Aly & Luke | September 4

This sentimental, DIY camp wedding has us in tears as each detail was crafted with love.

Where are you both from and how did you meet?

Aly is originally from Rhode Island and Luke is from Connecticut. We were both living in Western Massachusetts after college and met at a café in Northampton. We discovered we were both scuba divers and hikers and exchanged phone numbers. The following week, we went for a hike and hit it off, despite getting lost and barely making it back by dark. A couple weeks later, Aly broke her leg playing rugby. Luke, who works in physical therapy, picked her up at the hospital and stepped up to help her through surgery and recovery.

Tell me about your dating history before getting engaged.

We dated for almost three years before getting engaged. On a muggy Saturday in late November, Luke suggested going for a hike with the dog. Since it was cold and rainy, Aly refused and almost ruined the proposal. The following day, Luke tried again and suggested a hike. We hiked around Rome Point in North Kingstown for a while and ended up sitting on the rocky shore where we could just barely see seals splashing around out by the rocks in the bay. After sitting in the cold for a while, Aly suggested heading back, but before she knew it, Luke was down on one knee.

What were your favorite and least favorite parts of planning?

Our favorite part of planning was picking the venue. As soon as we drove into Camp Hoffman, we knew it was our perfect venue. We got to visit a few times and roam around the campground and trails.

Aly also loved doing a “test garden” and putting together practice bouquets with her mom the year before the wedding.

Our least favorite part was figuring out all of the tiny coordination details on a budget. Since Camp Hoffman is basically a raw space (and we were spending most of our budget on the venue and band), we had to plan every last detail from decor to microphones and ice cubes.

What drew you to Camp Hoffman?

We knew we wanted a more casual, rustic venue and hoped we could find one with on-site accommodations. It took a lot of digging to figure out how to book Camp Hoffman, but as soon as we visited, we knew it was perfect. Camp Hoffman has dozens of cabins for our guests to stay all weekend, overlooks a beautiful pond, is only twenty minutes from our home, and offers so much natural beauty. Since they only book weddings a few weekends a year (when Girl Scouts are no longer using the camp), we booked immediately.

Any issues in the planning process or on the big day?

Luckily, the only big issues happened at the rehearsal dinner, which was a casual cookout at the camp. Prepping the flowers and venue the day before the wedding took much longer than anticipated and the rehearsal dinner got a little neglected. We didn’t even get the grill going until the dinner had technically already started. Then, once it got dark out, we realized that the outdoor pavilion we were eating at didn’t have lights. Our guests improvised and made lanterns out of flashlights and water bottles. By the end of the night, we didn’t even have time to do a ceremony rehearsal, so we met the officiant separately in the morning to go over logistics.

How did you come across Atlas & Stone?

We found Atlas + Stone on the Knot and loved their photojournalistic and editing style. Their photography captures real emotion and tells the whole story of the day.

Tell us about the secret elopement and the story behind it.

We eloped at the North Kingstown Town beach on December 29, 2019 (my first ever lifeguarding job was actually at this beach). We unfortunately lost my mother to cancer about nine months before our wedding. She was an avid gardener and planned to grow and arrange all the flowers for my wedding. We planted perennials together the year before, and the day before the wedding my cousins helped me cut and arrange the flowers. We were also able to do a mini photoshoot with my mom and I in my wedding dress before her illness got worse, so we put out those photos during the reception. We also had the seamstress affix pieces of the lace from my mom’s dress (that she wore in the photoshoot and would have worn to the wedding) onto the train of my dress (this was my “something blue” and one of my favorite special, subtle details of the whole wedding). We knew Mom was with us on the wedding day from the rainbow caught on camera as my dad was “handing me off” to my husband, Luke, at the end of the aisle. The rainbow photo was taken by my cousin and shows a “rainbow” (yes, it is just a refraction of light on the lens and wasn’t actually a real rainbow). But my mom always said rainbows are from people looking on from Heaven.

To avoid tears, my dad and I grooved down the aisle to “Come and Get Your Love” by Redbone.

Tell us about the DIY decorations.

Almost everything was DIY (with a ton of help from family and friends)—from the flowers homegrown and arranged, much of the decor was repurposed from my cousin’s wedding years ago, wedding cake and cake stand made by a friend, donut wall, etc. Luke built the arbor and was decorated by friends with flowers. We mixed the sangria and Luke kegged his own “hard seltzer.”

First dance song?

“Let’s Stay Together” by Al Green. During our first dance, my family wrapped us in paper streamers (apparently some “Italian tradition”…but it might just be a family tradition?)

Special moments

-We rented an entire girl scout camp for the whole weekend and had friends stay in cabins.
-The live band was amazing and my dad got on stage and played harmonica with them to everyone’s delight.
-My best friend from college was our officiant and had an amazing job with the ceremony, including beautiful and funny stories about my mom as well as Luke and me.
-My grandpa, who has Parkinson’s Disease, had a great time dancing with his bride of over sixty years.
-Our two dogs, Rocky and Juniper, were the ring bearer and flower girl–almost stole the show with how cute they were.
-We hired a couple friends to be day-of coordinators and gave them custom “Camp Counselor” shirts (our wedding hashtag was #CampSparks).
-After the reception was over, we had a big fire pit and ended the night with s’mores and some flip cup.