Wedding Zoe''s wedding thread

[zoebartlett]

At Pandora''s command, I''ve compiled a bunch of photos for you to see. The first bunch is of the venue itself. The last pic in the first set is a picture of the centerieces that a couple used for their wedding at my venue. I''m not sure what type of flowers we''ll use, but the idea is to keep it simple and keep the centerpieces low.

I''ll be walking down the brick path to the gazebo, where the ceremony will take place. Since the setting is so pretty, we won''t go all out to decorate the gazebo. I''ve seen some pics that make it look incredible, but I think my mom''s going for understated. Since may parents are paying, I''ll concede. What my mom wants is a simple swag (?) on the two pillars of the gazebo, with a simple bouquet in the middle. This is where I could put some orange flowers -- I''m dying to tie orange in somehow.

 

[zoebartlett]

I wish there were better shots of the building itself. It''s kind of hidden away behind trees and bushes.

Anyway, here''s the picture that''s on the save the date card. Since the card''s white and I''m posting it onto the white background here, it might not stand out. IRL though, it looks really nice.

As many of you know, we got engaged at a lighthouse on the coast of Maine. The venue is about 10 minutes away (not on the ocean side of town). We didn''t want to do a beachy theme since the venue isn''t beachy at all, but my FI and I wanted to tie in the lighthouse somehow. This seemed fitting.

 

[zoebartlett]

Here''s my dress...and yes, I''ll have pictures of me in it after Thanksgiving. I''m going in for my first fitting the day before the holiday. My dress arrived a couple months early so they''re holding it until after the holidays. It wasn''t supposed to arrive until December.

 

[zoebartlett]

Here''s my sister''s MOH dress. She''s my only attendant. I have no idea what my FI or the BM will wear. I also don''t know what shoes I should wear. My sister will probably pick out some type of silvery sandal or something or other to wear.

 

[zoebartlett]

It''s funny, whenever I look at the pictures of the venue, I''m more wowed by the grounds than I am by the interior. The grounds are simple but very nice. I hate to say it but the interior looks a bit drab to me. It looks tired. The grounds are very pretty -- there are bird feeders and bird houses all over the place (in a nice way though, not kitschy). It''s a bird sanctuary besides being a restaurant. It''s definitely a quaint place and I really like it, but I''d personally give the interior a make over.

 

[zoebartlett]

Flowers are something that I don''t know about yet. I think my flowers will be either a solid color or soft shades of green, pink, ivory...maybe. My sister''s flowers may be bolder and more vibrant.

Here''s a photo from my florist''s website that I really like.

 

[Selkie]

Date: 11/4/2007 8:33:38 PM
Author: zoebartlett
It''s funny, whenever I look at the pictures of the venue, I''m more wowed by the grounds than I am by the interior. The grounds are simple but very nice. I hate to say it but the interior looks a bit drab to me. It looks tired. The grounds are very pretty -- there are bird feeders and bird houses all over the place (in a nice way though, not kitschy). It''s a bird sanctuary besides being a restaurant. It''s definitely a quaint place and I really like it, but I''d personally give the interior a make over.

Do you mean it looks drab, in person? Or just in the pictures? I think it looks nice-I like the contrast of the dark wood beams and frames and the white walls. What time of day will your reception be held?

Everything looks lovely, so far!

 

[jazzgal4ever]

Everything so far looks great! Your site looks really pretty. Inside and out! I think it will look lovely. You could always do a table cloth over lay to add color and draw everyone''s eyes in to your centerpieces if you are worried that people will look around and pick things out. I think it looks really nice though! Just my 2 cents! I love your dress too!

 

[zoebartlett]

Thanks Selkie and Jazzgal!

Selkie, to me, the interior of the restaurant looks somewhat drab in person. Don''t get me wrong, it is pretty and I''m glad our wedding is there. The dark beams and the heavy burgandy chairs (which are super comfy and tuffted) and the burgandy rug and the burgandy table linens just seem a bit much to me. There''s plenty of light in the restaurant though, so the place isn''t dark or dreary. It just seems heavy. We''re going to lighten it up by using white damask table linens and getting rid of the burgandy ones.

The layout is a good oone though, and one I really like. When you go in the front door, there''s a little entryway and coat area. That''s where the gift area would be. Then you walk into the restaurant and there''s a piano on the left and a bar and sitting area on the right. The cocktail hour will be held in this area. If you keep walking straight past the bar, you head into the main dining room (it''s two levels). That''s where we''ll eat and dance. There''s another smaller room just past the main room but I don''t think we''ll use it. It''s separated by a wall so if guests do sit there, they may feel segregrated. This room is blue and white, and to me, it''s a lot fresher than the main room.

What I really love is that there are a few decks off of the main dining room and the bar area, so people can wander out there. We''ll have the whole place to ourselves, which is great. There''s an apartment upstairs that we''re renting for the day. I guess someone lives there but he vacates the property if brides want to use it to get ready. Apparently, it''s decorated with a lot of antiques, and I''ve heard it''s a cool place for pictures. I haven''t seen it yet though.

If you want to see more pictures, go to www.clayhillfarm.com and click on the photo gallery.

 

[Pandora II]

Looks gorgeous!

Okay here are some ideas from me! Feel free to ignore and tell me I'm nuts!


I have a similar dark venue with burgundy carpet etc. Burgundy is actually a great background colour - like bottle green and can take anything next to it.

