It feels surreal to be writing our wedding blog post because it means that I am OFFICIALLY Mrs. Nardella! Somebody pinch me! Also, sorry for the delay in posting this we have been busy honeymooning our butts off (Key West and Turks & Caicos blog posts coming soon)!!!
PS, if you're new here — My name is Stephanie and I am a wanderlustin, fashion obsessed, spicy margarita enthusiast. Follow me along on instagram @sugaredstilettos to see all that and a big dose of my daily life… I love new friends!
On June 11, 2021 I got to marry my best friend in front of our closest family and friends in Cape Cod and it was truthfully more than I ever could have dreamed of. Shaun and I both used to travel to the Cape with our families as children and it was also the first vacation Shaun and I ever went on as a couple. It goes without saying that it holds some serious magic in our hearts, even more so now.
We toured several venues in Cape Cod, but after taking one step onto the pristinely manicured and gorgeous grounds of Wequassett Resort our minds were made up instantly. The breathtaking views of Pleasant Bay and the Atlantic Ocean that surround this idyllic property had us both swooning at the idea of being able to exchange our vows and start our forever together here.
I live for a very whimsical bohemian style and I knew when Shaun and I started planning our wedding back in 2019 this was going to be the inspiration for our wedding. I had a very specific color palette that encompassed primarily neutral colors—creams and nudes with pops of coral, dusty rose, and terracotta sprinkled throughout. This color palette was incorporated into every single detail from the wedding invitations to the napkins and personalized menu cards at the dinner tables. To further enhance the bohemian style there were also several elements of wicker and rattan incorporated into our décor and design.
We opted out of hiring a wedding planner because I knew that while having one would take a HUGE load of stress off myself, not having one would allow that budget to be spent on decor instead. I also had the vision for our wedding mapped out pretty clearly in my mind, so I knew with the right amount of effort on my end I could swing it. I probably created like ten different vision and mood boards throughout the course of our wedding planning— from the look of our bridal party, to the floral inspiration, and of course all the little details in-between. I plan on writing an entire blog post on helpful tips and tricks for planning your wedding soon, so hit that subscribe button so you don't miss out!
Before I get into all the details I also have a HUGE highlight reel saved on my IG answering all your most asked wedding questions! You can find it here!
Summary of what you will find below in case you want to skip ahead!
The Meaning Behind "One Day, Some Day"
Invitations/Event Schedule
Wedding Weekend Outfit Details
First Look
Ceremony
Cocktail Hour
Wedding Favor/Escort Card
Reception
Vendor Dream Team
Photo Dump!!!
The Meaning Behind "ONE DAY, SOME DAY"
Shaun and I lived in two different states during the first year of our relationship and we would often have conversations and text messages that began with “One day, some day”…….. "One day, some day… we will live with each other" “one day, some day… I’ll get to wake up every day next to you” "One day, some day… we'll get married"….. the list goes on and on.
For us, it was always a matter of when, not if. So, it became our little thing that we would say when thinking dreamily of our future lives together and what they would hold for us. Our wedding was "Our Some Day"... the day our future together would officially begin. This saying echoed throughout our wedding on signage, in our ceremony and vows, and was also sewn into Shaun's suit.
INVITATIONS/EVENT SCHEDULE
I custom designed our invitations using a design template that I found on Zazzle (exact invites linked here). The price point of this site is very affordable in comparison to some others and there are so many templates to choose from!
Our invitations to our guests were wrapped in a cream vellum jacket and hand tied with twine. Each invite included the following:
Formal Wedding Invitation— listing our venue and the date/time of our special day.
Details Pamphlet— listing suggested accommodations and a schedule of events (outlined below) for our 3 day wedding celebration.
RSVP Card— This RSVP card had to be very specific because we had 3 days of events that needed an advanced headcount for. It also included the meal options for our wedding which we had each guest initial their choice because we had customized menu cards printed for each guest (see below under the Reception section).
Wedding Registry— this one is pretty self explanatory, it was just an insert with our wedding registry on it.
We wanted to host several events for our guests to attend and so our wedding weekend went by MUCH slower. We hosted the following events:
Rehearsal Dinner, Thursday, June 10th— This was held at the Outer Bar and Grille at Wequassett and was only open to our wedding party, siblings, parents, and grandparents.
Welcome Party, Thursday, June 10th— This was also held at the Outer Bar and Grille and began when the rehearsal dinner ended. It was open to all guests and it was SO nice to see everybody pre-wedding and hang out!
Wedding Day, Friday, June 11th— THE BEST DAY EVER!!!!!!! All outlined below!
Post Nuptial Brunch, Saturday, June 12th— This was open to all guests and again I can't stress enough how nice it was to get to see everybody again for some winding down as the new Mr. and Mrs!
WEDDING WEEKEND OUTFIT DETAILS
Wedding Gown + Accessories (linked below)
FIRST LOOK
I know everybody has different preferences and doing a first look is not for everybody and that is totally fine! It's your special day, so do it exactly how you envision it! BUT, If you are open to the idea or if you have been tossing back and forth trying to decide whether or not to do a first look at your wedding, take this as a sign that you should.
