Since Saturday

We've been going nonstop since the wedding on Saturday. Before our friends and family headed out of town we had brunch at Simon Pearce, a glass blowing and ceramics studio in an old mill building with a restaurant cantilevered over a waterfall on the upper level. A beautiful covered bridge sits across the way. Downstairs you can watch the glass blowers do their thing.

After brunch we headed over to Saint-Gaudens National Historic Park to wander around on the estate, check out the art exhibits, and tour the house.

On Monday Josh and I went for a hike on Mount Ascutney with the dogs while my dad drove family to the airport.

My dad stayed with us last night and this morning we took a walk over at Rockefeller National Park. He left late morning, officially ending our wedding week activities. It was bittersweet to see everyone go. Lately I find myself wanting to spend more time with family, which is tough reconcile with my folks living across the country and Josh's out of state. Having so much family and love around this weekend was a reminder of that piece missing from our lives. I hope we can find ways to be together more often this year.

Perhaps the pups feel the same way. They stood on the deck, watching my parents walk down the driveway to their car, waiting until they drove out of sight before turning away. I'd never seen them do that before. Heartbreakingly sweet.

Post Wedding Recap

You guys! I have to admit it, you all were right. Even though I was totally freaked out/bitter/scared/anxious to have a real wedding (as opposed to the low key city hall thing I lobbied hard for) I had a great time on Saturday once the anticipation was over and everything was actually happening.

What helped the most for me personally was to see everyone before the ceremony. Throughout the morning I worked with my friend Marie to set up tables, dishes, wine, linens, chairs, etc. I had my old beat up jeans and work boots on, and busied myself with things that needed to get done. My dad rode a rented bike to our house from the hotel to say hello around 10 am and that meant the world to me. Guests arrived a few hours before the ceremony to hang out and see the house, so when they came I was just Claire. Just me in my jeans the way I am comfortable. I was able to chat with friends and family as I worked rather than being sequestered in a room away from everyone. If any of you are dreading your wedding the way I was, and you have the flexibility to do things a little unorthodox, I'd highly recommend going the "no big entrance" route. It took so much pressure off. We also didn't do a "walking down the aisle" procession. I put on my dress about ten minutes before the ceremony, said "Ok, I think we're ready" and everyone walked down to the apple tree together and the wedding began. It was short and sweet. No droning on, no long-winded pontifications. It was soulful, but not sappy. Josh's grandmother wrote the ceremony and married us, and she was a class act. Grandma Marcia, you made the day. Our pup Fern was lying in the grass looking bored throughout the entire thing, which totally eased my nerves. Any time my throat started to get dry, I'd glance down at her and the moment would snap back into perspective.

After the ceremony we walked over to a flat grassy spot in our yard and had drinks and apps before heading to the tent for dinner. Our caterer knocked the ball out of the park. I can't wait to share the photos of the spread once I get them from the photographer, which apparently takes about 7 weeks. The wait is going to kill me!

The day went exactly as we had hoped. The weather held out for the ceremony and cocktails, then drizzled just a bit during dinner but didn't last and we were no worse for it. It was actually quite cozy with the fog rolling by on our hill. And thank goodness we didn't build that pergola because if we had we would not be dry and happy under the tent.

I'm not going to lie, the week leading up to the wedding was tough. We were stressed trying to finish the house. In one week we built a fence, four raised beds, planted about 20 flower bushes and potted too many other plants to count, built and painted a picnic table, cleaned the house from top to bottom, moved tons of construction supplies and power tools to the barn, graded the driveway, and attended another couple's wedding out of state. I had several meltdowns. Josh was no picnic either. Both of our heads were ready to explode. I bring this up for those of you who are also dreading the day, because our situation was far from ideal, but in the end the wedding day was amazing. Something bigger happens when the wedding starts. I hate to say that, it sounds so cheesy, but that's what happened. Everyone told me it would be wonderful and to be honest  I did not believe them, but I get it now. The love from friends and family blows you away, and I didn't have any concept of that until it actually happened. To all of the friends and family who trekked out to our little hill in Vermont this weekend, we love you so much and you made our year. Really!

Knowing what I do now, I'm glad we didn't go to city hall. City hall would have been a lot less stress and I would have been very happy with it, but seeing how excited our family was I'm glad we did it this way. People were crying and laughing, it was good stuff. It filled our hearts to visit with friends and family we don't get to see nearly often enough.

I can't wait to share the "real" photos from our photographers Ray + Kelly, but until then I've included a few of the images I snapped around dusk. This is just a small taste, lots more to come in November!

Images above, clockwise from top left: dinner tent  //  happy moms   //  string lights  //  our house with  finished garden beds, rock retaining wall, and fence!

3 Days to Go

I'm sorry for the radio silence. We are now 3 days from the wedding and have been working hard to get the last minute parts done. Hopefully we will finish most of it today and have time to relax Thursday and Friday. I've been a ball of nerves. How did you all feel the week of your wedding? I don't like large groups or being the center of attention, so I am working every moment at not having a meltdown. Josh dislikes it when I say this, but honestly I just can't wait for it to be over. I hope I feel differently when it is happening, but for now that's just the honest truth. Anyone else? Please tell me I'm not alone.

My Handmade Wedding Dress

I'm still in New York, and as I type Marie is at her pattern table working on my wedding dress. Thus far we've had trouble getting the dress to fit correctly when we transfer the pattern from muslin to the actual fabric. At this point we're not even sure which fabric to use, so that adds another layer of complication. Nevertheless, I have faith! We will hit up the fabric store again tomorrow morning before my train back to Vermont to see if we can find something that will work. Thank you Marie for working so hard on this dress and being so patient with me!

