We’ve made it to our wedding day! After our rehearsal dinner on Thursday and our welcome party on Friday, it was time for the main event. I’m splitting the big day into two posts since there are so many pictures I’m dying to share, so today’s post will feature photos from getting ready, our first look, and our family and bridal party portraits before the ceremony. Enjoy! 🙂
GETTING READY + OUR FIRST LOOK
My bridesmaids, mom, mother-in-law, and I started earlier in the day with hair and makeup at RJ Miller. They have an outdoor patio where they let us set up breakfast with champagne and my favorite blueberry muffins from ‘Sconset Market. I also randomly had a ton of people DM me asking where we got Starbucks on the island and there’s a coffee shop inside the new Nantucket Meat & Fish Market right next to the salon so my bridesman Eddy did a little coffee run since he didn’t need hair or makeup. I gave my bridesmaids these monogrammed J.Crew pajama sets as a bridesmaids’ gift so everyone had something cute to wear while getting ready. I also decided to do my first Instagram live after most of us were ready and I swear I was more nervous about going live than I was about walking down the aisle! Thankfully my friend Amy is practically the queen of Instagram live so we just went for it.
Lindsay at RJ Miller did my hair in a French twist, a slightly messy updo that kept my hair out of my face but didn’t feel too uptight for a beach wedding. Branka did my makeup and we kept the look very natural with the exception of my eyelash extensions. 🙂 You can read more about those here! I also decided to wear my favorite pink lipstick, NARS Roman Holiday, so I could touch up throughout the day.
While we were at the salon, Will and his groomsmen were at a house we rented in Tom Nevers getting dressed, taking pictures, and… playing spikeball in their white pants. Boys will be boys…! Many of them already owned navy blazers with gold buttons, but those who didn’t ordered either this one if they thought they’d wear it all the time (many thanks to my cousin Emily for the employee discount!) or this one that’s super similar and way more affordable. They also wore this Vineyard Vines gingham shirt, these Ralph Lauren white chinos, and these suede loafers. We found their striped bow ties at Tie Bar and gave certain items as groomsmen’s gifts to keep the cost in the same range as renting a tux. They all looked so handsome!
After hair and makeup, my bridesmaids and I went back to my family’s house to get dressed. I wore these Christian Louboutin Douce du Desert ankle tie pumps with my wedding dress and managed to stay in them the entire night thanks to this $10 Amazon purchase. I have since bought them in multiples to protect and add a little surface area to my nicer pairs of heels. I also borrowed these diamond earrings from Manfredi, a jeweler in Greenwich, and they added the perfect amount of sparkle.
I wore the Sarah Seven Sullivan gown, a t-shirt dress silhouette elevated with silk crepe fabric and an open back with covered buttons. It felt perfectly me and just right for Nantucket. (And I know some of you will ask: I had cups sewn into the dress and wore this seamless thong underneath.) I found my horsehair trim veil on Etsy and ordered the 40″ length in ivory.
Our cockapoo Rory was the ring bearer and my Grandy made him a needlepoint Nantucket collar and leash for the occasion. Both pieces are so beautiful and personal so I’m trying to decide how to frame them for our home. I couldn’t love them more!
My bridesmaids carried white hydrangea bouquets tied with ivory satin ribbon. Funny story: I was actually planning to carry pink garden roses but the bouquet didn’t turn out the way we’d envisioned so my mom and I grabbed a blue and white hydrangea centerpiece from our welcome party the night before and I carried that down the aisle instead! Everyone was shocked at how calm I was about the last-minute change but honestly I was so excited I would have carried our dog down the aisle and called it a day. Looking at the pictures, I think I was always meant to carry blue and white hydrangeas anyway!
My mom helped button me into my dress and then I did a quick first look with my dad in our living room. Seeing my dad walk in and tear up was the first of many things that made me cry happy tears on our wedding day! It was such a special moment and I think our wedding photographers captured the perfect shot! Highly recommend a first look with a special family member even if you don’t want to see your partner before you walk down the aisle.
Then it was time for my first look with Will as bride and groom! You can read about why we chose to do a first look here; I’m really happy with the decision we made, how it allowed our wedding day timeline to unfold so we could truly enjoy our cocktail hour, and of course just having an intimate moment to hold hands and calm our nerves before ceremony time. Seeing him instantly put me at ease and the pictures of our first look are some of my favorites of the whole weekend. The shot of my bridesmaids peeking down from an upstairs bedroom was totally unplanned and just makes my heart so happy.
We snapped a few pictures at my parents’ house before boarding the bus with my bridesmaids to pick up the groomsmen and go take group photos at Sankaty lighthouse. I looked into so many transportation options on the island and they were all so expensive, with the exception of Nantucket Sleigh Ride, a party bus with a neon pink interior, outfitted for pole dancing, and with just enough space for our entire bridal party. It might not have been the most “on brand” detail of our wedding day, but dancing on the bus on the way out to ‘Sconset with my future husband and all my favorite girls is a moment in time I hope I never forget.
Right before we boarded the bus, Will ran inside and came out with a ring box. I was so confused because my friend Eddy was holding onto our wedding bands before tying them around Rory’s collar, but Will totally surprised me with a second band in alternating diamonds and sapphires inspired by one my dad had given my mom on their tenth wedding anniversary. I immediately started crying, not just about the surprise gift but about how lucky I was to be marrying someone as insanely thoughtful as Will. I’ve gotten several questions on Instagram about the band (including one asking if it’s a push present haha) so that’s the story!
How hilarious is the photo of my sister Reilly getting lipstick off my teeth? Embarrassing but too great not to share. My bridesmaids wore long navy seersucker dresses with navy silk faille sashes designed by Coren Moore and ordered from A Little Something White in Darien. You can read more about my search for seersucker bridesmaids’ dresses here!
After our first look and before our wedding ceremony, we headed out to Sankaty lighthouse to take the majority of our wedding photos. I can’t wait to frame the shot of our entire bridal party standing in front of the lighthouse. My parents had taken their wedding photos at the lighthouse and you might remember our engagement photos were taken here as well! It’s such a special spot for my family and it made me exceedingly happy to have all our closest friends gathered there before the ceremony.
Family and friends, don’t be surprised if you receive these as Christmas cards! 😉
I’d seen a similar ring shot on Pinterest and was dying to recreate it with my mom and Grandy. I would be nowhere without these two incredible women in my life.
We had my parents recreate one of their wedding photos and it just melts my heart. I couldn’t ask for two more exceptional human beings as parents and their marriage is such an inspiration to me. I’ve gotten several emails asking about my mom’s dress and it’s a CH Carolina Herrera evening gown from their spring/summer 2017 collection. It was originally strapless but had a long enough sash that she was able to have it altered into a new neckline. She ordered it from the CH Carolina Herrera boutique at 802 Madison Avenue in the city — I don’t see it online anymore but they might still be able to help you track it down if you give them a call!
I hope you enjoyed part one of our wedding photos! I’ll be back tomorrow with photos and stories from our ceremony and our reception. Thank you so much for following along! xx
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