Wow is all I can say about this wedding at Wells Reserve. Truly I have been so blessed to have such incredible clients. It was a very wet wedding day, raining off and on….but Hilary and Shay made the best of it! Hilary was incredible–she walked through the wet grass with chilly feet and she never complained. While the weather was iffy the photos are amazing. It was so beautiful–with deep fog over the fields and the water. Their first look was on the pathway to the beach–such a perfect spot. These two are some of the kindest people I have ever met, they have such big hearts and together are unstoppable. I love that Shay wore his grandfather’s tie, that their parents are still married, and that they have been together for 10 years! One of my favorite moments was when one of the maids of honor was giving her speech and she talked about how Shay and Hilary flew her (the maid of honors) mom out for her birthday and had a party so she wouldn’t be alone! Hilary and her mom wore the same shoes that were not only comfortable but they were beautiful as well. They even had their dog come to the party. What a wonderfully trained pup! We love working with dogs and feel it is so wonderful when you can include them as family in your day. One of the more epic moments was when the entire bridal party broke out into a choreographed dance that was a surprise for Hilary and Shay! That was pretty amazing since they had a pretty sizable bridal party. I cant wait to see the video. The food was outstanding, and everyone danced. Really this day was nothing short of perfect.
Venue: Laudholm Farm at Wells Reserve | Catering: Kitchen Chicks | Makeup: Sonja Jacobson | Hair: Tammy McBride | Bridal Gown Shop: I do Bridal | Grooms Suit: J. Crew | Dessert: Two Fat Cats | Rentals: Exeter Events & Tents | Lighting: Maine Event Decor | DJ: Luis Calderin | Video: Julien Rodier | Flowers: Fruition Flowers
How did you two meet?
Seamas and I met in our 30-person Freshman year dorm at Lafayette College in Easton, PA. He and his roommate were walking the halls introducing themselves to everybody. I remember meeting him for the first time and figuring out that we had rooms on the opposite ends of the halls, which happened to be the two of the smallest rooms on the entire campus! I had to get ACL surgery that winter, and he promised he’d help figure out a way to un-bunk my bed after surgery. (I forget how we started talking about this – maybe he saw my crutches?)
On a side note, one of my bridesmaids, Stef, was my first friend at Lafayette! We both did a pre-orientation community service program our Freshman year and were the only two in our dorm for a few days – we thought it would be super cool to leave welcome messages on everyone’s doors. We never would have guessed that these were our first notes to our future husbands! Stef married our dorm-mate, Dan, in 2014! We have a lot to be thankful to Lafayette for!
How did the proposal go? What is the story?
Shay proposed on a backpacking trip in the Spanish Peaks of Montana. We had just gotten to our campsite at Mirror Lake as the sun was setting – he proposed and even had a ring box that had a light built into it! It was absolutely perfect! We made our dinner and cheers-ed over a bottle of Bandit wine. As we were celebrating with each other, the moon came up and was so bright that we didn’t even need flashlights – it was awesome! The absolute best part was that we still had an entire day of backpacking the next day with no cell service or anything – we just truly enjoyed each other, our first day of being engaged, and really got to soak it in. It was so special and definitely something we will never forget!
What has been your favorite part of wedding planning?
I LOVE where we are getting married. We didn’t know about Laudholm Farm prior to looking for a venue, but loved the feeling it had and how close it was to my parents’ house and the ocean. We also loved that most of the wedding fees go to the Laudholm Trust, which does a lot of work with conservation and climate change research. After we booked, we found out that Shay’s grandfather used to occasionally volunteer there – finding that out made it an even more special place and gave us that feeling that it was meant to be! While wedding planning, we are also so thankful for the support of both sets of our awesome parents! They’ve been so helpful, especially since we are planning from Seattle and are in the middle of lots of transitions (ending school, starting school, and a big move!). We couldn’t do it without them.
What is most important to the two of you about your wedding?
Shay and I talked a lot about what we wanted our wedding to feel like before we did any planning. We decided we wanted it to feel like a big celebration, not only for the start of our marriage, but also for the ten years we’ve already spent together. Our family and friends are so important to us and have played such a huge part in our lives so we also wanted our wedding to have a feeling of community about it too.
What is your favorite memory together? Or of each other?
This one is hard – We have too many! I think some of my favorite memories are the things we did when we first started dating partly because we were so young. When I was 19 I was working in a lab in Pennsylvania for the summer and didn’t love it. I visited New Hampshire to attend my brother’s high school graduation, and Shay was the one to drop me off at the airport. When I got back to Pennsylvania, I arrived to an email that said my boss wasn’t going to be there, and we had a surprise two days off. I was devastated because I was car-less and lonely on an empty campus and could have spent two extra days in New Hampshire. I’m pretty sure I cried when I talked to Shay on the phone that night. In the middle of the night he called me again and said, “Look out your window!”. I did and… there he was! I found out he had started driving down when he was on the phone with me the first time – we always joke that he chased my plane. (This also was probably when I fell in love with his parents! I’m so glad they let him drive through the night to see a girl they barely knew!)
What was your favorite date?
I don’t know if this counts as a date, but one time we went backpacking during the Perseid meteor shower and it was awesome! Another favorite date was when we went skydiving. My parents had always been a little nervous about it but I had always wanted to try it! Shay arranged someone to video it and we mailed the video to my parents as a surprise. 🙂
Tell me about your favorite place to go to dinner?
We are creatures of habit when it comes to restaurants! One of our favorites is the Wild Ginger in Seattle. A friend of a family friend took us there during one of our first weeks in Seattle – neither of us had jobs yet so it was the first real restaurant we went to and our first time exploring downtown Seattle. Their duck sliders are the best! We actually just went there the other day for dinner after picking out our wedding rings.
What is your favorite thing about your fiancé?
This is the hardest question! (Prepare for truthful corniness…) 😉 I think one of the main reasons I fell in love with Shay was not just for the way he acted toward me, but the way that he treated everyone else around him. Shay is honestly the nicest and most generous guy I’ve ever met, and is the type of person that, when he is around, makes you feel good about yourself. He will drop everything if someone needs help with something and do it with a smile. I also love how supportive he is of me in the way he encourages me to go after my goals (even when that meant moving three time zones away from him for over a year to go to school!). I truly think that we will be able to accomplish more and make a greater difference together than if either of us were doing life alone, and that is an awesome feeling.