A Tower House Wedding

With Christmas and Thanksgiving now in the books, I am finally finding a little time to post my sister's wedding. It was a beautiful event from start to finish and I am still amazed at how every little detail that she envisioned came together on the big day. All photo credits to David Welch Photography (the absolute best!)

 Boutonnieres and bouquets by Krishana Collins, Tea Lane Farm 

For the pie table.

   

       

Adorable "Ring BEARer" shirt designed by my sister for my son. He had a great pre-wedding nap in it.

The boys. One of the groomsmen gifts were these suspenders custom embroidered with the guys' initials.

The girls. We received these beautiful robes as bridesmaids gifts.

The bride. Her dress is from Blhdn (no longer available) but she added lace from my mother's wedding gown to the neckline to make it extra special.

The veil was a custom piece which also included my mother's wedding dress lace. I love this idea and think this veil will become a heirloom piece.

Sweet little flower girls. | Portia Dress

 The flower girls' wreaths were custom made by my grandmother (their great-grandmother).

The ceremony was held in front of a stone wall. The slightly sloping hill helped ensure all witnesses had a great view (of the ceremony and the beautiful landscape). 

 The gorgeous arbor was handmade by the groom's father and sister. It was draped with seeded eucalyptus. | Barefoot Gardens

 Menemsha Harbor

The couple drove off in an old car (it was a Plymouth maybe, sorry not a car expert at all).

Squibnocket Beach

 First dance to "Offering" by The Avett Brothers 

Remember that marquee sign?!

 My mom constructed this light setup so that we could dance under the stars.

Centerpieces and tablescapes by Kristen Brown | Barefoot Gardens

 Seeded eucalyptus marked the head table.

 Another adorable idea; the couple asked guests to sign an Eldridge's Map of Martha's Vineyard instead of a traditional guest book. Mike and I signed at the East Chop Beach Club of course!

Wedding Cake

 Mother and son dancing to "Days Like This" by  Van Morrison.

Although the bride was initially panicked that the fireworks would cause the police to shut down the party prematurely, it was a beautiful display that she and everyone greatly enjoyed.

This post is dedicated to my little sister, one of my very best friends, and someone that I look up to most in this world. You are beautiful inside and out and I am so happy that you found someone that appreciates you as such. Congrats to Lindsay and Aaron and many, many years of love and luck to both of you! And, oh yeah, your wedding was amazing!

Beach Plum Inn Rehearsal Dinner

The day before the wedding, we all gathered at the Tower House for a ceremony rehearsal. Lucky for us we stayed on the property in Lovey's Cottage which was just perfect for my family and my older brother's family. The rehearsal went relatively smooth with the exception of the groom accidentally reciting "my awfully wedded wife" (which he did repeat during the actual ceremony the following day). With the work behind us we headed to the Beach Plum Inn a few miles away for a (kid-free yippee) rehearsal dinner.

Photo Credits: David Welch Photography

It doesn't get much more beautiful than this. We timed it perfectly and had a front row seat to one of the more beautiful sunsets I have ever seen. 

Dinner was served on the lower patio underneath vintage style string lights. We had the whole space to ourselves (except for a few friendly chickens).

The Beach Plum Inn

After the months and months of wedding planning we all were able to relax and enjoy the family being together at last. 

 Floral Maxi Dress | Lace Sheath Dress

Gorgeous Invites

Yes, I am a bit behind but without further adieu I present the beautiful invitation suite created by my super talented sister:

The invites themselves were printed on actual wood sheets (including the little island with the couple's initials on it). The envelopes for both the invitation and the RSVP card came from Paper Source but the liner was a custom touch. The paper for the liner was purchased at Rifle Paper Co. and she cut the liners by hand and applied them to the envelopes. All the designs were completed by the bride herself. These invitations were a huge labor of love for her but I believe they were worth all the effort (says the lady that did NOTHING to help).

I love the request on her RSVP card and I can tell you that she loved reading the guests' responses!

Lini's Bridal Shower

We had so much fun celebrating my baby sister at her bridal shower a few months back. Because her fiance and his whole family live on the Vineyard and our family does not, I needed to find a place that would be convenient for islanders and mainlanders (is that a word?) alike. I settled on the Landfall in Woods Hole. This restaurant is right next to the ferry and sits pretty much on the water.
It would have been impossible to keep the date a secret with needing Lini to come off island but I wanted something to be a surprise so we kept the details from her. I told her I would pick her up at the boat and drive her to the shower. She thought it was going to be at my house since we generally do family showers at our homes. I told her I was early and having a drink at the Landfall bar while I waited for her boat to come in. She was surprised to see all her family and friends as she walked in to meet me.

Landfall | Jumbo balloons | Garland

Lindsay loves the Rifle Paper Co. so I wanted to incorporate a botanical theme into the celebration. The cake was topped with a "Love Grows Here" banner and we gave guests little succulents that I planted in mini mason jars.

Cake Topper | Succulents

It was a beautiful day and, most importantly, it seemed to make Lini (and her little flower girl aka my daughter) very happy.

Lini's dress 

Wedding Video

We are less than a month away from my sister's wedding and I was asking her about whether or not she was planning on hiring a videographer. This got me thinking about our own wedding video and how much I love it. So for your enjoyment here is our little recap video:
I absolutely adore this video and it is so fun to re-watch it each year. Our daughter now loves watching it too. I highly recommend hiring a videographer! We loved the guys at Martha's Vineyard Productions!

Save the dates!

I got my sister's save the date in the mail today and its making me even more excited for her wedding! It also got me thinking that I should share my save the date (and hers too!). Both were DIY and fairly budget friendly. Lindsay is super talented with Photoshop though and it shows with her version. How gorgeous is this:

Lindsay found this photo at Vineyard Colors and they were nice enough to let her use the image! It perfectly illustrates her and Aaron's style. See the ferry in the background?! Too cute!

She even added a sticker for her guests' calendars which I think is such a cute idea!

For my save the dates, I collected vintage Martha's Vineyard postcards from wherever I could find them, most came from eBay. Then I ordered a couple custom stamps, one from my handwriting with the details of the wedding and one of a faux postmark from Oak Bluffs with our wedding date in it.

Just a couple of examples! I think I send out at least 6 six different postcards!

In total (including the envelops but excluding postage) I spent $110 on our save the dates and was quite pleased with how they came out. My sister ended up spending a little more since she splurged for a super high quality print job (and who wouldn't for that gorgeous image!). I think her total came to around $200. I love how both really showcase our individual styles and got guests excited for the main events.

What did you or will you spend on save the dates? Do you think they need to compliment/match the style of the wedding?

Next up...My Sister's Martha's Vineyard Wedding at the Tower House

Sorry its been awhile. Michael and I have now been happily married for 3+ years and have 2 beautiful kids! We are so glad that we didn't totally break the bank for our MV wedding. I will be posting a complete and final schedule of our budget shortly. In the meantime, enjoy this gorgeous DIY marquee sign that my sister and mom made over the weekend. Lini is getting married this labor day on the island at the Tower House. She is a total different bride than I was but she is also my best friend so I will be able to share all the budget details with you all (and also maybe a few fun DIY projects)!