WE SHALL BE WED By Chelsea Rose Moore Photos by Kristen Lynne Photography & courtesy of Marc Chretien
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arc Chretien’s vision for Mt. Defiance’s new cider barn was to build a venue for his daughter’s wedding. She dreamed of being married there, and he wanted to make it happen. His daughter, Colette Marie, is the founder and designer of La Fille Colette, a dress shop in Boston, and designed her wedding dress and nine bridesmaid dresses. She married Sam Duker, a Boston lawyer after four years together before tying the knot. “As a fashion person, lighting and aesthet-
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ics were important to her,” Chretien said. “We killed ourselves designing it and building it and doing serious lighting with her wedding in mind.” They hung some “serious” art on the walls, added sculptures on the property, and built a beautiful wood-burning fireplace, with a mantel made from a pre-Civil War, hand-cut beam. The barn is decorated with steampunk touches, a style close to Chretien’s heart. With 8,400 square feet and two floors, the venue comfortably seated 170 people for the wedding, with plenty of room for the dance floor. The walls are thickly insulated to make it nearly soundproof, so music will not disturb neighbors.
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Colette’s wedding contained fun and unique touches, including an outdoor oyster bar, an absinthe bar, a cider bar and five crepe stations. She wanted the wedding to be filled with personal touches, and in keeping with the cider theme, the place cards were in the shape of apples and the ginger cider made an appearance on the dinner menu in the form of a vinaigrette. Her wedding incentivized her father to finish the building on time and create a barn “that satisfied the needs for her wedding, as well as our business needs for a cider barn.” Her September 2017 wedding served as the barn’s unofficial opening. Defiance | Page 50