Real Wedding: Carly & Ted
Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts
Photography: Newell Jones & Jones Photography, newelljonesandjones.com, Band: Johnny Hoy And The Blue Fish, Cake: Black Dog Bakery, Catering: Truly Scrumptious Catering, Invitations: Scribbles
Carly Childers and Ted Friedman met on the first day of law school in Denver, Colorado, and as they both fondly remember, neither had any doubt that they had found true love. As Carly explains it, “We noticed each other on day one, and after some chips, salsa, and a few margaritas, we were both off the market by day two.” The new couple navigated school together, studying side by side for exams, traveling with each other during holidays, and finally preparing together to graduate and take the bar exam. “After years in school, trips back home, traveling far away, and spending nearly every day together since we arrived in Denver, we were more than ready to put just one name on our mailbox,” says Carly. After taking the bar exam in Colorado, Carly and Ted escaped for a couple of weeks to Pilot Hill Farm in Martha’s Vineyard, where Ted grew up, for a relaxing getaway. One morning, Ted woke Carly as the sun was rising over a mist-veiled ocean and suggested they take a walk along the shore. Ted brought coffee and muffins from Carly’s favorite bakery, and it wasn’t long before they settled in on a blanket on the sand, musing over how much they had grown as a couple. “Ted told me that he couldn’t imagine spending his life with anyone else, and then he got on one knee and asked me to marry him,” says Carly. It was an honest and relaxed moment, with no need for elaborate gestures or fanfare. As the warming sun burned off the fog from the gentle morning waves, Carly accepted. Though Carly is from Tucson, Arizona, she knew Pilot Hill Beach was the perfect place for their wedding. However, she wanted to incorporate a touch of home by making use of desert elements. Beginning by settling on neutral tones for their color palette — camel, linen, raffia, dusty rose, and charcoal grey — she also worked cacti, rocks, sand, and succulents into the décor. A Caroline Herrera gown with ruffles gave off a funky Southwestern vibe, and the couple made special arrangements for festive Mexican food to be shipped from a restaurant in Tucson to be served at the reception. After months of planning, all the elements were in place for the best Arizona-inspired wedding the island had ever seen. On the morning of the wedding, the bride surprised her bridesmaids with custom-made charm bracelets featuring personalized charms for each of them that recalled moments they had shared together. “Watching their faces and smiles as they opened them and went through each charm, remembering certain times together with me, was priceless,” she says. At their beachside ceremony, Carly honored her late father by including in the program a quote of his that he had written for her high school yearbook, which had been published shortly after he died. In reference to their favorite movie to watch together, The Princess Bride, the quote read, “It’s inconceivable how quickly my princess bride grew up, I hope your life goes as you wish.” Carly’s brother also read a tale from Greek mythology about Odysseus and his journey home to his wife, a story that their father had read to them many times growing up. “It was such a perfect nod to my dad and our childhood, while also being meaningful and relevant to the journey Ted and I are embarking on,” says Carly. Perhaps the couple’s favorite part of the day was their first kiss as husband and wife. Each guest rang a tiny bell, creating gorgeous music and providing them with wedding bells even though they hadn’t been married in a church. After saying their vows in the very same spot where Ted had proposed, the couple made their way down the aisle together among the bells, eager to begin their journey as husband and wife.