When Frankie and Jared connected on a dating app in 2013, Frankie had an instinct that their first date would be a unique experience. A man with considerable artistic talents and hobbies, Jared was a musician, songwriter, crafter and creator. As a multidisciplinary fibre and circus performance artist herself, she felt a deep kinship of creativity.
"We clicked immediately," she says. "I had never felt such ease around anyone —it took such little effort. He mirrored me in so many ways that I felt I could be my truest self around him."
Fast forward eight years, a long-distant stint in Philadelphia then a global pandemic and quarantine, and the relationship continued to strengthen. While the couple was social distancing in the woods together for their eighth anniversary, Jared proposed with a Zippo he had engraved himself and a traditional Irish claddagh ring they had found on a previous camping trip, which happened to have Frankie’s exact birthstone in it.
"The sun was going down; frogs and birds were singing," she says. "Being the only ones out in the woods together felt so magical. It was a fairytale."
Day-of details
When planning their May 2023 wedding, the couple wanted to incorporate these moments of fate. The theme of “Celestial Bodies” became the ode to which all details laddered up, from the astrological significance of the sun and the moon to the color scheme, Frankie's dress and the fact they had a community able to help make this vision come to life.
"We knew a wedding planner was out of the question, given how particular we are," says Frankie, "and we wanted to funnel all that money into the small businesses of our family and friends to support them and help us make our dream wedding come to life. We wanted it to feel like a very communal experience."
Dreamland, a farm-based community in Eden, was the location of the Big Day, an intimate outdoor affair of 70 guests. The venue was offered by a mutual friend, Nicole, who is the land steward of Dreamland, and is a place where Jared and Frankie have spent a lot of time volunteering.
With flowers sourced from the fields—many of which Frankie and Jared had planted years before—the orange and blue color story played out in vibrant bouquets and tablescapes, with fabrics dyed by Nicole and dishware and furniture sourced through thrifting with friends, found on the curb or donated directly from the community. Their cakes were homemade by loved ones.
Other notable details included a recipe box, where guests could share their generational recipes, and an old-school tape recorder, so loved ones could record messages that the couple plans on listening to on their first anniversary.
"It was essential to us to have the energy of all of these lives and presences —past and present—in our wedding,” Frankie says. “We wanted to evoke all of these different generations and times together. We had a wedding that felt very lavish but didn't break the bank. It was truly made from a beautiful, communal experience."
The Dream Team
Who helped the couple make it happen
Florals + fabrics / Nicole Vescio, Danni Domanowski, Lindsay Shiffhauer
Venue / Dreamland
Dress / Mimmy Yeboah
Hair / Tanesha of Curl... A Salon
Transportation / Zoladz