We’re excited to be kicking off this holiday weekend early with a gorgeous nautical wedding shot by Brea McDonald. There’s nothing that screams quintessential summer more than blues, stripes, and the most perfect backyard inspired celebrations!
What made the wedding special and unique?
Maine is a very special place for me since I have grown up spending all my summers there. J has also grown to love it and it was special to not only have a classic seaside Maine wedding but to show all of our out of town friends and family what we love so much about Maine. We tried to be as thematic as possible without ever being cheesy. The monogrammed wedding totes were filled with all Maine and New England treats – Whoopie Pies and Gummie lobsters for example. We served lobster during cocktails, the dinner, and the after party (we had a food truck parked outside with all you can eat lobster rolls, fried clam rolls, and cheeseburgers) and used as much local food as possible, esp seafood – scallops, clams, mussels, local greens etc. etc., local beer – shipyard,) Glass floats hung from the ceiling, lobster buoys decorated the tables, the flowers were local, everything was blue and white nautical. We also had a classic lobster bake on the beach for out rehearsal dinner. What made the reception particularly special for us what that it was at my (the Bride’s) summer home which gave it the beach, casual but elegant vibe we wanted.
Tell us about your dress and where/how you found it!
From the beginning I knew I wanted streamlined sheath cut that fit my elegant but beachy aesthetic. I also knew I wanted straps. Many bridal boutiques told me that would be a tough silhouette to find, but we found this David Feilden Dress at Lovely bride and knew it was the one.
What were some touches added to make it personal?
At my bachelorette party we played the newlywed game (my sister had video taped J’s responses) and one of the questions was “What is your (Suzi’s) favorite part about the planning process?” J guessed my answer right away – putting the wedding monogram on as many things as possible. Mr. Boddington’s designed our incredible save the date and invitation suite. They employ amazing artists who hand draw details – such as drawing our house (the venue) and the chapel where where got married onto a custom map. I sent them an image of rope laid out in initials and asked them to draw it. It looks SO incredible that I wanted to put it on as much as possible for a really personal feel. (Invitations, cocktail napkins, The groomsmen ties, a corn hole board, cups for the lobster bake and after party, custom t-shirts for the after party, a custom welcome tote bag, tags, stickers etc etc…). I also used etsy as much as possible for things like custom straws, water bottles, hand woven nautical bracelets which were napkin rings and bracelets to wear.
I am an art consultant and love design and being crafty in general so I also did a lot of decor items myself. I hand painted all the lobster buoys blue and hand stenciled them. I made almost all the signs scattered throughout the wedding (only one purchased was the rehearsal dinner one), The menu boards are old windows from our house that I painted with blackboard paint and had my sister write up in her perfect script. taking all the flip flops out of plastic, tying them with rope and adding hand stamped sizes…the list goes on, but that;s a good start! Also the designer and owner of The Ropes is a family friend who custom designed a bracelet in our colors (cobalt, navy, white) and monogrammed it with the wedding date. I used this as a gift for all the bridesmaids. It was special not only because its very stylish but quintessentially nautical Maine.
What was the most memorable part of the day?
Seeing everything come together, since we built the venue and cocktails location from scratch and had so many small decor details it was so exciting to see it happening. And of course, nothing is better than being surrounded by all of the people you love most!
Tell us how you met/proposed! We met at Colgate University when I was a freshman and J was a sophomore, though we started dating when I was a junior and J was a senior (2006)- and have been together since! Our relationship has take us from upstate NY to prague to New York City and now Boston.
Also Colgate has a lot of tradition surrounding the number 13 – it was founded by 13 men with 13 dollars and 13 prayers – and thus, everything at Colgate is all about the lucky number 13. As soon as we saw that there was a Saturday the 13th of July we knew our date – 7-13-13.
Tell us about your proposal!
I arrived home, the Friday before Easter, to find a giant Easter basket. It was the first Easter in 6 years of dating that we had been together so J wanted to commemorate is by getting me a Easter basket. I immediately started tearing through the basket excited about the candy (no idea what was going on). I started with the medium size egg which had my favorite soaps, then the small ones which had bracelets, nail polish (other fun goodies) then ended on the medium size one (he knew which order I would go in.) Inside was a little navy box. Dumbfounded, I stood there while he took it out and got down on one knee. J had a bottle of champagne waiting in the fridge and a surprise reservation at our favorite restaurant. He also stopped by the restaurant earlier in the day to drop off a gorgeous arrangement of pink peonies for the table
Vendors: Photography: Brea McDonald // Event Planning: Lilybrooke Events // Tent: Sperry Tents // Catering: White Apron Catering and Ocean Roll food truck (after party) // Flowers: Calluna