Not only does the Daily Hampshire Gazette's Fall Bridal Supplement have a nice spotlight on Valley Wed, but it's chock full of features with our wedding pros including show coordinator Rev. Hannah Grace of Grace Ceremonies, Lynn Newdome of Classic Wedding Ensembles, Tanya Costigan of Tanya Costigan Events, Marcie Muehlke of Celia Grace, plus  Ellie's Oils and Dean's Beans!

Rev. Hannah Grace of Grace Ceremonies talks about couples
planning for their wedding.

Lynn Newdome of Classic Wedding Ensembles shares about wedding music and Rev. Hannah Grace of Grace Ceremonies offers advice for picking an officiate.

Tanya Costigan of Tanya Costigan Events gives tips on being frugal
and who to invite to your wedding.

Learn more about Marcie Muehlke of Celia Grace and her fair trade wedding gowns.

Ellie's Oils and Dean's Beans are featured for their wedding favors.

Western Massachusetts is one of those rare and amazing places where you can hike through beautiful wilderness, take a hot air balloon ride, stop at a pick-your-own organic farm, check out a gallery opening for a local artist, eat a delicious, seasonal meal and listen to a world class musician at an intimate venue…all in a single day!

That’s one reason so many couples choose to get married in Western Massachusetts. There’s no shortage of incredible wedding venues and vendors, and out-of-town guests can easily make a vacation out of this unique destination.
But we think there’s another reason, too. Western Massachusetts has a special ethos that appeals to both those who make this area their home as well as come here to exchange their wedding vows. 

This is a place that values small and slow, independent and creative – and weddings are no exception.

Valley Wed was launched with exactly those couples in mind: people who steer clear of anything “cookie cutter” and dismiss the idea that their wedding has to look like something out of a traditional bridal magazine. 

Valley Wed is a wedding show designed for couples that want to go their own way, but they don’t want to go it alone.

Once you start planning your wedding day, finding the right vendors – top-quality professionals you can trust, that understand your vision and are committed to making it reality – may be your biggest challenge, but also your greatest asset.

Valley Wed coordinator Hannah Grace of Grace Ceremonies has made that task a whole lot easier for you.  In this second annual show, she once again offers couples a carefully curated selection of over 30 of the top wedding vendors in Western Massachusetts with the goals of inspiring personal connections and honoring your style with a locally sourced approach.

Every vendor at Valley Wed is an independently owned small business.  Each vendor prides themselves on exceptional quality products and services. All the vendors have a proven track record and loyal fan base.  And you’d probably have fun grabbing a drink with any one of them.

Wedding planning can be a fun and fulfilling experience, especially when you have the right people on your team. Valley Wed will help you find everything you need to have an amazing wedding day, with the best vendors to help you plan one of the most important days of your life.

Valley Wed will showcase a wide variety of wedding vendors from bakers, photographers, DJs, event planners, musicians, officiants, florists and more. You’ll also be able to enjoy craft beer and wines by the glass, complimentary horse and carriage rides from Mainely Drafts, free coffee from Dean’s Beans Organic Coffee, live music from Classic Wedding Ensembles and others, and the farm stand and orchards will be open at Quonquont for pick-your-own apples.

One lucky couple will win our grand prize giveaway of $500 off a pair of wedding rings from dmg {Don Muller Gallery, Inc.}. Pinch is also offering our second prize giveaway of a $250 gift certificate for their gallery in Northampton. Other prizes and giveaways include artisan olive oils and balsamic vinegars from Ellie’s Oils, a floral arrangement from Badger's Flowers & Co., a Jackson & Connor gift card, custom letterpress save-the-dates from Big Wheel Press, $100 off AG Ambroult’s Wedding Ring Workshop, a bridal shower cake from Cakes by Amanda, and a whole lot more.

Register for our giveaways and door prizes and get your tickets online now at www.valleywed.com.

Valley Wed
October 16, 2016
11am – 4pm
$6/person or $10/couple

Quonquont Farm
9 North Street
Whately, MA 01093

Check out Valley Wed's two-page feature in The Republican's
Fall 2016 Weddings Magazine

To the Soon-to-be Bride or Groom,
 
You may be wondering what an Interfaith minister has to do with a wedding show.  It’s not that much of a stretch, really.  Before I became a minister I spent a decade in small galleries selling handcrafted engagement rings and wedding bands.  I met a lot of brides and grooms in those years, and we talked a lot about weddings.
 
