Whew! Wedding planning got a big kick this month! We traveled home to Connecticut one weekend for our engagement party, and knocked out an incredibly busy day of vendor appointments the Friday before the party. I’m not sure if I would recommend scheduling six meetings in one day, but as I’m sure those of you who are planning destination or semi-destination weddings understand, we didn’t really have a choice. With that being said, what did we check off the list this month?

Photo c/o The Life You Love via Style Me Pretty

— Found a calligrapher (for invitations only, not save the dates)
— Asked the two final bridesmaids to be bridesmaids (bringing the total count to four on my side — will introduce you to them soon!)
— Officially reserved the chapel for our ceremony
— Met with three caterers and received a proposal from one
— Met our florist in person
— Tried on another set of wedding dresses, this time at The White Dress by the Shore
— Booked hotel rooms for vendors who will be flying in from out of state
— Narrowed down save the date options
— Started messing around with wedding websites
— Inquired with and received info and/or CDs from four potential bands

In the next month, I’m hoping to try on more wedding dresses, and we’ll also hopefully choose a caterer and band. Exciting!

From Martha

Happy fall, my friends! John has been dreading today, because to him, fall simply means that winter is on the way (and he hates winter). I feel much more positively about fall than he does. Regardless, here’s what we’re hoping to pack into the next three months:

— hang something seasonal on the front door
— make one month’s flower arrangement a chrysanthemum for the front step
— complete at least one house project (can be anything, really!)
— take a trip to a corn maze
— make a delicious-sounding fall dish like homemade Twix bars or caramel pears
— finally purchase the perfect pair of brown leather boots (John gave me the gift card for them last Christmas!!)
— go on a weekend hiking + camping trip
— make pumpkin chocolate chip muffins
— catch the goat showmanship competition at the NC State Fair (yes, watching the goats and their child handlers is our very favorite activity at the fair)
— finally take Martha up on all her pumpkin projects and do something crafty with a gourd
— join in the sweet potato harvest at our church
— drink hot apple cider (my favorite)

What’s on your fall to do list?

Photo by La Tartine Gourmande

Today is the last day of summer. How are we feeling about that?

For us, as always, it went by too fast, but I’m satisfied with the amount of fun and good food we managed to squeeze out of the last three months. On that note, let’s catch up with my summer to list.

Did I…
— go swimming in the Eno River? Yes!
— jump off the wharf at the Island? Argh, no. Too wimpy.
— see a moonlight movie at Koka Booth Amphitheatre? Yep! We went to two, and they were awesome, as always.
— go to a Backporch Music concert at the American Tobacco Campus? Yes! We went to three concerts, and they were all awesome. Better yet, we took my Dad to one, a friend from home to another, and Nancy + Will + Winston to a third.
— complete a Backwoods OK race? No! Sadness.
— shag at North Hills? Nope.
— go on a road trip somewhere in the southeast? Not really…
— take a walk on River Road in Mystic? Nope. Sadness again.
— spend a day at the beach? Yes! Several, actually, in Charleston.
— eat lots of cobb salad and chicken souvlaki? Yes!
— camp? Nope.
— have a staycation? Nope.
— watch fireworks? No, they were fogged out in Maine over the Fourth!

Let’s see… 5 out of 13. That doesn’t sound like too good of a ratio, but I’m still chalking the summer up as a success! How about y’all? How were your summers?

Check back tomorrow for my fall to do list!

When last we left off with our reception saga, we were getting pretty desperate. Nowhere we looked at fit all of our criteria, and we were beginning to think we would never find a spot to celebrate. Yes, friends, we finally got so desperate that John literally sat down and began scrolling along the Connecticut coastline in Google Maps, calling out “Here’s a piece of lawn! Here’s a piece of lawn!” And you know what? It actually worked! One of the pieces of lawn he stumbled upon was the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center, and that, my dears, is where we will be holding our reception. In their Sunken Garden, to be specific. I had never once considered this venue before John found it (I didn’t really even remember it existed, actually!), but now I can’t imagine celebrating anywhere else!

As we soon found out, the O’Neill hosts performances, conferences, and the National Theater Institute most of the year. But on days when they’re not welcoming playwrights and actors, they host events. Happily, we were able to squeeze into their schedule!

A tour? Of course!

Here’s the view from behind the Sunken Garden’s stone wall, near the first steps onto the property from the back parking lot.

There are lovely stone walls all around the property. Stone walls are one of my favorite features of New England :)

We’re considering holding cocktail hour here, on the Sea Porch of the Hammond Mansion. (We’d move those picnic tables, obviously, and there’s a lovely green and white striped awning we’d ask to be put out.)

For dinner and dancing, we’ll invite guests into the garden. They’ll walk down the steps you can see at the bottom of the frame below into the walled space (just imagine a lovely tent in the middle!).

Here’s the view from one corner.

Here’s the view from roughly the middle of the garden.

If you walk out towards the water, you can turn back for a lovely wide view of the property.

We are so happy to have found the O’Neill and to invite our guests to celebrate there with us next year! One final word of caution to other couples who might like to book it for their big day: the staff at the O’Neill is extremely difficult to get ahold of and get prompt responses from. I typically wait at least two weeks for my calls and emails to be returned (yes, really!). My guess is it’s because events are not their main business, and so they choose to prioritize theater activities. Not ideal for sure, but it’s a tradeoff we’re willing to make for a lovely spot, available date, and reasonable price.

What do you think? Those who are familiar with Connecticut weddings, are you surprised by our choice?