Tagged with " ana parzych"
6 Jan
2011
Posted in: A Jubilee Event
By Candice    2 Comments

A Wedding Story: Jill + Joseph at the Boulders Inn in Litchfield County, Connecticut

On June 26th, Jill and Joseph were married at the First Congregational Church of Litchfield in an emotional ceremony, surrounded by their loving family and friends. I’m so excited to blog about this wedding as it truly touched all of us that were so lucky to be part of it. Jill and Joseph’s love was the kind of love you wait a lifetime for– having found each other later in life– they fell madly in love and built an incredible life together. They had a classic, new england wedding in blue and white. Simply perfect. Jill was also a peach to work with– she’s so kind, funny, thoughtful, and just loved planning every aspect of her wedding. She quickly became one of our favorite brides!

Jill contacted us a few months out from her wedding date to finalize all those important last minute details. She had assembled a wonderful team of local vendors: The Boulders Inn in New Preston, which is a stunning private hotel and restaurant overlooking sweeping views of Litchfield County and Lake Waramaug. Guests dinned on a multi-course dinner of delicious food and wine, complete with vodka shots as a nod to the bride and groom’s heritage. Their floral design of classic white and blue by talented and esteemed local floral designer, Loretta Stagen. Jill carried a bouquet featuring Lily of the Valley and white sweet peas with natural stems wrapped in lace matching her gown and bolero from The White Dress by the Shore. I absolutely loved her gown– simple, lace, with beautiful buttons up the back and a huge couture bow.

The bridesmaids (her sister and best friend) wore custom navy gowns by a local designer. The groom and his groomsmen (both his brothers) wore classic black tuxedos with ascots. The bride and grooms’ niece and nephew served as the perfect pair of ring bearer and flower girl (even though she had a hard time making it down the aisle– she couldn’t have looked any cuter!). After the ceremony, the bride and groom received all their guests outside the church.

Guests arrived at The Boulders with cocktails and a scrumpteous spread of afternoon hors d’oeurves. The Sam Vinci Band played great crooner music through out the day and into the evening. Jill and Joseph were introduced to their favorite Beatles song, and danced their first dance to “Secret of Life” by James Taylor. They even introduced their pup Henry, who was the most well behaved Beagle I ever met. He even had a pretty collar of flowers made for him– especially for the day!

Escort cards were placed on the elegant buffet table in the fireplace room on a beautiful silver tray. Dinner was composed of the most delicious food– course after course of beautiful and delightful dishes. Shrimp cocktail, Vischyssoises Soup, Filet & Lobster Tail, and my favorite– buttery bibb salad. The dinning room at The Boulders was decorated beautifully with clean white linens on a combination of round and long family style tables. Loretta Stagen created centerpieces with soft hues of white and blue, with white Majolica roses, scented white freesia and white phlox, light pink sweet peas and sky blue delphinium in square containers. There was plenty of candlelight, and clinking silver-rimmed glasses. Each place setting had a beautiful hem-stitched linen napkin and menu card by DK Schulman Design of New Preston– who created all the wedding stationery for the day.

At the end of dinner, they cut their magnificent cake by Ana Parzych Custom Cakes– a beautiful white, three tiered custom masterpiece with a clutch of lillies of the valley and satin bow, all inspired by the bride’s gown and bouquet. Ana also created a fun Red Sox themed grooms cake for Joseph– and miniature “guys” cakes in white boxes for all the male guests to take home (ladies took home chocolate engagement rings– so cute!). The night ended with dancing on the outside patio, overlooking the lake, to solo guitarist Ian Campbell. All the images below are by their talented photographer, Sarah Wight.

Thank you so much to SaraD for all these lovely images! An enormous thank you to Jill and Joseph for including myself and my team in their beautiful, emotional, and memorable day. We left feeling like family (I’m a Coppola after all!). Wishing you nothing but the very best in your life together. xo!

4 Oct
2010
Posted in: Announcements, Connecticut Events, Featured Posts
By Candice    2 Comments

Ana Parzych’s Custom Cakes on The Today Show!