I also hit up a number of thrift stores in NYC over the past few days and found a potential backup dress for pennies, so at least I have something in case Marie and I decide to give up on the handmade dress.

A few photos from the past few days...

Back home, Josh has cut a hole in the downstairs bedroom/office and installed our new door. This door leads to the covered porch we have also been working on. He sent these pictures taken with his phone yesterday of the project in progress. The room looks so much brighter already, I can't wait to see it in person when I return home tomorrow!

A Wedding Tent

Josh and I have been planning to build a pergola in the yard for use at the wedding, and then after as a spot to relax and enjoy meals. We had our pergola plan picked out, the wood cuts selected, and the concrete mix, foundation tubes, and metal braces purchased. Josh's father was even scheduled to come up in a few weeks to help put it up.

Maybe you can see where this is going....

Two weeks ago we started to dig our first hole for the cement foundation posts, and a foot down we hit water. Not just a little bit of mud, it was a pool of standing water. We asked around and the advice we got was, "wait until it stops raining and dries out a bit." As I type, it is raining cats and dogs outside. It has rained almost every day this summer, and the ground is soaked. We cannot dig the 4' deep holes needed for the cement foundation supports with the ground saturated this way.

It's a bummer!  

So, we've had to rethink our plan. Instead of something like this:

 

photo source

We are opting for a sailcloth tent like this (ours will be smaller at 20' x 27'):

Photo source

The tent will be nice too. Very wedding-y. I just had my heart set on the pergola. It feels so much more cozy to me, plus we were excited to build one for the yard anyway. Oh well, maybe it will be dry enough next summer!

In the meantime I am trying to think of ways to make the tent feel nice. I am not a big one for over-the-top decorating, anything remotely cutesy, ornate, or lavish. Maybe just some lanterns and nice table settings. In the meantime, I am pinning ideas over on my wedding Pinterest board. Stop by and have a look-see if you like that type of thing :)

DIY Wedding Picnic Tables

For dinner seating at the wedding we decided to make three 8' picnic tables. We've wanted picnic tables for various spots in the yard anyway, so we decided to kill two birds with one stone and make a set to use for both the wedding and house. We found a free DIY picnic table plan online (scroll to the bottom of the page for the link to download the full instructions) and modified it for an 8' instead of 6' table, then hit up Home Depot for the materials. 

We chose pressure treated wood and painted it with an off white porch and deck stain. Nice cedar wood allowed to age and patina naturally would have been preferable, but we're on a tight time frame and a budget, so pressure treated wood with a coat of outdoor stain worked for our situation. We made the wood cuts this weekend, and put the first table together today. The large parts for the second table are assembled and painted, but we need to pick up more screws before we can finish it. The third table will require another trip to Home Depot for more materials.

A fuzzy iPhone shot of the table being built:

And being painted against the outside of the barn:

And looking pretty nice on our deck:

One down, two to go!

Weekly Etsy Wish List: Our Wedding

I realize that in saying this I sound like the grinch of all grinches, but I'm not a big one for weddings. I don't know why, but I just never got swept away in it. I never dreamed about my wedding day, never planned what colors I would have or looked at bridal magazines. The only thing I really knew is that I don't want a big production.

After Josh & I got engaged last spring the inevitable questions started to come. Have you set a date? Did you buy a dress? Are you registered somewhere? For the past year my my answer has always been, "Nope!" Eventually, though, we had to get down to brass tacks, and a few of the details are starting to come together. Here's what we've planned so far: Our wedding is going to be incredibly small, with immediate family and one close friend each. We'll stand under the old apple tree in our yard and Josh's grandmother will marry us right there. I'll wear a plain white dress made by my friend Marie. Josh will build some picnic tables and a pergola next to our fire pit in the yard for the reception/dinner. We'll decorate with flowers from the yard. I am hoping for roasted marshmallows around the fire pit after dinner. We don't have a registry, but will set up a charity donation with Heifer International in lieu of gifts. I don't want fancy pots and pans or new dishes, I'd rather buy them myself at the thrift store for $2 and save trash from going in the landfill.

Now that we've got some details narrowed down I've made a Pinterest board for inspiration and today I've gathered together a group of items on Etsy that I think capture the spirit of what we are trying to achieve. I was worried that the wedding might take on a life of its own and eventually I'd throw my hands up and ask Josh if we could just elope, but I am actually starting to get excited about a few of the things we've planned. Maybe it won't be so bad after all ;-)

White Evelyn Dress, $160	Apple Tree Photo, $30	String Lights, $224
.	.	.
Barn Photograph, $25	Wine Barrel, $65	Blue Ball Jar, $8
.	.	.
Pergola, $3,000	Wedding Sign, $76	Reclaimed Wood Tables, $850

A Wedding Dress

On Wednesday I took the train to NYC to attend a surprise birthday party and spend time with friends I had not seen in much too long. I stayed with my dear friend Marie, who is currently getting her fashion design degree at Parsons, and has graciously agreed to design and sew my wedding dress!

While Josh & I can't quite seem to figure out how to want to do this whole darn wedding thing, let alone set a date, one thing I do know is how I want the dress to look -- simple, simple, simple, and not bridey. Marie and I drew dress sketches and fabric shopped in the garment district on Thursday, and by Saturday she had a muslin sample of the dress complete for me to try. What a talent! Thank you Marie!!

Now I just need to get on that whole setting a date thing...

Images above: Bolts of white fabric at the giant fabric store Mood where we bought the final dress fabric (a crepe)  //  Dress sketch  //  Draping the dress with muslin on a body form  // Truing the lines and putting in seam allowance before re-draping on the body form  //  cutting the muslin pattern