The Meet Cute : Talk about getting off on the wrong foot ! Aly , a Rhode Islander , and Luke , from Connecticut , met at a cafe in Northampton while living in western Massachusetts . After discovering they were both scuba divers and hikers , they exchanged phone numbers and set up a hiking date the next week . They totally hit it off , despite getting lost and barely making it back by dark . A couple of weeks later , Aly broke her leg playing rugby . Luckily , Luke , who works in physical therapy , picked her up at the hospital and stepped up to help her through surgery and recovery .
The Engagement : The couple 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 . They hiked around Rome Point in North Kingstown for a while and ended up sitting on the rocky shore where they 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 .
The Wedding Plans : “ Our favorite part of planning was picking the venue ,” Aly says . “ 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 .” Aly also loved doing a “ test garden ” and putting together practice bouquets with her mom the year before the wedding . Luckily , the only hiccups happened at the rehearsal dinner , which was a casual cookout at the camp . They got the grill started late , and once it got dark out , they realized that the outdoor pavilion didn ’ t have lights . The guests stepped in and made lanterns out of flashlights and water bottles . Almost everything was DIY , with a ton of help from family and friends . Luke built the arbor , which was decorated by friends with flowers . Aly ’ s family mixed the sangria and Luke kegged his own “ hard seltzer .”
The Special Touches : Before the Camp Hoffman wedding , Aly and Luke first eloped at the North Kingstown Town Beach on Dec . 29 , 2019 . Aly lost her mother to cancer about nine months prior to the wedding . Her mother , an avid gardener , had planned to grow and arrange all the flowers for the wedding . Before she passed , Aly and her mom did a mini photoshoot in her wedding dress before her illness got worse . For her “ something blue ,” the seamstress affixed pieces of the lace from her mom ’ s dress that she wore in the photoshoot and would have worn to the wedding onto the train of Aly ’ s dress . “ 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 ,” Aly says . To avoid tears , the bride and her father grooved down the aisle to “ Come and Get Your Love ” by Redbone . The couple ’ s first dance song was “ Let ’ s Stay Together ” by Al Green , during which Aly ’ s family wrapped her and Luke in paper streamers .
100 | ENGAGED IN SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND 2023