This Couple Tied the Knot Over Dinner with Friends at a Restaurant in Boston, Massachusetts

Sarah Brown (31 and a machine learning researcher) and Kirk Stewart (31 and a sales engineer) initially planned to celebrate their union with a large, traditional wedding. However, an intimate affair at a restaurant with just 20 of their closes loved ones felt more like them, leading the couple to pivot their day into an elegant affair at Alcove in Boston, Massachusetts.  "Once we settled on the smaller wedding, we knew we wanted it in Boston. That was where we first met and started dating. It’s a city we both love. We asked Kelly, our wedding planner to provide some options and visited a few. We selected Alcove for the location and the cuisine. Being in the city was enhance by being in a T- accessible area, the views of the Zakim made it extra Boston, and we both were excited by the menu options. We love seafood and Alcove had a raw bar we were intrigued by," Sarah shares. For the wedding's design, the couple went with, "a 'Beach-Meets-City' vibe—drawing inspiration from the venue itself and the private dining room’s modern, map-inspired wall mural. Details were thoughtful and vibrant, while remaining subtle and intentionally curated," their planner notes. 

As for the day's floral arrangements, they complemented the event's blue, peach and yellow tones, with accents of greenery and dried grasses threaded throughout. The grasses were actually Sarah's favorite part of her bouquet: "One of my favorite bits I learned about the bouquet, which I loved immediately when it arrived, was that some of the greenery was found by the florist coincidentally. I spent the whole rest of the summer and into fall appreciating the beauty of the grasses and miscellaneous greenery in my neighborhood so much more," after she saw how foraged greenery made the Boston wedding celebration come to life. 

When it came to actually tying the knot, Sarah and Kirk chose to have the ceremony take place in segments over the course of their extended dinner. Sarah's cousin officiated the event and, "because the wedding was so small, almost every one of our guests made a toast that shared a story so the whole thing felt sentimental," Sarah recalls. The uniqueness of their wedding's structure still stands out to the couple as their favorite part of the whole celebration. The twosome loved that they, "went with our own plan and broke with tradition. We wanted to have a wedding day that felt like a good time with friends. We wanted it to be special, but not overwhelming and we were able to achieve that."