Purchasing her Montgomery from Allegria Bridal in Boston, our beautiful bride Makena looked flawless.
‘The Montgomery just felt right when I put it on. I loved the small nature influenced intricacies of the lace and that there were multiple layers overlaying each other. The dress didn’t overwhelm or take over me but instead it highlighted me. Originally, I was thinking that I would get an A-line dress. (The overskirt made that very tempting as I could have the best of both worlds) but ultimately, I loved the way the dress hugged my body and the stunning train of the Montgomery on its own’
Names: Makena & Tim
Wedding Date: 9/21/2019
Guest Numbers: 85
Wedding Location: The Tempson Barn in East Burke, VT
Photographer: Abigail Grey Photography
Tell Us Your Love Story
How did you meet? A friend in my run group in Wellesley, MA invited me and one of my friends to join a running team for the Hood to Coast Relay in Portland, OR. I’d participated in one locally before and knew that they were fun and a great way to meet new people. Upon arriving in Oregon, I met the other 9 relay team members (mostly Physics nerds) for the first time. The organizer of the team had already divided us into two groups of 6 and established our running orders. It turned out that a tall, dark haired (with some salt) blue eyed, Physics grad student (Tim) would be passing the baton to me and consequently we would be riding in the same relay van together for the next 24 hrs. He quickly stood out to me as the fun one and I wanted to be wherever he was. Throughout the 24 hours of running at all hours of the day through various terrains the flirting was strong, and we could tell what each other’s eyes were saying to each other… Luckily, when we got back to Boston, we found that we lived quite close to each other and could carry on running and flirting.
How did he put a ring on it? On a lazy Sunday of December 16th 2018 we got up and went for a run through our neighborhood. We were running up a steep hill when he suggested running down a side street off of the hill which annoyed me because I wanted to get to the top. The side street took us to a historical landmark of our city, Somerville, The Prospect Hill Tower. We climbed the tower and while I was busy appreciating the view of Boston in the distance, he was getting down on one knee. I really didn’t believe it when he proposed. I was SO surprised! He had the ring custom made by a jeweler (Jade Moran) around the corner from our apartment. The silhouette of my ring features the profile of Mt. Hood, OR which is where we met! He wanted to propose to me through running since it played homage to how me wet and how we spent most of our ‘dates’ together early on.
Where did you draw inspiration from? I always knew that I wanted to get married in my hometown. Given that I grew up in a small town of just shy of 1,000 people. Our options were limited but that made it easier in some ways. Tim and I love the outdoors. Having a venue that featured beautiful scenery and enabled us to celebrate outside was a priority. We loved the various doors of the Tempson Barn that allowed us to feel like we were outside during the reception and dancing. With that said, the views are so stunning, so I wanted to keep everything else quite simple and really let the location be the statement. For colors I was drawn to white and champagne with accents of dark green—very Vermont. For flowers I wanted what was local and in season to compliment in with the nature of our venue.
What made the wedding personal to you? While growing up in a small town I wasn’t very fond of it. But when I returned to plan my wedding, I found so much comfort in having personal connections to so many of my vendors. The woman who did our cake and flowers also did the cake and flowers for my parents’ wedding. My day of wedding coordinator was the daughter of my former piano teacher. The children of our caterer took dance lessons from my mom…It was really nice to know our vendors on a more personal level as it brought a greater significance to our wedding day.
What were you most nervous or excited about? It wasn’t until the day of the wedding that I realized I was about to not only speak my (original) vows to Tim but do it in front of 85 people! Realizing that our day had an element of public speaking made me nervous. Not sure why I hadn’t thought about that before. Getting to hear Tim’s vows for the first time was something I was most excited about. I love surprises and I couldn’t wait to hear what he had come up with! We are also big dessert people so the cake was another huge topic of excitement. We got an extra big cake so that we could have leftovers which enjoyed on our mini moon, month anniversaries and will enjoy again on our 1st year anniversary in a few months. I was also so excited to give all of our guests REAL Vermont maple syrup as a favor. Many of them enjoyed the next day over breakfast.
Now, the most important part – the Dress!
Tell us about your dress? My mom made the trip down to the Boston area to join me for dress shopping. Allegria Bridal was our last stop of the day. A snowstorm developed that night and they called to confirm we were coming—of course we were, a little bit of snow doesn’t stop 2 ladies from Vermont. I was interested in a lace dress but it wasn’t until I started trying dresses on that I realized how much of a difference the pattern and size of the lace makes in the aesthetics of the dress. The Montgomery just felt right when I put it on. I loved the small nature influenced intricacies of the lace and that there were multiple layers overlaying each other. The dress didn’t overwhelm or take over me but instead it highlighted me. Originally, I was thinking that I would get an A-line dress. (The overskirt made that very tempting as I could have the best of both worlds) but ultimately, I loved the way the dress hugged my body and the stunning train of the Montgomery on its own. I bought a belt to go with the dress to add a little sparkle but when it got closer to the day, I realized that I liked the dress best on its own for its simplicity. Fall Vermont weather is rather unpredictable, so I was prepared with a dark green alpaca scarf in the event that it was a cold day. We truly lucked out with a sunny low’s 70’s day in mid-September in Northern Vermont!
What stockist did you get it from? I got my dress from Allegria Bridal in Belmont, MA.
What was your most memorable moment from your day? Our first look was really special. The morning of our wedding we went for a run together and scouted the spot for our first look tucked away in some trees on our wedding property. Going into it I didn’t think it was something I wanted to do because I love the shock value of the groom seeing his bride for the first time walking down the aisle. Ultimately, our photographer convinced me that I wouldn’t regret it and I don’t! The first look was some of our most intimate moments of our day and some of the only moments were alone together!
Vendors to Credit: Venue: Tempson Barn // Photographer: Abigail Grey Photography // Rings: Jade Moran Jewelry Catering: Willy’s Catering // Cake & Flowers: Baylow // Hair: Sadie Tuohey // Make-Up: Bryan Beauty Bridal Make Up // DJ: Morrell Bunbury // Maple Syrup Favors: Burke Mountain Maple Company