:: Boat Shed Wedding at Mystic Seaport ::
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This past weekend I had the GREAT pleasure to work the fabulous Do It Yourself wedding for Brian + Jen. Jen has been blogging about her wedding for the last six months with her ups and downs of planning a wedding on a $15,000 budget. She talked about her engagement, the DIY projects that she completed, AND how to do them.
Her wedding was everything that I was looking forward to and more. Jen put SO much time and effort into her wedding and the effort that she invested showed through with every project displayed at the wedding.
Let's start at the beginning, Jen and Brian didn't want to miss a second of the action and with a ceremony and reception at the same location they opted to do a first look at the Thomas Oyster Co. building located at Mystic Seaport. We found and discussed this first look location during our venue walkthrough a few months back and it was absolutely epic to see the actual moment unfold. Cannot.wait.for.the.pictures.
The boat shed at Mystic Seaport is a an outdoor venue, Jen + Brian worked tirelessly on the decor of the venue with handmade pendents banners made from different colored fabrics hung from the rafters alongside of perfect white globe lights (borrowed from the Amy Champagne stock), the centerpieces of GORGEOUS Ranaoulous and wild flowers from the garden in a silver julep vase made by Jen + her mom Connie a couple days before were surrounded by five handmade burlap covered votive holders. Other handmade touches was the "escort banners", the ribbon shakers used at the end of the ceremony, and the hand made game of cornhole painted with the colorful pendants which was a HUGE hit with the guests.
The plan was for Jen and Brian to wed in front of the Lighthouse during a beautiful outdoor ceremony. Mother Nature had other plans in store for the couple, therefore my assistant Megan and I pulled together "Plan B" which was to have the ceremony on the dance floor. We set up two rows of seats for the older crowd and immediate family and the rest of the guests gathered around in a casual, yet extremely intimate ceremony. First selectman, Ed Haberek, Jr. was the officiate and what an incredible job he did. Between him and the heartfelt vows the couple exchanged there was not a dry eye in the house.
Once the ceremony was complete and the couple was announced Mr. + Mrs. Brian Fleming, the music was turned up and guests headed to the bar. Coastal Gourmet was the caterer for the event and I seriously cannot say enough good things about them. Mike the catering manager was a great help with our last minute decisions on the ceremony instructing his staff to help me in any way they can (I like when that happens :) ) Their staff was professional, friendly and accommodating and the food and drinks were OUTSTANDING. [Well the drinks looked awesome and the guests certainly enjoyed them, no drinking on the job for me!] Since Jen + Brian were on a budget, they opted to serve dinner family style which I absolutely loved!! The guests ate at the same time, engaged in conversation and were very relaxed. It was really wonderful, and the food was anything but wedding food, the chicken was moist, the steak was cooked to perfection, and the mashed potatoes were killer. I straight up cleaned my vendor meal plate. It was awesome.
After dinner the drinks were flowing and the music was pumping, guests danced the night away and were treated to "Make Your Own" smores that everyone was RAVING about. Overall the wedding did not go according to plan because of the weather, but with Jen + Brian's go with the flow attitude and a little grunt work from Megan and I and the catering staff the day was a blast and an event to remember for the rest of their lives.
Congrats Jen + Brian!!! I hope you are having fun on your honeymoon!!
Loves + Diamonds,
AC::
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