Cynthia & William at Heritage Museums & Gardens

After a year-plus of mini-monies and micro weddings, we’re looking forward to a busy season of weddings on Cape Cod. There’s no better time to look back on one of our favorite pre-you-know-what celebrations at Heritage Museums & Gardens, a unique Cape Cod wedding venue filled with gorgeous flowers and photo ops galore.

Cynthia and William’s big day began with a traditional tea ceremony at a stunning contemporary home overlooking a pond they had rented for the week. With William already in the dove-gray suit and pink bowtie he would wear throughout the festivities, and Cynthia in an elegant sheath with a lace overlay, the couple served tea to their parents.

After the tea ceremony, which signifies acceptance of the couple into each other’s families, William and his groomsmen moved onto Heritage Museums & Gardens, while Cynthia’s maids helped her into her wedding gown, another sheath-style dress with a lace overlay, with a sweetheart neckline and cathedral-length train.

One can only assume that William was mesmerized by his beautiful bride when they had their “first look” in front of The Flume, the famed fountain at Heritage.

With a late-summer thunderstorm brewing, photographer Emilie Pickering of Lovely Valentine moved quickly to photograph the couple and their attendants.

Even with the threat of rain, Emilie did an amazing job of capturing the wedding party among the venue’s landmarks, including at the Treehouse in Hidden Hollow, and in the Labyrinth.

Just as the first drops began to fall, the wedding party arrived at the tent arranged over the circular Fraser Terrace, just outside the J.K. Lilly III Automobile Gallery where the ceremony was to be held. William was escorted down the aisle by his parents, followed by Cynthia and her parents. They exchanged their vows in a deeply personalized ceremony officiated by a dear friend.

After the ceremony, Cynthia and William and their friends and family moved inside to the recently remodeled event space. The couple had decorated the space in shades of soft pink with touches of dusty lavender.

Following an elegant sit-down dinner, the couple cut their wedding cake as their guests looked on. An evening of love, fun and dancing, with Cynthia in her third look of the day, ensued.