Your wedding goes by in the blink of an eye and I can't stress how important it is, even if you decide against a first look, to pencil in some alone time for just you and your hubby. Besides exchanging our vows at our ceremony this was our favorite part of the day. It was the first time Shaun got to see me in my wedding gown and the first time we got to stare into each other's eyes fully appreciating everything that was going on around us. It gave me goosebumps, butterflies, and made me cry all at the same time…. it was just magical.
As somebody who LOVES pictures, it's also a great time to get some amazing ones of just the two of you before all the chaos ensues!
CEREMONY
I will never forget walking down the stairs with my dad to our ceremony and seeing my vision become reality right in front of my eyes. There were vintage bohemian rugs that overlapped each other going down the aisle surrounded with baby’s breath on either side to create the most whimsical walkway. This led to a gold geometric altar that was adorned with pampas and the most gorgeous array of florals. I felt like I was in a dream walking down the aisle and when I saw Shaun standing there waiting for me, my heart effing melted. This was my fairytale moment and it was better than I ever could have envisioned it.
Shaun and I wrote our own vows for our ceremony and it was the most surreal thing to be standing up there reading them to each other for the first time in front of our loved ones. I ordered our vow books from here and got them customized with our wedding date on them.
You can hear some of our vows in the IG wedding reel I put up that our videographer made for us!
We incorporated a sand ceremony into our wedding as well after our officiant recommended it to us. A sand ceremony represents the joining of two individuals and the creation of a new family. Each person has their own bottle of sand which is poured into a new vessel that symbolizes the marriage of both partners' dreams, values, and hopes. My bottle contained sand from the beach at Watch Hill, RI where Shaun first asked me to be his girlfriend back in 2016. Shaun's bottle contained sand from Wequassett beach where we got married. If you are wondering why I am laughing hysterically it's because pouring sand from two bottles into one bottle simultaneously is a LOT harder than it looks LOL… I made a mess!
COCKTAIL HOUR
Cocktail hour featured a boho lounge with macramé and velvet pillows and a photo op that was anything but ordinary.
I absolutely LOVE taking pictures so I knew that I wanted our guests to have something they could take photos in front of that was unique, rather than a traditional photo booth. A beautiful rattan bench that was adorned with chic pillows and gold accents was placed in front of an enormous vintage gold mirror. It was so stunning and a huge hit!
We placed polaroid cameras and our guest book on a long wooden antique table adjacent to the photo op which encouraged our guests to sit down and snap a memorable picture for us and for them!
WEDDING FAVOR/ESCORT CARD
Shaun and I are extremely passionate about travelling and exploring new places together. So, we decided to do a luggage tag wall, which acted as both our wedding favor and escort card (highly recommend this as a 2 for 1 for future brides!). Our rental vendor Vinty & Posh actually suggested this idea to me when we were brainstorming on the phone. I couldn't have said yes fast enough to the idea. We ordered custom initialed leather luggage tags for each of our wedding guests and labeled the tags with their full name and table number. The luggage tags can be purchased here. Vinty & Posh created the custom wall that we hung the luggage tags from, and it was STUNNING!
RECEPTION
Shaun and I had a private viewing of our reception area while our guests were still enjoying cocktail hour to be able to see it for the first time before our reception began. Walking into that room holding my husband's hand and seeing two years of preparation and design ideas become reality literally stole my breath. Our florist, rental vendor, and venue blew us away with how amazingly they executed my vision. Every single detail flowed seamlessly together down to the color of the chairs.
One of our favorite things from our wedding was our sweetheart table. We had a custom layered arched back drop created by Vinty & Posh which had an acrylic sign that read “Our Some Day” across it. Two oversized balloon wicker chairs were tucked underneath a natural wood farm table that was decked out with various rattan candle holders, terracotta and blush table runners, and the most over the top display of florals. I ordered a mixed array of vintage goblets and glasses in blush hues, had gold silverware, and these stunning cream and blush ombre dishes that just tied in every color and detail so seamlessly. It was truly ethereal and made our first dining experience as husband and wife magical.
VENDOR DREAM TEAM
Truthfully none of our day would have been possible without our vendor dream team. Each and every single one of the people listed below truly made our day seamless and exceptional in their own way. If you are in need of wedding vendors I honestly cannot recommend the vendors we used enough.
Venue: Wequassett Resort in Harwich, MA
As mentioned above this resort is just on another level in terms of visual aesthetics, but it is SO much more than just a pretty place. The people that work here truly do go above and beyond to make sure your day and experience is nothing less than perfect for you. Kalson was our wedding coordinator from the resort and he kept everybody in check, on time, and made sure Shaun and I had nothing we needed to worry about. As somebody who is personally a control freak, he made me feel 100% confident that everything would be taken care of.
