Our Anniversary Stay At Sea

This past weekend, Ben and I celebrated our one year anniversary...wow did the first year fly! When we started talking about how we would like to spend the day, we dreamt up this plan to take his parents' boat to Crane's Beach and spend the night anchored off the shore - just down the hill from where we got married. Despite the fact that the two of us had never taken the boat out alone. EVER... We managed to make our little dream come true! This was entirely possible thanks to my husband, who somehow pulled everything off seamlessly and made sure it was smooth sailing. I got to see a whole new side of him as Captain Salley and sure did love being his first mate :)

On the morning of our anniversary, we ate our wedding cake for breakfast and then set sail on the Parker River for our one night stay at the place that couldn't mean more to us. When we hopped on board, Ben's parents had stopped by the dock and snuck a bottle of champagne on the boat so it was waiting for us. The skies were blue and we could see Castle Hill in the distance for the entire ride. As we got closer and closer to our destination, little love birds followed us and bobbed up and down on the floating river markers.

When we dropped anchor, we realized we were the only boat in sight and ended up with the beach to ourselves. It already felt like a little honeymoon all over again :) We popped champagne and splashed around in the water for a little while and then started our walk up to the spot where our wedding ceremony was held. Once we made it closer to the Crane Estate grounds, the sounds from a nearby wedding on the beach became crystal clear. We were walking up a quiet boardwalk on a sandy path under a sea of pretty white flowering trees when we heard the DJ say, "Okay and now it's time for the last song..." and then the last song from our wedding started to play. Ben and I stood there, one year after our wedding day in this enchanting little tree covered cove and could not believe this moment... this timing! We dropped our bags and danced and it was pretty magical.

We made our way up the rolling hills of Castle Hill and walked all the way to the barn where we got married. Once we got to the garden, we pulled out a blanket and had a little picnic overlooking where we became husband and wife the year before. This place casts a spell on us every time we visit and this time was no different. It is the most peaceful and beautiful spot we have ever known. We were filled with so many emotions taking it all in and knowing we had experienced a whole year of marriage and it all started in this very place.

When we made it back down to the beach, the tide had gone out and the boat was beached. We had planned this so that we could leave the boat anchored in the same spot for the entire night. It was pretty fun knowing we were stuck on purpose :) We grilled some hot dogs, drank some wine and watched the sun set over the water. In my book, it really doesn't get much better than that!

After dinner, Ben asked me to close my eyes for a minute. When I opened them, I saw the flag of St. Lucia swaying in the wind. He had ordered it and set it up on the boat to remind us of our beautiful honeymoon. I couldn't get over how sweet this was! The flag has Petit Piton and Gros Piton on it - the beautiful volcanic mountains that jut out of the Caribbean sea. It's so pretty!

After the sun went down, the sky filled with stars and a few fireworks lit up the sky from not too far away. We spent half the night sleeping in the cabin and half the night sleeping on the deck. When we came out in the middle of the night, the tide had come back in and we were surrounded by water again. Ben took out the telescope to look at the moon and we fell asleep to the sound of waves crashing on the shore. By this time, the sun was starting to rise and the horizon was glowing every color of the rainbow. It was quite the sight to fall asleep to!

I was convinced that things couldn't get one bit dreamier and then I woke up the next morning to this beautiful breakfast spread. Ben had packed a secret cooler and brought all my favorite breakfast treats that we had loved so much on our honeymoon. There was passion fruit juice, actual passion fruits (yum!), mango, and chocolate croissants. After we ate, we made french press and walked the beach with our coffee.

It was a beautiful celebration with the one I love and an even more beautiful year together. These adventures are what I live for. And the simplest days are the greatest ones too. Happy anniversary <3

The Details & Happily Ever After // Our Wedding Part 2

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Finding the words to describe how it felt to live this day after so many daydreams and years of envisioning what it would be like is overwhelming in the best way.

Our ceremony took place in the Vegetable Garden on the Crane Estate, just a few stone steps above an Italian style barn where we held the reception. These seaside grounds have been the backdrop of many memories for me and Ben as our relationship has grown over the years. We are so grateful to have continued our love story in such a beautiful place that means so much to us.

One weekend after we got engaged last May, we were driving around and ended up here. Ben and I walked up to the garden and looked out at the marshes and we were literally speechless. We stood there and didn't say a word to each other. It was like we were suddenly in our very own heaven. It was almost eerie -  how we felt like this spot picked us too. Our families helped to make this dream a reality for us and we love them so much...

