When you work in the wedding business, it becomes increasingly hard to attend any wedding or event and not pass (hopefully silent) judgement about everything – even if it’s your sister walking down the aisle. We literally spend all day talking to brides, grooms, FOBs/MOBs and FOGs/MOGs, wedding planners and vendors. When we’re not interacting with these people, we are scanning blogs and photos and articles so we can educate ourselves on everything wedding-related so that we can quickly and informatively answer all those burning questions and calm last minute nerves. You get to experience the pleasure and joy of getting married once in your life. We get the awesome pleasure of sharing that happiness with around 8 families every weekend and honestly, that is the best part of our jobs – seeing our clients happy!

But through all of these weddings – whether they are preppy nautical or farm-to-table with a night-of pig roasting – we have learned a lot about what works and what doesn’t and you lucky ducks get to hear it from the source. These are the top five most common wedding planning mistakes we see on a daily basis.

1. Overspending

Weddings can cost a lot. Like, a lot a lot. Like as much as a down payment on that spiffy new home with the gated pool and tranquil Koi pond that you’ve been eyeing for 8 months. And if you don’t have a set budget beforehand, the constant desire to have the best and the biggest and the brightest for one day can haunt you for months after in the form of credit card payments and defaulted student loans. Once you come down from the euphoria of your engagement (and have posted the blingin’ ring photos on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest) sit down with your hunny and chat money . What is your budget? What is the overall feel that you are trying to achieve? How many people do you want to be a part of your special day? Everyone dreams of having endless cash to pay for the horse drawn carriage entrance, the champagne fountain and/or the surprise jazz band hidden amongst your ceremony guests that will spontaneously start up a peppy rendition of ‘All You Need is Love’ while you exit the church. (I could never figure out why the people sitting around these guys didn’t notice the trombones next to the prayer kneeler.) But be realistic. Determine what cash you have and then shoot for 5k under that. That way if you have a last minute splurge that you just gotta have (white doves perhaps?), you’ll be comfortable knowing that you can afford the splurge and super happy knowing that it won’t break the bank.

In case you missed it, in the 90s Steve Martin overspent for his daughter's wedding

2. DIY Delirium

Pinterest is a great resource because it gives brides and grooms tons of creative ways to make their wedding special and unique. Pinterest is also a terrible resource because it gives brides and grooms tons of creative ways to make their wedding special and unique. There is a tipping point when all of your creativity goes from awesome and fun to overwhelming and a chore. Doing a lot on your own can be a cost-saving measure, especially if you’re using repurposed materials and buying in bulk, but often what starts out as an amazing venture to grow, cut and arrange your own centerpieces evolves into thorn-pricked hands and a lot of wilted peonies. Some things you should just leave to the professionals (good thing you budgeted for them right at the beginning) and yes, it will feel great to look back at your wedding photos and note what an incredible job you did purchasing that old window, painting each window pane with chalkboard paint and hand calligraphing people’s seating placements. But won’t it feel better remembering that relaxing evening you spent with your bridesmaids and mom the night before the wedding chatting about old boyfriends, drunken shenanigans and this guy’s hilarious twitter?

3. Not hiring a Planner/Coordinator/Consultant

And this doesn’t mean throwing $300 in front of your cousin Cathy – who has been married three times – and has so graciously offered to take care of everything the day of. Chances are your cousin Cathy won’t know the permitting policies in your nuptial town or normal traffic patterns in the area or even the intricate relationships of vendors (I have seen first hand what horror can occur when a caterer doesn’t like the bartender or when a florist refuses to work with a rental company) and these are things only the professionals will know. It’s all learned through experience, not through blogs. It can get expensive to hire a wedding planner or even just a day-of coordinator, but that is one cost I cannot imagine going without. These men and women know. their. job. and their main role is to make the day perfect so you can just relax and enjoy. To make everything even easier on you? Connect your coordinator with a close family member for the day of so that if any issue arises and the coordinator cannot handle it on their own, they can talk to your mom or dad or sister – but not have to involve you. You want to make the day perfect for everyone, but most importantly this is your day to celebrate your love so for once, let someone else handle it.