Then, when I was in seminary, I realized I wanted to help people create custom ceremonies to honor important transitions and special occasions in their lives.  And so I started my own business, Grace Ceremonies, where I get to design all sorts of unique events from baby namings to memorials to home blessings, but especially wedding ceremonies.
 
The most significant connection, though, was getting married and discovering for myself what planning a wedding was all about.  I understood, as most couples do along the way, that finding the right wedding vendors, adding personal details and keeping it all in budget is no small feat. 
 
That’s why I was so excited to launch Valley Wed last year.  Along with my friend Tiffany Hilton – a local potter whom I first met when my husband and I chose her handmade dinnerware for our wedding registry – it began with a simple idea: invent the wedding show we wish existed back when we got married.

Valley Wed offers couples a curated selection of the best wedding pros in the Pioneer Valley and Western Massachusetts.  Featuring more than 30 local businesses, you’ll find everything you need to help you plan your big day.  Our vendors are passionate about their work and excited to give you a fresh perspective for your wedding.
 
Valley Wed is definitely not your average wedding expo!  In other words…no cake dives, crazy music or convention centers.  Instead, the show is hosted by Quonquont Farm, a 140-acre farm and orchard in the historic town of Whately, MA.  (They also have an amazing farm stand and their orchard will be open for pick-your-own apples!)
 
Crazy music?  Uh-uh.  But we’ll have live tunes from local musicians like Classic Wedding Ensembles, Claire Dacey of Simple Gifts and Annika Amstutz of The Rambling Kind.  And the only cake dives will be for a delicious sample from Frosted Swirl Cupcakes and Cakes by Amanda.  (Did I mention Amanda is giving away a free bridal shower cake for 50 guests?)
 
This year’s show will have dozens of great door prizes, gift bag goodies and giveaways including the grand prize of $500 off a pair of wedding rings from dmg Don Muller Gallery Inc. and the second prize from Pinch for a $250 gift certificate to the shop.  Plus, there will be complimentary carriage rides from Mainely Drafts Horse and Carriage, free coffee from Dean's Beans Organic Coffee, and the bar at Quonquont will be fully stocked and staffed.

In the fifteen years I’ve been involved (in one way or another) with wedding planning, I have never seen anything like Valley Wed.  I am proud to be the coordinator of this alternative wedding show, offering couples a place they can make personal connections with the best wedding pros around, and have fun while they’re at it. 
 
I hope you’ll join us for the show in October – please stop by my table to say hello! – or you can go online now to find profiles of our handpicked, locally-sourced vendors on our website.
 
Happy planning,
            Hannah

Enter Now for a Chance to Win Free Admission for Two
from The Republican and MassLive.com! 
Contest ends 9/30/16

Check out our feature in the totally redesigned and newly relaunched
Wedding Day Sourcebook Summer 2016

A note from Valley Wed Coordinator Rev. Hannah Grace of Grace Ceremonies.

I’ve met a lot of brides and grooms in my years as a wedding officiant, and before that, in a decade spent in small galleries selling handcrafted wedding and engagement rings.  But nothing could have prepared me for planning a wedding like my own marriage three years ago.
 
In the thirteen months from our engagement to the big day, I sweated and huffed and cursed my way through budgets, bridal magazines and those abundant wedding planning checklists.  Let’s just say I was not the most graceful bride-to-be. 
 
Plus, I was a DIY bride.  Invitations?  I designed them.  Flowers?  We bought them by the bucket to arrange ourselves. Favors?  Homemade jam.  Ceremony?  A dear friend officiated.  Table centerpieces?  Collected from a year’s worth of antique store finds.  Hair and makeup?  Well, you get the idea.
 
So what have I learned from all those brides and grooms, and from being one myself?  Planning a wedding is hard work.  Sure, it’s amazing, too.   After all, it is a blessing to be able to have a wedding, right?  And what more joyous occasion is there to commemorate? 

At least I was lucky to never lose sight of the “why” of it all…that I was joining my life to my beloved before our dearest family and friends and getting to celebrate with a gigantic, fabulous party.  
 
But it still is a lot of work.

Valley Wed is the kind of wedding show I wish was around when I was a bride.  If only someone had said, “Here, I’ve curated a small group of some of the best wedding pros in western Mass.  They’re awesome.  They will help you.”  If only I had known I could have my independent, DIY vision – to go my own way – but not have to go it alone.
 
