Chelsea and Zoe hosted their September wedding at Camp Joslin in the central MA town of Charlton, MA. We met these two about six months before their wedding day. Having started many of the planning details themselves, they were looking for professional wedding planning support to help tie together the logistics of their wedding as well as make sure the day was a fun and stress-free celebration. We provided Wedding Management support – and honestly – had a whole lot of fun doing it.
As we started working together it quickly became apparent that Chelsea and Zoe embodied many of the personality traits I gravitate to – funny, sarcastic, creative and intelligent. As a teacher (Chelsea) and a graphic designer (Zoe) I often joked with them that they had the perfect occupations to plan a wedding. – stringent organization and task mastery combined with intuitive aesthetic sense and style. Their wedding blended a perfect ratio of DIY elements and vendor support and the modern graphic accents beautifully balanced the rustic vibe. Their wedding hashtag of #2fruitsinlove was a hilarious nod to their sense of humor. Chelsea and Zoe wove this theme into their wedding decor with colorful fruit-shaped hand lotion favors with the most amazing produce sticker designed by Zoe – an AMAZING spinoff of the chiquita fruit label.
While camp weddings have become popular, they present unique challenges and are often the venue style (behind at-home weddings) where professional planner support can be most useful. There’s often not a lot of on-site staff, the footprint is usually spread out and utilities are rustic. Working with Chelsea and Zoe, we troubleshot through all these logistical elements that can make the difference between a stressful and smooth wedding day.
When the morning of their wedding arrived – it was a perfect late September day. Setup started by putting the finishing touches on their ceremony – held by the lake on the campgrounds. When I went to check in with Chelsea and Zoe at their getting-ready cabin all I could hear was laughter and jokes. The lightness of the morning set a great tone to the day – in all the seriousness of wedding day execution it’s so refreshing to see a wedding party having so much fun.
That spirit continued throughout the wedding. Chelsea and Zoe walked down the aisle to Redbone’s “Come and Get Your Love” – a fun and unexpected processional song choice which broke the pre-ceremony jitters. Some of my favorite photos of Chelsea and Zoe’s ceremony are the ones where Chelsea and the wedding party are just LAUGHING while listening to Zoe’s vows.
Following the ceremony, guests were welcomed to the social hour and then dinner in the Camp Joslin’s main hall. Camp-style venues are perfect settings for more casual, family-style catering and the barbecue from BT’s Smokehouse and pie dessert bar from Soleil & Sons fit the bill. Long family-style guest tables allowed for maximum mingling and good laughs. As the night progressed and the dance party kicked off, Chelsea and Zoe’s DIY photo booth opened up complete with (you guessed it) fruit props. Staying in that theme, Chelsea and Zoe’s guest book was Polaroid-style cameras with fruit-sticky notes to leave the newlyweds a congratulatory note.
It’s always hard to leave the wedding when it’s time, but this one was particularly hard. I always feel like I work with the best couples (though I recognize I’m completely biased) and working with Chelsea and Zoe was absolute proof of that belief. Congratulations to Chelsea and Zoe and thank you to the vendor team that made this day an incredible celebration!
Vendors:
Venue: Camp Joslin | Wedding Management: Aligned Events | Photography: Caroline Gilbody Photography | Floral: Town and Country Floral | Rentals: Michael’s Party Rentals| Catering: BT Smokehouse | Bar: Leena’s Bartending | Dessert: Soleil & Suns Bakery | DJ: DJ Debias | Beauty: GraceMarie Beauty |
