Let’s hear about their big day from the couple themselves.

Wedding Date

September 17, 2022

How did you two meet?

Sam and Brian met in February 2017 at the Tunnel Bar in Northampton. Sam was convinced to go out on the town by her best friend Selime after performing Mahler 1 with the Mount Holyoke Symphony Orchestra, and it was on that night that she tripped on the stairs and almost fell face first into the floor. Locking eyes with Brian, sitting at the bar with his friend Cole, Sam acknowledged the super graceful entrance and introduced herself. Brian soon learned Sam is a flutist, and her asked “do you jam?” to which she responded “of course,” even though she had no jamming experience. They talked all night until the bar closed, and became good friends. In September 2017, they started dating and have been together since.

How did he pop the question?

2020 presented a lot of challenges not limited to COVID. Working through a difficult year, Brian and Sam on New Year’s Eve were in transit to their new home in Western Mass, staying with Brian’s mom for the holiday. During Covid 2020, no one was wearing real pants, it was all about the sweatpants around the house. So when Sam saw Brian in jeans at 7:00pm, she new something was up this New Year’s Eve. At midnight it was all revealed and Brian popped the question, to which Sam of course said yes.

What was your favorite moment(s) from the wedding?

We both love to dance, and our families love to dance. It was fantastic to see everyone having a blast on the dance floor. We also adore our best man, Andy, who delivered a really sweet best man speech. We also loved our parent dances. And of course the ceremony was overwhelming and beautiful. It really was a perfect day.

How long have you been together?

5 years in September 2022, and then for 6 months they were great friends before dating.

How would you describe your overall wedding experience?

Planning a wedding is no joke. It is so stressful. The actual day, and days leading up to the wedding, were wonderful. When people finally start arriving in town, and you are surrounded by all these people you love, it is immense. The love we were surrounded by at our wedding was immense. While wedding planning is stressful, we can’t imagine planning a wedding with vendors who are not outstanding. We got so lucky over and over again with the people we worked with to make our day special.

What advice would you offer to other couples planning a wedding

Before you make compromises, figure out what you and your partner want. We wasted the most amount of time and stress when we were not putting what we wanted first. You can’t take advice from people unless you know what you really want. Because of this, I had to redo things throughout the process because I couldn’t be honest with what I wanted to do. Once we started making solid decisions and just doing it, things fell into place much smoother. There was less indecision and overthinking about things that were already decided.

What photography-related advice would you offer to a couple?

Get Greg Moss for photography, he is super patient and knows how to give you directions on how to pose. My partner and I are goofy and feel super self conscious with picture taking. But the day of we just felt like rock stars.

Tell me about your dress. Where did you find it, how did you choose it, how did you know it was the one?

I actually found three dresses. Because we started planning a wedding during Covid, I received a lot of information that turned out to be misinformation about supply chains, and what could or could not be altered. The dress I wore for our ceremony I found in a flower shop. This seller had a bunch of dresses for WICKED low prices. The dress I loved was quite too large on me, but my mom and I thought we could alter it. So we went to a store in Brattleboro, and the owner said it couldn’t be altered. Which is when we found dress number 2, that we ordered. Because of covid, she warned that it might not come in because supply chains are really backed up. This is when we got a back-up dress at my favorite dress shop, where I buy all my recital gowns. And this one took a really long time to come in. And be altered. But I was super in love with the original dress and I found an amazing seamstress to take it in. We moved a month before our wedding, so none of my dresses fit until the week of our wedding. And the the day before my wedding was when I finally had them all in one place, and they all fit, and they all came in in time. So I decided to wear all three. I wore one for the ceremony, one for the reception, and I’m saving one for when we go on our honeymoon. I look back now and it all worked out, but wow was the dress situation an ongoing stresser.

How was your experience taking photos/working with me on your wedding day?

Brian and I really loved working with you! We are both super goofy and we rarely take nice photos. Basically never do we volunteer to take nice photos and when we do we feel super self critical. The day of the wedding we both felt super supported with instructions on how to pose, and what to do with our hands haha. You also were excellent with working with our families and making sure to be respectful of their dynamics.

Did you see each other before the wedding? If not, did you like waiting or would you have rather done it differently? Tell me why or why not!

I know it’s a thing / trend today to do a first look, but we loved waiting until the ceremony. It added extra real emotion to the ceremony, when you see each other right as you’re getting married. I don’t think we’d have reacted the same if we already had peaked at each other.

Any tips on how to prepare for the wedding photos?

I’m a hands on person. So if I were to do anything again, it would be to delegate more so that I could get to the bridal suite and get ready for more getting ready photos. I was in quite a rush trying to just put my makeup on and get dressed, that it took away a little from that “calm getting ready vibe” you see in photos.

Any tips that you have about preparing your wedding party for the photos? What did you tell them, how did you get them to cooperate, what did you do or what would you have done differently?

I think we were all rushing a little. We were the day of coordinator for ourselves and this made us be responsible for a lot of setup. Maybe I’d practice having my dress floofed.

Any tips on what to bring?

Bring fashion tape. I am not a nervous person, but I was nervous on the day and I couldn’t eat leading up to the ceremony. Get a smoothie! One of my bridesmaids brought me a smoothie and it saved me from getting shakey. Make sure that all your wedding party people can be around when you are taking photos before the ceremony.

We love to hear about vendors you love. 

• Did you find a store/site that had everything you were looking for? Use this space to talk about your favorite shops. You can include where you got your dress, sites you got your veils/décor/accessories, etc
  Chicopee Bridal Corner is where we got our tuxes and my Reception dress. They are awesome! I went to The Lift in Amherst to get my wedding hair done, and they did a perfect job!!

What were you most anxious, nervous or fearful about regarding your wedding day, and what was the outcome?

We were really worried about family dynamics. On the day, there was nothing but love and support from everyone.

What’s one piece of advice you would give to other couples for planning their wedding?

There is so much excitement about the wedding and expectations. No one talks about how to prepare for the day and week after your wedding. We are not honeymooning right after the wedding, and I’m so glad we’re not because we have been having an emotional down after having such an emotional up. We are spending the week resting and reflecting, adn processing this huge life event. No one prepares you for the after wedding blues, but they are real!

What was the first song you danced to as husband and wife? Father-daughter dance? Mother-son dance?

Our first dance was to a cover of Just Like Heaven by The Cure. Father-daughter dance was to George Ezra “Hold My Girl,” which was super beautiful, and emotional. Mother-son dance was “Carolina in my Mind”