By AML Publisher
Wedding Photos by Shea Roggio, Roggio Weddings

Abby designed her charming centerpieces with vintage vases her mother collected over the course of the year from yard sales and flea markets, accented by Spanish moss. Table runners were made from mismatched shades of $1/yard blue fabric.

You could say Abigail (nee: Newlin) and Michael Lalonde are a throwback. The couple has been dating since they met in 1993, sophomore year at Coatesville High, outside Miss Harkins’ English class. Abby had the class the period before Michael. “I still remember the first day I saw Michael walking down the hall in his Marvin the Martian t-shirt and skater haircut. He was adorable. He had homeroom with my best friend at the time, and we didn’t have any classes together until the following year,” recalled Abby. They started officially dating on December 14, 1993 and fell in love during study hall in the library while “we looked at books and hung out between the shelves,” said Abby. During the ice storm of ’93, they kept each other company the entire week and, ever since then, have been inseparable.

The two Coatesville natives, now 31, tied the knot last September at Abby’s childhood home. Since the couple waited so long for their big day, they wanted to put their own signature style on a very highly anticipated wedding. “We definitely don’t do things by the norm, I guess you could say,” explained Abby. “The weddings I have always enjoyed are ones in which the couple put their individual touch on the day. And, that was very important to us. Plus, after fifteen years our family and friends were expecting something spectacular, yet very much ‘us.’”

The enterprising bride googled “How to Make a Boutonniere” and cleverly handcrafted her groom's from flowers purchased at Produce Junction.

The Newlin/Lalonde wedding began with Abby’s selection of a most unique wedding dress that fit her to a tee. Abby’s two bridesmaids spotted a fabulous frock in the window of Center City’s Mia one evening. The pair called the bride to tell her they found the perfect dress. “I so fell in love with it when I saw it. I felt like Carrie Bradshaw and Cinderella wrapped up into one when I put it on! I had a budget, and was really scared to even ask the price. But, I was so excited when I found out I could afford it! It was under $500, did not need one alteration and, when I looked in the mirror, I felt like a movie star,” said Abby.

Abby and Michael knew they wanted to keep within their wedding budget and use a large part of their investment on a great photographer. When they came across Shea Roggio from Conshohocken’s Cake and Pictures (roggioweddings.com), they were sold. “When we look back at our pictures, we are truly blown away. I can’t tell you how pleased I am with my wedding photos; Shea did an absolutely phenomenal job. He is so talented and just captured every detail, every key moment so beautifully and seamlessly. Our wedding day was a long time coming, but worth the wait and the best day of our lives. And the one thing we can walk away from with that experience are the gorgeous pictures that we have that will last forever,” said Abby. And, eight months since their big day, the bride is still in newlywed bliss. Of her groom she beams, “He is beautiful and stubborn, caring and crass, funny, hard working and a little crazy. He’s my constant.”

The bride was escorted down the aisle by her father, Bobby, to Processional: Concerto Grosso in G minor ("Christmas Concerto") by Arcangelo Corelli. Abby’s father planted day lilies on the family property in Coatesville over a decade ago—in anticipation of having his daughter’s wedding day at the family home.

Wedding Details

The Proposal: Michael, a software engineer for Comcast, had originally planned on proposing in the black and white photo booth at an arcade in Cape May, NJ. His parents own a Victorian at the quaint South Jersey beach town and the couple spent many summers there. But, when they arrived they found that the photo booth was out of order. A nerve-wracked boyfriend turned to Plan B. “It tore apart my insides to wait nearly 15 hours after I originally wanted to propose! I almost popped the question while sitting on the porch the night before. But, I waited and luckily had a good second option in place, which was at the top of a beautiful lighthouse,” explained Michael.

The two went out to breakfast at a diner the morning after they had discovered (the out of order) photo booth, with an unsuspecting bride-to-be. “It was so funny, there was an ad for the lighthouse on our placemats-so Michael mentioned it a few times during breakfast and it made sense to me (seeing it in print), lucky for him I guess. We got to the top of the lighthouse and enjoyed the view. We had a lovely romantic moment looking out at the ocean. He told me he loved me, we kissed, and then he said, ‘There’s only one thing left to do.’ He got down on one knee and asked me to marry him.

The Ring: The couple chose a custom-made vintage style with filigree accents courtesy of Henri David’s Halloween (on the corner of Juniper and Pine Streets in Philadelphia) with anchors flanking the center diamond. The ring was constructed using a mold of an old family ring that belonged to Abby’s grandmother.

Abby’s beautiful cluster of hydrangeas was a casually chic choice.

The Symbolism of ‘Anchors’: Abby, who works in animal control, has an anchor tattoo on her wrist with her groom’s name, Michael is an avid sailor. During their romantic morning proposal in a Cape May lighthouse, there was an old, giant anchor at their feet.

Wedding Colors: Baby blue, black, white and silver

Ceremony Venue: 155 family members and friends celebrated Abby and Michael’s wedding on a beautiful clearing on the brides’ parents front yard in Coatesville, PA

A Wedding Planned on The Web: Abby drew inspiration from many wedding sites, blogs and discussion boards but credits offbeatbride.com with supplying the best, unique inspirations for the big day, including the groomsmen’s pale blue Chuck Taylors.

