The details are important.  Which is to say that not only do they matter, they are also meaningful.

Our cake:

Karen Goldoly is a dear friend of Matthew’s.  They met working together at Mathworks, but have a long tradition of enjoying delicious treats together as part of a supper club in the South End.  Karen is a woman of many talents – not the least of which is her skills as a pastry chef!  It is so meaningful to us that Karen will be baking our cake.

Bridesmaid’s dresses:

Each member of our wedding party is unique, and in order to celebrate their individuality, they each chose their own dresses!

Molly’s dress:

It’s a surprise!

Molly’s engagement ring:

An estate ring from Brilliant Earth, it is a diamond surrounded by eight sapphires, set in white gold.  It’s untraditional, but retro – just like us!  We like that it’s socially conscious and ethically responsible – no blood diamonds here!  We like that it has some history, even if we don’t know what it is.  Molly like that it has color.  Matthew says the ring reminds him of Molly.  For more on how he chose it, see the story of our proposal!

Our flowers:

Annie Praught of the Dedham Flower Shop will be doing our flowers.  Annie is also a close friend of Molly’s mum, and the first person to visit Molly and her parents at the hospital when she was born!

Molly’s hair:

Tarah, a friend of Ashley S. will be styling Molly’s hair.

Molly’s makeup:

Molly’s sister, Ashley, is doing her makeup!

Our music:

Steve Conahan is friend and coworker of Matthew’s.  He plays bass in the Rollo Thomasi Quartet with Chris Wisdo (guitar), Alex Mekelburg (tenor sax), and Jim Frey (drums).  These guys are great fun, know how to throw a great party, and are wonderful musicians!

The RTQ will be accompanied by Emma Rifflemacher, Molly’s closest childhood friend – they met in kindergarten!  Emma has been a talented and passionate singer all her life, and we’re thrilled get her up there with the RTQ!

Our officiant:

Ned Gulley is a seriously cool guy.  Matthew’s former manager at Mathworks, Ned is something of a mentor to Matthew – and has been encouraging him to marry Molly.  He went to Burning Manwith us in 2012 (see photo), and we could not have imagined a better person to share the adventure!  Ned is voracious  for knowledge, fluent in Elvish, a remarkable listener, an excellent participator, and has a huge heart.  We are thrilled that he will be helping us seal our deal.

Photographer:

Michelle Gardella went to college with Molly’s mum.  She is a heart-full woman with a beautiful eye.  She’s the executive director of Let the Girls, a program that brings “inner-city girls back to nature [and teaching them photography] as a means of fostering gratitude, intention, patience and wonder”.  Oh, and she lives in an Airsteam with her family!

Our venue:

After the Fitchburg Armory was built in 1891 for the Massachusetts Volunteer Militia (MVM).  It was used through World Wars I and II, but by 1964 it had been unused and unloved.  A sad fate for such a beautiful building.  In the 70s, the town of Fitchburg turned the Armory into a senior center.  They have classes and services and events for the seniors, and somewhere along the line they started hosting weddings!  Molly’s coworker, Rachel, and her husband were married here in 2012, and recommended it to us.  We had a good feeling about it right away.