Real Wedding: Sean Crawford and Robb Quirk
It was kind of a given that Sean Crawford and Robb Quirk would have some sort of aviation theme for their May 31, 2014, wedding. After all, the grooms, who met at an industry conference in Fort Lauderdale back in 2011, are both pilots: Robb flies for Alaska Airlines and Sean for corporate charters. “We met as pilots, almost all our mutual friends are pilots . . . it’s, well, our life,” says Sean. That being said, “We didn’t want [our wedding] to end up feeling like a kids’ birthday party,” he remembers with a laugh.
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No worries there. The talented Amy Cagginello of Amy Champagne Events in Milford helped Sean and Robb — who were living first in Chicago and then San Diego during the planning process — pull off a sophisticated ceremony and reception at Sean’s brother’s home in Weston with aviation-themed details that didn’t shout, but coolly whispered.
Witness: tables with navigation charts as runners were identified by airport codes instead of numbers, and there was a crisp white menu folded into a paper airplane with a pair of snazzy aviator sunglasses placed at each setting. Silver tones, sculptural florals and dramatic greenery from Fleurescent in Milford, “runway” lighting by Shindig Lighting of Bridgeport, and a mix of classic black-and-white patterns tied it all together. “We called the final look, ‘backyard chic,’” says Sean, with Robb adding that, “Everything worked out perfectly.”
Because you “can’t beat a live band for a wedding,” Robb and Sean hired Boch & Blu Music from Brookfield, whom they’d danced to at Sean’s brother’s wedding, to entertain the 100-plus guests who’d flown in from around the country to stand by their side. “It was amazing to see everyone we love there in one place,” remembers Robb.
Big fans of Elton John—they had seen him in concert in Vegas when dating (and gotten pulled onto stage by the Rocket Man himself!)—the guys chose to cut a rug to “Your Song” for their first number. Later, Sean even managed to survive the “Chicken Dance” being played at Robb’s insistence.
“We wanted the day to be about family,” says Sean—and the family they would now form. “Personally, I think 95 percent of our guests had never been to a gay wedding before,” he adds. “I wanted to show them that it’s just like any other wedding. It’s not about wearing a veil, not about walking down the aisle. It’s about two people who love each other.”
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