McKee & Stephen's Small Town Takeover Wedding in Essex, CT

McKee and Stephen, both living and working in Los Angeles, had their ‘small town takeover’ wedding in McKee’s hometown of Essex, CT where her parents still live. Essex is the quintessential small New England town - a main street lined with cute shops and spots to eat, everything you may need within a ten minute walk, hydrangeas and white picket fences on every corner. Though they live on the west coast for work, coming back to a place with so much history for McKee seemed right and gave them and their guests the opportunity to do something unique: take it over and have one hell of a party there. The plan was super local; ideally they’d start at the McKee residence and stop first at the church around the block for the ceremony and then parade with their guests - led by a bagpiper - down main street to the CT River Museum where the reception was to be held. It felt like the perfect way to honor both the place and their relationship, surrounded by all the people who love them.

It wouldn’t be a summer wedding without a little drama though, would it? As guests poured out of the ceremony onto the street, the light outside was shocking; a storm cloud had arrived and was threatening rain. The bagpiper played and guests paraded behind and by some stroke of luck nearly everyone made it under cover before the storm hit. As the skies opened folks gathered together under the sailcloth tent and shared drinks and stories and congratulated the happy couple, largely unbothered by the rain. Neither McKee nor Stephen seemed too phased by the weather either, and before too long the wet was a distant memory. Folks were chatting, drinking good wine, eating good food and good cake, and the overall mood was great. It’s a treat to see this kind of camaraderie at weddings. It felt almost like nothing at all could have prevented them from having a good time, and we can’t really ask for more in these kinds of scenarios. McKee and Stephen looked like they were having the time of their lives, like they had reached a new milestone together. Planning a wedding can be one of the toughest, most stressful things - especially from afar - but by the end of the night we could tell they were both feeling that blissful relief of having accomplished it together.

Venue: Connecticut River Museum
Coordination: Blue Lane Events - Kaitlin Baker
Catering: Gourmet Galley
Florals: Sterling Flower Farm
Desserts: Pompelmo Gelato Cart
Music: DJ Lion King | Jazz Quintet + Wanda Houston
Film/Processing: Kodak Portra 400 / Kerry’s Warwick Photo