A Napa Valley inspired bridal shower in Connecticut
I’m so very excited to finally share with you the amazing bridal shower that my mother, grandmothers and maids planned for me back in June. It was an incredible day filled with so many wonderful women. I wish I could relive that afternoon every Sunday!! My very good friends and wedding photographers, Robert and Kathleen, joined us for the day and snapped these fantastic images! The day was also featured on my favorite blog, Style Me Pretty, a while back too.
The shower took place at my grandparents home — which is over 100 years old. It is a great place where we spend many holidays and the most important of occasions. We had a fantastic June day too, and spent the first half of the afternoon out on the front veranda sipping wine and pellegrino. My mom made a delicious and refreshing sangria, and hand chose some great wines.
A lot of my favorite things were on hand… wine, cheese, delicious fruits, veggies, and my friends and family. I can’t really take any credit for the design, look, feel, or details of the day. That’s all my mom! She did such an incredible job! There were wine maps (that I did make… but that’s it!!) that told guests about the wine we were tasting from Napa, a jar for guests to recommend a vineyard for Mike and I to visit on our honeymoon, and lots of pretty signs explaining what guests were imbibing. These little touches are a great way to transform your party and do something unique and inexpensive.
The delicious menu was catered by one of our favorite local restaurants, Jesse Camilles in Naugatuck. Carla and Larry did an incredible job on the food. The menu was really light and inspired by the region: citrus grilled chicken, dill and yogurt salmon, and carpaccio. There were a variety of delicious salads to pair with the meats too (my favorite the baby spinach with goat cheese… yum!).
Nestled on the North side of the house was a variety of pretty dining tables. My mom created purple table runners and used flowy white linen on the tables. The gorgeous centerpieces were created by Lori of Flore. They featured a beautiful variety of flowers such as dahlias, purple calla lilies, green hydrangea, white roses, and purple grapes!! Are they not incredible? So beautiful! My mom had been collecting wine corks for the occasion and had them spread around as accents in various jars. I love that touch (and do it often as they make a great centerpiece). I just love all the purples, greens, white, and oranges. It’s so reminiscent of the region and all the colors we saw while we were out there.
The delish carrot cake was a design collaboration between my grandmother and the talented folks at Let’s Eat Cake.
Guests took home red velvet cupcake lollipops, all hand made by my maid of honor and bestie, Corine. They were so delicious! Something even more incredible and awesome was the fact that Corine has started her own business crafting these and other yummy confections. Check her out: lovely-lollies.com.
What an incredible bridal shower — incredible day! Thanks for letting me share. Hopefully it inspires you to do something personal and unique for your friend or daughter’s bridal shower.
xoxoxoo
Ode to Thanksgiving, Vol. #2 Decor & Details
My google reader is buzzing with a lot of creative touches to enhance the Thanksgiving holiday. I wanted to share some!
The above detail board from The Party Dress. I love when I sit down to a table and there is a place card. Love the ribbon around the napkin, too.
The above dessert tablescape is by the talented Amy Atlas. Look at the details! The table is dripping with yumminess, like burnt butter poundcake, caramel and sugared pears, apple cider, and pumpkin figs. How do you traditionally display your holiday desserts for guests? Most of us bring them out after dinner and serve them in the dining room. Wouldn’t it be an amazing surprise to put something detailed like this to display them?
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How is your tablescape for these years feast shaping up? Are you doing anything special or unique? We’d love to hear!
xoxo
Liz + Jayson = Mr. & Mrs. Tobias | Maritime Aquarium, Norwalk Connecticut
Liz and Jayson were married on July 11th, 2009 at the Maritime Aquarium in Norwalk, Connecticut. They were surrounded by so much love and support and celebrated their union with their loving family and friends. The Maritime Aquarium is a special place for them — it is the site of their third date. I loved being a part of Liz and Jayson’s wedding which was filled with so many unique and meaningful touches.
Robert and Kathleen Trenske spent the entire day documenting their love story. The day began with Liz and her ‘maids getting ready at their gorgeous apartment in Norwalk. The guys were somewhere close by fluffing their collars and added on their cuff links.
Liz had the most gorgeous wedding gown. I was so in love the first time I saw it at one of her fittings! It was so delicate with lace, a bit of sparkle, and swiss dot fabric. What made it even more beautiful was Liz herself — she just beamed every time she put it on. It was a true testimonial that the woman makes the dress. Look how radiant she is! I absolutely love this photograph that Rob and Kathleen captured of Liz’s mom putting her veil on. Can’t you see the excitement there?
Once Liz and her ‘maids were all ready she went outside into the center courtyard to meet her groom. Their first look was filled with so much emotion!
After it was on to the ceremony at the Maritime Aquarium in Norwalk, Connecticut. Liz’s bouquet was filled with white Calla Lily’s and little sea shells that my good friend, Elisabeth from BLUSH floral design, created. I created their wedding day paper, include their blue and silver programs. It detailed their love story and the significance of the Aquarium and also explained the various parts of their Jewish ceremony.
As guests began to arrive, Liz and Jayson held their Ketubah signing ceremony nearby. Surrounded by their parents and closest friends, along with their Rabbi, it was a beautiful ceremony. Once complete, it was time to head down the aisle! We took them through the inner workings of the Aquarium to smuggle them away from guests’ eyes.
