Real Wedding: Sara & Bentley
Sara Hallberg had just started to unpack the boxes in her Saratoga Springs home when a winter storm struck, covering the neighborhood – including Sara’s car – in snow. Sara, who had just moved from Cleveland, was totally unprepared for the cold weather and stood shivering by her car, trying to make up her mind what to do. Fortunately, Bentley Boivin spotted his new neighbor and recognized her as a damsel in distress. Grinning, he volunteered to shovel Sara’s car out of the snow, and a storybook romance began. Sara fell in love with Bentley and his two young children, and the feeling was mutual.
One warm summer day, Bentley insisted that Sara come with him to check out a fantastic little nursery he’d discovered, and Sara, who was sweaty and dirt-streaked from a morning of gardening, jumped up beside him in the cab of the truck. Sure enough, the little nursery was charming, and Sara and Bentley loaded up the back of the truck with a few new purchases for their garden. Halfway home, the vintage truck broke down – something it had a habit of doing – and after jumping out of the car to check for leaking fluids, Sara turned to Bentley with a question in her eyes. “What do we do?” she asked. He asked her to grab something in the glove compartment, but when Sara opened the metal door, she saw two beautifully restored antique rings. Bentley asked her to marry him, to which a stunned Sara responded, “Are you sure?” before following up with a delighted, “Yes!”
When it came to planning their wedding, Sara and Bentley were determined to have a ceremony with meaning behind it. With that in mind, there was no question that their hometown of Saratoga Springs was the perfect spot to celebrate the beginning of a new stage in their life together. Sara wanted a wedding that captured the playful enchantment of children’s literature. “We wanted a storybook wedding, like the one in the old story ‘Froggy Went a-Courting,’ she says. “Not a fairy-tale wedding, but a storybook wedding — with all the magic, whimsy, and childish charm that suggests,” she says. Sara used a delightfully illustrated version of the story as the inspiration for the wedding’s decorations, flowers, cake, and even her own wedding dress.
In keeping with the personal feeling for the wedding, Sara and Bentley enlisted the little nursery they’d visited on the day of his proposal to do the flowers for the wedding. The nursery amazed Sara and Bentley with the lavish flower arrangements they put together for the ceremony and reception. Sara loved her bouquet designed by the nursery’s floral designer so much that she took it with her on her honeymoon and took photos of it at each location they visited. The chef at the Mansion Inn made huge batches of macaroni salad, using Bentley's famous family recipe, to accompany the wedding menu of pulled pork sandwiches, hamburgers, cornbread and Saratoga potato chips.
When Sara’s brother began playing “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” Sara’s parents met her at the end of the aisle and walked with her arm in arm halfway down the aisle, where they met Bentley’s two children, waiting to escort Sara the rest of the way to their dad. During the ceremony, Sara’s aunt read a letter Sara’s grandmother had written to her grandfather shortly before their own marriage in honor of the absent people Sara and Bentley love. Taking a cue from an old folk tradition, Sara and Bentley also asked three people – a family member, a friend, and a neighbor – to bring an item to bless their married home, and the presentation of those items was one of the most memorable parts of the day for Sara and Bentley.
On their way to the reception, the newly married pair, still in their wedding clothes, ducked into their favorite bar for a quick drink, savoring the moment. Drinks, of course, were on the house.
Sara & Bentley's Advice
1) Keep an inspiration book to store all your ideas and go crazy with it. Then, review it and narrow it down to the things you really, really love.
2) Hire a coordinator for the wedding day, even if you don’t need help with the planning. That way, you can totally relax and enjoy the day itself and not have to stress about any last ~ minute issues that come up.
{Other Professionals}
Cake: The Bread Basket Bakery
Entertainment: Moonshine Holler Bluegrass Band
Floral Design: Balet Flowers and Design
Gown: Kristie Kelly for Disney
Reception Site & Catering: The Mansion Inn