When my friend Tiffany Hilton and I dreamed up Valley Wed in 2015, our motto was, “Not your average wedding expo.”  A potter in Florence, we first met when my husband and I selected Tiffany’s handmade dinnerware for our wedding registry. 
 
Nothing about that experience felt typical.  We went to her studio to pick out our own glazes in the exact shapes and sizes we preferred.  People got to talk to Tiffany when making their purchases and everything was thoughtfully packaged and delivered to us with a lovely, personal note after our wedding.
 
As an ordained Interfaith minister, I like to think that’s also true about the experience I offer couples.  I can honestly say that in all the years I’ve been a wedding officiant, no two ceremonies have ever been the same.  I have yet to meet two couples that are the same!
 
When it comes to Valley Wed, I‘m looking for other wedding pros like me; like Tiffany: local, independent entrepreneurs who both love and take great pride in their work.  They are folks who are deeply knowledgeable about their field and offer couples something truly exceptional. 

Valley Wed’s inaugural event last November was an astounding success.  Hundreds of couples attended and vendors could barely leave our tables long enough to scope out the show for ourselves. 

This year’s show is shaping up to be even better.  Quonquont Farm in Whately is hosting Valley Wed again on Sunday, October 16.  As if being one of the most beautiful and unique wedding venues in the area wasn’t enough of a draw, Quonquont’s farm stand will be open, as will their pick-your-own apple orchard.
 
I am excited to have so many stellar vendors return for 2016 including Tiffany Hilton who, though not a coordinator this time around, will be an enthusiastic supporter as well as tabling with her handmade pottery wedding registries.  And thanks to Hilltown Tents, the stone patio adjacent the event space will be tented so Valley Wed can welcome more new and emerging vendors as well.
 
A huge hit last year, Mainely Drafts Horse and Carriage will again give complimentary carriage rides drawn by their majestic Belgian and Percheron horses.  The bar at Quonquont will be staffed and free coffee will be flowing from Dean's Beans Organic Coffee. Plus, we'll have live music from Classic Wedding Ensembles, Claire Dacey of Simple Gifts and Annika Amstutz of The Rambling Kind.

One lucky Valley Wed couple will score our grand prize giveaway, generously donated by dmg {Don Muller Gallery, Inc}. of $500 off a pair of wedding rings.  Pinch is offering our second prize giveaway of a $250 gift certificate for their gallery in Northampton.

Other prizes include artisan olive oils and balsamic vinegars from Ellie’s Oils, a floral arrangement from Badger's Flowers & Co., a set of 4 logo coasters and pint glasses from Love & Perry, a gift card from Jackson & Connor, custom letterpress save-the-dates from Big Wheel Press, $100 off AG Ambroult’s Wedding Ring Workshop, a bridal shower cake from Cakes by Amanda, and a whole lot more!

Planning a wedding may still be hard work, but I couldn’t be more delighted to help make it a whole lot easier for couples in the Pioneer Valley and western Massachusetts.  I hope you can join us for the show in October, but even if you can’t, you will find profiles of our handpicked, locally-sourced vendors on our website. 
 
And it’s okay…you don’t have to thank me.  I’ve been there, after all.

Check out Valley Wed's cover story and two-page feature in The Republican's
Fall 2015 WEDDINGS magazine, written by Maureen Sullivan.

Featuring Valley Wed creators Tiffany Hilton of Tiffany Hilton Pottery
and Rev. Hannah Grace of Grace Ceremonies

Check out Valley Wed's four-page feature in The Valley Advocate
Fall 2015 I Do Wedding Guide, by Hunter Styles.

Featuring Valley Wed creators Tiffany Hilton of Tiffany Hilton Pottery and
Rev. Hannah Grace of Grace Ceremonies

Hilton agreed, adding that the “wedding industrial complex” can be a costly and intimidating machine. “We don’t want to be anything cookie-cutter,” she said. “We’re trying to network small businesses based in the Valley. Limousine companies, insurance companies, spray tan companies — those are all present at some wedding shows, but we don’t need feel we need them at our show.”

Instead, the vendors selected for this first Valley Wed distinguish themselves by providing a personal touch, whether it’s a custom-fit suit from Jackson & Connor in Northampton, a carefully cooked meal from Blue Heron Catering in Sunderland, a dress from Pearl Bridal Boutique in Holyoke, unique invitations from Big Wheel Press in Easthampton, or a wedding shoot by Sandra Costello Photography, to name a few.