Two of my very close friends from Smith College got married on the college campus two weekends ago, and David and I were lucky enough to be present at the ceremony and reception. Smith has an absolutely beautiful campus, and the weather was sunny the entire weekend and perfect for an outdoor wedding. Although I had been back to Smith campus a number of times since graduating, this was David's first trip back since he visited me there in 2006.
Northampton is a lovely town located in the western part of the state, with a population of just under 30,000 people. The town is an artistic and musical center, surrounded by the rivers, forests, and hills of the Pioneer Valley.
The historic Hotel Northampton
Solarium of Hotel Northampton
Hanging flower baskets of Hotel Northampton
Downtown Northampton with historic brick buildings
The main street leading from town through Smith campus
Historic Academy of Music
Bustling downtown Northampton
Entrance to Hotel Northampton
We arrived very late on a Friday night at the airport in Hartford, Connecticut, picked up a rental car, and took the Massachusetts Turnpike with the wonderful Masshole drivers to Northampton. On Saturday, we were lucky enough to have some time to recover before heading to campus for the ceremony. The wedding took place in Smith's Capen Gardens, which I had never seen prior to the ceremony. This was my first outdoor wedding, and it was, by far, the most amazing wedding I had ever attended.
David and I in Capen Gardens before the ceremony
More Capen Gardens
The ceremony
Steeple of downtown Northampton church with hills in background
Site of the ceremony
Wandering through the botanical garden before the reception
Friends since my first week of college
View of Paradise Pond from the botanical gardens
Smith College arboretum with student housing in the background
Paradise Pond and boathouses
Arboretum with steeple of campus chapel in the background
The members of the other wedding party bombing our photo!
The reception following the ceremony was a perfect end to the day's festivities. The parents of one of my friends who was getting married are Portuguese, and they provided accordion music with castanets as well as traditional dancing. This was the first wedding I had ever been to that included any kind of non-Anglo-Saxon traditions, and the music and dancing made the reception so much more special.
My handsome escort
The bride's bouquet
The beginning of the Portuguese dancing
Portuguese accordions
More group dancing
Before flying back to Minneapolis, we had a few hours to walk around Northampton and the Smith campus. There we fondly recollected the time that David had spent in Northampton more than six years ago.
Smith Campus Center
Boat house on Paradise Pond
My favorite fountain on campus
Tyler House: my residence hall
The Japanese bridge below Paradise Pond
Spectacular backdrop
Tyler House
New engineering building: home of the first all-women's engineering program in the U.S.!
College Hall: houses the office of the college president
I love my school!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment