Real New England Weddings: Amy Stucchi & Adam Candela

Photos by Meghann Gregory Photography

It was a hot pepper that brought Amy Stucchi and Adam Candela together. After a game of inter-office volleyball, the two ended up connecting at a bar, where Adam challenged Amy to a jalapeño-eating contest. She won. “We became friends from there, and it evolved into more,” Amy says. Four years later, after a day of snowshoeing in Vermont, Adam surprised Amy by proposing atop a mountain.

For their wedding, Amy was looking for a venue with a “rustic, elegant” vibe. “I really didn’t want anything too glitzy or glammy,” she says. “I wanted it to be our style.” The Barn at Gibbet Hill, with its weathered stone walls, wood-paneled interior, and views of Groton’s rolling hills, was the perfect spot. The homey menu—potato-crusted haddock with bacon-corn chowder, and chicken with twice-baked potatoes—also fit the laid-back vibe.

Amy and her mom spent the months leading up to the big day scouring antiques stores for décor elements, such as the green shutters holding the place cards and the burlap signs on the cake table. “It felt like every other weekend we were stopping somewhere,” she says.

While guests delighted in the thoughtful touches, Adam only had eyes for his bride. “Seeing Amy come down the aisle was the highlight of my day,” he says.

Amy chose pale-green J.Crew frocks for her bridesmaids. “I loved the color when I saw it in the store—it was kind of vintage-y, but also very springlike,” she says.