I love First Looks.  Love them.  So, when I read that this adorable bride and groom opted on a First Look at the high school where they met, I quickly decided that they were awesome.  I mean, how amazing is it to spend the morning of your wedding frolicking around the very place you fell in love?  Pretty, pretty fabulous.  And their wedding?  All kinds of crazy gorgeous with the sunniest of yellow hues, a yummy cake from Konditor Meister and one love-filled image after another captured by Hello Love Photography. See them all in the full gallery.

 

From the Groom… Inspiration for the day as far as the setting and vibe, I know Kristen really wanted a wedding in a Barn in VT, but we have such big families that are local to the Boston area, we worried that we wouldn’t get the turnout we wanted. When we found Gibbet Hill, Kristen fell in love with it immediately. She loved the look of a rustic/vintage weddings and how close the venue was to our families. I was excited about how good the food was. The music chosen was a lot of vintage soul and alternative stuff for cocktail hour and dinner which added to the vintage vibe.

For our first look, Kristen had the idea of going back to Central Catholic, where we first met, which turned out great because it was a little rainy that day. There were a ton of neat little photo opportunities in the Library, the classroom, the theatre and even the locker where we used to meet before and after school.

We choose St. Patricks Cathedral, because it was where Kristens parents got married. We tried to get as many people involved in the wedding day as possible. My cousins played the music for the ceremony, we had friends and family get involved in the wedding mass.

Photography: Hello Love Photography | Venue + Catering: The Barn at Gibbet Hill | Floral Design: Flowers by Steve | Wedding + Bridesmaid Dresses: Pure Bliss | Invitations: Designed by the Groom, Printed by Gus & Ruby Letterpress Portsmouth, NH | Hair: Caitlin Riley at Bleu Tangerine Salon, Hampstead, NH | Make Up: Christina Gallardo | DJ: Nate Oinen, White Label DJ’s | Cake: Konditor Meister

Gus & Ruby Letterpress, White Label DJs and Konditor Meister are members of our Little Black Book, Love what you see? Take a look at their portfolios.

Gus & Ruby Letterpress

VIEW PORTFOLIO

White Label DJs

VIEW PORTFOLIO

Konditor Meister

VIEW PORTFOLIO

This “accidental” December wedding from Lindsay Madden Photography has captured my heart in a serious sort of way. With a ceremony at Groton Public Library (their first ever!) and a country chic ceremony at The Barn at Gibbett Hill (one of my absolute faves!) this winter fête was filled to the brim with DIY touches and completely steal-worthy details. It’s a total swoon-fest in the full gallery, so be sure to take a peek!

 

From the Bride… Mike and I decided on a December wedding accidentally. A group of very close friends all got engaged soon after us, and as they set their dates, starting in August and leading up to November, we thought: winter wedding! We are so thrilled that we chose December, and once we did, my DIY mind went crazy! We had two main things we agreed we would focus on that would make our day special and unique to us. First and most importantly, we wanted great food, and second, we wanted a rustic, relaxed atmosphere. We started by picking our reception location. A friend of mine showed me a picture of Gibbet Hill Barn in Groton, Massachusetts, and I instantly fell in love and immediately sent a picture to Mike via text. He simply said, “Um…yes.” Our ceremony was held at The Groton Public Library, which was their first wedding! I was researching venues late at night when I came across a picture of the library and thought “Sex and the City,” country style. I contacted a woman named Owen at the library, and she explained that they had never done a wedding before but she would ask the trustees if it was a possibility. We discussed what rooms we thought could work for the ceremony, and a week later, I received an excited email from Owen that it was a go!

A lot of elements in our wedding were DIY because we wanted to add little touches that we knew could make it special. Our save-the-dates were our first DIY craft. Christmas glass ball ornaments with mini-mittens (cut out by the groom) with a little tag saying, “Lex and Mike a perfect pair.” Mike asked if the rest of the crafts could be on a smaller scale. I agreed that project was adorable but a little out of control! Eventually on our wedding day, I learned that some high school students had made ornaments for the Christmas tree in the library. They used pages from “Romeo and Juliet” to make paper ornaments. They were beautiful, and it touched my heart that they had made them with us in mind. We had our invitations printed, but we hand-folded and glued the inner lace envelopes. I got library cards from the public library and printed each guest’s formal name and their specific menu on it. We bought cups and drew chalkboard hearts on them for the favors and put the library cards in the cups at each seat. We gave each guest a piece of chalk so they could decorate their cup! We printed and assembled our programs. We used shiny silver paper and leftover lace from our invitations. We added a little bit of personality and humor to our programs because that’s who we are! We bought CD crates and stained them a darker brown and bought rolls of burlap for our welcome baskets. We added little New England touches such as Sam Adams beer and Cape Cod chips to them. For the table assignments, I found an old picture and frame in the basement of the school I teach at, spray painted it silver and covered it with chalkboard paint. As a personal touch, we decided we wanted the table assignments to be the names or nicknames we use with our family and friends. We had a sign for “Instagram” so our family and friends could upload pictures. This was a big hit, and we will forever have some amazing pictures.

