REAL WEDDINGS: Heather & Nicholas

Heather Neuwirth & Nicholas Lovejoy

MAY 27, 2018 BASIN HARBOR | VERGENNES, VT PHOTOS BY SARAH COCINA PHOTOGRAPHY

The Romance...

Heather’s best friends from high school went to college with Nick’s best friends from high school. This mutual friend group threw a New Year’s Eve party on Martha’s Vineyard and both Nick and Heather were invited. Though they didn’t share a New Year’s kiss during this first meeting, conversations by the cozy fire certainly helped set the couple on the right path.

The proposal...

Nick invited Heather out to a friend’s cabin in Roxbury, Vermont. Way off the grid and situated next to a small pond with a wood burning sauna, the cabin served as a rustic retreat away from busy work schedules. The couple were in the middle of alternating rounds of hot sauna and cold dips in the pond when Nick asked if Heather would like to sit by the shore with him for a while. “It’s 41 degrees and raining, why do you want to sit outside?” she asked. After some convincing, he managed to get her outside for the big ask. Heather said yes, and that night Nick surprised her with a stay at the Pitcher Inn. That day was their seventh anniversary.

Why Vermont...

So many of our loved ones were traveling from out of state and we wanted to share the magic of where we live. Twenty minutes from our home, Basin Harbor’s setting with views of the Adirondacks over Lake Champlain highlights our favorite aspects of recreation and the natural beauty that Vermont offers.

The Venue...

Both of us grew up going to summer camp, so Basin Harbor felt like a great place to have a long weekend filled with activities for our family and friends. Hiking, running, a “Wedding Triathlon”, yoga on the dock and big family meals.

Theme / Color Palette...

Purples and green

Fav Details...

We made our wedding rings (in a workshop called With These Rings run by a metalsmith, Stephanie Selle) in Port Townsend, Washington. We did the shaping and soldering (there is a panel of the other person’s metal in each ring where the sun is engraved) and had them engraved with the profiles of Camel’s Hump and Mount Washington on one side and waves (signifying Lake Michigan where Heather grew up) on the other.

Our friends run Shacksbury Cider and surprised us with sparkling cider made from Basin Harbor apples for our toasts.

We made the beeswax luminaries on our centerpieces with our friends at Bee the Change, a non-profit committed to repurposing the unused space in solar fields to support our threatened pollinators.

We also designed our own fabric with creemees and Basin Harbor adirondack chairs; once we had the fabric printed, Heather’s mother sewed bow ties and neckties for the groomsmen and groom.

How did your wedding reflect your relationship as a couple?

We love to create things and celebrate our community (near and far) over delicious food and drink. Our top priorities were food, location and music. We loved seeing our friends and families in the splendor of Basin Harbor’s dock and dancing away after a delicious dinner.

Fav Moments...

Having a walk through the woods on the lakefront trail on the way to and from our first look; it was quiet time to ourselves in the middle of a community-filled weekend, Our late night creemee stand and dancing at the after party, the 5k through the woods to Button Bay organized by our friends, cruising around on our Shacksburycan decorated golf cart, The Medallions playing our special requests including Like a Prayer (a Middlebury alumni favorite).

Wedding Advice...

A friend told us to each list our top three priorities and work from there on how to make each person’s number one possible and then consider the rest of the priorities and compromise given our budget. Luckily, our numbers one and two lined up and we felt really excited to focus there. The list was a great reminder when so many different choices were presented and a lot of them were appealing--it served as something concrete to return to that we could remind ourselves of the main goals for the event.

FEATURED PROFESSIONALS PHOTOGRAPHER: Sarah Cocina Photography VENUE, CATERER, ACCOMMODATIONS, CEREMONY, CAKE DESIGNER: Basin Harbor, www.basinharbor.com - p41 WEDDING PLANNER: (Anne Henderson) Basin Harbor REHEARSAL DINNER: (The Escape Sunset Cruise) Basin Harbor WEDDING OFFICIANT: Dr. Michael Kiernan FLORIST: New Leaf Organics FAVORS: Maple Syrup INVITATIONS: The Little Press Room, (bride designed & hand painted) BAND: The Medallions WEDDING GOWN DESIGNER: Watters WToo WEDDING GOWN STORE: Bliss Bridal ALTERATIONS: Jane Kirby GROOM, & GROOMSMEN’S FORMAL WEAR: Indochino JEWELRY: (earrings) Sundance HAIR STYLIST: Kelsey Petterborg MAKEUP ARTIST: Rachel Routhier WEDDING REGISTRY & GIFTS: Zola SPARKLING CIDER: Shacksbury Cider, (made from Basin Harbor apples)