Like many weddings, in the latest years, they had to postpone their big day several times so to have their Stratton Mountain wedding come together so perfectly was such gift.
Let’s hear about their big day from Claire and Dom!
June 25, 2022
We met as kids and had the same group of friends. We then went to different high schools and colleges and did not see each other for 10 years until we re-met at a local sports bar. The rest is history!
We were at Stratton Mountain Resort after a day of skiing, walking around the village and getting dinner in the village. It was an amazing winter weekend with Christmas music playing in the village, Christmas lights everywhere, a light snow, and earlier in the evening before Dom proposed, Claire said “this feels like a Hallmark movie!” as they walked around the village, and the day certainly ended like one! It was a complete surprise. Dom and the jeweler that Claire’s family has known for many years (Michael) designed the ring and on Michael’s yearly trip to Antwerp, Belgium, he picked out the stone for the ring. It was a fairytale proposal! Once Dom proposed, we went to the pub in the village to have champagne and celebrate together.
This is so hard since we loved every single second of the entire wedding day! Everything was amazing and it was so special to have all of our family and friends together after so long. One of the best memories of the day was our gondola ride down the mountain together after the ceremony – after having our first look where we said our private vows, pictures with our family and bridal parties and the ceremony, all of which were so memorable, it felt amazing to have the ride down the mountain just the two of us and to have the chance to take in the beautiful view and talk together about all the special moments of the day so far.
6.5 years
Incredible! Every part of our entire day was spectacular and better than we imagined. It was 100% worth waiting the extra year to have the wedding of our dreams and have the entire weekend and experience be amazing for our guests. Every vendor was outstanding! Our family and friends loved the entire weekend and between the gorgeous weather, the bonfire the night before, the gondola ride to the top of the mountain, all of the amazing food (especially the Waffle Cabin vendor!) and the after party in the village, the entire weekend felt like a vacation getaway for everyone and every part was SO much fun! We absolutely loved working with Greg, Lesley and Victoria and had so much fun taking photos!
We had many people tell us before the wedding how great it is when the two of you can take a few minutes together during the day to step back, slow the day down and take it all in. We were so lucky to have our first look with private vows, our gondola ride down the mountain together and our sweetheart table to have those few moments where we could really appreciate everything about the day. Our advice to anyone planning a wedding is that despite the stress of planning and the worries of especially the week before when you’re getting everything together, once you leave to go to the wedding, just enjoy every single second from that moment on. We were so excited and happy that the day had finally come and we enjoyed and appreciated every single second of the day. We love looking back on the day knowing that we cherished every second and had the most fun we could have with all of our family and friends!
Our photography-related advice is to find a photographer that you connect with, feel comfortable with and makes you feel calm. Everything about working with Greg, Lesley and Victoria encompassed those things – they are so calm and friendly and make you feel so comfortable from the second you meet them! I had met Greg a couple of years earlier at a bridal expo and immediately noticed how his personality and demeanor make you feel comfortable and like you have known him for a long time – and also, his work is stunning!! Dom and I had never done professional photos together before our engagement photo session, so having a photographer that will help you not feel nervous is so important. The first thing we said to each other leaving the engagement session was, that was SO much fun! We loved every second and knew our experience on the wedding day would be just as amazing.
I went with my mom and two of my sisters to a bridal store and after trying on a few dresses, I tried my dress on and knew it was perfect! I wanted a combination of elegant and timeless but also glamorous and romantic. With the satin material, sweetheart strapless neckline and overall look, I knew it had everything I was looking for. It was also great for the venue (i.e. being on a mountain with various terrain) and I could walk so easily and it was a light material. It was absolutely perfect!
Amazing!!! Everything about working with Greg was fantastic. He is friendly and calm, makes you feel so comfortable and is very creative! He is extremely hardworking and focused and the fact that he can prepare a same day slideshow so quickly is just outstanding – every single guest was blown away and the slideshow was so beautiful and incredible!! That was such a hit and we were so glad that we had that special feature at the wedding. We thought it was so cool for guests to be able to see the earlier parts of the day, like us getting ready, having our first look, saying our vows, but then also seeing our first dance (which had only occurred minutes before the slideshow!). Greg is a brilliant and talented photographer and a pleasure to work with!
We waited to see each other until the first look and would not have changed a thing! I loved tapping Dom on the shoulder and him turning around and those first moments of seeing each other for the first time that day were so memorable and special to us.
I think acting like yourselves and just being you really shines through in photos, so by just interacting with each other like you normally do, the photos come out fantastic! So much is captured in a photo when you feel comfortable and are feeling whatever the emotion arises at the time – we love the pictures from our vows where we have tears in our eyes and love the pictures where we have huge smiles on our faces. By acting normal, so much love comes through in the photos!
Our bridal party did a great job and we did not prep them or say anything to them – just by coordinating that day with the different combinations, everyone went in and out of photos seamlessly and did awesome. I think by us feeling comfortable and having great photographers to work with, everyone worked together and it went great.
As the bride, I had a little purse with me that my bridesmaids kept with theirs and it had little things for the night that I wanted with me and that was helpful. Also, I kept my phone in that little purse but I actually did not use my phone the entire day! To the extent you can be phone-less and live in the moment, it will be so memorable! Plus, between your photographer and your family and friends, every moment is being captured for you.
Our vendors were all absolutely incredible and everything for the wedding came together amazing because of each of them! Our other vendors are listed below.Wedding Planning – deVillier Designs (Western MA based) – helped with all planning and decor!DJ – SuperSounds Entertainment (VT based) – DJ Duane was fantastic and we loved working with him!Flowers – Forest Flowers (Northampton, MA) – Marisa did an incredible job with the flowers and brought the mountain/rustic feel to life!Late night dessert – Waffle Cabin (VT based) – The Waffle Cabin was such a hit and the waffles were SO delicious!Cigar Bar – Connecticut Valley Tobacconist (Enfield, CT) – Having the cigar bar was such an awesome touch to a summer patio night and added a great vibe!Hair and Makeup – Made by Mack (Worcester, MA) – Mackenzie and her assistants helped all of the girls feel so beautiful and did amazing hair and makeup!Baker – Dream Maker Bakers (VT based) – Megan did an outstanding job making a four-tiered cake, with each tier being a different flavor!
Almost every sign, decoration or bridal item came from Etsy. Etsy has everything you need for a wedding. Also, I used Amazon a lot for various items. Carbonneau Bridal was where I got my dress and veil.
We were most nervous about the weather (the one thing nobody can control!). Since we really wanted to have the ceremony at the top of the mountain, everything depended on the weather. We did love our back-up option of the beautiful, white chapel at Stratton but the experience of the gondola ride and being at the top of the mountain were what we really hoped for! We got unbelievably lucky with gorgeous weather on the wedding day. After so long waiting for the wedding day to come, we felt so grateful that it turned out even better than we had imagined when we booked the venue in 2019 and that everyone could enjoy the experience of Stratton that we had hoped for!
Let any stress or nervousness go once the day comes and enjoy every single second of the day!
We had a buffet with steak, salmon, mashed potatoes and brussel spouts (along with the salad and bread). For dessert, we had a four-tier wedding cake that had different flavors in each tier and then we had the Waffle Cabin as a vendor and they made fresh waffles for dessert (with or without chocolate drizzle). The smell of the waffles was incredible and everyone was obsessed!
First dance – Made for you by Jake Owen Father-daughter dance – Forever young by Rod Stewart Mother-son dance – Boy by Lee Brice
