Like a scene straight out of "Gossip Girl," Vanessa Steckman and Michael Finger met as teenagers in the halls of a New York City prep school. But unlike any fling on the TV show, their relationship endured the test of time.

After a garden ceremony in the quaint town of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, where they now live and own a marketing and communications company, the newlyweds biked to their reception on the Piscataqua River. There, a palette of deep teal, vivid pink, and silver colored every detail, including the napkin rings and the candy buffet.

The "largest undertaking" for the bride, who's a graphic and web designer, was the stationery she created and letterpressed in hot pink, deep teal, and gray. Portsmouth’s lighthouse, where Mike proposed, adorned the RSVP cards.

Portsmouth-themed postcards with the weekend’s itinerary on the flip side were also tucked into the gift bags. Maps, sent out with the invitations, familiarized guests with the lay of the land.

Peonies, roses, and lisianthus in pale shades of pink make up Vanessa’s clutch.

Bridesmaids were free to wear any teal dress they wanted, but ultimately decided on the same Watters & Watters design. "Go figure!" says Vanessa.

Six-year-old Matthew, Mike’s brother, shows off a pillow stitched by Mike’s stepmom.

Neither time nor distance nor Hurricane Katrina (which stranded the pair in a room for four uncertain days) rattled Vanessa and Mike's eight-year courtship. The wedding finally happened on June 4, 2011, in a restored Victorian garden at the Strawbery Banke Museum in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

Variegated ivy, Italian ruscus, white spider mums, magenta peonies, and spray roses in both pale and fluorescent pink festooned the huppa.

Vanessa and Mike come in for a smooch. For the ceremony, the bride wore a satin cream bow with snap-on birdcage veil that was custom-made by ban.do design. She pulled off the veil for the reception.

Escort cards peek out from wooden shutters that Vanessa found in her florist’s basement and painted.

Tables were set with flower-filled jars and a sign bearing a Portsmouth neighborhood in lieu of a number.

To match the cheery drinks, Vanessa set out napkins in two color schemes during cocktail hour: gray with teal foil and pink with silver foil.

The cake’s exterior was modeled after a wedding dress, but inside it was all about flavor: chai batter with hazelnut filling, and chocolate with Baileys liqueur.

"I didn’t want to do the standard couple on the top of the cake," says the bride. So Jeanne Kalman of The Well Dressed Cake fashioned a sugar peony that ended up matching those in Vanessa's bouquet perfectly.

Friends and family autographed a teal guitar with a silver marker. It now hangs in Mike's office.

Rather than printing the couple's full names and wedding date on the drawstring gift pouch, Vanessa hid a subtle “M” and “V” in the stars on the Portsmouth banner. "I wanted the bag to be something people would actually use in the future," she says. Each one was filled with a chocolate starfish, New England whoopie pie, and bag of maple caramel corn, all locally made and sourced by Deborah Bouchard-Smith of Maine-ly New Hampshire.

Shutterbugs at the reception couldn't have asked for a more snap-happy moment than the sublime sunset, which even mirrored the day's palette.

Locations: Ceremony: Strawbery Banke Museum; reception: The Marina at Harbour Place

Wedding Coordination: Diana Johnson of Diana Ma Weddings and Events

Photography: Meg Hamilton of Rodeo and Co Photography

Flowers: Flower Kiosk

Stationery and Paper Goods: Giftable Designs (the bride’s company)

Cake: The Well Dressed Cake

Catering: Flavor Concepts

Calligraphy: Tuccicursive

Rentals: Be Our Guest

Tent: Sperry Tents Seacoast

Signature Drink Machine: The Margarita Man

Headpiece: Ban.do

Bride's Shoes: Something Bleu for Bhldn

Hair: Jenn Macek Conway

Makeup: Joya Beauty

Bicycles: Borrowed from Ale House Inn