We got married! – Camp Wing, Duxbury Mass

If we’ve met, you probably know that Jon & I got married last month. During the planning process, I talked about it to anyone who would listen: friends, family, clients, grocery store checkout people. Seriously, everyone. We’d been dating for nearly eight years and engaged for two by the time our wedding arrived, so we’d had plenty of time to think about what we wanted. It was so important to us to have a celebration that was truly us, and we knew right away that we wanted to find a casual outdoor venue where we could bring together all of our friends and family and have a really great party. When we found Camp Wing, we knew immediately that it was the right spot for our wedding. Its a 350 acre conservation area and summer camp, and not only are the grounds beautiful and a perfect spot for a wedding, but we were so excited to find that we’d be supporting a great cause as well.

All images courtesy of Heidi Finn Photography

We spent months working out the plans for our DIY rustic summer camp inspired wedding, and I had more than a few crazy bride moments while planning all the details.  I collected jars for the centerpieces (both vintage mason jars and regular pickle jars which I wrapped with twine), hand stained and painted the table number frames, painted a custom cornhole game for cocktail hour, and (probably my craziest moment of all) sewed 180 fabric napkins.  When the time came to pull everything together, we were so blessed to have a team of amazing friends and family who helped us set everything up on the Friday night before the wedding. They dragged furniture around, steamed tablecloths, tied twine, hung lights, and were just all around incredible. We were truly blown away by their love and support all weekend long.

Our first look below. I’ve always been a big fan of first looks from a photographer’s point of view, and now that I’ve done it as a bride, I can give you a million and one reasons why I think everyone should do it.
Our wedding cake, pictured above, was made by our awesome friend Laura and was a snickerdoodle cake. We had cupcakes for our guests (also delicious and made by Laura and her husband Scott), so we only used the cake for our cutting. We brought the rest of it with us on our honeymoon trip to Bar Harbor, and ate it with nearly every meal. It was unbelievably delicious. She was kind enough to share the recipe with me – if you’d like to make your own, you can find it at the end of the post. Thanks for reading! Even after being involved with so many weddings as a photographer, there was so much that I learned from the other side of the lens that I can’t wait to share with you all! Now, go make some snickerdoodle cake immediately. You’ll thank me later.

Snickerdoodle Cake (or cupcakes), found at Your Cup of Cake

Cake:

1 ½ cup all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon cinnamon

½ cup melted butter, cooled

1 ¼ cup sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

¼ teaspoon almond extract

¾ cup whole milk

¼ cup cinnamon sugar

Cinnamon Vanilla Buttercream:

1 stick butter softened

3 cups powdered sugar

½ teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon cinnamon

3 Tablespoons milk

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Sift together flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.

In a separate bowl, beat sugar and cooled butter until light and fluffy.  Then add eggs, vanilla, almond extract and milk. Mix until well blended.

Combine dry and wet ingredients and mix until smooth.

Spoon into cupcake liners and bake for 18-25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

When the cupcakes come out of the oven, brush the tops with butter and then roll them in cinnamon sugar.

 

Buttercream:  Beat butter until light and fluffy.  Add 2-3 cups powdered sugar (taste along the way) and beat for 4-5 minutes.  Add vanilla and cinnamon.  Add milk to loosen.

Top cupcakes with buttercream when cooled.