Real Wedding: Chloe Ingbretson & Alastair Dacey

February 24, 2018
Mombo
Portsmouth, New Hampshire

Chloe donned vintage Tiffany pearls and a pair of heirloom diamond earrings, while Alastair sported a 1930s silk top hat and a 1920s silk-crepe scarf from Brooks Brothers. / Photograph by Sasha Israel

THE STORY

Chloe Ingbretson and Alastair Dacey first met back in 2002, when Alastair—a portrait artist and a former Rhode Island School of Design attendee—began studying with Chloe’s father, Paul, an acclaimed oil painter. Although the pair remained casual acquaintances for nearly a decade, it seemed all but guaranteed that their relationship would eventually blossom into something more. “I always like to say there’s some precedent for young students being mesmerized by their mentors’ daughters,” Alastair explains. (“We were just carrying on tradition,” Chloe adds, with a laugh.) Clearly, they were onto something: After several years of happy courtship, Alastair surprised Chloe with a proposal during a picnic he’d planned at the Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site, in New Hampshire. “It’s a fond locale for us,” Chloe says, noting that she and Alastair shared dates there early in their relationship. This, however, was no ordinary visit: “Alastair had coordinated strawberry shortcake and champagne, and suddenly, out came the ring.”

For their nuptials the following winter, the couple looked at numerous venues before landing on Mombo, a riverfront restaurant near Alastair’s home in Portsmouth. After a music-filled ceremony at Middle Street Baptist Church, the newlyweds traveled by horse and carriage to greet loved ones at the cozy eatery, decked out with paper lanterns, romantic glass votives, and simple tablescapes with greenery. “There’s a festiveness to New England winter, if you do it right,” Alastair says. “We were playing off the holidays and what people enjoy about them.”

THE DETAILS

Photograph by Sasha Israel

As a nod to the bride’s love of reading and writing, the couple named their reception tables after “great houses of fiction,” Chloe says.

Photograph by Sasha Israel

Chloe purchased a faux fur for each of her bridesmaids, all of whom selected their own wine-colored gowns.

Photograph by Sasha Israel

Rough-hewn beams and exposed brick add character to Mombo’s dining room.

Photograph by Sasha Israel

The couple’s chocolate wedding cake featured mascarpone cream, fresh raspberries, white-chocolate cream cheese frosting, and edible gold leaf.

Photograph by Sasha Israel

“The pace of it slowed the moment down and allowed us to be very present,” Chloe says of the couple’s post-ceremony horse-and-carriage ride.

Photograph by Sasha Israel

Alastair’s father, Donald, a pastor, officiated the ceremony at Middle Street Baptist Church.

Photograph by Sasha Israel

The ceremony included performances by choral group Amare Cantare and pianist Paul Dykstra. “People felt like they were not only watching a ceremony, but being treated to a bit of a concert,” Alastair says.

THE FILE

Band Rhythm Future Quartet
Bespoke Bowties and Pocket Squares Rex Richards, Dryden House Stitching
Bride’s Dress Once Wed
Cake Beach Pea Baking Co.
Carriage Rockin’ Horse Stables
Caterer Mombo
Ceremony Music Amare Cantare; Paul Dykstra
Event Coordinator Vincant Davis, Mombo
Groom’s Attire Old as Adam
Invitation Printing The Laughing Owl Press Co.

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