Wedding | Sasha & Peter

Tell us a little about yourselves!

We met on a trip abroad, felt an instant connection, and became inseparable soon after. But Pete was living in Boston at the time (originally from Maine) and I was in NJ. So in 2020 we made the decision to move in together, and now live in NYC. We love good food, good views, good hikes, and good company!

Why did you decide to get married where you did?

Pete is from Portland, Maine, and we took that as a wonderful excuse to get married in that beautiful state. We love the coast, mountains, landscapes, and the charming hidden towns. We wanted our friends and family to experience a bit of the magic.

We absolutely fell in love with Deer Isle and Aragosta. The restaurant is on a private cove with a beautiful view of the charming rocky Maine coastline. Our vision was for it to feel like a weekend retreat, a cozy slumber party with our friends and family, with an incredible dinner and party in the middle of it- and since Aragosta is both an award winning restaurant and wonderful hotel, they had everything we wanted.

How many guests did you have?

110.

Tell us about your outfits.

I had my sights set on Danielle Frankel from the beginning. After trying on way too many options, I decided to trust my gut. The long sleeves, drapey silhouette, and silk-wool blend felt perfect for the late-September Maine island setting.

I wore simple pointed toe sling back heels from Sam Edelman and they were super comfortable, so I will definitely be wearing them again!

My mom loves to make jewelry- she sourced beautiful baroque pearls to create lovely modern earrings.

Pete wore a forest green suit from Indochino, paired with a whimsical tie gifted from Sasha’s brother (patterned with sea-horses and parrots), and vintage shell-shaped cufflinks.

What was the most important aspect for you, in terms of planning your wedding?

Honestly- to have an amazing party with our friends and family to celebrate love!

Were there any elements that were important for you to incorporate?

It was important for me to incorporate traditions, but we definitely took a liberal approach. We picked and chose which customs and traditions felt authentic to us and our relationship, researched the meaning, history and purpose, and incorporated this throughout the day. We created our own program for our ceremony which felt extremely personal to us and our values. We wrote our own ketubah text, commissioned an artist to illustrate it, and asked my close family friends to be our witnesses.

We also wanted to incorporate our family and friends as much as we could. My dad constructed the Chuppah, Pete’s best friend Mike officiated the ceremony, we spent the morning getting ready with our closest friends, our siblings gave toasts along with our parents, etc.

Any tips for couples getting married?

Spend time planning the parts you love and what strikes excitement for you- and cut out anything that doesn’t. If a tradition feels antiquated or forced- don’t do it! Making your day feel truly authentic to you is relieving, and that much more special.

One of my favorite parts of the planning process was crafting and designing the invitations- so I spent (probably way too much) time there.

We also took a handful of private classes to coordinate a short choreographed first dance- and those sessions dancing together in the park are some of my favorite memories!

Are there any vendors that you would like to tell us a little more about?

Our photographers were absolutely wonderful! I found Chaise of Helaine via the Anti-Bride, so this is very fitting. We had an instant connection from the first time we spoke. Chaise completely understood what was important to me, and used her vision to bring the memories of the day to life. On the day-of they were somehow able to be everywhere at once, and were a calming presence throughout the whole day. By the end of the weekend they were my best friends and it was so hard to say bye!

I’d love to give a huge shout out to Andrew Vojtol founder of Vows and Bows - we made some great memories learning and practicing our first dance leading up to the wedding. It was such an unexpectedly fun piece of the planning process!

Our florist Alicia Condon, owner of Oceanville Flowers was amazing. My first chance to see the chuppah decoration was as I walked down the aisle, and my jaw dropped.

Our experience at Aragosta was perfect- the food is truly outstanding and the hotel is top notch. We worked with our amazing coordinator, Jeremy, on all details. They even worked with us to completely customize the beverage and 4 course food menu.

Our band, Mixology, was an absolute blast. They had people on the dance floor all night and we kept hearing from our guests how much they enjoyed the band!

Photographer: Helaine @hellohelaine | Flora: Oceanville Flowers @oceanvilleflowers | Ceremony & Reception Location: Aragosta @aragosta.maine | Makeup Artist: Sanjana @sanjanananana | Hair Stylist:

Rachel Lebrun @_hair_coven_ | Catering, Cake & Beverages: Aragosta @aragosta.maine | Stationery: