♥ local love
GLORIA and TRAVIS
November 6, 2016 // Brad Smith Photography
G
“Get a videographer. When I watch our wedding
video back, I can see how much my husband is in
love with me. It’s invaluable.” – Gloria
102 | RHODE ISLAND MONTHLY'S ENGAGED 2018
LORIA ALWAYS WANTED TO BE
a bride. “I used to dream about the
princess gown and the big event,” she
recalls. “But when it came down to
marrying the man that I am with today, my vision
changed. I wanted it to be special and intimate.”
While she had had a thing for Travis since they
ran in the same circle of friends at age sixteen (“He
was this very quiet, artsy, brooding musician... I just
always wanted to get inside his brain.”), he initially
had been “the one that got away.” That is until,
following seven years of separation, they reconnected
in their Long Island hometown during Memorial
Day weekend 2011. The chemistry between the
two was palpable and before they knew it, Travis
was moving in to Gloria's Boston apartment and
later proposing on the lawns of Castle Hill Inn in
January 2016.
“We thought about doing a twenty person fall
wedding in Newport, but it got too stressful trying to
coordinate schedules,” Gloria says. “In the end, the
marriage is about you two and not everyone else.”
Instead, they invested their time and energy into
incorporating more meaningful details. For one,
they always knew that the photo/video portion was
going to be one of the most important aspects; they
chose Brad Smith because of his artistic photography
style and then JB Horn because his enthusiasm
for capturing their vision was infectious. They
then chose Fort Wetherill for its dramatic look
and because they had spent many a weekend in
the Newport area together, while they chose their
fl orist because it was Travis’ go-to bouquet vendor
for special occasions. Gloria chose to write the entire
ceremony from scratch, and hers and Travis’ vows
were inspired by journals they had written during
their ten-month engagement. And their witnesses
were well chosen too: Gloria’s mother (who made
her daughter promise as a teenager that she’d get
an invite even if she eloped), Gloria’s sister (their
cheerleader since day one), and the couple’s fur
baby, Teddy Bear. Gloria’s engagement ring (custom
designed by Travis) was even personalized with
etchings of the pair’s thumbprints and Teddy’s
paw print.
“I broke down every tiny expense and we ended
up under $8,000,” Gloria says. “And we still had
everything we wanted — I still got to feel like a
bride. I wish more couples knew they could do it
this way; you don’t need to reinvent the wheel, just
focus on making a happy memory.”