Ali and Brian were married at Crystal Cove in Averill Park on August 20, 2011. They are a super fun and independent couple who was looking for something very different than your traditional American wedding. Instead of a having a stuffy dinner party they opted instead to host a fun summer gathering for their family and friends. Guests arrived early and enjoyed lawn games like volleyball and bean bag toss, and they also had the water and the beach there to swim, kayak, and just sun bathe and relax. After a few hours of play guests changed into casual attire and the ceremony began. The couple tossed aside the notion of matching bridesmaids and groomsmen and instead had their siblings stand beside them all in summer garb as they exchanged their vows. One of the coolest aspects of the ceremony was the toast the bride and groom shared with their guests right after taking their vows. Ali and Brian celebrate a tradition of sharing a toast from a special cup at home and they brought the cup and the concept with them to share in a celebratory toast with their family and friends on their wedding day. I thought this was a very special and very heartfelt thing to do.

For their reception they kept with the casual personal theme by naming their guest tables after meaningful places and moments in their life. They also had bright and colorful cupcakes displayed in lieu of a wedding cake and had whacky glasses and fake mustaches on hand for silly photos throughout the night. So fun!

I had the pleasure of working with Ali’s mom Linda on some of the planning of Ali and Brian’s big day. This was a tag team job between myself and my favorite assistant planner Katie since I helped on aspects of the planning and Katie took the role of coordinator on their wedding day. I wish I was able to be there that day but luckily I had the help of photographer Jeff Foley who captured all of these beautiful photos of their event. They specifically asked for a low key photographer who would stay under the radar and Jeff did that and so much more. Thanks Jeff for doing such a great job with these guys!

I can’t end this post without a special thank you to Ali and Brian and to Ali’s parents who were all such a pleasure to work with. From the first moment I met all of them I totally understood their unique vision for their day and had a blast working with them to put some of the small details together. Thank you for choosing Katie and I as your wedding planners! We wish you a lifetime of happiness and love! <3