When deciding where to have their late summer wedding, Jessica + Michael instantly knew that Cape Cod was the place they wanted to be. Their family has been vacationing on the Cape for over 50 years, traveling all the way from Texas each summer to enjoy the beautiful New England seaside! The happy couple started their classic Cape Cod wedding weekend with a traditional New England lobster bake for their rehearsal dinner Friday night.
A tent was installed in the backyard of their rented house in Chatham, MA to host their friends and family for the beautiful evening dinner. The long family-style tables were decorated in navy blue and white with lots of fun nautical details, even the bottles of water were kept in a classic rowboat filled with ice with a custom “Jessica + Michael” life preserver on the front! We loved getting to meet all of the Jessica + Michael’s closest friends and family, and hearing all of the heartfelt toasts about this wonderful couple the night before the wedding.
We loved sharing this Cape Cod wedding weekend with Jessica + Michael — here’s what the bride and groom had to say about their beautiful Chatham Bars Inn wedding: We wanted to feel like we were throwing a casually elegant dinner party at our own home so that people can literally kick off their shoes, put on flip flops, and dance the night away. We chose a destination wedding in Cape Cod because Jessica grew up going there in the summertime. Her grandfather started the tradition when he lived in Boston, before moving to Texas and carrying on the tradition. We also decided to do a beach wedding because we both LOVE the ocean, and we wanted to limit our wedding to the people that we know will be lifelong family and friends.
The next morning the wedding celebration began — Jessica and her bridesmaids got ready for the day in their rented house, while Michael and his groomsmen spent the morning at the Chatham Bars Inn. The ladies wore beautiful eggplant purple bridesmaid dresses, and Jessica looked stunning in a lace-topped Elizabeth Fillmore wedding gown. The men looked perfectly “Cape Cod” in light grey suits paired with soft green ties and a simple calla lily boutonniere.
Rustic wooden boat signs pointed the way towards the outdoor wedding ceremony at the Chatham Bars Inn, which took place under a beautiful white arbor overlooking the ocean. The long winding staircase leading down from the Inn itself made Jessica’s big entrance especially stunning and unique! After the “I do”s, the happy newlyweds were led down the aisle and back to the Inn by a traditional Scottish bagpiper.
While guests began cocktail hour in the Chatham Bars Inn Boat House, we took the opportunity to get some great formal wedding photos with Jessica, Michael, and their wedding party. After the formal photos, we kicked off our shoes and took just the bride and groom out to the beach for some romantic beach wedding pictures. With the beautiful blue water, grass-covered dunes, and sailboats in the background this was the perfect place for classic Cape Cod wedding photos!
The evening reception was set up inside the Beach House Grill, with classic silver linens and ballroom chairs paired with white napkins and cushions. The floral centerpieces were a beautiful mix of white, green, and blue summer flowers, and each place setting featured a customized wedding logo with Jessica + Michael’s initials inside a silver ship’s helm. Dancing took place outside under the adjacent clear tent, which was lit with purple uplights as soon as the sun started to set.
After a night full of eating, dancing, and celebrating with their friends and family, the beaming bride and groom made their exit while guests held up sparklers and threw white dove-shaped confetti. The celebration didn’t stop there, as guests who weren’t ready to stop dancing headed to the late-night after party for even more fun!
Thank you Jessica and Michael for having us there to photograph such a special weekend for you, to the team at the Chatham Bars Inn and team at Cape Cod Celebrations for being so great to work with as always!
Venue: Chatham Bars Inn; Planner: Cape Cod Celebrations; Hair + Makeup: Lisa George; Invitations/Paper Products: Hayley Hardcastle at HH Design House, Galveston, TX; Dress: Elizabeth Fillmore customized “Calista” dress, from Warren Baron in Dallas, TX; Flowers: Karen Taddei at Lilac Florals; Cake: Chatham Bars Inn; Linens: Rentals Unlimited; Lighting: Chase Canopy (reception), Wilson Stevens (after party); Entertainment: Wilson Stevens Productions
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The Summer Cape Cod Wedding of Jessica and Michael at the Chatham Bars Inn was photographed by Jill Person Photography. Jill Person and Laurén Killian can be reached via phone at 617.236.1662, by appointment at 162 Newbury Street, Boston, MA 02116 or via email at [email protected] and [email protected]