I had so many nerves the entire year leading up to our wedding day. It was to the point where I couldn't think about the actual moment of walking down the aisle without my heart dropping and major anxiety taking over. The last thing I wanted was for nerves and anxiety to take away from (or possibly ruin) our wedding day! I thought I was going to be the bride that passes out right as my dad is about to walk me down the aisle. I simply couldn't picture things going any other way.

On the morning of our wedding day, the feelings of love and warmth from our rehearsal dinner lingered in my heart and the most amazing thing happened - the closer we got to our ceremony time, the more excited and less nervous I got! I was truly able to relax with my closest loves all day long and once my hair and makeup was coming along and I saw all my girls looking so beautiful, the more excited I felt about how it was my one day in this lifetime to BE A BRIDE. I just couldn't wait to walk down the aisle and finally see my groom. I could not wait to be married. I truly believe that God was with me right when it was time to walk. I felt so at peace and like I was somehow able to channel my inner-bride (ha!) and it allowed me to live in that moment and memorize what was going on around me so I could hold onto it forever.  Standing under the arbor with Ben almost felt like we were living in another dimension because it was all so surreal.

A very special part of this day was having Ben's grandfather marry us. Our wedding was one week before his ninety-first birthday! Whenever I look at Ben's grandpa,  I'm reminded of the older version of Noah in "The Notebook" :) He's so adorable and he did such a great job officiating our marriage. Ben and I wanted to make sure things were as stress-free as possible for Grandpa Salley, so we put together the words that he would read. It was pretty special doing things this way because we were able to put so much of ourselves into the ceremony and include our truest feelings. I'll never forget the late night coffee shop hours we spent snuggled in a booth choosing each word. It seemed impossible and then all came together in the end... :')

The barn lent itself to some major DIY potential. This made me very happy (and very busy!) during the months of planning. We loved how the barn was a blank canvas that we could turn into our sweet, romantic escape. The intimate and cozy feel was such a magical setting for us to come together with our closest family and friends and fill the space with love. The exposed beams and rustic barn doors were so "us" and we chose farm tables because it was important for us to feel like we were all one big family on this night. Getting to see our vision come to life with the twinkling candles up in the beams and flower garlands hanging all around was truly a dream come true. We are so grateful for all of the talented hands that helped to transform the space into the beauty that it was.

Ben and I danced to "Songbird" by Fleetwood Mac for our first dance. One of our favorite things to do together is listen to records. We realized how much we loved this song years ago when Ben's dad would put on this record while we made family dinners over their house and ended up in the living room after we ate enjoying each other's company - always with a record playing in the background. When I lived in New York, I found this record for sale on a sidewalk in Brooklyn for $5 and bought it for Ben. Whenever this song played, we fell a little more in love. I think we always knew this would be it. It's such a pretty song - and now it's our song forever :)

My twin of honor, Megan, was the greatest help imaginable with bringing this day to life. The two of us figured out a lot as we went along and probably took on a bit too much at times :) She was there for me every single step of the way and she poured everything she had into helping to make our wedding turn out like the dream we had envisioned. Even if there was some detail I knew she probably wanted to save for her wedding someday, she willingly let it go so I could have it. We grew closer than ever during the year leading up to this day. I can't imagine where I would have been without her by my side. She should write a book on how to be a maid of honor and plan a wedding - seriously! I love you, twin. You're a rockstar and i'm the luckiest to be your twin sister.

 What a happy, dreamy, whirlwind of a day it was! The love was all around and it kept building and building. We had family and friends come up to us throughout the night and tell us that it was radiating in the room to the point where they could actually feel it too.

We feel so blessed to be living this dream and we are looking forward to all of the husband and wife adventures ahead.



Part One of our Wedding Day linked here.

Venue: The Barn at Castle Hill - Ipswich, Massachusetts

Photography: Sarah Jayne Photo

Florals: Sweet Annie Floral Design

Cake: Mayflour Confections

Beauty: Beautini

Calligraphy and handwritten signage: Janis Snell Calligraphy

Bride & Groom Chair Signs, "We've Decided on Forever" Banner, Table Numbers, Photo Booth Tassel Garland: Handmade by my beautiful and talented bridesmaid, Sarah: The Style Scape