I think orange and yellows would look great - and really lift the place with light and colour - especially on the white cloths.

The centrepieces could be done in a mixture of gerberas, tulips and roses - ranunculus are also lovely (and don't cost the earth). There are also some lovely yellow/orange/yellowy orange orchids and peonys out there.

The colours would also look AMAZING with the blue of your MOH's dress - they are directly opposing colours in colour theory and so each one lifts the other. You could also use a blue ribbon on your bouquet.

For the gazebo - I would wind ivy round the uprights with a heavier amount at the top with flowers and leaves woven in and then bring a swag across the middle to join the two - keeping it heavier in the centre. Again fill the swag with flowers and leaves in your colours. You can buy special wire cages filled with oasis to do these - or to tie in with the lighthouse, you could use a length of very thick hemp rope to wind the garlands round.

 

[zoebartlett]

Thanks Pandora! I appreciate your suggestions and I''m copying them into my wedding folder. I''ll see what we can do. I hope I didn''t mean to sound too negative in my initial post (tone is hard to convey). I am really happy with my venue and I''m looking forward to making it ours for our wedding day. I do love the colors that are used already but sometimes it can be too much of a good thing, you know? Anyway, that''s where I am so far. The coordinators have been really helpful so far. I can''t wait to see what the food tastes like. We really need to drive up there for dinner sometime.

We''re having the BBQ RD on the lawn of the hotel we''ve booked for us and our guests. My FI and I didn''t want to exclude anyone and I have a lot of OOT guests coming in. We could have about 50-60 people there...it all depends. My FI''s parents aren''t coming most likely. I''ve learned to accept that and I know they''re not placing the same level of importance on it as I am (or my parents are). The party atmosphere isn''t their cup of tea so I''m trying not to let it get to me. All of my FI''s family members and friends are within an hour''s drive (except for one of his nephews and his wife), so I''m not even sure how many people on his side will stasy at the hotel. It may end up looking like a Zoe family reunion!

We''ve decided to forget about the lobster boat after party. I felt sea sick during the trial run so we''re canning that idea. We''ve decided to have the after party at a restaurant that happens to be right next door to the hotel. We''ll pick up the tab for food (light pub food) and the guests will pay for their own drinks. That seemed fair I think.

 

[Pandora II]

Hi Zoe,

I didn't think your post sounded negative at all - it came across more as that you were trying to make sure things balanced out properly with there being a lot of darker colours in the room already.

Here are some gazebo pics I found with garlands and swags - they are probably a bit OTT, but I didn't think it would be so hard to find nice ones!

I have seen some truly dreadful things done to gazebos in my hunt! I'd post them here, but knowing my luck some lurker will suddenly do their first post to say it was theirs!

Anyhow, I really think both you and Basil are doing fine! It's been so nice to see all your ideas and venues, thanks for sharing!

Gazebo one - THE PINK SENSATION:

 

[Selkie]

Hey Zoe, a little OT, do you know if Clay Hill Farm is open in the winter? We''ll be spending the Christmas week at my parents in Mass, and I''m thinking maybe we''ll go up to Maine for a day or so. Their menu sounds delish!

I love Pandora''s idea for using ivy wrapped around the posts of the gazebo, with some flowers.

 

[Pandora II]

And Gazebo 2... TaDah!

 

[zoebartlett]

Hi Pandora and Selkie! Thanks for posting pics Pandora. I''ll keep that idea in mind. I''m thinking of going a little simpler but I get the idea and I''d like to dress the gazebo up a bit. Selkie, I know they do weddings around the holidays (according to the wedding pics in their gallery section of their site). I''m assuming Clay Hill Farm is open for dinner as well. My parents went one night and they loved it.

Oh, I forgot to add, we''re not having a wedding cake. We''re having a dessert buffet instead. I can''t wait!

We don''t have a theme for the type of music we''ll ask the DJ to play but I''m drawn to Ella Fitzgerald-esque type of jazz for the cocktail hour or during the meal. James Taylor and artists like that as well...soft music. Maybe classical during dinner...we''re not sure. I wish I had more pictures to share...I just keep rambling.

 

[Selkie]

I don''t know if you''ve already booked a DJ for the entire event, but here''s another possibility. My brother''s wedding reception was at a similar historic inn venue in Concord, MA and they had a wonderful guitar and flute duo (I think he used this couple: www.allabreveduo.com) play during the cocktails and meal. They had a wide repertoire of classical, standards, and pop that was perfect for the atmosphere.

 

[zoebartlett]

Wow, thanks for the recommendation Selkie! We did book our DJ for the whole time -- ceremony, cocktail hour, and reception.

 

[hikerchick]

http://www.aprylleandreed.com/

Try these guys if you want flute and guitar ceremony music. We saw them at a bridal show a few weeks ago and they were really good.

 

[Mandarine]

Yay Zoe!!!!!!!!!!!! Everything looks great!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

M~

 

[sumbride]

Love it all Zoe! I agree that simple is best on that gazebo. You don''t need a lot!

 

[anchor31]

Everything looks beautiful! I can''t wait to see a picture of you in your dress!

 

[zoebartlett]

Thank you Hikerchick! I saw this recommendation but I forgot to reply. Thanks Mandarine, Summer and Anchor! I''m trying my dress on for the first time since it arrived at the salon the day before Thanksgiving.

Here''s a picture of the wedding band we''re going to get from either WF or Boone Rings. Pics of my rings are on another thread somewhere.