4. Pleasing everyone.

You can’t please everyone, so don’t. Of course you want to throw an amazing party, but that doesn’t mean everyone is going to love every decision you make, and that’s ok! This doesn’t give you the right to turn into a total bridezilla either. Just be considerate of others. (As in, if 75% of your guest list are vegans, maybe you shouldn’t roast a pig over a spit before dinner.) The places where the most controversy arises are usually the seating chart and the dinner. But honestly, it’s not your issue that two of your friends decided to sleep with the same guy in the same month and if they truly love you, they can put up with the awkward 40 minutes while eating dinner. The rest of the night will be spent on the dance floor anyway where they can dance-out their differences. But you also need to learn to pick your battles. Sometimes you need to stand up for what you truly want (“Thank you for the kind suggestion, future mother-in-law, but I’d rather not have your 90-year-old father play the harmonica during cocktail hour,”) but sometimes, you just gotta let things go. If your mom surprises you with monogrammed bride and groom teddy-bears, instead of shoving them in your bridal suite, snug them between presents on your gift table. It will make your mom happy and save you from a tiff on the day of. It’s all a balancing act. Make sure you’re doing what you and your fiance want, but be sure not to snub any guests. These people are your friends and family. They were there before the wedding and they will still be there after the wedding, so do unto others as you’d want them to do unto you.

5. Back-up plan? Who needs a back-up plan…

It’s a wedding, which means there are a gajillion moving parts to this one day in your life. And no matter how hard you plan, things will go awry. Truthfully, having a planner will make these back-up plan creations a bit easier, but you should be prepared for some of the basic things that can go wrong. First is always the weather. Indoor or outdoor wedding, I’m sure there is some part of the celebration that involves being outside so be sure to either book a rain plan tent or marquee if it’s an outdoor wedding. If the week before the weather looks dodgy, arrange for guests to bring as many golf-sized umbrellas that they can. If you’re supplying your own alcohol for the event, have a game plan in case you run out of something (who knew that many people did Vodka shots?) and make sure that whoever is making the Packy run gets due credit – they may have saved the party. If dinner runs long, maybe double up on the father/daughter and mother/son dance or if the DJ’s equipment shorts out, have an iPod ready with some fill-in tunes.

But most of all HAVE FUN AND BE FLEXIBLE! No matter how much your overspend, DIY, time-line, please and plan, none of that is going to matter once you walk down that aisle or exchange rings because at that moment, you’ll truly remember why everyone is together on this one day in this one place all cleaned-up and looking presentable – for you and your fiance. So enjoy And congratulations! You made it and didn’t make one mistake along the way.

You can spend weeks, months, even years planning your wedding day. Whether it’s the event of the year or an intimate elopement, there’s no doubt that you spent a lot of time and energy into making the day everything you dreamt that it would be down to the tiniest perfectly executed detail. And then POOF! It’s over in a blink of an eye. But with the help of the photographers – both professional and unprofessional - you can relive every minute of the day and share those precious memories not only with your family and friends, but you can now also share the love of your wedding with all the newly engaged who are just sitting down and starting to plan their special day. Well Wed recently launched their Maine and New Hampshire magazine which is chock full of real weddings submitted by newlyweds. From vintage chic or winter wonderland, Well Wed is the perfect place to launch planning your ME/NH wedding. And wouldn’t you, as the glowing newlywed who just experienced the joy of getting married,  love knowing that all of the hard work you put into your wedding day inspired another new bride and groom?

