Sidlowski Wedding // Flag Hill Winery, Lee, NH // New England Wedding Photographer
Flag Hill Winery was the perfect location for Marcie and Josh's joy-filled day. I just loved their vintage, handmade theme. You could tell how much effort and love was put into each beautiful detail. In addition to the ethereal setting and handcrafted details, Marcie and Josh themselves were a dream to work with. They were down to earth, relaxed, and extremely fun. As you'll see below, they had some unique photo ideas that were a blast to put into practice.
The most impressive handmade detail of the day was hands-down, Marcie's wedding dress. HER MOTHER MADE IT! Creativity abounds with this family. Marcie designed her dream dress and her mother was able to make it from scratch, even sewing in some parts of her own wedding dress. I was so impressed and Marcie looked absolutely radiant in it!
As you can see, the mother of the bride isn't the only one with a sewing talent. Here's Marcie helping sew some last minute fixes on her bridesmaids' dresses. Talk about dedication!
I was kind of obsessed with the floral arrangements. A bright, beautiful mix of wildflowers was interwoven throughout the entire day. I also loved how the bride stood out by carrying an elegant bouquet of fresh lavender. A fabulous job by Tina Sawtelle of Pinewood Yankee Farms
Another amazing piece of the wedding was Marcie's lace handkerchief that has been in her family for generations. Read more below, for the full story.
Marcie & Josh decided to do a "first look." For those of you who aren't familiar, that means that Josh saw Marcie in her wedding dress for the first time before the ceremony. It's not traditional, but it was very special for them to share this moment in a private setting, and I loved capturing it for them.
They had a beautiful ceremony on the vineyard grounds...
A sweet moment between Marcie and her grandfather. His presence was very special for her, because some health issues almost made it impossible for him to attend. Marcie's happy tears made me tear up as well...
The whole bridal party was a blast to work with. So much energy and personality!
As I said above, the bride and groom had some really unique ideas for group photos...I had an extra amount of fun in Photoshop, thanks to Marcie & Josh's special request to have a dinosaur chase scene amongst their "formal" portraits.
Cake shmake! This reception was all about the PIES!
First dance as husband + wife...
Father/Daughter & Mother/Son dances...
The Forte Point Ramblers provided some awesome bluegrass tunes that had everyone on their feet!
Loved this bouquet toss+catch reaction...
THANK YOU, Josh & Marcie for being such a dream to work with! I enjoyed capturing your special day!
Wedding dress | Original Design: (I designed it, My mother Carol McKenzie made it from scratch!)
Bridesmaid dresses | Various: Girls bought their dresses through a variety of sites/shops
Hair & Make-up | Acorn Organics Exeter, NH
Florist | Tina Sawtelle Pinewood Yankee Farms
Ceremony | David Prentice presiding (Gloucester native and family friend!)
Reception venue | Flag Hill Winery + Distillery
Pies | Our pies were made by Diana from Demeritt Hill Farms in Lee, NH. The fruit that filled the pies were grown in their orchard, picked fresh, and baked the night before!
Band | Forte Point Ramblers
First dance | Book of Love by The Magnetic Fields
Father/daughter | Stand By Me by Ben E. King
Mother/son | Nothing's Gonna Change this Love by Sam Cooke
What was the most memorable moment of your day?
Marcie's Answer: "Doing the "first look" was amazing. The look on his face is something that I will relive for years to come."
Josh's Answer "The ceremony- it was just beautiful."
What was your favorite detail?
Marcie's answer: 2-part: The flowers blew my mind. They were exactly what I had hoped for! Also, I loved carrying my grandmother's lace handkerchief. It was brought to America in the mid 1800's and has been carried by several brides in succession on the McKenzie/Hall side. I am the 9th bride to carry the kerchief.
Josh's answer: Having oysters at our sweetheart table was pretty great!
Any advice for future brides/grooms?
Marcie's answer: Assign someone the task of seeing that things happens when they are supposed to. The day comes on so hard and fast, you are surrounded by loving people who want to talk to you- someone has to remember to plug in the ipod NOW, or make sure you remember to announce the table prizes, etc. We had a bunch of little things planned that never actually happened because we were too busy having a wedding. If I were going to do it again I would create a little schedule of things that needed to happen and give it to my MOH or a trusted bridesmaid.
Josh's answer: "Cherish the moment, and realize the whole day is about the person you are standing across from."
Funniest memory from your wedding day?
Marcie's answer: Seeing what they did to our [get-away]car
Josh's answer: Pretending to run from a dinosaur was pretty fun
If you could do it all over, would you change anything?
Marcie: I would have eaten more small snacks throughout the day and drank a lot more water instead of coffee/wine etc.
Josh: I wish we had more time to dance!
Where did you go on your honeymoon?
We just stayed at our B&B for a long weekend since we both had to go back to work on Tuesday. Instead of a registry, however, we set up a honeyfund. Our guests were incredibly generous, and so we are planning a train trip across the states to tour the national parks for next summer!
