UNH acquaintances turned Southie neighbors, Olivia Giatrelis and Zach Mulkern tied the knot in Cape Cod with flowers flown in from Amsterdam and a band that kept guests dancing for three-plus hours.
Photo by Alex Paul Photography
For longer than they’ve known each other, Olivia Giatrelis and Zach Mulkern have been tied together by an “invisible string,” Olivia says. The two met around 2015 as students at the University of New Hampshire, but they were never more than friends. They reconnected in the fall of 2020 when Zach moved from Manhattan back to Boston and found that his friend was, by chance, neighbors with Olivia in Southie. Their first date at Empire, in the Seaport, involved sushi and lots of wine.
However, the couple’s ties go even further back. The two grew up in neighboring Massachusetts towns yet never crossed paths: Their childhood homes, Olivia’s in Norton and Zach’s in Mansfield, are just minutes apart. And during Olivia’s first year at UNH, she was a roommate of the sister of Zach’s best friend, Nolan Binney—the couple’s eventual wedding officiant. “It was literally fate that we’re together,” Zach says, “and it’s crazy it took so long.”
Zach’s carefully planned 2024 proposal on Martha’s Vineyard was almost jeopardized by warnings of a massive storm, but the weather on that August day turned out to be perfect. “I was really excited, because I’m a believer that the engagement needs to be a surprise,” Zach says. “It’s very difficult to sneak one past Olivia.” She was sufficiently surprised when he got down on one knee on the deck of a sailboat, surrounded by rose petals.
Photo by Alex Paul Photography
Olivia grew up spending summers on Cape Cod, and she always knew she wanted to get married there. After touring the first wedding venue on their list, Wychmere Beach Club in Harwich Port, the couple immediately canceled their other venue tours. “It’s one of the most gorgeous spots on the Cape,” Olivia says. The two wed in September 2025 in a seaside ceremony surrounded by more than 200 friends and family, followed by a high-energy reception and after-party. After so many small connections, what was once an invisible string is now the thread that has bound them together.
Photo by Alex Paul Photography
The Details
The Attire
Olivia donned a lacy, drop-waist Atelier Beccar gown from Flair on Newbury Street, and opted to add long lace sleeves for the ceremony. “The second I put on my dress, I was just like, ‘Wow, this makes me feel like a bride,’” she says. Zach wore a custom tuxedo with a cream jacket from 9 Tailors in downtown Boston.
Photo by Alex Paul Photography
The Flowers
“I honestly never thought I’d care about florals,” Olivia says. “But once we started talking florals, I was like, ‘flowers, everywhere.’” Instead of the nautical blue-and-white palette of a typical coastal wedding, they went for a garden-party vibe, with white, pink, and green hydrangeas spilling out of statement pieces on the bars and the head table. Boathouse Blooms, owned by Olivia’s family friend, had the flowers flown in from Amsterdam due to the time of year.
Photo by Alex Paul Photography
The Venue
Wychmere Beach Club’s layout allowed for an easy flow of wedding-day events: Moving from the ceremony on the waterfront lawn to cocktail hour on the veranda to the dinner and reception indoors was smooth sailing. “There was no momentum lost throughout the entire event, which is important to me,” Olivia says.
Photo by Alex Paul Photography
The Boat Ride
After the ceremony, Zach and Olivia slipped away to a boat, rented from Chatham Bars Inn, so they could make a grand entrance to the cocktail hour in front of all of their guests. The 30-minute boat ride offered just enough time to take photos and leave guests wondering where they were, but above all, it was “a really great time for us to just regroup and have a moment to ourselves,” Olivia says. Their favorite part of the day, Zach says, was “knowing that there were 200-plus people waiting for us, and we had nothing to do but just sit on this boat and laugh and smile with each other.”
Photo by Alex Paul Photography
The Cake
Dessert was a three-tiered lemon-flavored cake with raspberry filling and vanilla buttercream. The couple dug into it with a Vera Wang cake knife and cake server, engraved with their names and wedding date—gifts from Olivia’s mother. The custom cake tools were accompanied on the display table with Olivia’s own crystal champagne bucket and glasses.
Stax Ensemble from East Coast Soul. / Photo by Alex Paul Photography
The Band
The couple wanted a band that would motivate people to get on the dance floor, and Stax Ensemble from East Coast Soul delivered. “All the musicians were absolutely electric,” Zach says. “I think we were dancing for three-plus hours.”
Photo by Alex Paul Photography
The File
Band Stax Ensemble, East Coast Soul
Boat Rental Chatham Bars Inn
Bride’s Dress Atelier Beccar, Flair Boston
Cake I Dream of Jeanne Cakes
Catering Wychmere Beach Club
Content Creator Nicole Pallozzi Lerch, Love & Waves Socials
Flowers Boathouse Blooms
Groom’s Tuxedo 9 Tailors
Hair Taylor Carter, East West Salon Co.
Makeup Mehry Schmitt, Gloss Beauty + Bridal
Photographer Alex Paul Photography
Signage and Invitations Souly Co.
This story first appeared in the print edition of the August 2026 issue, with the headline, “Smooth Sailing.”
Photo by Alex Paul Photography
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