Here are the details:

Reach out to one of the vendors who advertises in Well Wed magazine (Sperry Tents Seacoast is one of them!) and they can outline what they need and by when. There is a questionnaire that needs to be completed to make sure all of the right vendors are credited and that your wedding day story is accurately captured and shared with Well Wed readers. The vendor will then confirm that it is ok with the photographer to submit a few high res images that capture the “cohesive look or theme, eye-catching details and inspired seasonal elements,” of your wedding day. And that’s it! Then you get to wait until that adorable magazine shows up on your doorstep and then you get to relive your wedding day along with the hundreds of other people who turn to Well Wed for wedding advice.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Sperry Tents Seacoast and we’ll be sure to help you out. Happy submitting!

Spring, Summer, Fall… each New England season brings its own unique sights, sounds and colors. Being able to see the splendor of a venue at the peak of each season is such a treat, especially the Inns at Mill Falls in Meredith, NH which is right on the picture perfect banks of the beautiful Lake Winnepesauke. Guests are treated to a stunning lake view surrounded by trees as they witness the union of their friends and family under a 46×65 Sperry Tent. Church Landing hosts events under a Sperry almost every weekend from May through October and we were lucky enough to nab these images from the amazing Bharat Parmar of Bharat Parmar Photography. He truly captures the unique New England charm that Church Landing has to offer and all the fun and love that is celebrated under the big top!

Your wedding day is your time to shine and show some personal style to your friends and family.  And ladies, you have now realized that your shoes do not have to perfectly match your dress, they just need to complement you and your decor. Brides and bridesmaids (and grooms and groomsmen) are all jumping on the opportunity to add a little pizzazz below the knee and wear funky socks and show-stopping kicks. I mean honestly, how alluring is it when your photographer captures a photo that shows a sneak peak of your cowboy boots hidden beneath your Vera Wang?

Or they snap a shot of the girls lined up on the beach and kicking-up their wellies?

So if the traditional white wedding pump is out, then what are 2013 brides considering for their shoes on the big day?

BLING BLING!
Coco Chanel once said, “Before you leave the house, take one [piece of jewelry] off” and this rings true at your wedding as well. There is a thing as too much jewelry on the top. However, if you’re feeling that a necklace and earrings and diamond ring aren’t enough to make you sparkle, add some rocks on your feet. Blinging shoes are all the rage and allow you to add that extra hint of glamour without going over the top (I’m slightly obsessed with these Miu Mius) AND I’m sure you can wear them again with the right pair of matchstick jeans and tank for a night on the town with the girls. Which leads me to the next big trend…

Double-duty
You’re paying a lot for this wedding and anything you can get more use out of is awesome. So when most brides are picking out their foot jewelry, they are evaluating the pair for their awesomeness the day of, but also if they can be worn for many many days after. Girls have the fantastic ability to justify paying a lot of money for things if they can determine at least five other times that they can sport that shirt, sweater or pair of Choos.

Comfort is Key
As much as we ladies smile and say with pride, “Oh but these stillettos ARE comfortable! I know it looks like my three toes on the end there are merging into one and my big toe does seem to be turning purple, but really, it’s like walking on a cloud,” but in all honesty, we’d much rather toss on a pair of Uggs than a pair of platform heels. (It’s ok to admit it. The more of us that do, the greater likelihood that Uggs will become acceptable professional attire.) This year more and more brides are embarking on the shoe search with comfort being a key factor. The trending solutions? Victorian boots – adorned with lace and frills – provide support for your foot will still giving you the vertical boost and a vintage flair. Flats are totally in and Tieks are definitely the rising star. These super comfy, super chic roll-up ballet flats come in many many colors so now you can rock that pop of color while maintaining your balance. And the biggest up and comer? Yee-haw! It’s the cowboy boot. You don’t have to have a mechanical bull on your dance floor or hay bales for your pews to successfully pull off the cowgirl style. Cowboy boots are synonymous with rustic chic these days and are a great way to balance out an otherwise frilly wedding. Lace, cowboy boots and succulents…. it’s perfection.

