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As I’ve mentioned, the Cape has always been my dream wedding location. Wychmere Harbor was my dream venue, and boy is it a dreamy place.
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When we booked the Inn at Longshore, I fully expected to carry on with the beach theme. Hydrangeas, escort cards nestled in the sand, blues and greens everywhere, a casual, flowy white dress, the whole shebang.
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But, ya know, shit happens. Particularly, caffè-colored ballgowns happen. And countless wedding blogs full of vintage-chic receptions and whimsical stationery and other things that are SO not beach inspired. So, minds change. And since it’s fairly rare to see a beach wedding on the rustic-barn-obsessed blogs that I frequent, I haven’t given our poor beach wedding much thought.
Strangely, though, after the Fourth of July passed, the backyard-barn blogs were really feeling the navy blue and gave the peach-champagne-blush-gray weddings a rest for a bit. I came across this post on Inspired by This, and it made me a little nostalgic for my old theme. Just look at some of this gorgeousness!
(It doesn’t hurt that this photo’s by Our Labor of Love, who could probably make a pile of dog poop look romantic.)
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Ultimately, I’m pretty sure that I can’t avoid a beach/nautical theme, to some extent. I mean, this is our venue.
(Personal photo—That’s me and Mr. Panther during a venue visit in June.)
I just hope we can take the typical New England waterfront wedding and make it into something that represents Mr. Panther and me as a Connecticut couple who moved to Georgia and fell in love with the charming, unabashedly feminine Southern style (at least I did, anyway—maybe Mr. Panther didn’t really fall in love with feminine style), while still ending up with something Style Me Pretty would appreciate. Because, damn, I love me some Style Me Pretty. But the Inn at Longshore is not a barn or a backyard, and it never will be. I don’t think I want to put my wedding dress anywhere near horse manure, anyway.
Hive, did any of you totally change your mind about your theme? What made you reconsider?
Originally we were planning our wedding in Kansas City in a gorgeous garden with the reception venue attached. We were going to do a mid-summer’s night dream theme complete with a flower girl in fairy wings.
Then my fiance was relocated through work to Maine.
We are now getting married on the ocean and having a beachy theme inspired by the natural landscape. I’m actually really happy that we ended up changing, the end result is a wedding that is truly US.
I changed my mind because things were getting out of control–details, budgets, vendors…I wanted a romantic vineyard wedding on the shore. but then I realized that our wedding will be unique and it will be ours no matter what. So I simplified, and now we’re having a more traditional wedding!
oh wow - I have been following your posts and thinking “she’s my wedding twin” but this just confirmed it! we are getting married in South Carolina and the one thing I said was “NOT beach wedding!” - totally wanted Southern, preppy, etc. and of course, the venue we fell in love with is on the beach! so we are still aiming for preppy Southern (not so much barn, but plantation, I keep saying) but with a bit of beach thrown in. my coordinator said to me “if you imagine yacht club rather than just beach, I think you’ll still be within your vision” - and it’s true! I think you can combine elements of both (at least, I’m hoping so!)
I always dreamt of a black and white chic wedding, then I met Mr. S and it’s sooo not him. We ended up going for the nautical vibe because it’s much more us. It may seem typical NE, but we definitely included lots of personal touches to make it our own. I think you can take something more typical and still make it your own. It’s all in the details. 
@rosesandhydrangea: Your first theme sounds gorgeous, but I bet your ocean wedding will be amazing! I love Maine — so pretty.
@Violet Violet: It’s so easy for things to get out of control! Good for you for reining it in. Traditional weddings can be amazing, too!
@Charcole2011: Hahah, plantation instead of barn — I love it! That’s a good comment your coordinator made. I’m going to remember that one for myself!
@Mrs. Starfish: I love nautical weddings — I hope I don’t always wish we’d done one! I’ll have to live vicariously through your recaps, which by the way, I can’t WAIT for.
Oh, my vision has shifted at least 3 times majorly. The first time was because the only venue I loved in NYC was 18K to rent…before catering, flowers or anything. The next theme was “Nuevo Woodstock” and was going to be in my parent’s backyard during the summer….but the SO nixed it because, and I quote “Are we trying to be that insufferable hipster couple from Rachel Getting Married?” Upon hearing him say that, I backtracked like crazy. I asked him what he wanted and he said “Winter wedding, maybe early 60s inspired” So now, that is where we are. I let the boy pick the theme and actually it’s been an inspired choice thus far. I feel like theme jumping is totally normal.
@Rubies: Hahah! Your SO sounds funny! And that’s a good idea he came up with, too. I love when the boys get involved!
I love the inspiration board! The colors are amazing! And your venu is out of this world
So fun to read this. I had the same situation. I wanted something coastal (think natural grass, soft greyish-brown sand, deep blue water) and wanted to stay as far away from nautical/beachy as possible. Yet the only things I could find back in the day (Dear Lord, I’m old) were kissing dolphins, grass-skirt table cloths and white knots on navy napkins.
Looking forward to seeing how you are able to pull this off!
@LoriKay628: Isn’t that inspiration board gooorgeous?
@Mrs. Corn: Heheh, kissing dolphins. Now why on earth wouldn’t you want those?!
I’ve always seen nautical, beachy weddings as a bit vintage anyway, just because they seem to feature a lot of shabby chic worn white wicker and so on. LOVE those old fishing buoys in that example photo.
I have changed my theme once already and still have a year to go….yikes!
I’m the total opposite of you! I dreamed of a beach wedding and everything came out perfectly but I lusted for that barnyard/grey/yellow wedding too.
It wasn’t until we got into planning that a theme arose. There really wasn’t one in mind in the beginning.
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Mrs. Panther, Atlanta GA/Westport CT Age and Occupation: 24, Web Writer Fiance's Age and Occupation: 25, Music Recording Engineer Engagement Date: March 13, 2010 Wedding Date: July 2011 Venue: The Inn at Longshore About Me: I'm a total goofball who goes through life at a breakneck pace, trying not to knock anything over. I tend to fall in love with everything I encounter, but more than anything, I love my two little kitties, Bela and Josie, and my big kitty, Mr. Panther! As a wannabe crafter, I'm still waiting for my artistic talents to emerge. (Any day now, really.) In the meantime, I spend my days eating anything put in front of me, buying every pair of shoes I see and absorbing wedding inspiration from every inch of my surroundings. Mr. Panther and I are hardcore New Englanders planning Connecticut nuptials from our new home in the Dirty South, and can't wait to mix our newfound love of classic Southern charm with some modern city touches.
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