Once you spend a little time with this Rhode Island affair, you’ll realize it’s something truly special. I’m positive. Because when you’ve got a couple this crazy talented (who, PS, co-designed the bride’s dress by hand!), you know this isn’t your run-of-the-the-mill day. Making it all the more lovely? Golden Gate Florist, Gus and Ruby Letterpress and Joli Visage. They teamed up to ensure all the wedding to do’s were done, and the result is a gallery filled with some of Rebecca Arthurs’ best work yet.
From the Bride… Derek and I are creative souls. Art runs through our veins. We met while attending design school in 2003 and since then have tried to fill our lives with as much creativity and inspiration as we can stand. Derek is an interactive designer and I am a textile designer. Our lives are a swirl of kerning, fonts, Pantone swatches and patterns in repeat. We find inspiration in the most unlikely of places. Derek designed my engagement ring after falling in love with a vintage sapphire estate piece that reminded him of lilacs. “Lilac” was my first word as a baby and the smell of them reminds me of my grandmother’s backyard and long summer days where the sun doesn’t set until well after bedtime. I am a child of summer – born on the longest day of the year, so when we sat down to decide on a wedding date, summer was our natural choice. We chose June 15 because it seemed like a day with so much promise – the middle day of the middle month – half the year gone and still half to go; so much life already lived and yet so much to still look forward to.
We wanted our wedding to be like our wedding date – a reflection of where we’d come from as well as a celebration of all we had to look forward to. Derek designed our wedding invitations – a unique mix of creative typography in letterpress and his hand-drawn illustrations of our beloved wedding venue. Together we pushed the envelope (literally!) – turning Derek’s illustrations into custom envelope liners and stamping the text of our RSVP cards – staying up all night laughing and creating an invitation suite that was uniquely ours. And I made my wedding dress – vintage-inspired lace with a dramatic watteau train. Most brides hide their dress from their future husbands until their wedding day, but my husband helped me design mine – he held my hand while I purchased my fabric on West 37th and helped me pin seam allowances I couldn’t reach . Not many people can say, “on our wedding day, I was lucky enough to be married in a dress created with love by both of our hands”. It must come as no surprise that when we chose a wedding venue, we wanted something unique – the road most traveled has never been our path. We wanted somewhere with history that we could tie into the story that we were about to begin together.
We found Linden Place on a chilly day in February and knew it was perfect the moment we saw it – we couldn’t even imagine how beautiful it would be come summer time and to be truthful, it outdid our wildest expectations. The morning of June 15th dawned more glorious that we could have imagined – brilliant blue sky and a warm sea breeze. Our guests entered through the majestic front doors of the Linden Place mansion, passing by the breathtaking chandelier that once hung in Buckingham Palace and a four story spiral staircase that opens to the sky. They made their way to the gardens behind the mansion, passing under a magnificent magnolia tree and taking their seats – placed in a semi-circle so we could be married the way we try to live our lives – surrounded by love. Both of my parents walked me down the aisle while a dear friend played a song that had been part of our lives and our love for as long as we could remember. We were married in a ceremony that we wrote together, in a spectacular garden that was a-bloom with summertime roses.
We spent our cocktail hour in the shade of the magnolia tree, celebrating and laughing with the people we love most. Our reception took place in the restored carriage house – its spectacular doors and dramatic vaulted ceiling needing nothing to enhance its beauty. We filled the room with vintage picture frames and soft summer flowers, bathing everything in a warm glow from eclectic cut-glass votives. Our first dance as husband and wife took place under the dramatic arching doorway of the carriage house to a song that was uniquely ours – sung by a beloved couple whose love only enhanced ours and magnified the joy of such a spectacular day. We and our guests celebrated the night away – taking time to leave us messages on our vintage typewriter that served as our guest book, and escaping for a brief moment at sunset to take some spectacular photos with all our guests that still leave me breathless.
We surrounded ourselves with the people we love most, and an incredible team of vendors that shared the same passion and creativity for our love as we did – together they made our wedding day magical. I had often heard that your wedding day should be the most spectacular day of your life, but I had no idea that a single day could hold so much love and happiness.
Photography: Rebecca Arthurs | Flowers: Golden Gate Florist | Ceremony Venue: Linden Place Mansion | Reception Venue: Linden Place Mansion | Bridesmaids' Dresses: Nordstrom | Catering: Blackstone Catering | Makeup: Joli Visage Makeup Artistry | Hair: Kristen Lazzareschi | Ceremony + First Dance Music: Jay Psaros and Olivia Brownlee | Cocktail Hour + Reception Music: Zeke Stern of Murray Hill Talent | Invitation Design: Derek Luciani (Groom) | Invitation Letterpress: Gus & Ruby Letterpress