The Eisenhower House stood out as the perfect venue for Alysa and Tim’s Rhode Island wedding—beautiful, but not over the top, with a fun history (formally Dwight Eisenhower’s summer house) for the history buff groom. The couple worked with Infinite Events to plan the day that incorporated a palette of blues and a whole lot of inspiration from their love of shellfish. Whimsical watercolor stationery was by El’s Cards and The Local Bouquet filled the lovely white tent reception to the brim with white and yellow floral arrangements and greenery chandeliers and table garland. And, of course, we can’t get enough of the blue and white striped tablecloths. Lucky for us, our friend Erin McGinn was behind the lens capturing these lovely photos of the day.
from the bride: I grew up in Rhode Island, and Tim and I have always loved going back to visit my home in Little Compton. While we haven’t spent much time as a couple in Newport, I spent most of my childhood on Aquidneck Island, going to school in Portsmouth. When we started looking at reception venues, RI was at the top of our list for location. We ended up looking at just two venues and the Eisenhower House stood out. It’s very much our style – it’s beautiful, but not over the top, and it also has a fun history (formally Dwight Eisenhower’s summer house) and Tim’s a bit of a history buff. We also liked the idea of bringing in our choice of vendors which gave us plenty of opportunities to make it our own. In addition, we knew our out-of-town guests would have plenty to do in Newport and we loved that just about everyone would be in one place for the entire weekend.
One inspiration for much of the day came from our mutual love of oysters (well, really all shellfish/seafood). We included oyster details throughout our invitation suite and day-of papers, and a raw bar was a must-have from the very beginning. We worked with our caterer (Blackstone) to bring a few other personal touches to the menu. Tim grew up in Western Mass, home of the best corn in the world (according to his family). To pay homage, we had a sweet corn salad as a passed hors d’oeuvre. For a late night snack, we were inspired by the (now closed) late-night Boston restaurant, Pompeii. When we first started dating, we used to wait in line (often down the block) at all hours of the night for pizza slices and & arancini after a night out. When we first spoke with the caterer, pizza and rice balls were the only things on the menu that I was sure of aside from the raw bar.
Oh, and I guess also kind of fun, I made our wedding cake! Since before I can remember, I’ve been baking with my Aunt for holidays and family events. She inspired my love for baking, and I was super excited to bring that love to our wedding day.
Photography: Erin McGinn // Event Planning: Infinite Events // Floral Design: The Local Bouquet // Paper: El’s Cards // Ceremony Venue: Our Lady Of Mercy Chapel // Wedding Venue: Eisenhower House // Wedding Dress Boutique: Madeline’s Daughter // Wedding Dress Designer: Hayley Paige // Bridesmaids’ Dresses Designer: Amsale and Joanna August // Bridesmaids’ Dresses Boutique: Bella Bridesmaid // Makeup: Charlotte Phinney // Hair: Divine Tranquility // Groom’s Attire: Indochino // Rehearsal dinner: Midtown Oyster Bar // Lighting: Ryan Designs, LLC // Tent: Newport Tent Company // Catering: Blackstone Catering // Music: Stardust Band