What would you do if you had the chance to wear an heirloom 120 year old wedding dress? Today’s bride was the 11th of her family to wear this beautiful 1800’s gown that has been passed down generations! Captured by Susan Stripling Photography and NST Pictures, I could not be more in love with this wedding and the amazing tradition this couple continued. The bride wore her heirloom dress during the cocktail hour and portraits, honoring the many moments of joy that dress has seen over the years and the countless hours put into its restoration. It is such an amazing treasure!
Our wedding style was elegant, romantic and classic. We married in the fall because the leaves changing colors of oranges, reds and yellows would accent our navy, grey and gold. We fell in love when travelling to the PA Poconos together so we wanted to get married by the water.
My husband will say the most important thing for me it was the cake, but really it was writing our own vows. This made the wedding more personal and special to us. I can’t thank Tom Monte, our officiant, enough for his guidance and support. I did have fun surprising Jason with a groom’s cake during the rehearsal dinner and highly recommend the young and talented Connor Jackson of Le Gateau Specialty Cakes in Hellertown, PA. He created a 3-tier golf themed cake featuring Wisconsin sports teams.
During the cocktail hour & when we signed our marriage license, I wore my great-great grandmother’s 120-year old wedding dress. I was the 11th bride to wear the gown and my mom was the 6th bride. We worked with Easton-based designer, Deborah LoPresti to bring the gown back towards its original state. Over 200 hours of work were put into the restoration.
The Lake House Inn was the perfect place for our wedding because the ceremony, cocktail hour and reception were all at the same location, even featuring a campfire for our bridal party to sit by at the end of the night. The views of Lake Nockamixon were stunning, the cocktail hour in the Inn was inviting and the reception felt very grand and beautiful. The best part was my husband found the venue so he can say he took a major part in planning our wedding.
We also had an in memoriam table with black and white pictures framed of all our relatives who have passed on. They were located near the doorway where my dad and I stepped out for him to walk me down the aisle. When I took my first steps outside my veil was floating in the air and I knew my family was with me in spirit.
Our favorite part of the day was being able to celebrate with family and friends. It was a challenge to agree on a band or DJ because we wanted to be able to cater to everyone. We both love to dance, so having our band EBE | Paris play non-stop music that fit all of our wants made it a wedding to remember. After the last song, “I Hope You Dance” was played, the whole reception kept chanting “one more song! one more song!” No one wanted the night to end.
Photography | Susan Stripling Photography | Venue | The Lake House Inn | Florals | Rose Boutique | Film | NST Pictures | Catering | Jeffrey Miller Catering | Paper Goods | The Paperbag | Band | EBE | Paris | Dress | Rivini from Kleinfeld Bridal | Heirloom Gown Restoration | Deborah LoPresti | Veil | Erin Cole Design | Hairpiece | Tia Adoro Jewelry | Earrings | Meg Wedding Jewelry | Bridesmaid Dresses | Monique Lhuillier | Hair | Amanda D’Andrea | Makeup | Alisha Nycole | Groomswear | Top Hat | Wedding Website | Riley & Grey
