There’s just no denying it – this wedding is pure perfection. Pure perfection thought up by a beautiful (+ creative) bride and one seriously talented group of New England vendors. Think Atheneum Creative, Mezze Catering, Daughter of Design and Search Party (just to name a few), all coming together to create a rustic chic meets uber-romantic kind of day. Oh, and the gallery captured by Ashley O’Dell Photography? Simply amazing. Join me there for all of the pretty.
And a little something special from David Bettencourt? Yes, please.
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From the Bride… Phil and I met in high school, almost exactly twenty years before our wedding day — though it took an online dating site to finally get us to go out years later. After waiting almost twenty years, we wasted very little time before deciding we wanted to spend the rest of our lives together.
I work as a theatre director and producer, so the moment we got engaged (okay, maybe even before) I threw myself into wedding planning like I was putting together my biggest production ever. Phil took to calling it “Kate’s greatest show in four acts.”
We are both lucky enough to have brilliant, gorgeous, articulate younger sisters who we asked to co-officiate. We loved working with them to plan our ceremony, and the result proved so personal and unique—we were even able to maintain all of the Jewish traditions that we found meaningful.
We found Stonover Farm very early on and immediately knew it was the perfect setting for our wedding. I had gotten to know the Berkshires having worked for many summers at the Williamstown Theatre Festival. And being a deep lover of food and restaurants, I had become a devoted customer of the wonderful Mezze Bistro in Williamstown… so when we found out they were the preferred caterer for Stonover Farm, it seemed like fate. Dawn, our coordinator from Mezze, introduced us to the astonishing Crocus Hale for flowers and the genius Julie Seitel for lighting – and together we created something of a progressive party. The ceremony took place on the ramp of Stonover’s beautifully restored 19th century barn, cocktails were by the duck pond, then across the road to a sailcloth tent for dinner, then back to the barn for dessert and dancing, and finally to a bonfire out on the grass for s’mores and late night snacks.
Probably the most unexpected part of the wedding came later in the night when it was supposedly time to throw the bouquet. 14 months before the wedding, Phil proposed by reciting one of our favorite poems – Kite, by Rives – to me from memory. I wanted to find a creative way of returning the sentiment, and so I convinced my friends who write musicals to compose a song for me to sing to Phil at the reception. I’ve never really kept a secret from him before, but behind his back I recruited all the bridesmaids and groomsmen to back me up, and we were able to surprise him with a gift that was truly memorable – an original song called “Just So You Know.”
I will admit that there were a few moments over the course of the planning that I wondered why we hadn’t just saved the stress and money and eloped, but spending that weekend surrounded by the people in the world that mean the most to us, celebrating our love and enjoying each other… it was the happiest I had ever felt.
Photography: Ashley O'Dell Photography | Videography: David Bettencourt | Event Planning: Daughter of Design | Floral Design: Crocus Hale | Wedding Dress: Monique Lhuillier | Cake: A.W. Confections | Ceremony Venue: Stonover Farm Bed & Breakfast | Reception Venue: Stonover Farm Bed & Breakfast | Shoes: Jimmy Choo | Bridesmaids Dresses: Amsale | Catering: Mezze Catering + Events | Makeup: Virginia Bradley Linzee | Hair: Styles On B | Calligraphy: Meant To Be Calligraphy | Lighting: Seitel Lighting | Ketubah: Ketubah Graphia | Musicians: Wilson Stevens | Paper Designs: Atheneum Creative | Rentals: Classical Tents