You know what I love? When a bride and groom want their wedding to be one fantastic party; a party that is chock-full of yummy food, great wine and fun-filled celebrations with their closest friends and family. This, my friends, is just that wedding… a crazy gorgeous day filled with all of the aforementioned, set against one seriously stunning Saltwater Farm Vineyard setting. See it all captured by Justine Yandle in the full gallery.
From the Bride… From the start of our engagement all the way up until the night before the wedding – we knew we just wanted to have a really fantastic party. Great venue, great food, great cocktails, and great company to share it all with. One thing we wanted to make sure of was that the day was really personal and a reflection of us. Since our first vacation together four years prior (and still one of our favorites) was to Napa Valley, we knew we’d really love to get married at a vineyard. After stumbling upon Saltwater Farm Vineyard by accident, seeing the amazing space they had created out of an old aircraft hanger, with one of the most amazing views of the Connecticut Shore – we knew this was the spot.
September can still be pretty warm in southern New England, so we decided against jackets for Ken’s extremely large wedding crew. Picking a printed bridesmaids’ dress was a risky choice, but after seeing their dresses online and in the perfect neutral tones with a pop of peach and mint green, I knew I couldn’t say no. Ken and I also have two dogs, who we treat like children, that simply had to be part of our big day (complete with homemade dog leashes and bows). I had wanted a keyhole back dress from the start, and with some minor adjustments, I was able to find exactly what I was looking for in my Maggie Sotterro dress. And having worked in the athletic footwear/apparel material design industry for the past 10 years, it was also a MUST that I represented my current employer on my feet!
As for décor – my fiancé and I, as well as quite a few members of our wedding party and family, are all quite handy and knew DIY would be a big part of our day. With a location as beautiful as Saltwater Farm, there isn’t a lot that needs to be done! Having a graphics background certainly paid off in terms of creating such a large part of our wedding, from the invitations to the table numbers to the menus and thank you cards. My maid of honor, who is a master at antiquing, was able to find vintage lanterns at flea markets up and down the east coast, which proved to be absolutely amazing with a little bit (well, a lot…) of sanding and an array of gray spray paints. My mother is an amazing baker (and an even more amazing cupcake decorator), and a very good friend of ours simply has a knack for floral design. And finally, all the woodworking tools my fiancé and I purchased over our years together finally went to good use in making all the chalkboards, signage, birch accent pieces, as well as our amazing guestbook – three chalkboard wine bottle cut outs mounted on barnwood (yes, actually pulled off the walls from my MOH’s barn…) signed by all our guests, and now hanging on our living room walls to remind us every day of what an amazing time we had on Sept 7th.
Photography: Justine Yandle Photography | Catering: Coastal Gourmet | DJ: Scratch Weddings | Venue: Saltwater Farms Vineyard | Kennel: Tipping Rock