Allie & Mike's Elegant Coastal Wedding at Glen Manor in Portsmouth, RI

Allie and Mike are fellow Rhode Island residents, and like us they share a love for the water. When we first photographed them in September of last year we met up to make some photos in the evening light and it was clear how present the ocean is in their lives. They got their feet wet, put some paddle boards into the surf, and generally felt like they gravitated towards that biome naturally. Fast forwarding to a couple of weekends ago and we found ourselves back by the coast with them, back in a favorite local venue of ours: Glen Manor. The space is so unique in that it’s certainly separate from the Newport mansions while operating in the same general thematic universe. It’s grand but isolated, old world beautiful while at the mercy of the ever renewing tide, and nestled into one of the more beautiful waterfront properties in the state. Old growth trees that predate the building’s 100 year old construction dot the estate and make the manor feel much more private than its Bellevue Avenue peers, all but shrouding it from the bustle of Newport just a few miles away. Allie and Mike, being residents of Newport, picked the spot for the building’s character, the natural beauty of it’s surroundings, and the fact that it was all pretty close to home. Bringing all of their friends and family to experience the area they live in and hosting an elegant dinner party style wedding in such a unique space was important to them.

When we first entered Glen Manor we ran into a group of folks we’d find out were aunts and uncles of Mike’s unpacking a seemingly endless supply of handmade cookies. Florals courtesy of Shade Studios (shoutout Ayla, a favorite local florist) were wildly beautiful, pouring everywhere we looked from their appropriately ocean-themed vessels, and framing the ceremony site in dramatic fashion. We’d then find Mike and his friends getting ready upstairs, Mike’s dad telling stories of how every single one of them had been around since Mike was a little kid. Allie and her friends arrived shortly after and got ready in the bridal suite, a beautiful room with its paneled walls and massive windows overlooking the water down the hill. After the ceremony came to a close, Allie and Mike shared their first dance outside on the patio, surrounded by friends, family, the manor’s elaborately beautiful gardens, and that unmistakable smell of salt water in the air. Toasts in the evening light led to a cozy dinner spread through the various grand dining rooms within the manor, and what followed was an incredibly lively dance floor set to nostalgic millenial bangers. From the moment the two of them first saw one another until we said goodbye for the night, Allie and Mike seemed like they almost couldn’t believe it was all happening so fast. As the last song rang out into the halls and guests filed from the dance floor, those same aunts and uncles stood ready with to-go boxes, urging guests (including us) to take two, three, maybe even four helpings of cookies with them as they left. As we got into our car to drive home, double fisting lemon and caramel tarts, we felt honored to be included in such a family affair.

Venue: Glen Manor
Coordination: Sweet Deets Events
Florals: Shade Studio
Catering: Russell Morin Catering
Music: Meritage DJ / Rob DiNanno + Red Soda Band (ceremony + cocktail hour)
Hair/Makeup: Ali Lomazzo Beauty
Dress Designer: Ines Di Santo
Bridal Boutique: Plumed Serpent Bridal
Menswear: The Black Tux
Rings: Melanie Casey
Rentals: Peak Event Rentals
Videography: Backstory Wedding Films
Film/Processing: Kodak Portra 400/800 / Kerry’s Warwick Photo