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