Happy Holidays from The Mount. Our gift to you is more gorgeous wedding photos! I wanted to follow up on last week’s post because I know you all are dying to see more of Jess and Tom’s wedding. Though this was a late September wedding, I feel like the gold used in the tablescapes and Jess’s beautiful red dress bring Christmas to mind.  And nothing says Christmas more than family and friends gathered round in love and appreciation. Enjoy these lovely shots from John Seakwood Photography and this sweet interview with Jess.

Cheers,

Grace

What made you choose The Mount?

“I always knew that I wanted to get married in a big house.  I wanted it to feel like we were having a big house party; nice and cozy, with a personal touch.  I was looking on Pinterest, and saw an article from brides.com on the 50 most romantic wedding venues.  The Mount was listed as #19, and as soon as I saw it my heart skipped a beat, it was just so breathtakingly beautiful!  Me and my husband’s family are all from PA- we know nobody in the Berkshires, and had never even heard of the location until we went to visit the Mount.  As soon as we pulled onto the property I knew this was my dream venue.  I had been to a wedding a few weeks prior, and had hear several people say, “o wow, this is all just so Christine! (the name of the bride) Everything, from the venue to the decorations just screams Christine!”.  That’s exactly how I felt when I was walking through the Mount.  I felt that everything; the surrounding woods, the way the house and gardens just unfolded before you, the gorgeous stables, and that beautiful picturesque double lined tree walk way just screamed “Jess and Tom!”.  Combine the perfect setting with the perfect people to work with, and it was a no brainer.  Ross and Grace were absolute delights to work with!  They were super accommodating, and let us have the run of the house.  I had looked into a few other mansions, and estates along the east coast, and while they were nice, they all had restrictions- you could only occupy certain areas of the house, you could not go in the house as only a tent outside was allowed, etc.  The Mount really let us take over, and act as if it was our home, it was our place to have this big, elegant house party.  It was all just…perfect.”

What were some of your favorite moments of the day?

“That’s a hard one, because everything was so wonderfully perfect, it’s difficult to pick just a few favorites!  The weather was absolutely perfect- 70 degrees and not a cloud in the sky.  I was so glad because I was so excited for people to be able to see the gorgeous gardens, and spend some time roaming around the estate.  Walking down the double line of trees has to be a favorite memory.  It was a perfect aisle to walk down, and it’s so nicely set up- as soon as you hit that first turn, and you just see everyone there in the garden, it’s just an overwhelming feeling of joy that was set up so perfectly by the way the aisle and seats were set up.  I would have to say that my first dance with my father and husband were also favorites- the veranda is a wonderful place to have the band set up; with the doors to the living room being able to open up, and all the space around the dance floor, everyone had a good viewing spot whether they wanted to stand outside, or stay seated at their tables.  Lastly, we really had fun with the sparkler exit out the front of the house which was a gorgeous backdrop to have our last pictures in front of.  Again- it’s so hard trying to pick a few favorites, everything was just so wonderful.”

What was the inspiration behind the look and feel of the wedding?

“Again, I really wanted it to feel like a big house party, and that’ exactly how it felt.  We had everyone in the house for dinner, people were able to wander around the house and gardens on their own, and my husband and I were able to pop upstairs for a moment to take a break and a breather- just as if it was our own house!  For the look of the wedding we wanted something very vintage to match the house.  We had tall candelabras and gold art-deco bowls with flowers for our centerpieces.  Our florist, Cassandra, was a dream to work with- we just told her the feel we wanted, and she ran with it.  I found a perfect dress with a vintage lace look, paired it with my grandmothers opera length pearls, and everything fit together perfectly.”

Do you have any advice for people planning their wedding right now?

“My advice would be to go with your gut.  When we went to see the Mount we only had a 24 hour turn around time to give them an answer and deposit for the venue due to the fact that we had a hold on the date, and had 2 other couples waiting behind us to take it if we passed.  We only needed 5 minutes in the space before we knew it was everything we could ever ask for.  My dress was the second one I tried on, at the first store we went with, and as soon as I put it on I knew it was “the one”.  Everything we did for the wedding planning- from the band, to the florist, to the caterer, was all based on a gut feeling that it was the right choice, and that they would all be able to do a fantastic job with minimal input from me since I was based 4.5 hours away and could not have many meetings/approvals before the big day.  Like I’ve said, everything was absolutely perfect. It was a fairy tale wedding for us and our guests.  There is not a single thing that I would have done differently- it was a perfect night, and Tom and I will always be so grateful to the Mount and their staff for enabling us to have these perfect and precious memories.”