This is what casual wedding goers dreams are made of. No need for a stiff tie or ball gown, but just as beautiful as anything you’ve seen in a hotel, and with a dance floor beckoning barefoot feet. A party and a celebration of the most exciting love, all rolled into one. With Experience Events behind the helm and E. Broderick Photography behind the lens, the gallery is quite possibly the most fun you’ll have all day!
From the beautiful bride… When my husband proposed, there was never really any question as to where we’d tie the knot. For four generations, my family has spent its summers in the woods of Salisbury, Connecticut, the foothills of the Berkshires and this is where we wanted to be. The reception was on the site of an old iron forge, just steps from the lake.
The real question was how to blend our backgrounds and very disparate geographies- I was born in Texas, grew up in Connecticut, and my family has deep Louisiana roots, while my husband is from New Hampshire- to give our guests a true experience of what the merging of our lives means.
The setting: quintessential New England woods. The flowers: soft peach hothouse roses, thistle, and ferns. The food: New England farm-to-table meets Louisiana soul (think: alligator meatballs, grilled watermelon, collard green egg rolls, my family’s crawfish etouffée recipe and tons of local vegetables, cheeses, and breads, and cinnamon sugar cider donuts to top it all off). The music: my dad’s favorite Cajun band, Steve Riley & the Mamou Playboys, who miraculously agreed to fly to Connecticut from Louisiana for the reception.
We wanted to be sure that the decor wouldn’t overpower the setting so we chose soft colors and fabrics and tried to keep things organic. We also wanted to be sure that our guests felt that they were at a celebration, not just an event. We wanted them to have some truly good fun. We encouraged an informal atmosphere. We hoped that if they wanted to dance barefoot, they would. We set up a fire pit with marshmallows for roasting and chairs for resting tired feet in case they needed a break from dancing. I turned around at one point to watch three of my young cousins rolling down a hill together and I felt that we’d accomplished our mission. By the end of the night, the dance floor was packed and our guests clapped and stomped until the band agreed to play an encore. It couldn’t have been a more perfect night.
So many people will tell you not to sweat the details when you’re planning your wedding- that the day will arrive and you’ll wonder why you were obsessing over what type of silverware to use in your place settings. I don’t know that it’s possible to truly understand and appreciate that advice until your day arrives, but it’s true. It’s impossible not to give in to the love you feel in the moment. It’s a feeling of impenetrability and invincibility that I have never felt before. That is what a wedding- and maybe life – is all about. The people you love, the memories you make, and the perfection in all of the imperfection.
Photography: E. Broderick Photography | Event Planning: Herberger Event Co. | Flowers: Thornhill Flower | Wedding Dress: Romona Keveza | Cake: Sweet William's | Invitations: Gus & Ruby Letterpress | Bridesmaids Dresses: J.Crew | Catering: Oliver Kita Fine Catering | Hair & Makeup: Sonya Heimann | Band: Steve Riley & The Mamou Playboys | Photobooth: Blacklight Photobooth | Rentals: Mahaiwe