Sdyney + Parker
Wedding Date & Location:
September 7th, 2024, at The Greenhouse on Harvard
Sydney envisioned a wedding day filled with simple, neutral elegance — light, airy details and timeless style that felt effortlessly classic. She and her partner chose a venue that was already stunning on its own, The Greenhouse on Harvard, and built their day around soft neutral florals, understated tablescapes, and cinematic photography. After carefully curating Pinterest boards and sharing them with their vendors, every element came together exactly as they’d dreamed.
On the wedding morning, Sydney spent the day surrounded by her girls, laughing, dancing, and sipping mimosas in the ultimate getting-ready party. One of her favorite decisions was a private first look and private vows before the ceremony — a chance to calm nerves, soak in the moment, and capture portraits ahead of time so they could enjoy more time with loved ones later. Their ceremony itself was beautifully short and heartfelt, highlighted by a handfasting knot-tying ritual that’s now a keepsake in their home.
They skipped some of the traditional reception activities to keep the dance floor alive and snuck away during dinner for dreamy sunset photos. Instead of cake, guests enjoyed a candy bar and cheesecakes — a sweet reflection of their tastes. Looking back, Sydney wouldn’t change a thing. Her top advice to future brides? Give yourselves a private moment right after the ceremony to fully soak in being newly married — it’s a memory she’ll cherish forever.
What was the vision for your wedding?:
The vision for our wedding was simple, neutral elegance! We wanted everything to feel light and airy while still having that classic, elegant look! Knowing we wanted to keep decorations and other elements pretty simple, we looked for a venue that was beautiful on its own. Our Pinterest boards were full of light neutral florals, simple table scales, and cinematic photography inspiration! Sending these inspiration pictures and Pinterest boards to our vendors really helped everything come together perfectly for our wedding day! Choosing vendors was probably the hardest part of wedding planning. It took a lot of time perusing Instagram and emailing back and forth with people about availability and pricing. We made our decisions mostly on which vendors' vibes and aesthetics matched what we wanted for our wedding. We couldn’t be happier with our venue - The Greenhouse on Harvard, and our photographer - @filmmoods.
How did it go on the day of?:
The actual day of our wedding was an absolute dream! I had the most amazing morning surrounded by all my girls! We laughed, danced, and drank mimosas all morning- the ultimate girls getting ready party! I think having the fun girly vibes in the morning also really helped ease some of my nerves! I was actually most nervous for our private first look… I’m not sure why! We decided we wanted to do a private first look and private vows to have a more intimate moment with each other before the ceremony. I highly recommend a private first look and vows for couples who don’t feel super comfortable reading vows in front of other people! Once I saw my husband during the first look, all my nerves went away, and I knew everything else would be fine! Doing this also allowed us to do portraits before the ceremony, so we could spend more time with loved ones at the reception! We kept our ceremony short (12 minutes, I think) and it was perfect! We were able to incorporate a handfasting knot-tying ceremony and now have a beautiful keepsake to hang in our home. We snuck off during dinner to take some sunset photos and highly recommend this too! We didn’t really do many traditional things like a bouquet toss or garter toss- we felt that we would rather just keep the party and dancing going rather than stopping to do these things (we didn’t regret not doing them either!). Overall, we honestly wouldn’t have changed a thing! I think one of the biggest things is to do what you want! If you’re not comfortable dancing and don’t want to do a first dance, then you don’t have to! If you don’t like cake, you don’t have to have a cake (we did a candy bar and cheesecakes)! Your wedding day can truly be whatever you want!
What is your #1 tip to future brides?:
Give you and your partner time right after the ceremony for a private moment! We had such a beautiful moment right after the ceremony where we fully realized that we were married, and it was so, so special (probably one of my favorite parts of the day). Give you and your partner that special moment before you go and see everybody else!
