With a bit of boho, a dash of modern design and plenty of love, these two aimed to combine all their inspiration into one beautiful, balanced bash. And that goal was achieved quite stylish and successfully. Shabby met chic for this industrial autumn wedding and Ashley Largesse captured it all, from the DIY details to the custom designed dress. See every bit and every emotional moment in our Vault gallery right this way!
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From Ashley Largesse… I’m still in awe at everything from this beautiful wedding day. From the bride’s gorgeous custom designed wedding gown and the bridesmaids’ unique dresses which she hand selected, to the DIY ceremony decor and carefully chosen geometric planters hanging from the reception ceiling. Each and every lovely detail so perfectly contributed to the beautiful and intimate setting which surrounded Heather and Dennis’ special day.
From the Bride… When my now husband and I got engaged in the spring of 2015, I have to admit the thought of planning a wedding seemed daunting. I wasn’t sure how I wanted to go about anything, but one day it just kind of came to me and I held true to it throughout the whole planning process. Neither of us had any strong personal connections to certain locations, we just knew it would be in the fall, in New England, inside. Although I always envisioned my bridal self in a meadow full of wild flowers getting married under an old tree, the thought of potentially going to battle with the unpredictable New England fall elements was too much for me to chance. I switched my more bohemian view to something that suited both our personalities. Balance is the one word that I repeated to myself throughout this whole process. As a couple, Dennis and I are seemingly diverse, but what I love most about our partnership is the necessary balance we bring to each other. I wanted to incorporate that balance into all aspects of our wedding. For some reason, I was strongly drawn to industrial interiors, like exposed brick and old windows, and I quickly fell in love with the androgyny an industrial setting would bring to our wedding. We looked at two industrial venues and landed on the lovely Rivermill at Dover Landing in Dover, NH during the peak season of fall 2016. The first time I saw the raw space, the floor to ceiling windows, exposed brick walls, grey stained old wood floors, I just knew it was where we would become husband and wife. It was simple like us, and I felt it would provide the perfect setting to share our love with family and friends.
After securing the venue, I spent time researching event specialists and wedding planners, and I soon realized I was a bit of a control freak. Not in a bridezilla kind of way, I just felt compelled to incorporate my own design ideas throughout the wedding, opting to hand make and build most of the elements in our wedding rather than fork over money and control to a planner. Take our ceremony backdrop for example: my husband and I built the copper pipe arch in the middle of a Home Depot aisle together, and we both made the lace embroidery hoops that delicately hung from it. It was so special to have something we created together highlighted on a day that was just about us.
When it came to flowers and decor, I knew I wanted to use soft greenery to help balance the masculinity and harshness of the massive open space, and I knew I needed to find a florist who fully understood my vision. Luckily, Jessica Christoferson from Cymbidium Floral in Exeter, NH answered my floral prayers. She just got my vision and brought it to life more beautifully than I could have ever hoped, filling the vintage glass bottles and ivory creamers I bought with stems of dusty miller, brunia, ranunculus and succulents, creating a gorgeous gathering of succulents and ranunculus in the wooden flower boxes my mom, Maid of Honor, and I made, and suggesting to add hanging plants to the geometric shapes I bought that would hang above our sweetheart table.
To bring more softness to the tablescapes, I made natural rope chargers for the round tables, which were perfect place settings to showcase our sage watercolor menus and wine stopper favors, and I created glass plates with lace to be used as chargers for the long tables, which beautifully complemented the rustic wooden planks running the length of each table. The mix of soft green and creamy florals, ivory linens, rustic wood accents, and touches of lace provided the perfect juxtaposition to the hard brick interiors. I added in some ivory ceiling draping by Event Lighting Concepts to tie the whole look together. Walking into our reception as husband and wife, it seriously took our breath away to see all of the DIY components come together so effortlessly.