Color and Patterns and Texture… oh my!
So now we have the blingin’ flats or boots that you can wear throughout the year, but behind the jewels and kitten heels we need to have something that really shows off your personal style. And the 2013 wedding shoes taking on that challenge by bursting with bright colors, fun patterns and lots of texture. From bows, lace, fold-overs and studded heels, wedding shoes aren’t just a smooth surface anymore. And now they come in an array of colors! Neon popping pink, sunshine yellow, emerald green and every shade of something blue your newly-engaged heart could desire. Add some texture to that and you have these beauties that I just cannot imagine my shoe closet being complete without -

Ok so now you have the perfect trendy shoe that matches your personal style that you can wear throughout the year and won’t give you blisters. So you’re ready to go, right? Just in case those out of the box pretties turn on you on hour 7 of dancing, here is a list of great products for your maid of honor to have in her arsenal for you, your bridesmaids, or anyone else who fell victim to the ‘but really, they’re super comfy’ platform stiletto trick -

Foot petals have saved my life. They come in so many shapes and colors so that you can always find the perfect match to your sole (ha!) mate. They can stop you from skidding, rubbing and pinching in a second or two. Seriously worth the investment even for just a Tuesday at the office.

Dr. Scholls for Her. This rub relief works like a dream. Rolls on quick and invisible and lasts for a pretty long time. The best part? It eliminates the embarrassing moment when you kick off your heels at night and crawl into bed and your guy awkwardly asks why you have a weird clear gel thing stuck on your heel…

And the number one trick? Baby powder. Blisters form when your foot sweats and moisture causes your foot to move around in your shoe. The constant rubbing causes your skin to (and I apologize for the graphic nature of this content) literally split apart at the seam under the first few layers of skin. It’s minuscule, but your body sees this as a major threat and shoves fluid up there to cushion the tear. So as your body sighs and reclines back in triumph since it no longer has to deal with this pesky cut, you’re left cringing at this nasty, liquid-filled formation. Throw some preventative baby powder on your heel and it will wick away the moisture and this battle will never occur. To ensure that you are blister free throughout the night, you can always reapply in the powder room which in turn, will keep your feet and those super expensive, adorable, versatile, crazy comfy, eye-popping wedding shoes smelling baby fresh for the next big night out on the town.

Horse drawn carriages, a princess wedding gown, a gorgeous setting and a dreamy atmosphere… this wedding in New York has it all! You might want to sit down or at least prepare to swoon over these stunning shots of a couple so madly in love with each other that their pure happiness radiates throughout the whole party. I know we say it a lot, but I can’t stress how every. single. detail. of this day was executed to perfection under the expert guidance of Ron Wendt from Ron Wendt Designs. From the lighted custom-built pathways, artfully crafted centerpieces, magical lighting installations and delectable dishes, Ron instilled in both Sarah and Phillip the confidence that their only worry on their wedding day would be that time was going by too fast.

Sarah and Phillip Richter were married on his parents’ property in Bedford, NY and incorporated their family, friends and mutual adoration for equestrianism throughout the evening into the celebration. Sarah entered the ceremony tent by way of a beautiful horse drawn carriage and although they couldn’t sign the marriage license (it’s an opposable thumb thing), their favorite horses bore witness to the happy union in custom-built stables that were installed under their ceremony tent. An outdoor cocktail hour allowed guests to take in the natural beauty of Coker Farm while enjoying the mild early-summer weather and the family-style dining ensured that every one of their 350 guests felt like part of the family.

We can honestly say that as this event came to a close, we were sad to no longer be working with the incredible team that made Sarah and Phillip’s wedding a magical, romantic success. We wish Sarah and Phillip all the best as they start their life together and look forward to hopefully working with Ron again in the near future!

