A Simple, Museum Wedding at New Bedford Whaling Museum in New Bedford, Massachusetts

Vanessa Monteiro (30 and nurse) and Darren King (36 and a product analyst) met at the local Brooklyn restaurant, Cornelius, through mutual friends. Darren, originally from London, England, and Vanessa, from Marion, MA, would have friendly debates over whether or not England or Massachusetts had better fish and chips. After some time, Vanessa finally asked Darren to accompany her to try traditional English fish and chips so she could make a final decision. Instead of focussing on the food, however, Vanessa and Darren were more interested in each other. That night was the first of many in their journey together as a couple. Vanessa attended a wedding at the New Bedford Whaling Museum a few years before her own and fell in love with it then. "We aren't the type to get married at your traditional country club and a museum wedding was more up our alley," Vanessa says. Conveniently, their reception at the New Bedford Whaling Museum was right across from their ceremony at the Seamen's Bethel. For their ceremony, they decide ed to keep the decor simple and traditional with soft whites and blues with arrangements of hydrangeas and baby's breath. Vanessa and Darren thought the museum's decor was enough so they added very little to their reception. Small, round tables were decorated with mason jars of hydrangeas and baby's breath. "Overall," Vanessa says, "our venue was unique and quirky which could be used to describe us as a couple as well!"