Nate Russell and Liz Russell's Wedding in New Haven, Connecticut

Our dog Tofutti walked in as the flower girl, with a flower collar to complete the look. Our bridesmaids were in sage green and with beautiful peach and white flowers with eucalyptus greenery. We stood at the altar with our incredibly warm officiant from JP by the Sea. She wrote and spoke such beautiful words in our ceremony. She honored our dog who had passed and spoke about our story as a couple like she'd known us for years. The wording of the standard vows and rings was exactly to our choosing. She guided us through a beautiful unity planting ceremony for a future family tree we will plant in our yard to unite our new family of myself, Nate, and his two children.

During the ceremony and our personal vows to one another, we laughed, we cried, and we felt so connected with one another. Our kiss was so romantic and beautiful at the altar, and then the bonus kiss halfway down the aisle! It was such a great combination of romance and fun.

We loved that our dog could be a part of our special day, and were so grateful to have found a wonderful dog sitter who pampered and got her ready for the day with a bath and even tooth brushing, before getting on her special collar and leash and transporting her to and from the ceremony.

Our photos during the cocktail hour were at the perfect time during sunset. Our group and our couple's photos turned out so beautiful with the sunset over the water behind us! While we took photos, our guests enjoyed drinks and stationery and passed hors' oeuvres on the deck.

Before the reception began, I changed into custom wedding sneakers I ordered on Etsy. So beautiful and practical too for a night of dancing! Our entrance to the reception was so much fun to It Takes Two by Rob Base. One of my favorite moments was when we performed our choreographed first dance to a custom medley of songs.

We then spent the evening having fun and dancing with our guests while they enjoyed the open bar, including a special mocktail named after our dog, and enjoyed the buffet dinner. We had both a beautiful 3 tiered wedding cake and then our venue had also made a chocolate fountain for dessert!

One of the most important things this venue did for us, besides being such an absolutely breathtaking location, was they created a custom vegan menu for us. The day was so special. Start to finish. I will treasure the memories forever!