Intimate Vintage Bayside Wedding
Nothing in the world evokes the warm and fuzzy feelings in us more than a wedding filled with memories, tradition and love – especially one that has such a gorgeous vintage flair! It was on their private dock in Ship Bottom on LBI, NJ where Alyson and Paul (0ne of our favorite couples) said I DO! Inspired by the 1950′s, their wedding was nothing short of charming - with homespun vintage pieces and family heirlooms interlaced with touches of blue and coral (swoon!). We are both honored and excited to share not only this special day, but we are thrilled to share the second wedding that Alyson and Paul threw for their family and friends with our readers in the coming weeks.
Read on to hear about personal experiences from the gorgeous couple!
Save the Dates/Invites: 7 Square Design Florist: Lily of the Valley Photography: LaLee Photography Cake: Bredenbeck’s Bakery Catering: Mayetta’s Octopus Garden Bridal Attire: Mill Crest Vintage Bridesmaids’ Attire: Mill Crest Vintage Vintage Bridal Accessories: Mill Crest Vintage Groom’s Attire: Al’s Attire
“Planning this wedding brought us so much joy, since every step had a piece of our families in it. We looked to this wedding to come as a time to celebrate not only us, but our families and closest friends who we know will forever be by our sides. We also decided to give the whole event a vintage feel. As lovers of 1950s fashion, we envisioned circle skirt dresses and handsome waistcoats. Therefore, we knew all the touches- invites, flowers, table numbers, gifts- would also have to reflect this.
It started with the Save the Dates and the invitations and again we were blessed! With the thanks of a very talented friend, Ali Giese, who is starting her own business (7 Squared Design out of San Francisco), we got our ideal creations. The Save the Dates were messages in antique bottles to reflect the island. We collected the bottles one by one in Barnegat, NJ antique stores, with the city and states names of all of our 40 guests. We shipped these (carefully) and hand delivered others. This is one of the joys of a small wedding! For the invitations, Ali made our visions a reality. She combined wax stamps, twine and vintage fonts to reflect our theme. Our guests got a true treat in the mail Then the clothing! I think it was fate that I met Paula at Mill Crest Vintage in Lambertville, NJ. Wedding dress shopping without a mom or dad could have been a tough experience. Instead, I stumbled upon this jewel of a store and this incredible owner whose passion for vintage dresses is only matched by the care she gives her clients. Her energy and excitement was contagious and I walked out with not only my dress, but the two dresses for my maids of honors, our cardigans, white gloves and sweet shoes. As for Paul, we headed west! I knew of Al’s Attire (a designer that lives vintage) in North Beach of San Francisco since 2000 when I lived in the neighborhood. His business has grown quite a bit since those first days and we knew he would do justice on Paul’s waist coast for the big day. Without a doubt he met all expectations and Paul has a classic vintage piece for his collection!
Our florist, Lily of the Valley in Beach Haven, had dropped off our centerpieces, which were done in my mother’s collection of antique Nantucket Basket purses for a personal touch. Paul and I had also been collecting antique milk bottles and Ball jars for quite some time. Paul is from a dairy farm in WI and it was a great way to include a little piece of home for his family. My ten wonderful family volunteers put together beautiful arrangements of our flowers in a great mix of bottles that would accompany the centerpieces.
A couple other touches were our wedding photos of guests and our table cards. We had asked each couple to send us a photo and displayed them (8x10s) above the pre-ceremony reception table. In addition, we had been collecting antique LBI post cards for a bit of time and used these for our place cards, giving our guests a window into the history of LBI. I had also found antique bottles and old house numbers to create great tables numbers that were reminiscent of our Save the Dates and these sat with antiqued lanterns in the middle of our farm tables. Our guests’ gifts were Field Notes books. Paul discovered these about a year ago and we loved the idea of using them for this day. We purchased three small notebooks for each guest, one from PA (where I am from), one from WI (where Paul is from) and one from NJ (where the wedding is and where we now live). We then wrote personal notes to each person in the books to take another moment to express how happy and thankful we were to have them with us that day.
After the ceremony, we took photos with our wonderful photographer Lauri Tripaldi (LaLee Photography). Then we rode off into the sunset on my bride’s gift from Paul, a 1963 Schwinn Tandem Blue Bicycle. Perfect!”