Reception Entrance: The newly married couple entered the reception rocking out to Reputation by Joan Jett and The Blackhearts.

Reception Details: The resourceful bride spent hours researching online how to add affordable accents to her charming home wedding. She hung lights around the party from Target. And, Abby found a helpful tutorial on MarthaStewartWeddings.com and her mother-in-law pitched in to create chic ceiling pom-poms for the reception tent.

In addition, Abby bought fabric from Jomar in Philadelphia (jomarstores.com), a discount fabric store that carries hundreds of choices of $1/yard fabric. The bride’s cousin acted as the DJ, and they rented tables and a dance floor. With a subtle nod to one of the couples’ favorite holidays, Halloween, Abby walked down the grassy aisle framed by perfectly pale orange pumpkins from Linvilla Orchards.

True Blue
Abby with her two bridesmaids who were asked to simply dress in blue; (L) Matron of Honor Assunta Grobels-Henry and (R) Maid of Honor Rica Perez.

Wedding Menu: The menu, as was a large portion of the wedding, was DIY (Do It Yourself) as Abby explained. The guests were served many types of appetizers lovingly prepared by the bride and groom, wedding party and friends of the family. The bride and groom are both vegetarians so they opted to cater their own wedding…which looking back they advise other couples to reconsider. “Kids don’t try this at home! Seriously, if I had to do it again I would probably hire a caterer. It was very challenging,” recalled Abby.

Appetizers included: stuffed mushrooms, vegetarian pigs in a blanket, a variety of cheese and crackers, bruschetta, mini quiche, roasted and stuffed jalapenos, vegetarian chicken salad in endive, crudités and caprese salad skewers. Entrees were served via a buffet with a pasta and fajita bar. The bar featured signature drinks of pomegranate sangria and a champagne punch, wine and three types of beers including Victory’s Prima Pils, one of Michael’s favorites.

Wedding Cake: The bride and groom decided to forgo the traditional tiered wedding cake and went with six individual cakes all in different flavors from Lotus Cake Studio, out of East Falls (www.lotuscakestudio.com).

The charming wooden canopy the two wed under was a hand crafted wedding present from the matron of honor’s husband, Jake Henry. It will be converted to a headboard in their master bedroom.

First Dance: The bride is a huge fan of the movie Say Anything, so the couple selected Peter Gabriel’s In Your Eyes.

Wedding Dress: The bride wore a platinum, strapless, princess-style ball gown with a sweetheart neckline. The off the rack $472 Joli Prom dress (joliprom.net) was purchased at Mia’s of Philadelphia (1748 E Passyunk Ave; 215-465-2913) and included six layers of pastel tulle netting. The romantic gown was adorned with a dusty mauve tulle belt accented by a sea foam green brooch at the waist.

Something Old: Abby’s veil was a birdcage style and was reworked from something her mother wore as a bridesmaid over thirty years ago. The bride had a baby chick embroidered vintage handkerchief pinned inside my dress, as her mother’s childhood nickname for her is ‘Peep.’

Something New: The dress

Something Borrowed: Abby’s earrings were borrowed from a client and friend, Joanie Murphy, and matched the dress perfectly.

Something Blue: The dress, veil, bouquet and…ahem, the bride’s undergarments.

Bridesmaids Dresses: Abby’s two bridesmaids were asked to wear blue dresses of their choice.

The couple’s first dance was to their favorite high school song, Peter Gabriel’s In Your Eyes. Of his bride Michael says, “Abby makes me want to accomplish more. I am unbelievably lucky to have her round out my rough edges.”

Flowers: Abby and her friends purchased flowers from Produce Junction and Whole Foods and created the boutonnières, bouquets and the table arrangements themselves. They also used wholesale asters and mums to adorn the surrounding areas and the wedding arch.

Bride’s Bouquet: Hydrangea cluster from Produce Junction

Most Unique Wedding Gift: One of the couple’s friends who lives abroad couldn’t make it to the ceremony. So, they gifted Abby and Michael with a Quaich, a special kind of shallow two-handled drinking cup or bowl from Scotland. (The name of the cup derives from the Gaelic term cuach–meaning a cup.) Abby and Michael’s friend Chad, who served as the officiant, poured Powers Irish Whiskey into it during the ceremony and they each took a sip from the cup.

Vows: The couple wrote declarations of love to one another and kept them a secret until the actual ceremony.

Honeymoon: The newlyweds had planned to go to Greece, but decided to reschedule that trip for their one-year anniversary. Instead, they spent a week in Montreal at the Omni Hotel. “It was heaven, Montreal was an amazing time and we throughly enjoyed the city,” said Abby.

Wedding Photos courtesy of Shea Roggio of Conshohocken’s Cake and Pictures. Inquiries for weddings can be directed to: Carley Hennessey, Studio Manager (610) 260-0234; www.cakeandpictures.com; or Carley can be reached via email at: carley@cakeandpictures.com