The ceremony location inside the Aquarium is actually the cafeteria. I know. Hard to believe, right? Elisabeth from BLUSH created this AMAZING chuppah out of flowy white organza fabric and tightly arranged white hydrangea and carnations. It was the most gorgeous chuppah I’ve ever seen! When we set out to design something for this space I loved the contrast of the white against the brick, wood, and metal. The chuppah really stands out and looks so romantic and dreamy. Elisabeth scattered some rose petals and we lined each window sill with a ton of floating and votive candles to add to the romantic glow of the room. It was heavenly!
Their ceremony was so touching. Jayson sang “Grow Old Along with Me” to his bride! One of my favorite moments, that I simply have to share, was right before the ceremony as the processional was ending. It was just me and Liz at the bottom of the staircase. As the music changed to U2, “All I Want is You”, it was time for her to go. She looked at me and took my arm and said, “Oh my god Candice… this is really it!!! It’s here!!” I get all emotional thinking about it!! It was such an incredible moment for me as their coordinator and reaffirms how honored and privileged I feel to be so intimately involved in my couple’s wedding day. Truly a moment I’ll never forget!
After the ceremony Liz and Jayson joined their guests for cocktail hour. Guests mingled up the pathway of native fish tanks, shark tanks, and lots of sea critters and creatures. We had passed wine and champagne with yummy and delicious food from Phillip Stone Caterers. Can you imagine sipping champagne and watching the sharks circle around their tank? It was so unique!!
Some details from their reception: Elisabeth from BLUSH used three different style arrangements on the tables — one with beautiful white flowers, another with white flowers submerged in cylindar vases with blue sea glass and candles, and another arrangement of a hurricane vase filled with sea glass and candles. I love the combination! She created a fun escort card display of silver painted fish netting, blue sea glass, and flowers. Jubilee created the escort cards out of hand drawn vintage fish on pretty blue card stock.
Their friend, a graphic designer, and created this fish monogram for their wedding. We used that monogram on a ton of fun paper items, like custom cocktail napkins, their programs, favor tags, save the dates and invitations. It was a fun way to tie it all together!
Their favors were Hawaiian sea salt in metal tins, tied with silver ribbon and a favor tag. Their cake was a gorgeous, modern two-tiered blue fondant cake from SoNo Baking Company. They purchased the cutest little fish bowl cake topper, too!
Liz and Jayson’s reception was fun, delicious, and emotional! Their friends and parents gave touching testimonials of their relationship and good nature. Liz and Jayson really are one of the nicest couples I’ve had the opportunity of working with. They danced the night away with friends, celebrated the hora, and ended the evening with one final dance.
Big thank you to Robert and Kathleen Trenske for capturing the essence of their day and allowing me to share the photographs with you!
Thank you SO much Liz and Jayson for allowing me to become a part of your history. It was such an honor and a pleasure working with you!! xoxo
Vintage French Inspired Photoshoot with Carla Ten Eyck, Part II
To recap from my previous post, a few weeks ago I had the pleasure of working with Carla Ten Eyck for her September Ten Eyck Tuesday. To view the first portion of this shoot check out my previous post, here! I collaborated with Elisabeth of BLUSH floral design and Beth Chapman of White Dress by the Shore on the color story of teal and pink. All the hair and makeup was done by the talented and super amazing Dana Bartone & Co., who are responsible for making almost ALL of my brides gorgeous on their wedding day (me included)!! My studio roomie Thomas Morlock of Vantage Point Films also shot the entire event from his viewfinder. He ate all the cake AND drank all the champagne!!!
Soo… is Signature Event Rentals not awesome? Their furniture totally made our tablescape go from cool to incredible. I loved their white dining table and we decided to use their Alice Pop hot pink chairs, mixed in with the white padded, clear backed. Elisabeth created a series of beautiful and simple pink arrangements down the center of the table in vintage milk glass containers… gorgeous!!
Party Rentals Ltd in Greenwich and New Preston supplied the hot pink glass chargers and some of the dinner plates. We also used their gold rimmed wine / champagne glasses and gold flatware. All the other pieces are vintage china (lots of limoges), including the tea cups and saucers, white/gold dinner plates and the aqua soup bowls are all courtesy of my friend and etsy shop owner, Jen. Check out her store, Jen’s Closet!
I added little bottles of Moet at each place setting and floated white raspberries in each champagne glass (they were yum!). The beautiful art deco napkins came from this fabulous antique store in Seymour, Connecticut called Yesterday’s Luxuries. They are made of linen and are so delicate and beautiful! Definitely a set of keepers.
Thanks to all the awesome vendors who contributed to the shoot! You can see more of it here on Carla’s blog!
xoxox
Vintage French Inspired Photoshoot with Carla Ten Eyck, Part I
A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of working with a lot of my absolute favorite people on a photoshoot with Carla Ten Eyck for her September Ten Eyck Tuesday. I collaborated with Elisabeth of BLUSH floral design and Beth Chapman of White Dress by the Shore to come up with a unique and fun color story in teals and pinks. All the hair and makeup was done by the talented and super amazing Dana Bartone & Co., who are responsible for making almost ALL of my brides gorgeous on their wedding day (me included)!! My studio roomie Thomas Morlock of Vantage Point Films also shot the entire event from his viewfinder. Plus, he drank all the champagne.
For those of you who don’t know, Carla runs an amazing workshop for photographers once a month where she spends an entire day shooting, educating, and discussing her artform. I’ve attended two Ten Eyck Tuesdays and Carla is amazing!! If you are a photographer in the area (you should travel here if your not!) I highly recommend Carla’s workshop. They are so thorough and detailed. Plus, Carla puts the sass in sass-a-frass.
