It doesn’t get more gorgeous than a garden wedding in my book, and when you take a peek at all the pretty captured by Britt Croft Photography you’ll know exactly what I mean. It’s sweet yet sophisticated, and filled with personality-packed details, so this gallery? It’s divine. See it all here.
From the Bride…Gary and I are born on the same day and are soul mates in every way. We both find peace in the great outdoors and stumbled upon Mountain Lakes House while on a bike ride through the forest paths surrounding the property. On our first tour as bride and groom to-be, I remember walking out onto the stone terrace, beautiful wooden beams overhead, looking out over the lake and meeting Garys eyes this was the place we would be married we both knew in that moment. The sound of lapping water, sunlight through the trees, and a warm gentle breeze giving way to a moonlit dance party amongst the fireflies of JuneI could just picture it.
Classic, like the legendary Great Gatsby garden parties, with pure white and crisp navy blue accents against a natural backdrop was my vision. Made homey and personal by elements like a treasured old postcard from Colorado, our matching Riverside Shakespeare volumes, and an antique tea cup borrowed from our mantel at home. A photo of our sweet dog Blake accompanied each table number and rested up against pewter lanterns outside and birch tree candles inside. I added fabric to an old suitcase we found near our favorite artsy town in PA to hold our cards and had our guests sign a beautiful photography book of the Canadian Rockies, where we spent our honeymoon. Pitchers of fresh fruit and champagne Wedding Bliss Champagne Punch was an ode to our newly shared last name, Bliss, as well as representative of something wed serve at our home on a summer evening.
It was a year and a half of wonderful days, leading up to that one extra special day. I discovered my wedding dress in the vintage themed spread of a two year old wedding magazine and immediately called my mom to describe each petal and pleat before hunting it down online and ordering the last one from a boutique in LA. I would make countless trips to the home of my lovely seamstress where my two Matrons of Honor, my mom, and I would squeeze into her upstairs room to move flowers on the dress – creating a train, a headpiece, and unique belt accent. I laughed with my mom as we glued white feathers and white beads to little white ribbons that would eventually hang from the trees at our ceremony and cocktail hour and only laughed harder as our breath sent feathers flying into the air. There were countless gatherings where blue bottled wines were shared, striped of their labels, and filled with pussy willows (reminiscent of my childhood and growing up on acres of land, surrounded by woods and horse farms) to decorate the window sills at our wedding. Painstakingly cutting, gluing, and stamping program pieces in an assembly line consisting of my Dad, my husband-to-be, and me is a memory I will not soon forget. Listening to the newest iteration of our wedding playlist as Gary described the perfect bend between each song he had selected made my heart swell; the finished product was played during our cocktail hour and made into CDs by Gary (with a beautiful mountain vista on the cover) for our parents and bridal party. One evening close to our big day, Gary and I listened to our song, Jersey Girl by Tom Waits, over and over to practice our first dance moves; Gary is my all time favorite dance partner, but getting to dance with him in our tiny living room, imagining that first dance as husband and wife, was a true moment in time.
The beautiful relationships I built with our caterer, Emily of Emilys Catering, and our photographer, Britt Croft, were an added gift. As my wedding binder grew and grew I remember tearing up over (yet another) coffee with Emily as she said, Ill take care of all of those details, not to worry and bonding with Britt over her love for light, the romantic moments she knew so well, and her true understanding of the mind of a bride (she was counting down the days to her own wedding when we first spoke). Despite my attempts to imagine every detail nothing could prepare me for the pure joy of having the people closest to us fill the space or the emotion of walking down the aisle (a moment I had dreamed over and over throughout my whole life) to the real man of my dreams, my soul mate, my Gary.
Photography: Britt Croft Photography | Videographer: Simply Shire | Florist: Bloomers & Things To Do | Dress: Tadashi Shoji | Bridesmaid Dresses: Adrianna Papell | Catering: Emilys Cafe & Catering | Hair: Di Moda Salon Spa | Groomsmen Attire: Jos. A. Bank | Venue: Mountain Lakes House | Music: Sound Choice (Dave Hoeffel) | Paper Goods: Etsy Seller Wedding Sundae | Rentals: Brillmans Rental Barn