Aside from the décor and setting, it was so important to us to have our closest family and friends by our side on our wedding day, and highlight them individually. I wanted my girls to look and feel their best, so instead of choosing one dress, one color, one style, I opted for different dresses, colors, and styles all together. I sent the girls a few different line ups of mix and match dress options, they chose their favorite, and the rest was pure magic. The first time I saw the Adrianna Papell dresses (all found on Nordstrom.com) lined up next to each other was the actual day of the wedding, so until that point, I was fingers and toes crossed, hoping the aesthetic I was going for was a realistic one. And amazingly, it was. Lined up all together, they mimicked a water color painting with strokes of blush, cream, and misty blues – the girls were absolutely stunning. For the men, we wanted to keep it easy and simple, having them wear their best navy suit with white shirt, brown belt, and brown shoes. Dennis provided the ties – blueish, grey linen ties from Etsy, and he also incorporated his love for all things America by gifting American flag socks, which paired perfectly with the giant American flag tapestry we used as a backdrop for the groomsmen photos.
Keeping with the DIY theme, I chose none other than to custom design my own wedding dress. I fell in love with a Justin Alexander creation from In White Bridal Boutique in Agawam, MA, and worked with their amazing seamstress to change the entire dress to fit my vision. I forever pictured myself with a long sleeved lace wedding dress, so that was an obvious. I drew a sketch of what I wanted and sent some similar silhouette’s to the seamstress to use for inspiration. It was a little scary going through the different life cycles of this dress – the cutting up of the dress, the addition of the sleeves, the additional tweaks to the neckline and appliques, but the end result was everything I wanted and more. Dennis surprised me, and chose a lighter blue suit than his groomsmen, which fit him like a glove. He wanted to stand out from the other men – it was his day too.
The vibe of the day was exactly what we wanted. It was easy, fun, and simple, while still being elegant, modern and unique to us. To this day, we still talk about the moment we stepped aside together to take in the scene around us – the mound of donuts in the corner I couldn’t wait to get my hands on, our friends dancing like maniacs to the world’s best singing DJ, Dan Gorski of Sky Music Events, seeing our DIY elements seamlessly fit into the vast industrial space, our two families uniting as one, and us reflecting on what we knew would be a full, happy, and balanced life ahead of us.
Photography: Ashley Largesse Photography | Floral Design: Cymbidium Floral | Stationery: Taylor Brodie | Bridesmaids' Dresses: Nordstrom | Makeup: Studio 90 | Hair: Studio 90 | Calligraphy: Wilde Paper Co. | Groom's Attire: Men's Wearhouse | Wedding Venue: Rivermill At Dover Landing | Furniture + Tabletop Rentals: New England Country Rentals | Hairpiece: Peacock and Lotus | Handmade Details: DIY by Bride | Maid of Honor's Dress: BHLDN
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Perfection is boring and doing something identical to someone else is too! I like Pinterest for inspiration, but it’s important to put you own twist on it. For starters, this will make it easier to accept your work when it looks nothing like the Pin! For our arch, we didn’t have an easy way to create and hang the chicken wire in a full rainbow shape, so we went with a more abstract approach. Symmetry is TOUGH so if you can avoid it, I say go for it!
When following the directions, know when to give up and go it your own way. For the arch, it suggested using a low heat glue gun to attach the first layer of the balloons. We had crazy wind that day and it was drying the glue too fast for the balloons to stick (and taking forever!!). Rather than keep trying because “that’s what the instructions read”, I said forget it (or something like that) and starting using white duck tape and heavy packing tape that I had on hand. As I wrote above, consider a back up plan (especially if you are making the project in your robe only a few hours before guests arrive like me!)
Give your toddler assistant a project that makes her feel important during the process (so you can actually finish!). While Brett (my fab hubby who supports all my ridiculous ideas) and I blew up all the balloons a few days ahead of time, we had Olive sort them by color and place in plastic bags. And, while I climbed up and down the ladder attaching the balloons with tape, Olive decorated the step ladder with said tape. Okay—so this wasn’t a productive task, but it kept her busy and I actually finished with enough time to throw on a dress before the first guest arrived!