The location for the shoot was really awesome. The building is an interior designer’s dream, full of lots of shops from furniture to lighting. We took over a blank industrial space with nothing except a few sheets of unused drywall laid up against the wall.
This gorgeousness is all courtesy of Carla and Beth Chapman of White Dress by the Shore who dressed and styled our gorgeous models. Don’t you just LOVE this short wedding gown and feather hair fascinator? It was so delicate and pretty in person! I could have played dress up for hours with all the amazing accessories Beth brought.
That gorgeous, vintage pink bouquet is by the equally talented Elisabeth of BLUSH floral design. I love Dan’s peacock feathered boutonniere. Can you see the peacock feathers tucked into Mandie’s bouquet? Check the neck collage of images!
Pretty gorgeous, right? The furniture is from my FAVORITE rental company, Signature Event Rentals, who are responsible for most of the awesomeness you see. That gorgeous white couch? The clear-backed and hot pink dining chairs?! The leather tufted wall panels?!?! The WHITE dinning table?!?!?! Yeah, they pretty much rule. They’re the best, hands down, and we LOVED having their furniture at the shoot!
Elisabeth created a bed of tightly arranged hot pink carnations for our escort cards, which were pennant flags that I made and hand wrote in gold ink. Antonia from Flower upon Flour blew us away with her tasty little gold petit fours with the hot pink fleur de lis… but the pièce de résistance was definitely her INSANE cake!!
Antonia and I had discussed the color story and inspiration behind the shoot… and when she showed up with this…. we were like… seriously?! A teal cake with a gold birdcage on top and hot pink feathers?!
…. up next, our table and some other fun stuff!
xoxo
Matt + Kim = Mr. & Mrs. Uccellini: Saugatuck Rowing Club, Westport Connecticut
Matt and Kim were married on May 30th, 2009 at 2:30 in the afternoon at the Assumption Church in Westport, Connecticut. Immediately following, guests enjoyed a gorgeous preppy and nautical inspired fete at the Saugatuck Rowing Club in Westport. Kim and Matt were an amazing couple to work with! At our initial meeting I knew we’d be a good match — they wanted a preppy, tailored, and nautical wedding in blue and yellow with pops of red.
The day began with Kim getting ready at her apartment with her parents and bridesmaids. Kim had her makeup done by the talented artists at Naomi’s Makeup Studio out of West Hartford. Kim wore a gorgeous and simple Matthew Christopher satin gown with an elbow length Mantilla Veil, purchased at Bridal Trousseau on Main in Branford. Her bridal bouquet (by Peter’s Wholesale Florists in Stamford) was made up of white peonies, yellow ranunculous, and white hydrangea wrapped in yellow and white polka dot grosgrain ribbon. It was absolutely stunning!
Matt and his Groomsmen spent the later morning and early afternoon having lunch at his parents house. They wore gorgeous seersucker jackets from Brooks Brothers with a navy brooks brothers tie and khakis. The groom wore a head of ranunculous as his boutonniere and his groomsmen wore a single yellow rose. The flower girls and ringer bearer were all Matt’s nieces and they wore the most darling little red and yellow polka dot dresses!
After their beautiful ceremony at Assumption Church in Westport, Matt and Kim went to the spot that was very meaningful and sentimental to them. A place where they spent many nights watching the sun set as a couple. They love Combo Beach in Westport and try to visit at least once every weekend during the summer months. Her love of rowing and his love of the water really drew them together. After the ceremony, Kim took off her gorgeous veil and pinned a fabulous little white flower in her hair. Doesn’t she look STUNNING?
The reception was held at the Saugatuck Rowing Club in Westport. The views? Stunning. It was obvious to them that it was the perfect location, which would marry her love of rowing and his love of the water. Guests were greeted on the blue slate patio overlooking the Saugatuck River and the docks that lead out into the water. They enjoyed Matt and Kim’s signature cocktail, the Pimms Cup, served from large sea glass canisters into high ball glasses which were garnished with a lemon wheel, cucumber spear, and a seersucker swizzle stick. Heaven.
The tablescapes were gorgeous and filled with SO many details. We used navy linen as a base, and brought in beautiful beechwood chiavari chairs with white pads from Party Rentals, Ltd out of Greenwich. Centerpieces were of one tall, french galvanized bucket filled with white peonies, ranunculous and hydrangea. They were fluffy and tightly filled — so gorgeous! There were three satellite arrangements of yellow and white gerbera daisies in smaller galvanized buckets. Each bucket had the same yellow and white polka dot grosgrain ribbon from Kim’s bouquet wrapped around them. The taller, french galvanized buckets had thick red grosgrain ribbon.
Each place setting had a rattan charger with an accompanying blue polka dot plate and clear glass saucer for the chilled gazpacho, all rented from Party Rentals, Ltd. Their navy napkins were rolled and tied onto them was a menu “tag”, which we created in the round. It had a seersucker boarder and a cute little yellow grommet, tied together with white grosgrain ribbon. Each guest received a cute little galvanized bucket filled with red swedish fish. We created red and blue favor tags with lyrics to their first dance song by U2 and tied it on with red grosgrain ribbon.
