Lexi & Dallas, an August wedding at Castle Hill Inn

Lexi and Dallas were married at Castle Hill Inn in the middle of August, the night after a welcome party at Gardiner House. I found Lexi at the Brenton Hotel in a white satin robe and slippers with a seagull stitched on one toe while Kacie Corbelle finished her hair and makeup. At Castle Hill we made her portraits under the old junipers, the veil lifting in the air off the bay. Then her father saw her first, quietly, in the Chalet suite.

Fig & Squill had been working since morning, and by afternoon orange roses, lavender hydrangea and delphinium climbed the stone balustrade with the water behind it. Guests came in on trolleys to passed prosecco, and the ceremony began a little after half past five. Cocktail hour spread across the lawn under a soft grey sky, beers in navy koozies that read "Small state... big groom."

While everyone moved to the tent, the two of them went out toward the lighthouse, and we caught the last sun on a wooden landing above the water. They came back for a first dance to "Can't Take My Eyes Off You." At dinner I found Lexi at the table wiping her eyes. Later came "Stand by Me" with her father and a dance floor that never emptied.