parents surprised our guests with Lemon Italian Ices and my mom’s famous oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. She made over 600!
To us, our day was perfect. It was filled with love, laughter, lots of dancing and family, which truly are the reasons we were all together. Thank you to everyone who helped the day a truly magical memory that we will cherish forever.
Photographer: Tony Spinelli Photography | Florist: Hana Floral Design | Gown: Gabriella New York Bridal Salon | Ceremony Venue: Watch Hill Chapel | Reception Venue: Jonathan Edwards Winery | Caterer: A Thyme to Cook, Inc. | Band: Wilson Stevens | Getting Read/Photography Location: Ocean House | Invitations + Save The Dates: Catherine Kiff-Vozza | Make up-Hair: New Leaf Salon