Ashley & Justin | October

Mel Colvin Photography | @melcolvinstudios

Within the Five Bridge Inn in Rehoboth, MA, Ashley and Justin shared many memorable moments, including the “photo dash,” final dance and reading vows from the other person’s point of view.

The Meet Cute: Ashley joined a mutual friend to see a band play over Thanksgiving weekend, and she became friends with the singer, Justin. After a few weeks of exchanging bad puns and fun facts, they started dating.

The Engagement: Ashley and Justin took frequent group Disney trips together every year since 2013. But on their December 2020 vacation, Justin had a different plan. Ashley suspected something was up, but couldn’t find a ring even after patting him down on their way to the destination. He hid the ring in his carry-on. After dinner at Skipper Canteen, Justin suggested getting a photo with the castle’s holiday lights and asked a passerby to snap their photo, then he surprised Ashley and popped the question for the last photo. Read more about their story here.

The First Look: For the ceremony, they chose to write each other’s vows and read them from the other person’s point of view. The first look was a chance to exchange more intimate, sentimental letters. The plan was to read them out loud to each other, but they had to quickly pivot after Justin read his “Dear Ashley” letter to save Ashley’s makeup from her unexpected tears.

The Venue: Five Bridge Inn was the first venue the couple saw, and they immediately knew it was the one. It’s a one-stop shop, and it even had the “Bernie Barn,” where previous wedding couples donated decor, including signage, furniture and other items for future use. The two claim that the best moments included the “photo dash,” when they ran to each table to snap a picture with guests before the end of one song, and the final couple’s dance when all the guests were invited to make their way to the afterparty, leaving the new bride and groom to have a last dance together alone in the venue. “I still can’t think about it without getting teary eyed; easily the most romantic moment of my life,” Ashley says.

The Accents: Prior to their engagement, the couple lost their dog Hercules to cancer. They hand drew place cards and included a few dog treats with each, noting that in lieu of favors, they made donations to both the adoption agency where they found Herc, and the hospital that tried to save him. Each card also included QR codes so guests could make an additional donation. Table “numbers” also included adoptable dogs, along with a QR code to their pages.