I'm so excited to share Breanna and Matt's wedding from June 29th, 2019 at The Portland Club in Portland, Maine. The couple got ready at The Westin Portland Harborview Hotel, where they also had their first look and some of their pre-ceremony portraits. From there, we walked over to The Portland Club, where The Black Tie Company coordinated a lovely indoor wedding ceremony and catered reception.
I asked Breanna to tell us more about her special day:
How did you two meet?
Matt and I met at work in Pittsburgh in 2013. I lived there my whole life, but Matt moved from Maine to Pennsylvania for work. After we finished training together, I kept taking a lot of work calls for him, which led to us talking and getting to know each other. After a casual work friendship for a few months, we went on our first date to a Mediterranean restaurant. After a few months of dating, he was moved to another department and since then we've been partners. We started planning our wedding in April of 2018 and moved to Maine in November, 2018.
When and where did you get engaged? Tell us about the proposal.
Since 2014, we have always spent Christmas with Matt's family in Maine. He and his mom went Christmas shopping in 2017 and when they returned home Matt was acting strange. He said we would wrap gifts downstairs together in a few moments, but I had to wait for his okay. When I came downstairs he asked me to hand him a gift for his dad. When I opened it I saw the ring. I always wanted a nontraditional engagement ring. He said he saw this one at a store and loved it. When the sales woman said it was Tanzanite (his birth stone) he thought it was a sign to stop waiting and take the next step for us. We talked privately downstairs for a while and then celebrated with his family. It was romantic and spontaneous.
How did you envision your wedding day? Tell us about your color palate, style and/or vision.
I have a lot of love for astrology and constellations. I felt like Matt and I were "written in the stars" so we chose a starry night theme. The bridesmaids wore shades of stormy weather (blue, gray, and purple) and starry clips in their hair. The tables were named after constellations. The invitations had a lovely moon graphic on them and we chose songs that were "moon" themed (fly me to the moon, dancing in the moonlight). I chose a simple white gold wedding band with starry sapphires. Finally, my mom found me a starry white and blue hair vine that I wore like a celestial tiara. We had the wedding inside the historic Portland Club, so the atmosphere was elegant and airy. I wanted just a hint of magic in our space and I think we achieved it.
What is your favorite moment of your wedding day?
My favorite moment of the wedding day was Matt's and my first look. The morning was wonderful getting ready with my mom and bridesmaids. The weather was getting hotter than expected and there was some tension surrounding the first look. We moved it inside the hotel at the last moment and as soon as Matt and I saw each other the tension melted away. I think we were both more nervous than expected and it felt so good to see the one I love!
Tell us about your flowers, your gown, your favors, your cake, etc.
Some of the best wedding advice I received early on was from a tarot card reader who asked me what things mattered to me. She suggested I outsource everything else. My gown was what was most important to me and I was able to buy it off the rack from Luna Sewickeley Bridal Boutique. I fell in love with the silhouette, the long sleeves, the eyelash lace, the scalloped open neck, and the incredible train. I found my beautiful lace shoes on Amazon for $30 and wore my great grandmother's earrings to complete the look. My flowers were ordered in bulk from Sam's Club and my incredibly talented Stepsister and Stepmom from Pennsylvania arranged the bouquets, boutonnieres, and corsages. My cake and all of our food was handled by the Black Tie Company which made the most amazing white and blueberry cupcakes. Our favors were an old Pittsburgh tradition of a Cookie Table. In the depression era, cakes were a luxury and Pittsburghers adapted by having family and friends bake homemade cookies for the weddings. My favorite part is seeing the variety of cookies. No one in Maine had heard of a cookie table, but my mother in law got so many Maine people to participate. My Pittsburgh family was delighted by the nontraditional items from Maine like cornflake cookies! All of our stationary from the invitations, table numbers, custom seating chart, programs, and cookie table sign were designed by my talented bridesmaid Emily Nowels. Finally, we wanted just a little bit of decoration around the ceremony space and my incredible mother put together some branches and fairy lights, not to mention the lanterns and floral wreathes for the tables.
My day felt incredibly special because I shared my starry stormy vision with my friends and family. They took the vision and made it a reality, which kept me sane in the process. Family is very important to Matt and I, so we were grateful for the communal effort and feel it gave our wedding. We also had a space by the bar where we displayed our family's wedding pictures from parents, to grandparents, and great-grandparents.
Wedding Vendors:
Venue: The Portland Club
Coordinator/Catering: The Black Tie Company
DJ: Ben "BB" of Double Platinum Celebrations
Second Photographer: Sara Cormier
Hair: Tulu Salon and Spa
Dress: Luna Boutique
Flowers/Desserts/Decor/Officiant: DIY/Family