Each table was named after a New England town that held special significance to the bride and groom. Places like Westport, Newport, Nantucket, Block Island, Bar Harbor, Mystic…. we even inserted the GPS coordinates of each location onto their table sign. A fun little detail we carried through out the event — like on the custom stamp we made for their invitations!
Guests dinned on chilled gazpacho, surf and turf with filet mignon and lobster tail with steamed red potatoes and corn on the cob. There were even toothpicks on the table for pickin’ corn out of your teeth! The entire event was catered by the Club’s restaurant, Riverview Restaurant. Chef Danny and his team did a fabulous job!
Their delicious cake was made by Sweet Cakes out of Fairfield, Connecticut. Suzette did a fabulous job bringing Kim and Matt’s vision to life. The guests REALLY enjoyed the cake and complimented on how delectable it was! We displayed escort cards on a red linen wrapped cork board with some retro metal pushpins. It was perfect! We also had custom napkins, swizzle sticks, and coasters made for the event. The beautiful calligraphy was done by Lisa Ridgley of Pen and Ink Calligraphy out of Westminister, Maryland. I LOVE Lisa. She is so good to our brides and does AMAZING work! One of the little details I loved most about this wedding that you may not be able to notice was the lowercase letters we used on everything — even their yellow monogrammed letters that were tied to the back of their chairs. When I think preppy I think kate spade and j. crew, so we channeled some of their branding. A little detail that goes a LONG way! In lieu of a traditional guest book, guests also signed rowing oars. They also dropped their cards in a lobster trap.
Guests danced the night away to music provided by Jim Nuzzo of Dance to the Music Entertainment. He did an AWESOME job! Photographs are courtesy of Kelley and Todd Whittaker (website coming soon). Matt and Kim made their grand exit via a sparkler send off and rounded out the evening across the street with their family and friends, sipping Margareta’s at Vivas!
The day was captured on video by Matthew Fink of Digital Media Odyssey. He already has their teaser trailer up! Check it out below!
Kim and Matt Teaser Trailer from Matthew Fink on Vimeo.
Thanks Matt and Kim for letting us share in your SPECTACULAR day. It was a pleasure designing your event and working with you.
Dagney + Michael = Major & Mrs. Stone: Oxford Airport, Oxford Connecticut
Dagney and Michael were married on May 16th, 2009 at Calvary Church in Trumbull, Connecticut in a moving ceremony filled with personal touches and a lot of song! Their reception was held at Oxford Airport, in Oxford Connecticut in one of the working hangars. It was truly spectacular! But before we delve into the details of their one-of-a-kind event, here is their incredible love story.
They met after being matched up on eHarmony. They were two pilots who had individual loves of aviation, they hit it off from the start. Dagney grew up flying planes with her Dad and Michael is a pilot in the military. Their love of planes and their faith brought them together. Michael actually proposed in an airplane as he flew them to a celebratory dinner. One word to describe that: amazing! I think you’ll be hearing me say that a lot about this wedding.
When Michael & Dagney contacted me in January to help plan and coordinate they had one idea – they wanted to be married in an airplane hangar. If you knew them and their families (with long aviation history) it was a no brainer. People may have said it couldn’t be done, but they had an incredible set of people helping them to pull it together.
The event was catered by emily’s catering, where guests dined on a duet of chicken and salmon with delicious vegetables passed around the table family style. They had the most incredible band, The Joe Holmes Swing Band from Norwalk, Connecticut. They LIT UP the hangar and provided throw back, 1940’s war time sound. They were nothing short of amazing! Bouquets and floral centerpieces were provided by Flore Floral Design in Southbury, Connecticut. The cake was provided by a family friend, Crystal, who did an incredible job! Lastly, the event was captured by very good friends of Jubilee, the talented group at Robert & Kathleen Photographers. They did an amazing job of telling the story of how Dagney & Michael’s day began and ended. Finally, Jubilee Events (that’s us!) coordinated and planned the event. Big thanks to Style Me Pretty who featured this event (before we even did!) in their Friday edition. Thanks Abby and Eddye!
The day began with the bride getting ready at her parents’ home with her maids.
She wore a gorgeous dress by Maggie Sottero and her mother’s vintage 1960’s veil which was cathedral length. Believe me when I tell you it was magnificent!
The ceremony was held at the Bride’s church in Trumbull, Connecticut. Dagney walked down the aisle first with her father, and turned around to face the church doors while she waited for her groom to come and receive her. It was very moving and unique!
After the ceremony guests waited outside for the sabre arch. They dashed into an awaiting black towne car and off they went to their amazing reception!
Their reception was held at Oxford Airport in Oxford, Connecticut. I think everyone, guests and vendors alike, were overwhelmed with how awesome it was to be celebrating in a working airplane hangar, surrounded by 7 planes. Dagney and Michael had a vintage 1948 Beech D-15S flown in especially for the occasion. It was gorgeous and the perfect centerpiece to their event. We positioned it, along with two other planes, behind the The Joe Holmes Swing Band and black and white checkered dance floor.
When guest arrived to the hangar they were greated with fabulous hor’dourves and cocktails from emily’s catering. They were invited to look at photographs that documented the couple’s families aviation history, sign their handmade wooden propeller, and grab their boarding pass which promised to take them to an amazing location that was significant to the couple. Each table was assigned a gate number for the guests to fly out from.
