Rhody weddings have a special place in my heart. The Ocean State just oozes charm, and its gorgeous shorelines just beg for a celebration. So when I lay eyes on a wedding like this one, with its sweet, nautical feel and images from Erin McGinn Boutique Photography, ladies and gentlemen, I’m smitten. The gorgeous couple, and their sweet family and friends make it all that much better, and you can devour their perfect Rhode Island wedding day at the Squantum Association right here.
From the Bride… Brian and I are a unique couple. I’m a bit more traditional, he’s not. He’s extremely outgoing, I’m not. It was important that our wedding represented both of us, equally (well kind of equally). Before we got too carried way with planning we discussed what we had to have at our wedding, and what we could live without. Without much thought we both knew a great band and open bar were two top priorities. Once we had the venue booked and the basics ironed out we were able to focus on details that would make our wedding unique and special to us. I am guilty of spending hours upon hours on Pinterest, Etsy and thumbing through bridal magazines. I wanted to incorporate every detail into the wedding. I was extremely fortunate to have two family friends, Robin Mulligan and Lisa Hardiman, help to focus and refine my vision. When I walked into the Bake House after the ceremony I was truly astonished. It was everything I had envisioned and more!
The Hardiman Family gave Brian and me the flowers for our wedding gift (most importantly they gave us their time)! Lisa and I went a week before the wedding to Flower Exchange in Boston and picked out all the flowers. The colors and textures of all the flowers were amazing! I had never been to a flower mart before so this experience was so special! Two days before the wedding she picked them up and began assembling the table toppers, bouquets and boutonnieres. It truly was a family affair putting the arrangements together. Bri and I are so fortunate to have such generous and thoughtful friends!
The flowers were not the only personal touch. Robin had someone make the navy and white cabana stripe runners used on the head tables, desert table and gift table. She also surprised us with navy and white monogram pillows used on the couch in the lounge area. On top of all this Robin facilitated the seating chart for dinner. She put me in touch with a graphic designer in Braintree who designed the seating chart. Following that she had it framed at a local shop in Warren. The décor and ambiance made our wedding beautiful but our guests and positive energy made our wedding extra special!
There were a few true DIY projects. I made thank you cards that were placed on each person’s napkin. I stamped Thank You on the front and typed a note on the back. I wanted everyone to know how much we appreciate him or her for sharing our special day with us. We did a similar variation on the welcome bags given out at the hotels. To save some money I formatted the menus and programs in Word and someone on ETSY enhanced it with graphic design. I was able to print the PDF at Staples. Finally we chose table names that were unique to us. I typed them out on white paper, used a lace hole punch to soften the edges and mounted them on navy cardstock. Glass picture frames found at Homegoods were used to display the table names.
The wedding ceremony was filled with lots of personal touches as well. Not only were Bri and I fortunate to have our best friends stand with us as we committed to one another for the REST OF OUR LIVES…. (ahhhh… ) but a close family friend, Bill Loehning, made it official! Brian and I both grew up going on family vacations to the Cape with the Loehnings so it was extra special to have him be a part of our special day. To top off our very unique ceremony we had a friend, Jon Weinstein, speak. We had originally asked him to do a reading; he quickly refused and said he insisted on writing his own speech. It was filled with many great memories we all had together growing up.
Once last thing, the transportation. It was important to us to be sure all our guests had a fun time, but it was imperative that everyone got home safely. We looked into a few options for transportation and First Student was by far the most cost effective!
One more last thing… party favors and cake. Both were not high on the priority list for Bri and I, more of a formality. Unfortunately, we lost a very close friend a few years ago to Glioblastoma, so it only seemed right to make a donation to the Brain Tumor association as opposed to a tangible favor. Cake, we decided to have a fake cake to cut into and ordered sheet cakes from Gregg’s restaurant. We ordered a vanilla cake dyed pink– proceeds went towards Breast Cancer and a chocolate cake– proceeds donated to Hasbro Children’s Hospital.
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Wedding Photography: Erin McGinn Boutique Photography | Wedding Venue: Squantum Association | Cake: Gregg’s Restaurants | Flowers, Runners + Pillows: DIY by family friends | Linens + Chairs: Rentals Unlimited | Seating Chart: Susi Art | Framing: Donna Neville Customer Framing | Makeup: Kristin Greene Hair and Makeup Artistry | Hair: Blue Moon Hair Studio | Band: Sweet Tooth and the Sugar Babies | Limousine: Five Star Limo | Bus: First Student