Venue: Coker Farm, Bedford, NY
Photography: Kristen Somody Whalen Photography 
Tents and flooring: Sperry Tents Greenwich
Event Design: Ron Wendt Design
Caterer: Oliver Kita Catering

And of course our Project Director and Coordinator, Jesse Edelman, couldn’t leave the property without making a new friend. Don’t worry Otter, we made sure he’s up to date on all his vaccines

No one likes dealing with insurance, even though it’s a necessary part of survival in our danger-ridden world. I will openly admit that I just want to pay as little as I can for the most coverage and then hope and pray I don’t ever have to file a claim and start cutting through all that red tape. But honestly, the hassle and the money is always worth it for me. I’m not a gambler. Whenever I stop at that square in LIFE where you have to buy a house, I always shell out the extra dough for home insurance. The odds of my fake beach house on Monsoon Beach (only $140,000 including a sun deck!) enduring a Hurricane Sandy are slim, but I’d rather not deal with the risk of going bankrupt before I retire at Millionaire Estates or – even worse – having to admit defeat and retire at that inferior white plastic home, Countryside Acres.

So when brides and grooms come to Sperry looking for a tent for their special day and ask if they really need to invest in this event insurance business, we always recommend that you do. It’s true that nine times out of ten you will never have to cash in that policy (we have never actually had to cancel an event due to weather. Instead, we work around the clock dropping tents and re-installing them to make sure that the event continues with little to no inconvenience to you or the venue.) But somethings are completely out of your control. Hurricanes can roll in and we can’t install your tent due to safety issues for the duration of your event or your venue is under water and has to close for repairs. A family member may fall ill prior to the event causing postponement (or they could get ill at the event on the lovely carpet and now you’re regretting spending all that money on the open bar and you have to reimburse the venue for the stain.) You spend months and months executing each detail to perfection and budgeting down to the last penny, don’t you also want to be confident and reassured that if something goes wrong that you don’t have to deal with all the red tape and expensive bills?

Photo by Robert Norman Photography

Our top recommendation is always WedSafe. This company provides you with two main policies – liability insurance and event cancellation insurance. These can be purchased both separately or together and some venues may even require liability insurance. The policy’s cost is dependent on the overall cost of your event as well as the location, but to get a free quick quote, check out this handy tool. You spend money insuring the things that matter to you most: your car, your home, and your health. It just makes sense that you’d want to extend that coverage to one of the most important days in your life.

So take a tip from Sperry and rest assured those nights before your event by purchasing event insurance for your wedding or tented event.

Were you planning on having your ceremony on that boardwalk? Not anymore.

When you get the invite in the mail from your high school or college, that 3×5 sheet of heavy-weight card stock addressed in cursiva font, you know it can only mean one thing – a reunion. That joyous evening when your current husband meets your high school sweetheart and those awkward five seconds where they size each other up. It’s the delicious dinner you share with your best friends in crime who helped curl your hair for prom, shared the numerous sing-alongs in your parent’s car and can remember the days when it was illegal for you to be drinking that glass of white wine that you’ve been nursing since the moment you walked through the door. It’s an evening of catching up with your high school/college favorites and cattily discussing how the former head cheerleader has totally not aged well and flashing photos of your kids and eventually, your grandkids, to your sorority sisters.

Social media has almost stolen away the importance of these reunions. Once upon a time, the only way you could keep up with your friends was by actually communicating with them. Now you can stalk your best friend, her sister, her sister’s best friend and the former college quarterback without actually ever speaking to them. (On the flip side, you can also gauge how great you’re going to look prior to the reunion by sizing up everyone’s profile photos.) So since the magic of a reunion has been stolen away by Facebook, it means those reunion organizers have really got to step up their game and make this one fantastic night of brilliance if they’re going to get you to make the trek back to your alma mater.

The amazing people behind the organization of this 50th Reunion of the William’s College class of 1962 did just that providing their honored guests with a beautiful evening of dining, dancing and cheerful reminiscing. With a team of nearly 90 volunteers and the guidance of the 50th Reunion Executive Planning Committee made up of the Reunion Chair (Dick McCauley) and Vice Chairs (Tom Payzant, Barney Shaw, and Ed Warren), Chairs and Co-Chairs of Reunion Committees, as well as Class Officers, Reunion Treasurer (Ed Warren), at large (Dick Paul), and Internet Coordinator (Ned Dougherty),  Dalit Lederman, the Events Manager at Williams College, turned our Sperry tent and full floor into a masterpiece that celebrated the successes and friendships of the 125 classmates (or 51.3% of the entire class) that came out for the weekend-long event.