The tablescape was dreamed up by Dagney’s mom, who loves to dress up tables! Her and I worked together on the design, but all the credit goes to her. They really loved a family style table setting and wanted something unqiue, so we used rectangular tables instead of round or square. They had custom yellow overlays made to bring in a pop of color, and we brought in stone slabs to pay homage to their new last name (Stone). Sitting atop each stone slab was a floral centerpiece by Flore Floral Design. Filled with spray roses, ranunculous and other yellow and white flowers arranged in a glass pedestal vase. The centerpieces were flanked by hand cut lilacs in silver mint julep cups and tall fluted vases with hand cut branches, both of which Jubilee Events arranged. It was really breath taking!
The cake was lovely — white buttercream with green scroll work and their monogram on the second tier. It was decorated with pretty yellow roses and sat on top of a fun green poodle linen that Dagney’s mother picked out. It was simply gorgeous with one of the planes as a back drop!
They danced their first song to At Last by Etta James, as sung by their good friend Ana. It was extremely romantic! Guests danced the night away to big band 1940’s war era songs preformed by the The Joe Holmes Swing Band, who I can’t stop raving about. They were amazing!!
Their final exit came about a half hour before the soiree ended. Originally they were to fly out, but because the fog was so thick and bad, we had to come up with a Plan C. Dagney’s father has a vintage 1967 porsche and they used that as their get away car. We opened up the hangar doors and invited all the guests to join us outside on the ramp. Bubbles were passed out on silver trays as we got the bride and groom ready for their final exit. With the car in position, they made their way outside and into the awaiting car. It was quite emotional! My favorite image from the night is above. Robert and Kathleen really captured the day so perfectly; their images are amazing. We loved working with them!!
Dagney and Michael — we wish you all the love, joy and happiness the world has to offer. It was an amazing experience that I am so proud to be apart of!
Spring Centerpieces from Blush Floral Design
I spied these really gorgeous spring arrangements on Blush Floral Design’s super fabulous blog the other day and wanted to share! Elisabeth has such amazing style and I love everything she creates. Major talent! I love the lilacs — they are my favorite flower and so in bloom right now. I love when you drive down some of our country roads with the window open and you can smell them!
A Preppy Spring Inspired Tablescape: Yellow, White & Black
Last month Abby of Style Me Pretty asked all her Little Black Book vendors to dream up and create a DIY capable tablescape for her readers. I love any opportunity to dress up a table and quickly went to work on a simple Spring design using common household items. This tablescape was featured here!
Yellow has become my new FAVORITE color. I’ve become so inspired by it and now have a ton of new yellow cardigans, shirts and dresses. It has even worked its way into the redecorating of my living room this weekend! I love is cheery disposition and ability to brighten every room. The color yellow was my inspiration for this design and I set out to find all the pieces!
I didn’t have to look far — I opened up my pottery closet where I store way too many platters, dishes, and glassware. I pulled out items that we all have — a white cake stand (by Martha Sewart), some standard household vases (no doubt purchased at homegoods), and some vintage glass coke bottles passed down to me by my mom (a flea market or tag sale find, I’m sure). Real simple stuff, nothing super fancy, expensive, or unique. I knew I wanted to use these items but didn’t know what to put in them.
I took a drive over to one of my favorite florists, Flore in Southbury and asked the owner, Lori, what she had chilling in her cooler. Here is what I purchased on the fly:
1 stem white hydrangea
1 stem green hydrangea
1 ½ dozen circus roses
1 bushel of fancy yellow tulips (5 total used)
2 football mums
3 stems white lisianthus
Total Price: $60 wholesale
On my way home I stopped by the local fabric store to find something for our table runner. I spied some really gorgeous eyelet fabric and walked out with three yards (which proved to be a bit too much, but excess is always best!). I also popped over to the craft store and grabbed some yellow 8.5×11 heavy card stock (for the “charger”) and lacy inspired corner punch. Last stop: the dollar tree, where a good bargain is hit or miss. Fortunately they had some pretty yellow pillar candles and I scooped up two.
I had previously designed the menu card, which you can see, once I had decided on my color scheme. My inspiration for the menu was certainly my kate spade black and white tidbit plates, which I also incorporated into the tablescape. I love those plates! I had the menu cards them from a 8.5×11 sheet of standard white card stock and used this particular corner punch to add a little femininity.
After I had purchased my materials it was only a matter of putting it together. No one ever comes home with all the right ingredients and has a perfect centerpiece — there was a lot of playing around, new ideas, eliminations, and additions. In the end, this is what I came up with in about 20 minutes after focusing my ideas. I love it! After I was finished photographing it in my home studio, it graced our dining room table for the week.
Our tablescape can translate into any event and would look gorgeous at a wedding, mother’s day brunch, bridal shower, baby shower, or any other special occasion. You can dress it up, down, and adjust the formality pretty easily.
Real Connecticut Wedding: Lisa & Marc in Greenwich | Part IV
So I am in love with Lisa & Marc’s purple and lavender reception. Purple is such an underused color and I love when brides use it (particularly because it is one of MY wedding colors!). L’escale added the perfect backdrop of elegance mixed with Parisian food. I love the white birch tree used to hold the table numbers (which are written in french), and the dainty silver chargers. The centerpieces are so lovely too, with lavender roses, white hydrangea and ranunculus.
For favors, Lisa and Marc gave out customized Hershey’s kisses in purple and chocolate covered pretzels. Yum! Guests filled up white craft bags that were personalized with the letter “L”, their monogram, which was carried through out.
Their three tiered wedding cake was covered in a beautiful lavender fondant with white sugar flowers and their monogram. Love it!
