Real Wedding: Alexandra Gaudiani & Tracy Bjelland

August 8, 2015
Harvard Club of Boston
Boston, Massachusetts

Photograph by David Murray Weddings

THE STORY

Here’s what happens when a woman plans a proposal: She rents an oceanfront house in Malibu for the weekend, has fresh flowers delivered, hires a string quartet and an opera singer, and brings in a butler and a chef. Then said woman hands her beloved a flute of Veuve Clicquot and gets down on one knee on the balcony overlooking the Pacific.

That’s how it’s done.

“It was the second-best day of my life,” says Tracy Bjelland, whose then-girlfriend, Alexandra Gaudiani, popped the question in exactly that manner. The first? “My wedding.”

But it was a long and bumpy road to get to yes. When Tracy met Alex at a party at Harvard, she was a freshman and Alex was a senior. “It was definitely fascination at first sight,” Tracy says. “I didn’t know I was gay.” Yet, she admits, “there was something about her.”

They became friends but didn’t go on their first date until right before Alex graduated and moved to Los Angeles. When Tracy came to visit that first summer, both were noncommittal. “We needed a little more time to figure out if it was real,” Alex says.

The two continued to stay connected, though, even after Tracy finished school. Eventually they both knew they wanted to get married. “We just love being together,” Alex says.

Since both sets of their parents had met at Harvard, too, they thought it fitting that the next generation marry there. So they said “I do” at Harvard’s Memorial Church before letting loose at the Harvard Club on 8/8, a meaningful date. “The eights resemble two infinity signs,” Tracy says. “The same symbol, like us as two women.”

THE DETAILS

Photograph by David Murray Weddings

Tracy chose white cattleya orchids, which her mom frequently sends her, for her bouquet, while Alex opted for gardenias, her mother’s wedding flower.

Photograph by David Murray Weddings

“That first moment walking back down the aisle when you’re married, it’s a big feeling,” says Alex, whom Tracy calls her “best friend and partner in crime.”

Photograph by David Murray Weddings

“It was a sleek statement piece,” Alex says of her fitted Amsale crêpe dress with a sheer back.

Photograph by David Murray Weddings

Orchids were displayed in tall, cylindrical glass vases for a clean and modern look.

Photograph by David Murray Weddings

The Harvard Club’s high ceilings and ornate tiered chandeliers were underscored by dramatic purple uplighting.

THE FILE

Band Kahootz Entertainment
Brides’ Dresses Carolina Herrera (Tracy); Amsale (Alex)
Bridesmaid Dresses Alfred Sung, Bella Bridesmaid
Cake Sweet Tooth Boston
DJ Kupah James
Engagement Planner Kat Keane Weddings & Events
Flowers Lotus Designs
Hair and Makeup Demiche Beauté
Invitations Inviting Company
Lighting Boston Event Lighting
Menswear Saint Laurent
Officiant Reverend Libby Berman
Planner Nicole Simeral & Company
Wedding Bands Tiffany & Co.

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