Photography: Lena Mirisola
Lena is my freaking girl!! Shaun and I actually used her for our engagement pictures too so I already knew going into our wedding our pictures would be on point. But seriously, her zest for life and passion for what she does shines through literally ALL the time. I live for her energy because it's unmatched. She had our whole bridal party laughing at her jokes and made even the most picture shy guests feel comfortable behind her lens. I think every single photo in this blog post speaks volumes to her abilities… she is the freaking best. And not for nothing she had a handful of pictures ready for us the day after our wedding… like WHAT?! She is just amazing and worth every freaking penny! She also makes some bomb recipes so if you're a foodie like me I would check it out!
Second Shooter: Kelsey Converse
Kelsey was a late, but VERY necessary addition to the team. I literally emailed Lena not even a week out from our wedding telling her I wish we had a second shooter because two kick a** photographers capturing our day is obviously better than one. SO in came Kelsey to handle all the detail shots, the guys photos, and fix an almost fatal wardrobe malfunction 2 HOURS BEFORE our wedding. Somehow, she made a new pair of groomsman pants magically be attainable through a seamstress referral she knew. GOD BLESS! Kelsey you definitely deserve the MVP award for that one!!
Videography: Willow Tree Films
Greg and his team were just incredible throughout the entire process. He was always a call or text away and always willing to go above and beyond. I watched HUNDREDS (literally not kidding) of wedding videos trying to pick out who Shaun and I would use for ours and I just didn't find any that I thought could capture our story appropriately. Then Lena sent me her recommended vendor list and I saw Willow Tree Films on it. I probably watched two of Greg's videos and instantly knew he would be the one to capture our day. I CANNOT WAIT TO SEE OUR FULL WEDDING VIDEO!!!!!
In the meantime, check out the beautiful IG reel video he made for us here!
Event Rentals: Vinty and Posh
Let me just preface this next one with I have no words how much I appreciate Tara from Vinty and Posh. She consistently went above and beyond and was my sounding board throughout this entire process. If I had a question about anything under the sun wedding related, she was my first text. We probably spoke every single week going into the last month before the wedding and she constantly let me pick her insanely creative brain for ideas and opinions. She was always not only honest, but so genuinely helpful. We used Tara for all the rentals at our wedding— our whimsical sweetheart table, our boho lounge, our polaroid picture setup outside, and the cigar bar. She is honestly one of the sweetest people I have ever met and I truthfully consider her a friend now. If you need any rentals for your wedding I HIGHLY recommend reaching out to her, I promise you won't regret it.
Florals: The Wild Dahlia
Shawna and Colleen were just a dream to work with. From our first in person meeting to the many emails exchanged throughout the process they made me feel confident they understood my vision. I described my desire for a whimsical dreamy boho wedding with a lot of pampas, neutral colors, and pops of pink and terracotta…. and I will let you just be the judge of how well they nailed that through all of these gorgeous pictures. LITERALLY UNREAL…it was so on point and dreamy. I think you can tell from my descriptions above how absolutely over the moon I was when I first saw everything. Legit blown away.
Unisa from E.C.F. was our dj and holy freaking goooooood VIBES! He was not only super organized throughout the whole process, but he handled everything seamlessly on the day of our wedding. His energy was freaking amazing and his execution of all the wedding timeline details and announcements was flawless. Most importantly he got every single person at our wedding to get their butts on our dance floor by perfectly blending some of our old school picks with our new ones. So many of our family and friends still rave about our DJ and for good reason!!!
Officiant: Faith Lavender
Faith beautifully and eloquently delivered our wedding ceremony and I think it's safe to say it was a real tear jerker. She was so helpful to us during the process and gave us so many great tips for during our ceremony! If you're getting married make sure to always stay close and hold hands during the ceremony and MAKE sure to stop, pause, and kiss at the end of the aisle… perfect pictures!!
Hair: Lady Luxe Beauty
Erika is actually the sweetest human and when I tell you she knows how to do almost any hairstyle you can imagine and perfectly execute it, I am literally not exaggerating. I wanted something extremely different for my wedding hair, think like GOT status, but more refined— braids and charms galore. She literally NAILED the boho wedding hair of my dreams for me to the max.
The hair charms I ordered off of Amazon were the perfect accents to the boho braids going all throughout my hair (linked here). Erika also ended up doing both my hair and makeup for the rehearsal dinner and I can confidently say she delivers top notch results on both fronts!
Makeup: Stephanie Ward
I found Stephanie through IG after looking at SO many different pretty wedding makeup looks on IG and seeing her as the tagged makeup artist in almost every single one of them. I knew I was in good hands, so much so that I didn't even go to my makeup trial. She made me look positively FLAWLESS and gave me the perfect pinkish coral hue to my eyeshadow to tie into my overall theme. My only problem is now I need to figure out how to get her to do my makeup everyday for me because nothing I do comes close to her application!! Truly amazing at what she does!!!
Cake: Montillo's Bakery
The freaking lemon blueberry cake was a HIT!! If you are getting married in Massachusetts and are in search of a bakery for your wedding cake or any type of event I highly suggest looking into Montillo's! We currently have our top tier sitting in our freezer waiting to be eaten in a year, but I have genuinely thought about taking a spoonful out of it on more than one occasion!!!
PHOTO DUMP!!!!!!!!
With Love Always,
Sugared Stilettos
(By Stephanie)
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