Stay tuned for more from Lisa & Marc’s reception!
The Vendors
Photography by the uber talented Robert and Kathleen Photographers; The bride wore an amazing gown by Alvina Valenta as did her bridesmaids. The bride’s hair and makeup was done by Dana Bartone; their purple and white floral designs were provided by E.T. at Hot Petunia ; the ceremony and reception was at the Delamar Hotel and catered by l’escale restaurant, located in Greenwich, Connecticut; their delicious cake was compliments of Sweet Lisa’s Exquisite Cakes, located in Greenwich, Connecticut.
Part of the Real Connecticut Wedding: Lisa & Marc series
- Real Connecticut Wedding: Lisa & Marc in Greenwich
- Real Connecticut Weddings: Lisa & Marc in Greenwich | Part II
- Real Connecticut Weddings: Lisa & Marc | Part III
- Real Connecticut Wedding: Lisa & Marc in Greenwich | Part IV
- Real Connectict Wedding: Lisa & Marc in Greenwich | Finale
Inspiring Spring Tablescapes
I think all of us are over winter, and what better way to remind us of what is to come than a little spring tablescape inspiration! All these tablescapes are not only colorful and spring ready, but they incorporate fun vessels like painted tin cans, vintage egg cups, bud vases with chandelier crystals, and green depression glass drinking cups. I also love all the mercury vases and candle holders used in the fifth picture… so timeless and romantic!
Real Connecticut Wedding: Ashley & Mark | The Details & Reception
I love brides who roll up their sleeves and get involved in the process of creating for their wedding. Nothing is more amazing than when a bride hand crafts her invitations from scratch. Ashley did just that when she created these thoughtful and amazing invitations for her wedding! I love how the story of how they came to be unfolds in the invitation. You can see how much time and thought they put into designing them and she did such a wonderful job!
Ashley decided to make her own invitations when she couldn’t find what she wanted. She researched paper and ordered samples over a series of three months. She hand folded the accordion style invitation, cut and glued the printed cardstock and pictures on each panel. The final touches were the ribbon which held it closed and the printed inner and outer envelopes. To put it in her own words: “It was a lot of work!” They ended up being her pride and joy and really started the whole theme of “home,” which you can see throughout their wedding. This led into the napkin cards which was a letter that she to their guests thanking them for their love and support. To tie it all together, she created her own favors which were a set of 4 stoneware coasters. Three of them had the images used in the invitations of their three main “homes” CT, CA, and England, and the fourth had the main line from the napkin card, “Home is the comfort, support, and love of friends & family.”
I asked Ashley to describe her wedding day decor and style. She wanted to use her favorite color, pink, but add a spin to it as they were married during the fall. She chose a warm, salmon colored pink to fit in with the season. For her tablescapes she ordered 289 class cylinder vases in varying sizes, which she and her mom covered with a beautiful coral colored tissue paper. Now that is DIY dedication! This tablescape provided a really romantic glow with all the candles lit inside and provided the exact kind of atmosphere that Ashley and Mark wanted!
The flowers in her bouquet were shades of coral, salmon, peach and pink with curly willy branches within the flowers. She also used some as centerpieces to give it an authentic, organic autumn feel.
Guests dinned on a personalized menu that the couple crafted with the Seaman’s Inne. They show stopper? A last minute addition to the menu — a seafood pot pie with Stonington scallops and shrimp in a Maine lobster cream sauce. Can you say yum? Ashley and Mark loved that they had local, fall comfort food. They also paid homage to Mark’s British upbringing with the pot pie! e guests enjoyed a sweet little snack on the dance floor as they skipped the traditional wedding cake and opted for butler passed mini cupcakes, which is so Carrie-chic (remember her fabulous book launch party? love it!)
What family traditions did you incorporate into your wedding?
We tried to pay tribute to Mark’s English culture in subtle ways- the feather fascinator in my hair, the pot pie, and lots of British 80s pop on the dance floor! I tied my grandfathers alter boy pin on my bouquet and carried my Gram’s hankie (which I did end up needing halfway through the ceremony!) Other than that, I think it was more about the people we are today, the life we have built together, and the traditions that we maybe created for future generations.
What is the secret to a successful marriage?
I’m not sure if I’m actually qualified to say after only 4 months! BUT… I think what makes mine and Mark’s marriage wonderful is that there is no one else on earth I’d rather spend my time with. We know how to make each other laugh and more importantly, we know how to laugh at ourselves. Everything about us, as a couple, is honest, true, and sincere. I think that overall, what will continue to make our marriage successful over time is our commitment to family. Whether it’s a family of 2 or 10, it’s the commitment to your family and the life you have created together, that makes it a success.
Thanks so much to Ashley and Mark for allowing us to share in their fabulous wedding! I had so much fun learning about them and putting together this wonderful series.
The Vendors
The story of their day was told in photographs by the talented Amanda Herzberger of Orchard Cove Photography. The wedding ceremony was held at Noank Baptist Church in Groton, Connecticut with a classic New England fete at the Seamen’s Inne in Mystic. Hair and makeup for the wedding was by Deanna & Danielle of the Rob Rivers Salon in Mystic. The bride wore a magnificent gown by Cymbeline Paris, purchased at Lili Bridal in Tarzana, California. The bride’s attendants wore beautiful dark champagne colored Jim Hjelm satin dresses. The groom donned a custom tuxedo by Mattucci in Redondo Beach, California with a black and white stripped tie by Brooks Brothers. The groomsmen wore suits by John Galante. Personalized cup cakes were deliciously designed by You Take the Cake in New London. Floral design was by Adams Garden of Eden in Pawcatuck, Connecticut. Guests danced the night away to music and entertainment provided by Rich Conway . The day was captured on video by Casey Moran, and the bride created the invitations and designed the wedding herself!