{photography by Robert and Kathleen Photographers}

I wanted to congratulate our friends and neighbors, Ana and Garry from Ana’s Custom Cakes, for their recent feature on The Today Show’s “The Today Show Throw’s a Wedding.” Ana’s gorgeous cake was voted as the best among those designed for this amazing wedding by fans and peers. The cake she created was truly stunning, with four tiers of alternating flavors, adorned with hand-made sugar flowers. Just gorgeous!
Click here to see Ana present her winning cake the day prior to the couple, Melissa and Jeremy. Also check out Rob and Kathleen Trenske’s blog with some behind the scenes images and a story of the experience. Awesome!!

25 Aug
2010
Posted in: A Jubilee Event, Featured Posts, Weddings
By Candice    4 Comments

A Wedding Story: Allie & Jacob at the Old State House and Hartford Club | Hartford, Connecticut


You must wake and call me early, call me early, mother dear;
To-morrow ‘ill be the happiest time of all the glad New-year;
Of all the glad New-year, mother, the maddest merriest day;
For I’m to be Queen o’ the May, mother, I’m to be Queen o’ the May.


I have been waiting with baited breath to share this amazing, touching, thoughtful, and down right gorgeous may day wedding with you. It was just featured on Martha Stewart’s website and now we’re really excited to share the story of A&J, as captured by Amanda Herzberger of Orchard Cove Photography. But before we do– I need to caution you– their story is a STORY and it can’t be told in a few words. I promise you that the pictures are yummy and delicious, but the meaning behind them even more beautiful.

Allison and Jacob are the reason why I love my job so much. Not because they had a beautiful wedding with lots of sentimental and meaningful details— but because they are two amazing, lovely people with a once-in-a-lifetime kind of love story that we are so honored to share with you. To know Allie and Jacob is to know that first and foremost, they love each other. And I mean they love each other like Jack loved Rose, Richard Burton loved Elizabeth Taylor and Big loved Carrie. Yeah. It’s pretty major. Sometimes, they would write each other emails about how much they loved each other and forget that I was cc’ed on them. They are extremely creative, thoughtful people who wanted every aspect off their wedding to be a reflection of them, their lives, and their families. Allie and Jacob love Connecticut— and love the city of Hartford. They work here, are intimately involved in the community, and wanted to share our lovely rising star with their nearest and dearest, who flew in from all over the world to attend their black-tie nuptials.

They met while attending Middlebury College where Allie became the best of friends with Jacob’s sister, Jenny. Story goes, beautiful blond California Girl moves to the east coast for college and meets a handsome, studious boy from Huntington, New York… who immediately falls in love with her. She played hard to get, but finally, the two became a pair. After college, they maintained a long distance romance and wrote love letters to one another while they were apart. Not being able to stomach another moment away from each other, Allie moved to Connecticut where they settled down and started a new home in West Hartford.

The muse for Allie and Jacob’s day comes from the whimsy and jubilation of May Day. The dawing of Spring, where everything comes alive once again; the towering Maypole, with her fluttering ribbons. May Day is all about joie de vivre—and so is a Spring wedding. Allie was also inspired by a striking spode pattern from her mom’s china, which was displayed behind glass ever since she could remember. A few years before Allie and Jacob were engaged, Allie’s mom passed away to cancer. Growing up, her mom had this very special set of china that was only used for the most special occasions. Not on yearly holidays or special dinners with friends.. But REALLY special, once-in-a-lifetime kind of occasions where only the prettiest, most perfectly blue china would do. I guess you could say that in the grand list of occasions one has during a lifetime, Allison’s mom would consider the wedding of A&J as the specialist of all.

Allison and Jacob’s guests were asked to save the date with a beautiful, amazing, totally gorg save the date as designed by Cheree Berry (and our bride and groom, who were so closely involved in the paper process). Cheree is an incredible designer and put together the entire paper suite. Their save the date was a whimsical notice decorated with a maypole and the important deets, with the spode pattern blind embossed on the back. Their wedding day invitation suite was a tiffany blue edged, fanciful letter pressed art piece with lots of marvelous touches, including a passage from the may day poem above. Elizabeth Porcher Jones (our all time favorite Southern belle) was the calligraphy composer, with her light, breezy hand. All the interior envelopes addressed their guests by their nicknames, like Moo, Poopsy, and Jenny. Their guests sent back the most delightful responses— putting as much thought into their reply as Allison and Jacob had into the invites. One was even transformed into a watercolor— we LOVED looking through them!

