Planning Our Coastal Wedding

Wedding planner? Do you know me?

also me

I consider myself an overly ambitious, multi-passionate entrepreneur and publicist extraordinaire. So when the time came to start planning our wedding, this was my common response when people asked if I was hiring an event planner 👉🏻 “I’ve totally got this, folks.”

And I think so far, I’ve been keeping it together. Most days!

It’s been such a whirlwind since Dan popped the question before the holidays, especially since we knew we wanted a Summer 2020 wedding. Which meant I dove into wedding planning mode the following morning when I started feverishly texting my soon-to-be bridesmaids and the only photographer I wanted for the big day.

Yes, behind the scenes, it’s been non-stop wedding planning and decision making, while continuing to run my companies and oh yes, plan a winter vacay—just for good measure.

I have had so many of you asking about our big day, where it’s happening, and how wedding planning is going, that I thought it might be fun to share a few updates and sneak peeks on the blog along the way.

And—in a dream come true twist of fate—I’m thrilled to be a Weddings Atlantic Magazine Bridal Ambassador, so I’ll be sharing plenty of behind the scenes look on Instagram too!

We’re still six months out, but I definitely have a goal of planning the most dreamy, coastal, seaside town wedding.

And if you’ve ever thought about a coastal wedding in beautiful New Brunswick, then I highly recommend following along on our wedding planning adventure!

SETTING THE DATE

The first biggest misconception about planning a wedding in under a year is that you won’t get exactly what you want.

I had a lot of people shocked to learn we were planning a summer 2020 wedding after only getting engaged at the end of November, but I’m thrilled to report we haven’t had to compromise on anything we’ve wanted to date. Everything has worked out beautifully!

The first, being the date.

We knew we wanted late July or August and eventually had our eyes set on the last weekend of August. I’m so excited to share—we say I Do on Saturday, August 29th, 2020!

PICKING THE PERFECT VENUE

Probably one of the hardest things to book when planning a wedding eight months out is the venue, as some locations are booked years in advance.

We had a few ideas about where we wanted our coastal New Brunswick wedding but landed upon the most perfect spot that is special to both of us: St. Andrews by the Sea, New Brunswick.

Ever since I was a little girl, I’ve been in love with the Algonquin Resort. Dad would go every year in the spring for his annual conference and I was always so jealous that Mom got to go but I didn’t. He’d bring back postcards and branded gifts, and I’d tuck those postcards in the corner of my mirror and think to myself, “One day, I’ll get to go and stay there too!”

Fast forward two decades, for our second anniversary, Dan took me to the Algonquin to celebrate. (Read about that special trip here.) I’ve been staying there every summer since, and it still makes me giddy to see the hotel when driving into town.

So it’s an absolute DREAM for me that we (and all of our guests) will not only be staying at the magical Algonquin Resort but celebrating and dancing the night away for our reception there too!

August can’t come fast enough!

BOOKING YOUR DREAM PHOTOGRAPHER

I’d be lying if I said we didn’t plan our date around our wedding photographer. Kelly Lawson is not only a dear friend and bad-ass entrepreneur—she’s my go-to, ride or die, photographer for my brand.

Yes, SHE is the magical talent behind all of those dreamy photos from our Grand Manan shoot last summer.

And because she’s a friend first, I was totally texting her within hours of Dan popping the question and finding out her availability for August the next day. Because, priorities.

FINDING THE PERFECT FLORALS

I may have been dreaming about my wedding day since I was a little girl, but when it came to picking a florist and dreaming up the perfect bouquet, I had absolutely no idea where to start.

Of course, the minute I asked our amazing event planner Kate at the Algonquin who she recommended and she said local St. Andrews business The Peony & Pear, I was in love based on their name alone.

When she added that their mission is grown not flown, we were sold!

We love supporting local and reducing our carbon footprint whenever we can, so we were thrilled when we confirmed The Peony & Pear right before their last spot of the season was booked!

SAYING YES TO THE DRESS

Arguably one of the most important wedding to-dos and one of the first things I did even before we had our date and venue booked, was say YES to the DRESS!

After speaking with Jessie Smith, Owner of Bella Promessa Bridal & Formal Wear, I learned that wedding dresses can often take 4 to 6 months to arrive and 8 weeks for alterations. I assembled the bridesmaids and Mother of the Bride, and off we went!

I had a vision for the perfect dress in mind before we even went, so when the lovely Myriam at Bella Promessa pulled THE dress, I knew.

And even after trying on another 20 dresses, I knew.

And while I hadn’t planned on saying yes to the dress on the first visit, it was a no brainer. It was THE dress and I can’t wait to wear it in six months!

YOU DON’T HAVE TO FOLLOW ALL THE “RULES”

I think the biggest thing we have embraced in planning our wedding is that it’s our wedding and we can do it our way. We don’t have to follow the traditional wedding advice many of the books share. For example, we totally, 100% called and texted our friends and families to invite them to the wedding.

We’re having a small and intimate wedding and wanted to make sure everyone invited had our big day on their calendars ASAP! We’re still sending out paper invites designed by Halifax Paper Hearts (because, besties) this spring with all the fun details about the big day, but by inviting everyone as soon as we had the room block at the hotel, it meant people could plan ahead, book their trip, and get excited even sooner.

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Gee, after writing this post, I’m realizing I’m a lot more prepared than I thought! Next up on our list? Locking in a gorgeous ocean-front spot for the wedding ceremony, a DJ, and finding the perfect bridesmaid dresses with my girls 💕Wish me luck!