I don’t think I’ll ever grow tired of the fabulous navy blue and fuchsia color combination. In fact, I know I won’t. It’s one part classic elegance and one part preppy chic and, oh my goodness, do I love it. And together with these Long Island nuptials by Alexandra Meseke Photography, it makes for one seriously gorgeous soiree. I am more than enamored with every single amazing detail of this beachside wedding, from those hot pink peony-filled bouquets by Creative Florist Designs by Doris to those adorable white lanterns. And the bride’s stunning, stunning gown? Wow. Yes, I think I’ll definitely be spending some time in this gallery today. Join me there!
Click here to see the entire gallery of images!
From the Bride… When we began planning our wedding all we knew for sure was that we wanted a small intimate wedding on the beach. We both love the wild beauty of it and have spent much of our time together on the beach. We felt so lucky to find such a gorgeous location, like we were able to have a destination wedding close to home! One of my favorite colors has always been fuchsia, and my husband loves a deep royal blue. The colors worked so well together and really created the look and feel we were aiming for; modern meets beach – fun and whimsical with a touch of elegance. We really wanted the whole day to reflect who we are both as individuals and as a couple. We wanted to incorporate elements of the beach into the day but with our own special twist on them.
The ceremony was so important to us and we put a lot of time and thought into it. We wanted it to be personal and romantic. We even asked a friend if she would get ordained online and perform the ceremony for us, and we wrote the whole thing ourselves and chose all the readings. I had dreamed of walking down the aisle barefoot in the sand with rose petals all around, so that’s what we did! I even made petal cones for the guests to toss at us after the ceremony. I was so caught up in the moment that I had totally forgotten about it and was surprised when the petals came down on us! I designed the programs myself so that we were able to write something about each member of the bridal party, we wanted to share with our guests why we loved these people so much and what made them special. I chose flowy chiffon blue dresses for the girls and they carried bouquets of hot pink peonies, one of my favorite flowers. Since the groomsmen had such different personalities, we decided to let them choose their own outfits. We thought it was funny to have matching bridesmaids dresses and mismatched groomsmen! The idea of an arch in the middle of the beach felt a little out of place to me, but we wanted to define the space where we would stand, so my mom and I wrapped tiki torches in white tulle and attached flowers to them. It was one of my favorite decisions because it looked tropical and gorgeous and the tulle billowed around us in the sea breeze. It was the most romantic amazing day of our lives.
We loved the light, airy, simplicity of the reception space and we only wanted to add small personal touches so that the beauty of the view of the beach and park would shine. I found beautiful white starfish to use as escort cards and knew that our guests would love to take them home. I found amazing delicate painted blue and white sea urchins to hold our table numbers, and then mixed them with modern bright pink floral centerpieces. We wanted to give a favor that reflected us, but that was also practical. We decided on white moroccan lanterns and had personalized matchbooks made to go with them. So many of our friends have terraces or backyards and we loved the idea that they could enjoy the light coming from them all summer long. One of my favorite touches, and the one that touched so many of our guests, was a large frame holding pictures of our loved ones who are no longer with us or who were not able to be there. These people were so important to our lives and we wanted them there with us in some way. And our guests loved looking at all the old family photos on a day when we were creating new ones.
Wedding Photography: Alexandra Meseke Photography / Wedding Ceremony + Reception Venue: Pavilion at Sunken Meadow Park / Floral Design: Creative Florist Designs by Doris / Wedding Cake: La Bonne Boulangerie / Hair + Make-up: Tonya Noland