Katie Carlin, who manages agency partnerships at HubSpot, and Jake Liebrock, founder and president of Commercial Drone Services, first crossed paths in Mrs. Murphy’s first grade class. “We don’t really remember each other, but Jake’s mother found our class photo a few years ago, and he happens to be standing directly behind me in our class photo!” Katie says. During their senior year of high school, he asked her out to ice cream, and after they graduated, he eventually transferred to her school in Ohio to be with her. 11 years later, he proposed at sunset on the Castle Hill Inn lawn.
For their #FirstGradeToFirstDance wedding, they naturally chose the exact spot where they were engaged. Her parents met in Newport, on her grandfather’s farm, and were also married there. “What drew me to Castle Hill was the fact that we were able to use the beautiful grounds yet still have the ability to create the exact look I had dreamt up,” Katie explains. “I wanted the design of the wedding to have a big personality and partnering with Laura from Fig & Squill Floral Design made that easy.”
Katie found her “Prosecco” gown from Sarah Seven at Ceremony Bridal Shop in Boston. Worried that the original off-the-shoulder design would restrict her dancing, she asked the tailor, at her final fitting, to replace the sleeves with spaghetti straps.
The most special detail of her look was the handmade veil, sewed by her grandmother with delicate floral appliqués. “She’s such an important part of my life, and it meant the world to me to have her hand sew every little flower on my veil,” the bride says. “I hope I have a daughter someday that can wear it.”
On the lawn of the inn, Katie walked down the aisle with her father to a string rendition of “Here Comes the Sun” to meet Jake under the gorgeous floral arbor. “I felt completely at ease and so excited to share my handwritten vows with Jake and say I do,” she shares. A favorite part of the ceremony was when their mothers read “Blessings of the Hands,” while tying the couple’s hands together. “I think it was pretty emotional for all of us!”
After sharing a first kiss, the newlyweds led everyone to the cocktail hour, where Aperol Spritzes and Prosecco were waiting. Around the property, wicker furniture was scattered for people to sit with their drinks, appetizers, and custom embroidered cocktail napkins with the couple’s wedding crest.
Under the tent for dinner, guests took their seats at white, apple green, and palm-printed tables with paper ball lighting and lush, tall ferns creating a tropical paradise atmosphere. The wedded couple made their entrance and had their first dance to “You Send Me” by Sam Cooke. Then Katie’s father kicked off speeches. “He was sure to give a Jake a hard time for waiting so long, saying that when he met Jake for the first time my mom was churning butter.”
At the end of the farm-to-table meal, the pair opted out of a wedding cake and went for Ben & Jerry’s ice cream instead. “This was Jake’s one and only request. Oh, and he also wanted to be sure that the Ben and Jerry’s employees were not dressed up like the rest of the staff,” Katie explains. “He was sure to call the week before to remind them to come in their OG Ben & Jerry’s tye-die shirts.”
After the reception, Katie and Jake hosted everyone at Clarke Cooke House on Bannisters Wharf in Downtown Newport. “It was truly the perfect end to the night at our favorite date spot in Newport,” Katie says. “The only hiccup of the day was not being able to find a ride home after closing down Clarke Cooke House. We walked a few miles before someone on a pedi cab picked Jake and me up and brought us back to the chalet at Castle Hill, where we spent the night.”
