Providence Public Library Wedding

Stephanie Weers
May 29, 2014
Categories: Real Weddings, The Blog, Traditional Elegance

Ever since Carrie Bradshaw planned her wedding to Big, I’ve had a serious soft spot for library-set nuptials. It’s one of the most romantic ways you could ever tie the knot, and when Ruth Eileen sent over her snaps of a New England couple who opted for just that, my heart swelled BIG time. Wildfolk Studios blanketed the day in gorgeous florals and you can click right here for so much more.

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From the Bride… Rhode Island turned out to be a significant place for us. I grew up in a tiny town in Connecticut but ventured to Bryant University for college. As I began my senior year, I knew like most, my life was on the brink of major life changes. Little did I know I was about to meet the love of my life! We were together for six years when on Christmas Eve we were making the journey from my family’s house to see his family in New Hampshire, when we made what I thought was an impromptu stop in Providence for lunch. Little did I know he had planned to propose!

We knew we wanted a romantic winter wedding, also the perfect time of year to escape New England for a beachy honeymoon and anniversaries to come. It was important to us to find a venue that had space to host both our ceremony and reception and one that offered unique beauty, where we wouldn’t suffer from taking the majority of our pictures inside. Our venue search stretched from our home city of Boston and surrounding Massachusetts towns, New Hampshire and Connecticut. We thought we had found THE place but while doing a preliminary search for a caterer, I stumbled upon a picture of a brand new venue- The Providence Public Library. The building was in serious construction when visited, as it was in the middle of being renovated to begin accommodating weddings and events. It didn’t matter. Our jaws dropped when we walked through those giant, gorgeous double doors. It was breathtaking! We had found our venue. In good old Rhode Island, of course!

Our wedding was a true labor of love but I had the time of my life planning and DIY-ing with the help of our family and friends. We scoured antique stores all over New England collecting vases, old books, a card catalog and various other décor. We used the library as inspiration and sent out bookmark save the dates and later took turns on a borrowed typewriter to create seating cards for our guests on antiqued library cards. My mother and stepfather hand crafted ribbon wands for our guests to wave as we walked down the aisle as man and wife. A friend crafted our guest book which was a vintage map of Rhode Island. A map of our love story, we called it, marked where we met, were engaged and now married. All the little details never could have come together without our team of incredible vendors. They truly brought my vision to life.

People aren’t kidding when they warn you that your wedding day goes by in a flash. Our ceremony was really special. We wrote it together from scratch incorporating some Greek traditions from Jeff’s side, my ten year old nephew did a reading and my best friend from birth sang a beautiful song. We enjoyed an amazing dinner with belly laugh worthy speeches from my sister and Jeff’s brother, and then a ridiculously silly dance party for the remainder of the night.

I have countless “favorite” memories that I will cherish for the rest of our lives. But before we knew it, it was the last song of the night. Jeff and I looked at each other in disbelief that it was coming to an end. All of a sudden our family and friends came in close and surrounded us on the dance floor. All glistening with sweat and with big smiles on their faces, began loudly singing the lyrics that were playing- Ho Hey by the Lumineers. It was truly a magical moment and the best day of my life.