Part of the Real Connecticut Wedding: Ashley & Mark in Mystic series
- Real Connecticut Wedding: Ashley & Mark in Mystic
- Real Connecticut Wedding: Ashley & Mark | The Ceremony
- Real Connecticut Wedding: Ashley & Mark | The Details & Reception
Real Connecticut Wedding: Lisa & Sean | Reception Details
Lisa & Sean chose a simple decor scheme with bold pops of color. Her centerpieces, created by Fleur de Lys of New Haven, had beautiful sunflowers, white gerbera daisies, white hydrangea and yellow roses. I love how she grouped several small vases together in thirds on the table — it is so much more visually appealing than just one centerpiece! Each cluster was also monochromatic, keeping with the simple decor scheme. At each place setting tucked into a linen napkin wa their donation to NAMI, which was printed on a small donation card with a stalk of millet wrapped in raffia. Lisa says that she tried to keep with the theme of the reception site, an old beach club with striped awnings and rustic décor, and made use of some retro elements.
Some of the details that she did herself: luminaries that lined the path outside of the reception site after dark. She also sewed buttons onto a piece of thick cardstock in the shape of a number and used them as table numbers (so cute!). She hand stamped a button in the corner of each place card and created a board where the place cards were hung. How did she do it? She took a large corkboard and covered the surface with a yellow and white patterned piece of wrapping paper. She then stretched white ribbons of varying texture and width across the board and the cards were staggered across the ribbons. She also created a flip flop filled basket that had a sign that read “kick off your heels.”
The Wedding Menu
The menu contained elements of summer. In addition to the Owenego Inn’s standard appetizers, Lisa’s father ordered fresh shrimp from a local seafood market which they served with cocktails. For dinner, a gazpacho soup was served followed by grilled salmon with a peach salsa in addition to filet mignon. They chose to add in-season local foods such as carrots with sugar snap peas. For dessert, they served Lisa’s favorite Ciao Bella Blackberry Cabernet sorbet in addition to wedding cake. Yum! The cake was beautifully decorated with yellow frosting as the canvas to white details of vines with leaves, swiss dots and buttons on the top tier.
We asked Lisa… what was it like planning your wedding and were there any challenges you had to overcome?
I enjoyed planning my wedding from beginning to end. We spent some time just after becoming engaged to enjoy the special time in our lives and let it all sink in before delving into the world of wedding planning. The only significant challenge I had to overcome was to find a baker willing and able to accommodate my food allergies and bake a cake without using any dairy products. Some people refused to entertain the idea of creating a frosting without butter cream and hung up on me others pitched the idea of cakes made with fondant frosting and no filling whatsoever. After searching high and low I found a kind woman in Torrington who specializes in dairy free baking. She explained that her son has food allergies and she had created a recipe that he could enjoy. We made the trip to Cakes Unlimited and sampled her cake. It was moist and delicious. Our wedding guests raved about the cake not knowing that it did not contain any milk. Friends and family went back for seconds!
What family traditions did you incorporate into your wedding?
Soon after we became engaged we made the discovery that both of our mothers wore amazingly similar wedding gowns. They were simple, Mexican style free flowing dresses. We felt compelled to exhibit this coincidence and displayed framed wedding pictures of their weddings as well as pictures of each set of grandparents on the guest book table.
Next up? The party! ….
The Vendors
The day was documented and captured by the talented photographer, Robin Dini of Robin Dini Photography. Hair and makeup for the bride and party was done by Dan of Studio 8 Salon in North Haven. Lisa’s bridal gown was a Monique Lhuillier’s “Miranda”.The bridesmaids’ gowns were varying Simple Silhouettes in a beautiful spring green from Bella Bridesmaids in Westport. The groom wore a khaki Brooks Brothers suit and tie, which complimented the groomsmens’ blue blazers and khaki’s from their own personal collection. Ceremony, reception, and caterer is the Owenego Inn in Branford, Connecticut. The speciality non-dairy wedding cake was baked fondly by Cakes Unlimited in Torrington. Florist, including bouquets and centerpieces, was Fleur de Lys of New Haven, Connecticut. Their save-the-dates were hand crafted with love, but the invitations were designed by Elm City Fine Stationers in New Haven, Connecticut. Guests danced the night away courtesy of the band, Brick Park out of Boston, Mass. In lieu of favors, the couple made a generous donation to to NAMI, the National Alliance of Mental Illness.
Part of the Real Connecticut Wedding: Sean & Lisa series
- Real Connecticut Wedding: Lisa & Sean in Branford
- Real Connecticut Wedding: Lisa & Sean | The Ceremony
- Real Connecticut Wedding: Lisa & Sean | Reception Details
- Real Connecticut Wedding: Lisa & Sean | Party!