The day began with Allie and her maids prepping in a suite at the Hartford Marriott with beauty by Jennie Fresa Beauty Library. Allie chose to wear a borrowed Vera Wang luxe gown (hereby referred to by name, which is “Holly”) as part of a sweet tradition started by her mom and god mom. When her mother Barbara married Allie’s dad, she wore her best friend Patti’s dress. And so, when Allie married Jacob, she wore Patti’s daughter’s (also named Allison) dress. It was a perfectly whimsical gown with a pleated ball skirt and springy details along the hem. Holly was paired with the daintiest veil and bolero from The White Dress by the Shore. Allie chose to wear special jewelry that was her moms, too. Her maids wore lovely floor length satin Vera Wang gowns. Shoes, of course, by Jimmy Choo.

Not to be outdone, Jacob wore a stellar tux with custom blue and white polka dot suspenders and bow tie… Perfect.

Allison and Jacob exchanged vows at place that makes my own heart skip a beat— The Old State House in Hartford. It’s such an architectural showstopper with it’s clean white trimmings, big windows with buttery light, and the giant gold chandelier. Allie and Jacob especially loved this location for it’s history and meaningfulness to the state of Connecticut. Plus, Jacob’s law firm overlooks the state house, so it’s an important piece of his daily life. Me? Well, it’s where I got married too… so I love it for all those reasons and more!

Guests arrive to the Old State House and were greeted by stunning details and décor. Allie had fabric made from the spode pattern, which were turned into fabric boutonnières and corsages for every guests. What would a black tie event be without a corsage or boutonnière? Paper lilies of the valley decorated the foyer, too. Their program was a beautiful die cut folded booklet (also by Cheree Berry) with all the important deets on the inside and little touches of romantic imagery through out.

Their ceremony was as emotional and tear-jerking as they come. In fact, Diana and I stood in the back corner and cried our little heads off, especially while they read their own vows to one another. Allie and Jacob decided not to see each other before the ceremony (which is so rare these days), so this moment of Allie walking down the aisle to Jacob with her dad was really extra special. Allie carried a gorgeous bouquet of peonies and garden roses alongside a very special hankie. Guests were surrounded with beautiful white hydrangea wreaths hung on the walls, sprigs of flowers tied with blue bows, and ribbon playfully attached to the backs of their chairs. The aisle runner was hand painted with a faint blue pattern of spode down it’s center. Perfect. Their chuppah was understated, but completely gorgeous, with blue ribbons cascading down it’s sides. The poles were tucked into big garden pots, bursting with moss and spring flowers. We had swags of boxwood garland to make the balcony above festive. Rectangular boxwood pots also sat along the window sills. Elisabeth from BLUSH floral design is responsible for all the incredible, amazing, stunning, and down right fairytale beautiful flowers.

So many details went into the ceremony, it’s hard to believe there could be more left over for the reception. When guests entered the The Hartford Club, where Allie and Jacob are members, they were not only greeted with a blue ribbon signature drink (yum! or so I hear), but also a towering maypole– also created by BLUSH and her talented team. Teacups and saucers in the spode pattern decorated cocktail tables, and a fun escort card display with calligraphy by Elizabeth Porcher Jones.

Guests wrote their wishes for Allison and Jacob and dropped them into a well.

