Rye Beach, New Hampshire Wedding From Emilie Signature Events

Growing up in the small, seacoast area of New Hampshire, I always knew that I wanted to have a fall wedding in my hometown. Even though Tyler and I currently live right outside of New York City, I am a New England girl at heart and there is something so special about NH in the fall. Over the years, Tyler and I have spent a lot of time in NH together and he has grown to love the area as much as I do. We decided to get married at St. Andrew’s by the Sea, a beautiful, historic stone chapel right by the ocean, and host our reception at Abenaqui Country Club. Both locations are less than two miles from my childhood home so it was amazing to celebrate our wedding day in places that hold such fond, personal memories. Overall, we wanted our wedding to capture the warm, relaxed feeling of fall in NH, but also feel elegant and chic. The inspiration for our wedding actually originated from a shoe! We found this gorgeous Christian Louboutin shoe in a classic tartan (which we later learned was called Stewart Black) and thought the plaid was the perfect way to incorporate the bold, rich colors and textures of fall fashion into our wedding theme. Using the plaid was also a fun way to acknowledge my heritage, as my great grandparents were from Scotland. We incorporated the tartan in many different ways, from the formal invitations to the table linens and place cards. Tyler and his groomsmen wore tartan suspenders that he ordered from Scotland. We also used the tartan on the escort cards, which were mini picnic baskets filled with our favorite candy and topped with a bundle of plaid fabric. Our wedding planner, Amy, did an amazing job of using the plaid fabric and color palette in the reception décor. She recommended creating plaid overlays and runners and pairing them with bold red linens and napkins, black wine goblets, red tealight holders and striking black chairs. As a nod to the rustic NH setting, we integrated birch accents with birch wrapped vases for the floral centerpieces, birch napkin rings and a birch cakestand. Because we wanted a, romantic, candlelit atmosphere, the tent lighting was a warm amber color and with patterns that resembled fall foliage and branches. It was important to us that the wedding look and feel beautiful, but we also wanted it to be very personal. My Dad was in the Marine Corps and my parents used his sword to cut their wedding cake, so it was really important to me to carry on this tradition. Because my grandparents have passed away, we also found ways to acknowledge them on our special day. I wore my grandmother’s fur bolero jacket and I also wore my mom’s wedding garter, which she updated by adding my grandmother’s rose pin and a touch of plaid fabric in the shape of a rose. We even had my grandparents’ original wedding cake topper on display at the cupcake table. For our guestbook, we decided to forgo the traditional book and ask our guests to sign a wooden bench that we had engraved with our initials and wedding date. Finally, the biggest hit of the reception was definitely the photo booth. All of our guests walked away with their own fun photo prints from the night, and Tyler and I ended up with even more photos of our family and friends to complement the pictures taken by our wonderful wedding photographer.