Laura Jackson and Peter Nalle have known each other almost their entire lives. They met in first grade at The Lovett School in Atlanta, and, in February of their senior year, Peter asked Laura on their first date. Come prom, it was official: Laura and Peter were together.
Nine years later, the two got engaged in Gramercy Park. “Peter told me to be ready for an early dinner at our favorite neighborhood restaurant, Union Square Cafe, followed by a Broadway showing of Moulin Rouge. As we were walking past the eastern entrance to Gramercy Park, he asked me if I had ever been inside. As he led me in, I was pretty sure the proposal was about to happen. Peter’s friend Katharine, who grew up on the park, kindly lent him a key for the special moment,” Laura recalls. “After I said yes, we made our way to Union Square Cafe where Peter surprised me with both of our families waiting there for us. There were no tickets to Moulin Rouge, but the next surprise was even better, as Peter had rented out a bar off Irving and all our friends were waiting there for us—including some who had flown in for the occasion. It was an incredible way to get engaged: first privately in a beautiful park and then surrounded by the people we love most.”
Laura, a shopping writer at Vogue, and Peter, a software investor, held a classic New England summer wedding in Northeast Harbor, Maine on Mount Desert Island. The idyllic rocky seaside coast, on the cusp of Acadia National Park, has long held a special place for the couple, as Peter’s family has summered there for five generations. “This August also marked the 10-year anniversary of my first trip there with him in 2014,” says Laura.
The weekend, which was planned by Augusta Cole, began with a welcome party at Windy Willows, the groom’s home. Laura wore a custom red-and-white gingham short set by Patricia Voto of One/Of. “I had the most fun with my welcome party look, playing into the kitschiness of the party and the preppiness that I love to lean into when I’m in Maine,” says Laura. “We were inspired by the retro silhouettes of the 1950s and Grace Kelly.” She accessorized her look with pearl earrings (a gift from her mother) as well as Khaite x Oliver Peoples sunglasses.
