Lauren and Blake decided to tie the knot in a vintage garden, creating a timeless and romantic atmosphere for their special day. As guests entered the garden, they were welcomed by the stunning natural beauty that surrounded them. The couple’s ceremony was held under a canopy of blooming trees, with delicate flowers adding splashes of color throughout. Antique furnishings and timeless decor brought a sense of nostalgia and elegance to the reception as guests toasted the newlyweds. Lauren’s vintage-inspired gown and Blake’s classic suit fit perfectly with the ambiance of their wedding. The couple’s love story was made even more special by choosing a setting that felt like stepping back in time.
Greensboro, Vermont is a small town located in the northeastern part of the state, and it is known for its natural beauty. Lauren’s parents own an inn in Greensboro, and there was never any doubt she and Blake would be married on the property. Cozy and intimate, the inn has stunning vistas of the Green Mountains as it’s backdrop, with acres of day lilies to stroll through. Add to that a beautiful sail cloth tent, and the location becomes the perfect venue for a gorgeous garden wedding in Vermont. One of our favorite details were the mismatched China patterns used for the reception plates and centerpieces. It enhanced the whole “English Country Garden” vibe of the event.
How did you meet?
We met in West Palm Beach, Florida when Lauren was doing a medical school rotation and Blake was working in West Palm.
What is your proposal story?
Blake proposed at the clocktower at the end of Worth Ave in Palm Beach, which was along the running route we would take together when we first met. We had a great week revisiting all of the places in Palm Beach and West Palm where we had our first dates.
Tell us a little a bit about your wedding
Lauren’s parents live in the former Lakeview Inn, which used to be a wedding venue but now it is their home. There was never a question that this would be the wedding venue! Blake and Lauren share many memories here, including a 6-month stay during the pandemic, and we love visiting all year round for skiing, golf and hiking with our dog, Gracie. We wanted to make sure the wedding featured all local VT vendors and “foodie” scene (the famous Jasper Hill Cheese and Hill Farmstead Beer), and we were thrilled with the outcome. We absolutely loved working with Jessica Fuster, who helped us bring all of our ideas to life so seamlessly!
We chose an early August date as there are amazing daylily gardens on the property, with 1500 daylily varieties on display. John Hunt, owner of Vermont Daylilies, worked tirelessly to get the gardens in pristine shape. The ceremony took place in the stunning daylily gardens.
Tell us about your attire choices.
Lauren chose the first dress she tried on, a Lazaro Vienna gown, and instantly knew it was the one! It was perfect for a garden wedding. The bridesmaids wore blush gowns, and the blush color was carried through to the wedding flowers. The groom and groomsmen wore classic black tuxedos.
What was the most important to the two of you while planning? Was there anything that you chose to splurge on or skip?
The most important thing we wanted to do was to show all of our friends and family how special Greensboro, VT is to us. We planned an entire weekend, including a golf tournament (one of Blake and Lauren’s favorite activities to do together) and a swim party in Caspian Lake hosted by one of our family friends. We knew people were traveling a long way to be in this remote part of VT, but we hoped they all fell in love with this special part of the world and will come back to visit us here in the future.
Lauren was in the middle of writing her PhD thesis and finishing medical school, so Blake worked closely with Lauren’s mom, Cathy, to plan the wedding! We knew we wanted an amazing band and we knew we wanted to choose all local vendors.
The historic Highland Lodge hosted the rehearsal dinner and farewell brunch.
What were your favorite parts of the day?
We started the day together hiking Barr Hill, our favorite hike in Greensboro, along with our dog, Gracie. It was very special to have this time together doing one of our favorite activities before all of the excitement began!
One of our favorite parts of the wedding was our first dance. We absolutely LOVED taking dance lessons, with Roseann Eliseo from Wedding Dance Boston. Taking lessons with her was one of our favorite parts of the wedding process, and Lauren and her father, Scott also took lessons with her for the Father-Daughter dance. She made it so much fun! Sixpence studios did an amazing job capturing our first dance, and captured a shot of us hitting a pose at the exact right timing! Blake and Lauren were so happy that we hit this at the right time with the music, that we started laughing afterwards and missed a few steps. We had so much fun working as a team on the first dance!
Tell us about your wedding flowers.
Danika Johnson, owner of BlommaFlicka, is a true artist, and her floral designs are stunning. We wanted as many local flowers as possible, and completely trusted Danika’s vision. Lauren’s mom, Cathy, had collected china with various flower/garden prints from estate sales/auctions which we used for the place settings, and the larger vases/bowls were used as the centerpieces. Danika tied it all together by choosing flowers that matched the china, with light pink as the primary color highlighted with pops of color. Blush napkins and gold chargers complimented the floral design for the table settings.
The tent was decorated with greenery and white lights that created a magical atmosphere.
Tell us about your wedding cake.
Michelle Hines of the Cakery Vermont created a wedding cake that was not only beautiful but also delicious! Our cake had a chocolate-strawberry layer and a maple vanilla layer. The cake was decorated with flowers to tie into the garden theme.
The amazing Jasper Hill cheese platters were contributed by our family friends who own Jasper Hill Farm. and were guests of the wedding. Jasper Hill’s Lilith Spencer created stunning visual displays of cheese art. This was a wonderful surprise and the entire platters were instantly devoured!
What did you do for favors?
While VT maple syrup is a popular choice for VT weddings, since a lot of our guests were coming from VT we wanted to choose a more unique favor. We chose one of our favorite VT treats- goat caramel sauce from Fat Toad Farm which we love eating on ice cream. We chose a collection of original caramel, vanilla bean, salted bourbon, and maple. Fat Toad Farm put the favors together in personalized bags that said “Lauren & Blake” along with our date, and ordered a custom pink wildflower stamp to decorate the bags and tied them together with a little wooden spoon.
Please describe any DIY, handmade, or personal details.
One of the most special additions to the place settings was the vintage china that Lauren’s Mom collected which really made the evening special. We also loved personalizing cups for the bar with our dog, Gracie on the cups!
Did you include any family heirlooms or special traditions?
Lauren wore earrings that her Mom received from her father as a gift, and it was very sentimental. Blake and Lauren worked together with Lauren’s brother, Liam, to write the ceremony. Liam was the officiant which was very meaningful, and his wife Jessica was Lauren’s maid of honor.
Do you have any advice for couples planning their weddings now?
Keep it fun! We focused on making the entire weekend fun for our friends and family that were traveling to remote Greensboro, VT and wanted them to experience all of the reasons why Greensboro is so special to us. From the beautiful scenery, to the amazing food to the fun activities. This helped us focus on making it a memorable experience to be with everyone we love!