A Transport Museum Wedding: Jamie & Justin

Cool, original and cultural are just some of the words I would use to describe todays museum wedding venue! The Larz Anderson Museum in Massachussetts is home to America’s oldest car collection and was the perfect choice of venue for museum lover Jamie and her husband Justin.

Firstly as a huge animal lover, I can totally appreciate how important it is to have the members of your extended furry family at your wedding and this was equally as important for Jamie and Justin who were determined that whatever venue they chose would need to be able to accommodate their adorable Beagle ‘Buster’, which just so happens to be the name of my dog too – great minds think alike!

Second I love how resourceful this couple have been, collecting vintage books at auctions and flea markets, filling 90 mini jars with homemade pear and apple chutney and creating letterpress table numbers which doubled up as little escort cards. When budget is tight creativity is key, so we invited Jamie to tell us a little bit more about their day…

“Having been together for six years, I was surprisingly unprepared to plan a museum wedding. I honestly thought we would buy a house before we tied the knot. I also come from a small family and assumed we would have an intimate ceremony followed by a small reception at a local restaurant–the Beehive’s Mezzanine dining room came to mind. However, we quickly realized that Justin’s side was chock-full of cousins and second-cousins, which would swell our guest list beyond what a intimate restaurant could accommodate.

Working full-time while pursuing a Master’s degree part-time left little time for wedding planning. One of our first decisions was that we needed a wedding planner. Fortunately we found Terri and Beth of Something Borrowed Something New Events. In addition to being organized and well-connected, Terri and Beth are both dog lovers and thought including our 13-year-old beagle, Buster, in our museum wedding was a fantastic and ultimately doable idea.

Terri recommended the Larz Anderson Auto Museum at our first meeting. My father is an auto technician and I am pursuing a Master’s in Museum Studies, so I was immediately intrigued. I had actually looked at the Larz Anderson online, but thought that a museum wouldn’t be dog-friendly. Terri assured me that they were, and she was right! Buster joined us for our first look, walked down the aisle at our ceremony and even got a treat from our hor d’oeuvres tray before Beth whisked him home to our apartment in Cambridge.

Choosing a museum for our venue meant we could keep the decor simple and let the exhibits do the heavy lifting. My mother is an antiques dealer, so we decided to go with a vintage feel. Our table numbers were wood letterpress numbers purchased at the Brimfield Antique Show atop stacks of vintage books my mother picked up at auctions and flea markets in the year leading up to our wedding. On either side of the books were antique bottles from my father’s personal collection. Patti from Simply Done… hemmed 50 yards of burlap to create our table runners. The look was completed with alternating arrangements of yellow billy balls and white orchids in egg-shaped white resin vases.

Working with a smallish budget meant that many of the elements of our museum wedding had to do double duty. In the months leading up to the wedding, my father and I canned 90 half-pint jars of pear-apple chutney, which functioned as wedding favors and escort cards. Ivory Avery printable business cards with the guest’s name and chutney ingredients were tied around the jar’s metal band with butchers twine. By stamping and then scanning the letterpress table numbers, I was able to create labels for the jars that told each guest which table they were seated at. Our menu’s, which I designed just five days before the wedding, were also double-sided–with the entree selections on the front and our museum wedding hashtag (#pougorwed) on the back.

Our ceremony and reception were held in the Main Gallery of the museum on a Friday night in January. Justin is Jewish and I’m Roman Catholic. We borrowed elements from both traditions. Not being a fan of heavy velvet and gold brocade, we rented a beautiful hand-held chuppah from the Chuppah Studio, which was held aloft by my two bridesmaids (my aunts) and Justin’s two groomsmen (his older brothers). We were married by Justin’s best-friend with help from a non-denominational minister. My godmother read from the first Letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians and Buster fell asleep on the floor during the ceremony–that is until Justin broke the glass and everyone shouted “Mazel tov!”

We decided to go with long tables for the reception to maximize space–leaving a long, rectangular dance floor in the middle of the gallery. Seeing the narrow dance floor made me glad that we’d splurged on dance lessons before the wedding. Justin did a great job spinning me up and down the dance floor to Josh Ritter’s “The Curse” for our first dance.

After dinner we had a docent take guests downstairs to tour the museum’s private collection. Later, with the music on and the party going, we headed downstairs with Carol from Happy Gatherings to sneak in a few more photos. I like to think of this as our second “first look” sans beagle.

Though our wedding was on the smaller side–a mere 90 guests–it still took an army of family, friends and wedding professionals to pull it all together. Justin and I can’t thank them all enough for making our wedding day truly unique!”

Super Suppliers – Photographer: Happy Gatherings//Dance Instructor: Arthur Murray Studios//Floral Designer: Salvy the Florist//Cake Designer: BellaCakes// Beverage Catering: Gordon’s Fine Wines & Liquors//Invitation Designer: Paper Source//Caterer: Pepper’s Fine Catering//DJ:Ra-Mu and the Crew//Favors and Gifts: Simply Done//Event Planner: Something Borrowed Something New Events//Invitation Designer: White on White Invites//Reception Venue: Larz Anderson Auto Museum//Submitted via Two Bright Lights// Bridesmaid Dresses: Apropos Prom & Bridal// Cake Topper: Country Squirrels RUS// Hair: Valerie DiBenedetto// Make-up: Michelle Diaz// Printable Wood Veneer For Signs: Cards Of Wood// Engagement And Wedding Rings: Nuggets Fine Jewelry// “SIGN” Letters: Paper Source// Vintage Books: A Feathered Nest Antiques// Wedding Dog Collar: Duke N Daisy Designs// Bridal Shoes: Paradox London Pink// Transportation: North Shore Shuttle// Chuppah: Chuppah Studio// Officiant: Paula Taylor, Heart And Soul Ceremonies// “Here Comes The Bride” Banner & Burlap Table Runners: Simply Done…// Groom And Groomsmen Attire: Jos. A. Bank// Flower Girl Gold Leaf Crystal Rhinestone Headpiece: Lovelikestyle// Bride’s Headpiece & Flower Girl Gold Leaf Headband: LoBoheme// Flower Girl Dresses: Gianna’s Bridal & Boutique// Wedding Dress: David’s Bridal// Table, Chair And Linen Rentals: Roland L. Appleton, Inc.// Guest Book Platter: Susabellas//