Catie + Brian’s gorgeous summer wedding was truly an unforgettable day, for so many reasons. The weather wasn’t what the bride and groom had in mind for their big day but they embraced the rain (and a rainbow!) and had an absolutely perfect wedding day nonetheless. We are so happy to have Catie joining us today to share a bit about their wedding along with some beautiful photos by Maggie Conley Photography!

“Although my husband, Brian, and I met living in San Francisco, we are both from the East Coast – Brian from Clinton, CT and I’m from Baltimore, MD. When it came time to plan a wedding, we decided on the East Coast as the majority of our family and friends are based there. We really wanted to create a New England weekend experience from start to finish for our friends and family. From the beginning, the key things that were important to us were the music, the food and having opportunities to spend as much time as possible with our guests. I enlisted the help of my cousin, Deven Travelstead with Deven Travelstead Events, and together we set out to bring our vision of the weekend and the wedding to life.”

“After some research, conversations and tastings, we decided on our “dream team” of vendors: Hana Floral for all floral, A Thyme to Cook as the caterers, Maggie Conley Photography, Beth Bee Art for live painting, Silver Arrow Band, Lorna Made Me Blush Artistry (Lorna Pulver) for makeup, and Posh Salon in Niantic for hair. For the wedding invitations, I had my mom (who is an amazing artist) do custom line drawings of Jonathan Edwards Winery, the reception tent and a lobster. We used all of the artwork in the day of pieces as well as on the custom lobster bibs and koozies for the rehearsal dinner.”

“Since we decided on an inland wedding, when we were looking for a rehearsal dinner location, we wanted to be near the water. We wanted something new and a little out-of-the-box - Abbott’s Lobster in Noank was perfect! The outdoor tent was a blank canvas - my mom and Deven put together simple floral arrangements and we had so much fun designing the custom bibs, koozies and place settings for our guests. The staff at Abbott’s Lobster was fantastic and all of the food was absolutely delicious! This event ending up being a fan favorite of the weekend and I cannot recommend Abbott’s enough! After Abbott’s, we hosted a Welcome Party at the Oyster Club in Mystic. We had a much larger turnout than expected but the staff at Oyster Club was incredible and accommodated all of our group.”

“After a week of beautiful summer weather, we woke up on our wedding day to a massive rain storm with flash flood warnings all over the area. The rain let up a little as we arrived at Jonathan Edwards for our first look. The radar was showing a fully clear afternoon and evening so we proceeded with the outdoor ceremony. As our guests arrived and we began heading to the ceremony, the sky opened up and it started pouring. It was too late to turn back so we went with it – our friends and family huddled together sharing umbrellas, other guests shielded the photographers and live band, and our maid of honor and best man held umbrellas over us as we said our vows.”

“While no one ever wants rain on their wedding day, it ended up making the day so much more fun. Everyone was laughing at each other – hair, makeup, dresses were wet and none of it mattered. So in a weird way, it set the tone for the rest of evening which was about fun and enjoying our friends and family. During our cocktail hour, the rain stopped, the sun came out and there was a huge, beautiful rainbow that appeared. We were able to capture the rainbow in a number of our photos.”

“Our reception was amazing, the dance floor was packed the entire night with Silver Arrow Band playing mostly Motown – we were clear that we wanted music that would get all of our guests dancing. The food was fantastic – from the raw bar during our cocktail hour to the watermelon/feta salad to the swordfish/short rib paired plate. A Thyme to Cook nailed our vision! Maggie Conley captured all of the moments and having Beth Bee Art doing the live painting added another fun element to the reception.”

“As the reception came to an end, we boarded buses to Engine Room where we hosted a casual after party. Burgers, fries and beer, and then it was time to end our evening! We are so thankful to all of our vendors for working with us to make our dream wedding come to life! It was the most perfect day.”

V E N D O R S
MMW Caterer: A Thyme to Cook
MMW Florist: Hana Floral Design
MMW Live Wedding Painter: Beth Bee Fine Art
MMW Photographer: Maggie Conley Photography
Hair Stylist: Posh Salon
Makeup Artist: Lorna Made Me Blush Artistry
Venue: Jonathan Edwards Vineyard

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