When you are tying the knot in Mystic, a casual stroll through downtown Mystic and photos in front of the drawbridge are a must! Christina + Ryan had the most beautiful wedding last July and they incorporated so many wonderful Mystic elements into their day.

From the bride… “The weekend of the wedding began on Friday night with a casual drop-in Welcome Party at M/Bar. On Saturday morning, Ryan, his groomsmen and other friends and family enjoyed a golf outing at Lake of Isles at Foxwoods.

Sunday was the wedding day! The bride and bridal party got ready for the ceremony and had some girl time at a private waterfront residence in Stonington Borough, while the groom and his guys got prepped at our home in West Mystic.

The ladies boarded the trolley and headed to downtown Mystic to meet up with the men. Ryan and I had our first look behind Li’s Bake Shop on the dock at Schooner Wharf. What an amazing moment!

After taking a bunch of portraits in this location, we strolled through Mystic so we could take a few photos by the bridge... and in the road when the bridge went up! We timed things perfectly and hopped onto the trolley to head to the venue.

I was preceded down the aisle by the mother of the groom and the mother of the bride, both escorted by their sons, the five bridesmaids, and our flower girl, ring bearer and our best pup, Lucky.

My father and I walked down the aisle to “I Can’t Help Falling In Love” by Elvis Presley. The ceremony included another musical selection, Sweetheart by Thomas Rhett, performed by Ben Freiert accompanied by my cousin and his son on guitar.

We shared the vows we’d written for each other and then our JOP used a length of rope from Mystic Knotwork to perform an Irish Hand Blessing to symbolically “tie the knot.” After saying “I do!”, we recessed as Mr. and Mrs. to “You Are The Best Thing” by Ray LaMontagne.

A cocktail hour followed on the porch of the Mystic Yachting Center before the guests headed upstairs to the top floor for dinner and dancing. The guests were seated at tables named after our favorite restaurants in Mystic and we sat at the "Anthony J's" sweetheart table. The emcee and band for the reception was the Boston Premier Band and they were awesome!”