I won my dress from a contest I entered on Nordstrom. It was a start-up dress line that was looking for real brides to “model” their dresses. I entered the contest online late one night. The next thing I knew I was a finalist and eventually modeled the dresses around NYC and picked one to wear to my wedding. The tulle on the dress made me think of ballerinas, and I love seeing ballerina’s with sweaters on in the winter. I decided I would try and find one to wear for my pictures. Our photographer, Lindsay, is a childhood friend I grew up swimming competitively with. I wanted her humor and her relaxed professionalism on my wedding day. I love, love, LOVE her work and knew that having her “picture” our special day would be amazing … and it was.

Wedding Photography: Lindsay Madden Photography / Second Shooter: Sasithon Photography / Ceremony: Groton Public Library in Groton, Massachusetts / Reception: The Barn at Gibbet Hill in Groton, Massachusetts / Event Coordination: Laurel Events / Floral Design: Classic Flowers, Inc. / Wedding Cake: Konditor Meister / Wedding Invitations: AM Graphics / Entertainment: Moondance Productions / Bridal Preparation Location: Westford Regency Inn & Conference Center / Wedding Dress: L’atelier 36 / Bride’s Shoes: Christian Louboutin / Bride’s Hair: Amy Dussault of Not So Plain Jane’s / Bride’s Makeup: The True You / Bridesmaids’ Dresses: Vera Wang / Groomsmen’s Suits: J.Crew

Konditor Meister is a member of our Little Black Book, Love what you see? Take a look at their portfolios.

Konditor Meister

VIEW PORTFOLIO

I’m not sure which is cooler: the fact that the bride’s dad is a preacher and both walked her down the aisle and performed the ceremony or the amazing dinner-party-esque reception that followed at the gorgeous L’Andana. It’s a toss up for sure, but one thing is certain and that’s the fact that we can’t stop smiling at this adorable couple. See the rest captured by Scott Zuehlke Photography right here in the full gallery.

Click here for the FULL wedding!

From the Bride… After six years of dating, Anthony and I got engaged on a bright, sunny day in New Hampshire on a weekend camping trip. We talked about what was important for our wedding — we wanted a personal and intimate ceremony, a reception that felt like a dinner party, a focus on time with family and friends, and to have it all in a rustically elegant space. I searched online for months trying to find the perfect location. Originally I’d wanted an old, historic building, but when I saw L’Andana’s gorgeous wood floors and tables, its floor-to-ceiling fireplace and phenomenal ambiance, I knew we had to see it. We went there for dinner to celebrate our engagement, and the second I walked in, before we even got past the hostess stand, I knew it was THE place. The rest of the wedding just fell into place.

My parents came to visit Boston from Minnesota where I grew up, so I’d decided that I would get my dress that weekend — no matter what. We ended up at Priscilla of Boston, and though I didn’t see anything that worked, as we were leaving I spied the most unique dress on another girl’s rack of dresses to try on. I waited a half hour until she put it back and then stood in that dress for another half an hour until I decided to jump. (It fit off the rack, or so I thought until their AMAZING seamstress made it fit like a glove and added the shoulder ruffle just from a description I dreamed up). My flowers were made by an outstandingly creative artist — out of silk. I’d see bouquets I loved online and they all turned out to be hers, so I was able to tell her my vision and she made it better than I could have imagined. There were tons of little details I spent hours and hours planning for, but the wedding weekend itself was the absolute best moments, minutes, hours, and days of my life. My grandparents, who I hadn’t seen in years, flew in from Oregon, and aunts, uncles, cousins, siblings, nephews, and friends came from all around the US. We enjoyed a big family dinner Thursday night, bachelorette party Friday night, rehearsal dinner Saturday (which was nearly as amazing as the reception), and then the wedding on Sunday. Looking at Anthony through all of this, we just kept smiling with happiness and thankfulness that we had each other and were surrounded by everyone we love. We’d been counting down the days until we’d finally be married, and then when it was the day, we just focused on enjoying it together. We did a first look photo shoot at the park prior to the wedding so that we could get all of the pictures out of the way.

The ceremony was especially meaningful because not only did we pick all of the readings, hymns, and vows, but my father was also able to walk me down the aisle, then preach the sermon and perform the rights as he did for each of my siblings. Anthony and I took that message to heart and continue to read those words for inspiration and direction. Finally, the reception … what can I say except that it was absolutely perfect with a dream location and ambiance and some of the best food I’ve ever eaten. We danced our first dance and just tried to take it all in, and as the night went by, our goofy smiles got bigger and bigger until we couldn’t help but cry from happiness after all of the guests had left. We finally got in the car to go downtown Boston to the gorgeous IX Beacon Hotel before flying out to our honeymoon in Spain the following day. It was the best day of our lives, but better than that, it was the starting of our life together, which is the most amazing thing of all.

Wedding Photography: Scott Zuehlke Photography / Ceremony: Pinewood Lutheran Church in Burlington, Massachusetts / Reception: L’Andana in Burlington, Massachusetts / Floral Design: Floral Verde / Wedding Dress: Priscilla of Boston (Now Closed) / Bride’s Veil: Etsy / Bridesmaids’ Dresses: ModCloth