With a Celtic hand-fasting, touches of old northern traditions and an ancestral altar to honour those who came before them, Dana and Eric’s wedding mixed pagan themes with the colours of the season. Dana told us, “We wanted to incorporate our own beliefs into the wedding, and create something that was true to us.”

The ceremony was held outside at Allrose Farm in New Hamsphire, MA, with nature providing a beautiful backdrop, accented with florals in burgundy and burnt orange. Dana told us about their ceremony, “We played traditional Celtic music for the opening of the ceremony, and used a playlist of songs by Enaid + Einalem. Eric walked down to the song Camelot, and I walked down to The Wedding (very fitting). We did an ancient Celtic Oathing Stone ritual where we held two stones from the land of our choosing, and everyone was invited to send their warm wishes and love into them. We ended with a traditional hand-fasting, and walked down the aisle to All The Debts I Owe by Caamp, our favourite band.”

The couple sourced all their vendors themselves, but found the planning process a lot, as well as struggling with procrastination! Dana explained, “We had a lot of plans for DIY projects, but never followed through with them. I did end up making my earrings though! We are the worst at procrastinating, and that definitely caused some stress and quite a few last minute things to tie up, but it all worked out! We started off with a lot of time to get things done, and it passed more quickly than we realised.”

“The biggest challenge was having to find a new dessert and cake vendor last minute. There was a lot of reaching out and stress around possibly not having desserts and cake so close to the wedding date, but we were able to find a local baker who accommodated us.”

Dana told us the most memorable moments were, “Reading our vows to each other. We both took our turns crying, along with most of the people in the audience and our wedding party. And the few alone moments we got after the ceremony was done. Those felt really intimate and special.” 

Offering guidance to future couples, Dana advised, “Be open to change and flexibility when planning. And when things get difficult or hard, try to remember why you’re planning a wedding in the first place, the celebration of love! Also when people say your wedding day goes by in the blink of an eye, it’s true! Cherish each moment of that day and try to be as present with your partner, and friends and family as possible. And lastly, create the wedding that YOU want to host. Our vision for our wedding was very different from our parents, but everyone said how unique and amazing it was. Trust your gut, and know you are creating a space of love, community and celebration.”