Real Wedding: Lily and John

This lovely wedding graced the pages of Martha Stewart Weddings last summer and I was so excited to find more pictures of the day. From MSW: "It's hard to find quality time with your man when he's on a Navy destroyer in the middle of the ocean. Fortunately for the officer in question, John Harrington IV, and his now-wife Lily Fink, Cupid had wings. The two were wed in the backyard of Lily's childhood home in Santa Barbara, and perhaps the most sentimental moment of all came near day's end, as the two happy newlyweds danced together in the twilight." All of the wonderful pictures were captured by Melissa Musgrove.
A Polka dot dress by Carolina Herrera!
Lily sent artist Jude Miller a photo of a "Sally Holmes" rose -- a wild climbing bloom that she loves but that dies quickly -- and Miller created a botanically accurate, and lasting, version for her from crepe paper.
Lily's bridal bouquet by Livia Cetti for The Green Vase featured garden roses, dahlias, orchids, lily of the valley, jasmine, sweetpeas, and scented geranium all tied up in the prettiest patterned ribbon.
"Lily gave each one of her bridesmaids a vintage handkerchief to hold with her dahlia-filled bouquet."
The groom's grandfather grows cornflowers in his garden, which he always wears as his signature boutonniere. In homage, the couple offered ribbon-tied ones to male guests.
"They all wanted to wear the same dress!" says Lily of her bridesmaids; they did, however, pair their pink Simple Silhouettes numbers with gold shoes in various styles.
For one of the gifts she gave her attendants, Lily ordered custom-made clutches and had them monogrammed by designer Lauren Merkin; "I matched the fabric to the personality of the girl," says the bride.
In a twist on the trend of having bridesmaids wear variations on a theme, John told his groomsmen (including brothers Kent and Christian, who flank him in the photo) to wear their own gray suits - most of them own a few for work - with matching pink ties from Turnbull & Asser.
A block from his home, John Fink walks his daughter down the aisle.
Glassine bags stamped in blue with the couple's names and their wedding date hold rice for tossing.
The challenge for Lily and John: creating invitations both unusual and classically formal. The solution: engraving on thick, creamy card stock and handwriting each guest's name (classic) while mixing traditional type and fonts with ornate calligraphy, by Nancy Howell, and using offbeat ink color and paper combinations (unusual).
The monogram "LJH" in pink and light blue adorns cocktail napkins by For Your Party; swizzle sticks displaying LJ in navy are from Mazel Tov Favors. Both were printed from monograms calligraphed by Nancy Howell.
BFFs and couples can never resist a photo booth, so Lily and John had guests snap themselves for the wedding guest book; the couple opted for a vintage booth from PhotoBooth Scrapbooks.

The reception-table centerpieces star garden roses tucked among fat, frilly hydrangeas, sweetpeas, dahlias, and pink jasmine buds done by Livia Cetti of The Green Vase.
Each dining table, covered with the Finks' Madeira linens, is set with plates in a different pattern from Sharkey's large china collection.


Morning-sky blue tented boxes, secured with vintage millinery clovers in pink and cream, hold lemon sandwich cookies wrapped in glassine.
A cake topper derives its super-sweet charm from two wedding bells made with quilling paper and framed by vintage millinery lily-of-the-valley buds and a gauzy vintage linen ribbon both from Tinsel Trading Co. Festooned with rose-budded swags of royal icing, the raspberry-lemon cake by Christine Dahl Pastries rests with ladylike poise on a pedestal.
As Bobby Darin croons "Somewhere beyond the sea/She's there, waitin' for me," former Navy officer John gives Lily a twirl on the dance floor.

All photos by Melissa Musgrove via Martha Stewart Weddings.