A New England wedding!!

A sunny day in Beverly, a picturesque harbour town nestled in Boston’s plentiful skirts.

I love the east coast!

Daksayani is my very beautiful and warm-hearted cousin, whom I rarely get a chance to see—so being there with her on her wedding day meant everything to me, as it did to the rest of our extensive family, who flew in from every which way to be there.

This was a momentous family affair, so please forgive me if I have posted too many photographs. I just couldn’t help displaying here all the smiling faces of my loved ones, and Dak’s loved ones (who are now my loved ones too by association).

Dak & Justin put together a charming event that made a simple celebration of their everyday lives. No big hoopla, no bells and whistles–just a beautiful day and a whole lotta love. The entire event took place within walking distance of their heritage home in lovely Beverly. The ceremony was held in a cozy public parkette that Dak often walks to from her house, to sit and read a book on one of the benches overlooking the New England coastline. The little space was jammed with sunglass-clad onlookers as they exchanged their vows on the steps leading down to the Atlantic shore.

After many hugs and salutations, the crowd wandered the half block of clapboard houses and heritage plaques to Justin’s family home, a big pumpkin seed coloured 3-storey full of stories. There was a giant buffet that never ran dry, and great music blasting throughout the backyard. Speech-givers sang their praises of the couple from a balcony high above the crowd–like a sort of reverse serenade, which was really quite effective. The guests were at home, as if a street party had just spontaneously broken out in front of their houses—family members meeting for the first time laughed together like old friends, dancers tore it up in the driveway, little circles of scotch drinkers made secret toasts by the bar…

It’s worth mentioning that Dak & Justin are extreme-sports enthusiasts (surfing, snowmobiling, motocross biking, etc), and there were endless speechy references and shout outs and toasts to their ongoing flirtation with danger–sort of a common thread through the festivities. Check out some amazing videos of what they do at: http://treelinesled.com

As the sun receded and the ocean chill returned to the air, it was the warmth of the day, of love shared and made stronger in the sharing–like a spell cast–that kept the party going. That, and the alcohol, I suppose.

Thanks Dak & Justin for a day I will never forget.

Enjoy the photos!  xo.