The Montague Retreat Center in western Massachusetts captures the essence of a summer camp perfectly. Nestled tightly into it’s natural surroundings, the property has lodging for a good chunk of family/wedding party, a lovely hillside ceremony site with views of the surrounding mountains, a stone patio shaded by a glorious weeping willow tree for cocktail hour, and a two story barn for dancing the night away. Amanda and Jeremy had the place for the weekend, which allowed themselves and their closest friends and family to acclimate to the space a bit before the wedding day and when we showed up Saturday morning folks seemed relaxed and excited to spend the day celebrating. People slowly arrived by school bus and poured into the landscape, meandering along paths mowed through the high grass, finding their way to the ceremony site. Contrasting with the lush greens and golds of the trees and fields were guests who had been specifically instructed to wear fun colors and patterns, and combined with the dramatic, rolling clouds the aesthetic was full-on summer.

Planning a wedding from San Francisco and hosting it in Massachusetts is a terrific feat, by every measure. Amanda and Jeremy managed to not only pull that off, but do so in such a way that had us saying “we wish we had done that at our wedding,” over and over again. In their initial inquiry to us, these two told us that one of their wishes for their wedding was that it would facilitate a coming together, a reconnecting for their guests, and if everything went their way folks would leave having made a new friend or two. In this regard the wedding was a total success; Amanda and Jeremy pulled out all the stops in creating an environment that encouraged their guests to mingle and learn more about one another. A team of poets conducted brief interviews and delivered poems about interviewees on demand, a game of guest bingo sent folks on a social scavenger hunt, and a sip and solve crossword puzzle tested their knowledge of the happy couple. Together all of this felt like a recipe for making new friends and we’re happy to report we witnessed more than a few folks exchanging numbers throughout the day as a result.

The evening just kept delivering as dinner came to a close, thanks largely to the live music courtesy of This Day in History, Jeremy’s brother Jon’s band (you guys rock). From the get go the performance was electric and they played everything from the Rolling Stones to Weezer to The Cars and after a wild set Jeremy jumped on the mic for a surprise performance of My Girl by The Temptations. As the tunes waned and folks stepped back out of the barn into blue hour, these two ever-gracious hosts manned the dessert station and served up strawberry-rhubarb crisp with coconut cream to their guests. It felt like the best possible way to end this wedding that embraced summer so wholly, and we felt as wowed by it all as everyone else.

Venue/Coordination: Montague Retreat Center
Catering: Wheelhouse Catering
Florals: Mal du Pays Design
Dress: Glamour Closet San Francisco
Hair/Makeup: Friends of Amanda’s
Menswear: Klein Epstein Parker
Poems on Demand: PVD Poetry
Music: This Day in History / DJ Angus
Film/Processing: Kodak Portra 400/800 / Kerry’s Warwick Photo

Amanda & Jeremy's Colorful Summer Wedding at Montague Retreat Center in Montague, MA