Grab a few tissues SMP’ers, because this wedding will certainly bring a few tears to your eyes. For when the Groom’s father was battling cancer, this sweet pair wanted nothing more than to honor him on their Big Day. From the Bride’s vintage veil, to her father ordaining, The McCartneys captured it all right here, while Justin Joslin Wedding Films made sure every moment would live on below!
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From The McCartneys Photography… Lydia & Jon’s is truly the most heartwarming and powerful wedding we have ever had the privilege of photographing.
We’re not sure where to begin as we try to lace together words to match the powerful day that was Lydia & Jon’s wedding. Their wedding day was not only a celebration of an all-consuming love, but also a celebration of life and family! When Lydia & Jon announced their engagement, we have to admit, we did a little bit of a ‘happy dance’ in the hopes they might think of us to document their wedding celebration. When they did, we were over the moon excited! We planned a Skype date to talk about their hopes for their wedding photos and hear what type of Door County, WI wedding they were planning! Shortly before our Skype date, Lydia emailed to let us know they recently decided to have TWO weddings instead of one! As we continued to read, we discovered that Jon’s Dad, Paul, had been battling cancer and, as of recent, things were not going as they would hope. It was Jon’s wish that his Dad would see him marry the woman of his dreams – the woman who he would spend the rest of his life with.
Just a couple months later, we quickly found ourselves in the air to Boston, almost in disbelief that Lydia & Jon’s wedding was just days away. We made the most of our few days in the area before their wedding and, on August 8th, we woke up feeling distinctly honored to capture the incredible day that was ahead of us. Nothing could have prepared us for the emotion we witnessed on this very special day. It was written on everyones faces. Joy. Sadness. Love. Jon brought his dad up the aisle moments before his soon-to-be wife made the same walk with her Dad, and it was as if every emotion was pouring out of his face. Lydia’s Dad, Cory, is a Pastor in Door County and his words & wishes couldn’t have been more perfect a he gave his daughter away to Jon. This was one of the many personal touches that made Lydia & Jon’s wedding so heartfelt and unique to the two of them.
In just a few short months Lydia & Jon planned a day filled with so much thought, you’d think they had been planning for a year! To touch on a few, Lydia’s gorgeous dress was custom-made from the same satin that both her Grandmother and her Mom, Darla, wore on their wedding days. The absolutely stunning veil that wrapped Lydia up belonged to Jon’s Mom, Kathy. We honestly couldn’t get over what a STUNNING bride Lydia was!! Her & Jon’s wedding was also made possible by the talent of many family members like the music played during their ceremony and sweet cookie favors awaiting each guest at their dinner table. :)
After lovely words from Lydia’s Dad, she and Jon were ready to share their hand-written vows. Lydia’s vows were several pages long and, though she wanted to hold Jon’s hand, she also needed one hand to hold the vows and the other to flip through the pages. As if they weren’t a cute enough couple already, Jon made this possible by flipping pages for Lydia so that he could hold her hand too! Though very small, this little detail speaks volumes to the “team” that they are.
After portraits in the most romantic evening light followed by especially emotional first dances, Lydia & Jon had a surprise for Paul & Kathy, Jon’s parents, during the anniversary dance. They played his parents’ wedding song and, as Paul got up to dance with his wife, there were very few dry eyes in the room. This entire day was a beautiful example of the kind of love we all hope for, both from our family members and the person we choose to spend the rest of our lives with. We hope you see as much beauty and love in this day as we do, this is one of the most beautiful families we are lucky to call friends!
As a note, this wedding is especially close to our hearts as, no more than a month after their wedding, the groom’s father, Paul, went to Heaven. The loving impact Paul left on everyone who was blessed to know him will never ever be forgotten!
From the beautiful Bride… When Jon and I were planning our wedding, the most important thing that we wanted to shine through in our celebration was our focus on family, faith, and friends. During each step of the planning process, we would try to pause to reflect on whether or not we were keeping with that focus. Given Mr. Bugli’s illness, we knew that we wanted him to be a big part and focus of the wedding. So, from the personalized “Godfather” and “The Don” chairs for he and my dad, to our toasts, to me wearing Mrs. Bugli’s veil, we tried to incorporate as much of our parents as possible. This included having my father do the ceremony, and our parents sitting next to each other.
As we planned, we also wanted to make our wedding as personalized and detailed as we possibly could. And, in just a few short months, we did! After our wedding, we have no regrets about all the work we put in making this as personalized as we did. We both wanted a classic, elegant wedding but we knew we wanted pieces of that elegance to reflect us, our lives and our personalities. For example, the signature drinks, the Wisconsin cheese and Pennsylvania meats, the table names being named after places with importance to us, our glitter accents, and our cake all reflected our personalities and things we find important.
It was also very important for us to keep our theme throughout all of the pieces of the day. So from our invitations, to our escort cards, to our table decorations, we focused on keeping our “preppy nautical” theme flow.
Our personalities are both very fun, “classic” and focused on our loved ones and we hope that this was evident throughout our wedding day!
There were many DIY elements for our wedding day. I wanted to create as many personalized touches as possible and with the help of my mom, my bridesmaids, and friends, I believe I accomplished this. Our programs were designed by a graphic designer friend, our escort card and gift table signage were created by our good friend, and our signature drink menu was handcrafted as well! My bridesmaids did a ton of work in making DIY projects. From the “hubby” and “wifey” signs, to the table names, to painting glitter on the escort card sand dollars, they worked so hard for us!
Our place cards, escort cards, programs, and tulle chair back decorations were also DIY by my friends and me. I hosted a crafting day at my condo before the wedding where the girls helped me to create a number of fun projects for the wedding!
Our glitter tablecloth was sewn by my mother and so were all of the fabric squares for the tables. She was incredible!
Finally, the bridesmaids’ hangers were designed by our close friend, too and gave our day and pictures an extra personal touch!
For me, walking down the aisle with my dad, seeing all of my friends and family gathered to see me get married stands out in my mind. Wearing my mother and grandmother’s satin in my own custom designed wedding dress and donning my mother-in-law’s veil made the day extra special, too, and comes with that special walk.
Being able to share the day with my father-in-law, too was an incredible special time and the moment that is captured on film where I am leaning down and he is kissing me I cherish completely. It gives me the chills!
Photography: The McCartneys Photography | Videography: Justin Joslin Wedding Films | Floral Design: Flowers On Main (Vivian) | Cake: Eat Cake! | Bridesmaids' Dresses: Zita Bridal Salon | Makeup Artist: Salon Eleven (Jessica) | DJ: Dean Mahoney (personal Friend) | Mens Attire: Jos. A. Bank | Wedding Venue: Black Swan Country Club | Cookie Favors: Maybe A Cupcake Will Help (Ali) | Custom Wedding Rings: Barmakian | Flutist: Lois Kurschner | Paper Goods: Jenn Contois (personal Friend) | Pastor: Cory Dahl (Bride's Father) | Violinist: Emily Barfoot
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