sweet wedding

A couple weekends ago, Kurt and I went to Steven and Minden's wedding in Williamsburg. I was excited to get all dressed up for my first big city wedding. Kurt was excited that we would be able to ride our bikes there. I was less than thrilled to get all hot and sweaty in my dress, but I have dragged Kurt to numerous Southern weddings that I decided to concede this point. Luckily my dress only got stuck in my wheel once before I decided to hike it up in a super classy fashion.

The ceremony was held at the Grand Ferry Park overlooking the East River and Williamsburg Bridge. It was such a simple set up with a few chairs in the park. (This is apparently the only picture Kurt and I captured of Minden's dress. It was short and formfitting with a long sleeve lace overlay. Adorable. So fitting with the whole vibe of the day too.)

The music was performed by a single cello/bass player. He sang "Sea of Love" as Minden walked down the aisle. I was so impressed with all the little tweaks they incorporated that made the wedding seem so personal and not cookie cutter.

After the ceremony, we were escorted by a three piece band parade-style to the reception venue. 

The reception was a held a few blocks away at the Jungle Garden Center. At first, with my preconceived notions of weddings, it seemed like an odd place for a party. It could not have been more perfect though.

So many elements of the day were hand done by the bride and groom (Steven designed the most amazing invitation ever, by the way) but not in a cheesy, crafty way. They skipped expensive, unnecessary things and accepted a lot of help. Friends took care of the bar tending while the dads manned the grills. A simple assortment of cocktails and a keg of local beer were served in mason jars.

Instead of a multi-tiered cake, Steven and Minden opted for individual pavlova desserts from a local Australian bakery (Steven is from New Zealand himself). These were delicious! I'm going to have to try and recreate them soon.

And before you knew it, the bride and groom were whisked away in a fog of sparklers. Typically, I feel like the married couple runs off so soon from the party, but these two seemed to thoroughly enjoy the day. Luckily, the party continued after they left. The dancing really picked up as we worked through the remaining alcohol. I think over the several hours we were there I had a cocktail, beer, wine, and champagne. It sure was a wobbly bike ride home :) Thanks and congratulations, Steven and Minden! I had a blast and am totally stealing all your party planning ideas.

{all photos thanks to Kurt!}