Vendors:

Photography: Kate Drew Miller
Floral: Tara Pollio
Food: Thyme Tables Catering
Planner/Event Design: Dalit Lederman, Special Events Manager, Williams College

What is most amazing about this group of classmates and friends is that their 50th reunion gift came to $12.7 million! Their gifts supported three different funds. The donations supported the Class of 1962 Memorial Scholarship, the Global Initiatives Fund (which strengthens Williams’ ties and student experiences with the global community), and the Alumni Fund. The class of  ’62 set a 50th Reunion record with $345,000 donated towards the Alumni Fund alone! All in all, it was a fabulously designed event honoring a wonderful class of good friends who sincerely love to support and promote their college. Their monetary support and the excellent turnout is a true testament to Williams College and the wonderful environment the college creates. All of us at Sperry are so happy to have been a part of this special weekend of events. Congratulations class of 1962!

I loved playing pretend as a child, but coercing my older sister to play with me usually resulted in her being the princess, and me as the knight with a foam sword and a cut-up milk carton as my helmet. Not really the ideal pretend situation. So when I finally went to school and met other kids who also wanted to pretend, I was beyond stoked. More than two customers at my pretend grocery store that took me four hours to set-up and my sister 10 minutes to destroy? It didn’t seem real. But my entire world was totally rocked that day in 1992 when my kindergarten class loaded up into our parents’ cars and trekked to Portsmouth, NH to the Children’s Museum of New Hampshire. There all our 4-year-old dreams came true. There was a real-life pretend grocery store and a mail room where we could clock in and out. And a playground that was inside and an endless supply of kids who also wanted to play pretend. I don’t remember much more than the grocery store and the mail room, but I do remember talking non-stop for the entire car ride home about how amazing it was to have someone else set-up the grocery store for a change. It was over 20 years ago that I fell in love with the Children’s Museum. And the museum – which relocated to Dover in 2008 – has been delighting children and parents since they opened in 1983, instilling the same sense of wonder and play in children of all ages.

But as you can imagine, running a non-profit museum that has had over 280,000 visitors in 4 years, 50% of those visited either for free or with reduced admission, is a costly endeavor. Their new exhibits and programs are heavily reliant on donations from visitors and the community. This fall, Eric Gregg, the Chair for the Children’s Musem of NH Board of Directors, along with the rest of the board and Executive Director Justine Roberts, helped orchestrate a one-of-a-kind summer bash fundraiser at One Harbour Place, a unique event venue in downtown Portsmouth, NH to benefit the museum. The evening united the talents of Leslie Barbini for event design and coordination, delicious delectables from Brazo, Demeters, Jumpin’ Jays and Giffords Ice Cream, as well as Sperry Tents and many more. Around 220 guests attended the event and celebrated the Under the Sea theme by enjoying the signature Yellow Submarine cocktail and taking in the gorgeous views of the Piscataqua River. The first Summer Bash for the museum was a complete success and laid the groundwork for many more successful and fun fundraisers in the coming years.

aphrodite photography

As the drinks stopped flowing and the silent auction items were handed out to the lucky winners, Eric Gregg summed up the purpose of the event and the night, “Tonight is all about fun,” said Gregg. “The best way to support us tonight is to support our sponsors.” And it is true that this special event could not have been possible without the efforts of the following corporate underwriters and donations from Port City Nissan, Prime Buchholz, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, Avery Insurance, Betty LaBranche Real Estate, Cambridge Trust Company, Construction Services of New Hampshire, Kocher & Company, Leone McDonnell & Roberts, Optima Bank, Northeast Credit Union, Sprague Energy, The Leddy Group, Alexander Technology Group, Hire Alliance, KBW Financial Staffing & Recruiting, Piscataqua Savings Bank, Portland Natural Gas, Vigilant Capital Management, Four Tree Island Advisory LCC, New Hampshire Distributors, Sperry Tents, The Party Belle, Brazo, Demeters Steakhouse, Gifford’s Ice Cream, Jumpin’ Jay’s Fish Café, Lexie’s Joint, Moxy, Swan Chocolates, Two International Group, Vital Design, Ambrosia Gardens, and ACS Parking Services.

