Southern Weddings

We’re back with even more from Chelsey + David’s nautical nuptials!  When this wedding landed in my inbox, I was instantly drawn to the glossy, vibrant cake stand and too-cute cake.  Surprise!  The cake stand was made by Chelsey’s Dad, and the cake was made by her Mom!  Family members, friends, and the couple were also responsible for the graphic design elements, the welcome crossword, the centerpieces, and the favors, among other things.  Pink Orchid Weddings was on hand to pull all of the fantastic details together as the day-of coordinator, while a tent on the grounds of the Moosehead Maritime Museum (207-695-2716) provided just the blank canvas design-minded Chelsey was looking for.  Once again, a huge thank you to Erica Lyn and & Unlimited for sending these images our way! 

P.S. Want even more Chelsey + David?  Check out her posts as Mrs. Gloss on Weddingbee here!

Tell us about finding your wedding dress: I found my dress at the Filenes Annual Running of the Brides in Boston.  I tried on A LOT of dresses that day; it was like a speed trial for dress shopping and it was exhausting.  I had five girls with me, including my mom, and they ran around for hours collecting dresses for me to try on, needless to say the one I ended up with is the only one I picked out myself!
Describe your wedding flowers: I absolutely loved my personal flowers, I felt they were both romantic and modern.  I chose a lot of flowers that were very structured and ordered, but all mixed together so they looked soft and delicious.  
Describe your wedding cake: I wanted a modern feeling cake that meshe with the relaxed feel of our wedding.  I came up with the design from a combination of other cakes I had seen, and in my quest for perfection decided we would make the cake ourselves.  In the end, we chose a lemon cake with lemon icing and scattered blueberries.  My Dad handmade the three cake stands and we painted them a bright glossy yellow.
Were there any wedding traditions or new ideas you included in the wedding?  During the ceremony, we requested that everyone toss a rock, on which I had written our names and wedding date, into the water and make a wish for us and our future.  One sound I will never forget is all those rocks ‘plunking’ into the water.  We also had a s’mores bar set-up because many of our guests were from out-of-town and it would be a crime to come to Maine and not partake in some marshmallow roasting!
Did you write your own vows?  If so, what was your favorite phrase, verse or line?  
We elected not to use traditional vows and instead composed them from others we had heard and read.  My favorite line would have to be the first:
“I Chelsey, choose you David, to be none other than yourself, loving what I know of you, trusting what I do not yet know.”   
What’s next for you as a couple?  What are you looking forward to in the future?  We are looking forward to buying our first home and welcoming our first member of the family, a puppy!

Congratulations to Chelsey, David + their brand new puppy!

Ohhhh boy have we got a treat for you today!  As a Maine girl at heart, I am in love with Chelsey + David’s nautical nuptials.  Their wedding was a true DIY affair, with everything from the rope boutonnieres to the amazing cake to the gorgeous invitations made in-house.  Of course, we would expect nothing less from a Bee.  Recognize a familiar face?  Chelsey is better known in the blogosphere as Miss (now Mrs.!) Gloss of Weddingbee.  Her and David’s ceremony took place on the S.S. Katahdin, a tugboat anchored off the Maine coast.   One exception to the DIY rule?  The ladies’ personal flowers, which were put together by The Cottage (207-695-0777).  Huge thanks to Meredith of & Unlimited and Erica Lyn for sending this wedding our way!

P.S. You know you’re curious about those invitations now.  Check them out here and here!

How did the two of you meet?  Tell us your story.  We started ‘going out’ my sophomore year of high school and have been together ever since!  I would say our relationship started on the tennis courts, but we kept each other close by teaching ski lessons together and even working at a State Park for a few summers.  When we finally tied the knot, we had been together for almost a decade.
Describe the proposal.  We had been house hunting for a little while, so each day at work he would send me links to properties he liked to see what I thought.  At about 3:00 on ’E-Day’ (which was a Friday), I got an email with a link to a property. I clicked on it and while scrolling through the pictures, I recognized a few of them as ones we had taken together at the park we used to work at. The last image had directions to meet him at the end of Long Wharf in Boston.  I walked to the wharf to find David waiting for me.  All I can really remember after that was this:

Me: “Hi”
David: “Hi… do you want to be embarrassed?”
 Me: “Um… no, not really”
 
At this point he pulled me behind one of the brick pillars so we were hidden from the view of everyone hanging out on the wharf, and proposed and, of course, I cried.  He had made dinner plans at Mare, an Italian restaurant in the North End.  So we ate good food, drank good wine and obviously followed the meal with gelato.  When we arrived back at our apartment, he had a bottle of wine that he had been saving since he had come to visit me when I lived in Italy.  So we relaxed with more delicious wine and called our parents to tell them the good news!
Three adjectives that describe the day are: Relaxed, classic and charming.
What was the design inspiration for your wedding?  We wanted a classic New England wedding that was a true reflection of us.  Since we decided our ceremony was going to be on a boat, we threw in a little dash of nautical.  
What was your favorite design element of your big day?  I loved all of our paper goods, especially our invitations.  I hand printed them on 220# Crane Lettra which gave weight and importance to an otherwise casual invitation design.  I painted the edges a bright yellow, to add an unexpected splash of color.
Your favorite detail of the wedding was: Can I say everything?  I loved every detail, from the jars of homemade jam with the strawberries my mom handpicked, to the laser-etched escort cards with knots as table names.  Most of all, I loved how all my family and friends came together to make the day perfect for us.  So many people offered their time to help out and that is something I will never forget.