We transformed the upstairs ballroom into a space fit for a may day celebration. Tables were bursting with whites, blues, and silver. Draped in a deep blue crinkle taffeta linen with stunning floral designs by BLUSH– big tall arrangements dripping with beautiful flowers in mercury glass vases, and lower arrangements all perfectly situated in spode tea cups, casserole dishes, fruit bowls… the list goes on. There were surrounded by candlelight and a bed of moss, flowers, and petals. So romantic. Cheree stunned us again with blue paper pennant flags which were leaping out of moss containers for table numbers, the prettiest menu cards detailing the evenings gastro delight, and a surprise waiting for guests beneath their antiqued silver charger. Ribbons in varying shades of blue danced along the backs of their silver chairs. We brought in custom lighting, draping, and even an amazing white dance floor that made the whole room take on a soft, white glow. Their cake, a five tiered white masterpiece, was the design of Ana Parzych. It had lily of the valley detailing along each tier, with a dainty cluster of lily of the valley sugar flowers on top.

The Hartford Club and Chef Kube served up an evening of spectacular spring inspired food— most notably delicious was a “leaf” of pasta (a special dish developed by the groom and chef). Yummy California wines (hand picked by the bride’s dad) and Champagne flowed through out the evening. The best man and maid of honor, both siblings to the groom, gave touching speeches all remarking on one common thing: how perfect Allison is for Jacob, and Jacob for Allison.

Important to them was not only the look, the food, and all the small details…. But also the party. Their band, David Clark and the Renegades, did NOT disappoint. As a matter of fact, they go down in history as having the best Bon Jovi rendition I’ve heard!

Jacob surprised everyone with a performance after dinner. In college, Jacob was part of an acapella group named “D8”, who serenaded our beautiful bride with a four-part musical and theatrical performance. It was outstanding— to say the least!!! Everyone absolutely loved it— myself included!

As the night came to a close, the Hartford Club passed the most yummy blue french macarons from Jerome Bouston with shots of milk. Could you not have a more perfect midnight snack? As guests left for the evening, they were given a Favors: Ben Wolff pot with borage seeds— which closely resemble our spode inspiration, but more importantly, are perfect for cooking (and in case you didn’t know, A&J also LOVE too cook and are quite good at it, too!).

And now.. on to the images.. all captured by the talented Amanda Herzberger of Orchard Cove Photography.






… and they lived happily ever after.

xoxo

Photography: Orchard Cove Photography / Planning: Jubilee Events / Floral Design & Decor: BLUSH floral design / Wedding Gown: Vera Wang / Maids’ Gowns: Vera Wang / Beauty: Jennie Fresa Beauty Library / Veil & Accessories: The White Dress by the Shore / Paper: Cheree Berry Stationery / Ceremony: The Old State House / Reception: The Hartford Club / Cake: Ana Parzych / Band: David Clark and the Renegades / Rentals & Lighting: Jubilee Events / Film: Vantage Point Films / Ceremony Musicians: Millennium Music / Macarons: Jerome Bouston / Favors: Ben Wolff Pottery

3 Jun
2010
Posted in: Creative Photoshoots
By Candice    3 Comments

A Modern Photo Shoot at the Loading Dock in Stamford, Connecticut

At the beginning of April I flew back into the US from Paris fired up about the incredible shoot I had collaborated on with Robert and Kathleen Trenske and Beth Chapman. I had a few days to switch out my luggage from cute Parisian clothes to long, flowy summer dresses as we geared up for our trip to Costa Rica! In between, we planned a Style Me Pretty Inspiration to Reality shoot. Yeah, I know– are we nuts or what?! In fact, we left the Style Me Pretty shoot and headed straight to the airport for Costa Rica!

I’m so excited to share this shoot with you, which was featured on Style Me Pretty in three separate posts which you can view here: part one, part two, and part three. It was an honor to put together this modern, sleek, minimal, citrus inspired shoot for our friends at Style Me Pretty. The caliber of shoots that they feature are incredible and we are so grateful to be among them! The inspiration board for our shoot was designed by Style Circle member Lena.

spring inspiration board challenge

I love this board– mostly because it is such a departure from my own personal style. We all loved the minimal feel of the board, the citrus and bold colors. We took that as our main source of inspiration and set out to design a shoot with our incredible team! Speaking of, here are the talented and creative folks who made this shoot possible:

Photography: Carla Ten Eyck Photography
Flowers: Datura: A Modern Garden

Event Design: Jubilee Events

Event Planning: Jubilee Events with help from 14 Stories

Model Styling, Dresses and Accessories: The White Dress by the Shore

Reception Location: The Loading Dock

Hair & Makeup: Dana Bartone & Co.

