Winterthur Provides a Dreamy Backdrop for a Summer Wedding

Friendship has made a difference for this local couple.

Photographs by Kerry Harrison Photography

For Monica Welsh and Andrew Buckley, friendship was the sturdy block on which they’d eventually build their love. Getting to know each other as students at Northeastern University in Boston, the pair didn’t start dating until after their senior year. “It naturally progressed,” says Monica, a Chadds Ford, Pa., native. “It just felt easy, especially since we were in the same friend group and we had a lot of prior history together.”

The two made it official nearly 18 months later, on July 20, 2019, hosting their ceremony and reception at Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library. It was a destination wedding for many of their friends and family members, so Monica wanted to showcase the region. “I really wanted Andrew and his family to come and experience it—to see where I grew up and where my roots are from,” she says.

And Winterthur was a great fit for their personalities and love of the outdoors. “Everywhere you turn is just this new magical place,” says Monica. “It just felt right.”

A wedding wasn’t the only big event for the couple that summer—they’d relocated to New York City just prior to their nuptials. “All the advice says don’t make two major life events in the same year,” says Andrew with a laugh. “We decided to do them in the same few months.”

After a whirlwind summer, the couple enjoyed a honeymoon in South Africa. Tying the trip into their wedding day, the florist found native South African flowers, which she wove into the groomsmen’s boutineers.