Eric Gregg thanking the guests in attendance (aphrodite photography)

Thank you for letting Sperry Tents be a part of this event and allowing us to once again partner with some of the top notch organizations in the area. Next summer cannot come soon enough!

Photo by Heidi Duncanson

aphrodite photography

Photo by Heidi Duncanson

Photo by Heidi Duncanson

Photo by Heidi Duncanson

aphrodite photography

aphrodite photography

aphrodite photography

aphrodite photography

aphrodite photography

aphrodite photography

aphrodite photography

Photo by Heidi Duncanson

aphrodite photography

aphrodite photography

aphrodite photography

aphrodite photography

Windrush Farms is this incredible nonprofit specializing in teaching physically, emotionally, and learning disabled children and adults to ride and work with horses as a form of therapy. From recreational programs for children and adults without special needs, to Equine Assisted Activities including Therapeutic Riding to one-on-one Hippotherapy, the staff and the horses at Windrush have devoted over 47 years to providing life-changing experiences to countless people. And it is their hard work and dedication that inspires those around them to pay it forward.

Saturday November 3rd is the annual Dancing with Horses Gala to benefit the non-profit and help fund all of the amazing programs and therapy that they offer to over 1,000 people each year. This year, the gala is being held at Royal Sonesta Hotel in Cambridge and tickets start at $195.00 or a table of 10 for 1,750 which includes an evening of appetizers and cocktails, open bar, silent and live auction, and dining and dancing. (And the auction includes the chance for an 11 night winter holiday in historic Newport, RI!) The attire is black tie optional, but if you do decide to dress to the nines for the special evening and your wedding tux is just a little too snug for you to do bust out your patented water sprinkler move on the dance floor, Windrush Farms is partnering with Giblees in Danvers! Mention the Windrush Farm “Dances with Horses” and get a special $50 rental.

It’s a wonderful event that raises money for an amazing organization. We’re encouraging everyone to pony-up the cash for the tickets and join in on the festivities! For more information on this event, the sponsors, the auction items and more, check out their website or take a look at some of the photos from last year.

Any wedding that ends like this means two things. 1) That this was one awesomely fun wedding and 2) their life together is going to be an absolute ball!

Kathleen and Geoff were married at Kathleen’s childhood home in the the picturesque coastal Maine town of Cumberland Foreside and designed their wedding following the self-proclaimed ‘prustic’ theme (Geoff’s version of preppy-rustic.) With amazing vendors like event and floral designer Kate Parker, caterer David Turin, talented photographers Emilie and J as well as a surprise visit from the Boston Cigar Factory, this wedding was bound to be a stunning, one-of-a-kind all-night party. And to close out the evening? Why not throw in a surprise fireworks celebration coordinated by the bride!

Don’t miss out on any of these photos of the fun-filled evening, which including a slideshow of the happy couple’s greatest memories. Congrats Kathleen and Geoff!!

photographers: Emilie and J, emilie inc. photography
venue: bride’s family home
officiant: family friend
coordinator, design and flowers: Kate Parker, Kate Parker Designs
caterer: David Turin, David’s Restaurant
tent: Sperry Tents
cocktail/reception music: Johnson Brothers
dessert bar: Jessica Parrott, Nothing Bakes Like a Parrott
photo booth: Maine Snapshot Studio
cigar roller: Boston Cigar Factory
hair/make-up: family friend David Shannon
transportation: VIP
gown: J Crew
invitations: Sarah Khandjian, Sarah Hearts Design
honeymoon: Cabo San Lucas