Catering: Jordan Caterers

Cake & Confections: Ana Parzych

Invitations: Gus & Ruby Letterpress

Shoes: Zappos

Furniture Rentals: Taylor Creative Inc.

Ring Bowls, Place Cards, Ribbon, and Thank You Notes: Paloma’s Nest

Edible Champagne Flowers: Wild Hibiscus

Tableware, Glassware & Chargers: Party Rental Ltd.

Our color story ranged from bright white to orange, green, yellow, with hints of pink. We were inspired by the chandelier at The Loading Dock and integrated some of that sparkle in beautiful details and accessories– like the gorgeous jewelry and accessories from The White Dress by the Shore. Dana Bartone, inspired by the sleek makeup and styling of the model in our inspiration board, created a beautiful bun for our bride Kate. I love how her hair is so defined and slightly retro! The bouquet hanging in the chandelier and held by our bride, Linsdsay, was made of white miniature phaelonopsis orchids with lily grass.

Paloma’s Nest created wooden thank you cards for our couple that doubled as favors. They were tucked in glass line envelopes! Our bridesmaid, dressed in a lemon shantung frock from Chic by the Shore, carried a bouquet of trachelium, aspidistra and fresh cut limes , created by Datura: A Modern Garden.

I had SO much fun designing this tablescape along with Tony of Datura. It was a real challenge for me, personally, but I absolutely love the crisp and modern outcome! We used a ghost table from Taylor Creative Inc., as the basis of our design. Tony created a STUNNING centerpiece of curly willow branches known as “the cyclone” that grew out of the table and into the ceiling of The Loading Dock. It was accentuated with shades of orange clementines, blood oranges, and sweet valencia oranges. Tony wove in eucharis orchid’s into the tablescape for a touch of femininity and a pop of white. Each place setting had an orange glass charger with white frosted place settings. We submerged white frill tulips into the champagne glasses (one of my favorite details!) and also used them to top our clementine place card holders, which were created using wooden rings by Paloma’s Nest.

The paper suite was created by Gus & Ruby Letterpress. They decided on a clean, minimalist design that made use of the bright citrus color palate and hard, architectural lines of the industrial venue in white, orange, and grey with a hint of green. The paper suite was completely letterpress, including the cute citrus elements that we garnished our drink display with!

Tony of Datura created a citrus garland for our brides made of clementines, blood oranges and limes. The second bouquet, carried by Kate, was made of wedding belle daffodils with aspidistra. The menu cards on our table, also by Gus & Ruby were letterpress in orange ink and noted the delicious menu, as crafted by Jordan Caterers.

The ring bowl, an intrinsic part of the inspiration board was also by Paloma’s Nest. It was edged in gold and had our couple’s initials inscribed on the face. Our maid, Kelly, switched from a papaya colored jewel necklace by The White Dress by the Shore and into a custom designed necklace by Datura made of green hypericum berry, amber and minature phaelonopsis orchids.

The white leather couch was from the furniture collection at Taylor Creative, Inc. Ana Parzych created the White Tahitian Vanilla cake layered with Passion Fruit mousseline. It was finished in swiss meringue buttercream and vanilla fondant. Ana created fondant-molded pearls and hand-sculpted sugar lilies.

Jordan Caterers created a menu based on our inspiration board with sea infused menu items such as seared tuna, shrimp, scallops, lobster. They infused citrus in both color and flavor of the entrees and our cocktail bar, made up of key lime martini’s and passion fruit prosecco. We submerged edible wild hibiscus into some of our cocktails, too!

The AMAZING silver shoes with flower embellishment are from Zappos.com… our absolute FAVORITE website for shoes!

And a few behind-the-scenes images of our lovely and delightful photo shoot crew! Thanks to all for your creativity and hard work. It was such a pleasure collaborating with you!

xoxoxo

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