In this month of February, when LOVE is celebrated in all its glory, it’s a moment that brings “a lotta love” to the mindset of a wedding planner. It’s the peak of engagement season so we see a spike in wedding inquiries and consultations. It’s a time where new love stories present themselves. The promise and honor of welcoming newly engaged couples to the studio and getting to work to make their vision a reality, is what makes my heart go pitter patter. For me, it’s also a time of reflection. Thinking deeply about the couples that I worked with in the prior year. It’s the stories I have recently lived through and helped write. Proud to have a hand in these happy ending with the lead characters that now feel incredible close to my heart. In a year that started out so simply in the planning of a wedding for 125 guests on a beautiful estate in Washington, Connecticut, I witnessed the unfolding of a real life novel. The many twists and turns, a cast of beloved and most interesting characters while all the while, a thread of intense love that kept this couple and family on course, even on days where we all felt intoxicated by the COVID haze. Allegra and Aaron Okarmus married on August 29th, as planned! Their date never changed but the road to it had many switchbacks. Their day had none-less-love just because it ended up being a Micro Wedding, in fact exponentially more. In my mind, their story exemplified the immense strength of family and the reality that love conquers all. Like so many 2020 to-be-wedded couples, Allegra and Aaron fought daily to hold onto what they had dreamed their day would look like, adapting to change and adversity as news and personal health concerns escalated. As their guest list diminished monthly due to restrictions, by August 29th, they were surrounded by only their immediate family and their lifetime friend and officiate. On this day, this family did not have to share their VIP couple with over 100 other guests. The space opened with togetherness less the distractions of wanting to enjoy each and every guest over the course of 6 hours. It was a gift owed this family after months of isolation and worry. To witness vows, toasts, laughter, love, sparklers, and even magic tricks through my very own closeup lens was an illuminated reminder of the many joys that my work gives back to me. How can you not fall in love with a family that feels exactly like family? After so many tough-love conversations, drying tears and praying that we would get to see this timeline through to lights-off, I feel immensely blessed for the love that guided and rewarded us on their day and to this day. A love struck planner (aka The Fairy Godmother) ...and Atticus, the Charmer - January 2021 I fell hard for my "Triple-A-Couple" and for this reason and so many more, I am highlighting Allegra + Aaron in this month of love. She and her father, Joseph Siravo speak to the blessings that unfolded in their year of 2020. Read on for the love of it... For so many, 2020 was a year fraught with uncertainty, distress, loss and isolation but for us, it was not so. Certainly, it had its challenges; like so many others we faced the anxiety and uncertainty of the pandemic and its crippling effects on plans and relationships but more so, we had a year of resilience, growth and unrelenting love. Aaron and I were engaged on January 7th, 2020. It was a beautiful, snowy night atop the Empire State Building when Aaron proposed and we began our journey toward wedded bliss. Luckily, shortly thereafter we found Paula, the fairy godmother we didn't know we needed to navigate the road ahead. On March 11th (my dear father's birthday) we found out that I was pregnant and coincidentally, that my dress (which I LOVED) had arrived! Plot twist, I did not wear that dress. On March 23rd, CT and NY went into lockdown. And yet, on August 29th, Aaron, myself and our son, Atticus (in utero) formally became a family. It wasn't the wedding I planned and envisioned since I was a little girl but it was infinitely better. The twelve people we love more than anything in the world were all present and we got to spend time with each of them. Not only was it aesthetically beautiful (that part I had envisioned) but it was moving and intimate in a way that it couldn't have been if things had gone according to "plan". Through all the frustration, our love for each other and our family carried us through and solidified my belief that everything happens for a reason! —Allegra, 2.2021 “We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time.” T.S. ELIOT: The Four Quartets Life is just a big ol’ Circle of Time. We are all on a journey to “get back to where we once belonged.” • Allegra, Aaron and Atticus are now at the beginning of their journey together. Our hopes and dreams for their continued happiness lie in the road outstretched before them. And our most fervent prayer is that every step they take may bring exciting new discoveries as they “know the place for the first time.” Joseph Siravo aka ‘Nonno Joe’ February 2021 NYC CHEERS TO THE BEGINNING OF THIS A+A+A LOVE STORY! Can't wait for the sequel in September 2021! XOXO CREDITS
Photography: Luke Wayne Photography | @lukewaynephoto Catering: Doro Catering & Events | @dorocateringandevents Florals: Bantam Blooms | @bantamblooms Hair & Makeup: Blush Bridal | @blush_bridalct Rentals: Mahaiwe Tent Rentals | @maihawetent Videography: Inspiration in Motion | @inspiration.in.motion Lighting: Maryann Gillooly Officiate: Belinda Sinclair | @belinda_sinclair Cake: Blackberry River Baking Co | @blackberryriverco
0 Comments
|
AuthorEvent Planner & Designer Archives
February 2025
Categories |