Holiday Centerpiece: Carnations
Elisabeth from BLUSH floral design posted a fabulous purple centerpiece on her blog and I wanted to share. I just love these carnations in varying shades of purple. Believe it or not, carnations in bulk (like these) can look so gorgeous. The key is to use a lot and make your centerpiece very full. I agree with Elisabeth, too, that with these flowers the you can use the container to dictate the style of the arrangement. You can use square chunky vases, tall cylinders, old candy jars or medicine bottles, or mint julep cups. Although, I really love the antiqued vessels she used. And the sequin balls? Gorgeous! They’ll sparkle too in candlelight and are a touch of necessary glamour.
If you’re too busy for arrangements this season, give Elisabeth a call. Blush is offering holiday inspired arrangements at a really fabulous price. Get all the details here!
Ellen Degeneres & Portia de Rossi: A shade of pink
The Details
Date: August 17, 2008
Ceremony: Their home in L.A.
Reception: Their home in L.A.
Gowns: Couture Zac Posen
Jewelry: Neil Lane
Officiant: Friend and author Wayne Dyer
First Dance: Ribbon in the Sky, Stevie Wonder
Menu: Vegetable Spring Rolls and Mini “beef” sliders
Flowers: Spray and Ecuadoran roses and cafe au lait dahlias
Cake: Vegan Red Velvet cake with creme-cheese Tofutti frosting from baker Sweet Lady Jane
Details: Hand-calligraphed place cards by Ellen’s mom, Betty; Vintage handkerchiefs given to weepy guests before the ceremony; a surprise acoustic performance by Portia’s favorite singers, Joshua Radin.
What I Love
The intimate dining veranda swagged and drapped in white fabric, giving it a romantic and airy feeling, the wedding gown and suit that looks to be made out of the same bolts of fabric, the intimate family style table with lush roses and tall, thick pillar candles, and the different french country style antique chairs.
Photographs courtesy of People Magazine
Ellen & Portia Storyboard
Romantic Wine Miniscape: Part Deux
My creative juices got the best of me a few days ago and after some more discussion with my Destination Connecticut Wedding (look out! That is one of our new packages! ?) bride, I created some more floral mock-ups! We went with some thick and short chunkie vases and two unexpected vessels… my beautiful “Duck” wine decanter from Pottery Barn, and some vintage glass Coke bottles. If you’ve been reading my blog for a long period of time or know me personally, you’d know that I love using unconventional and unusual things in my tablescapes to amp it up or change the definition of the design. I also love brides who are “daring” enough to have a variety of different table designs at their event. The modern wedding is moving away from those tried and true traditions of uniformity and I couldn’t be happier. Why should every table look the same and why do you’re bridesmaids need to all wear the exact same dress? Dare to be different – but be sure to be yourself! Now, back to my mock ups…
Be sure to click on the thumbnail to see the full-sized version!
I’m a big fan of grouping things in odd numbers… 3’s, 5’s, 7’s… it looks more natural and less forced. I also believe in varying the heights of grouped objects as it adds a nicer dimension to a table display. Using my unconventional Coke bottles, we came up with this fun tablescape that would be beautiful on a dessert or sweet table, favor table, or repeated on tall and thin cocktail height tables for your cocktail hour. You can also use single bottles adorned with one flower each as décor on your passed hors d’oeuvres tray(s). It’s a little bit country, totally unpretentious, and absolutely fabulous. You can find old Coke bottles virtually anywhere, and they are dirt cheap to boot. I love the look of the thick, green-tinted glass. I wish I had taller versions of this bottle because the mixture of the short and tall would look spectacular! This mock up is completely gratuitous as it doesn’t go with my Destination Connecticut Bride’s theme, but I wanted to share the idea with you anyway. . .
In keeping with our romantic wine theme, I grabbed my beautiful and sleek “Duck” wine decanter that I purchased from Pottery Barn as a Christmas present to myself last year. It’s no longer for sale, but you could probably find it on eBay or something similar at another department store. What I loved about this vessel is its sleek and continuous lines. The arrangement is glamorous without being pretentious. Its unexpected but it makes sense, which is important in any good design. We decided that we are definitely using my wine decanter in the bar area, along with some wine bottles and an additional wine decanter from Pottery Barn.
On the tables we’re going to use a mixture of low and tall vases filled with garden flowers and roses. The bride wants it to look “polished yet deconstructed” which should be an interesting challenge for our future florist. The low vases will be similar to the ones pictures below, and we’ll use my cork idea to fill tall cylinder vases which will have similar flowers in them.
What do you think? What are some of your favorite unconventional vessels?
Miniscape: Romantic Wine Mock-up
Rainy days are great for putting time aside to create mock ups. Can I just say that I love designing mock ups? It always brings out my inner MacGyver as I scramble around and improvise a table setting with a hair scrunchie and a can of spray paint. I have an ’09 bride who is having her destination wedding here in Connecticut, and based on some of her ideas, we decided to develop some centerpiece templates to discuss with the florist. We’re doing a romantic wine theme with pinks, merlot, silvers, caramel browns, and the color of cork. To die for. All we need are some crystal embellishments to reflect candle light and add some glamour to our tablescape. Since she is so far away I emailed her a miniscape of what I think we can do, pulling together the elements I had available.
Enter — one in-need-of-polishing silver vase and one round traditional vase, one mini vase, 2 dozen cottage roses in a beautiful pink, wine corks, two silver candle holders, two taper candles, and three tea lights. The result?
Arrangement One
We’re going to incorperate the richness of the wood with luxurious brown linens and some rustic wooden accents!
Arrangement Two
I love vase fillers, and these corks are perfect for the theme we are going for!
Ah, I love it! What do you think? I would also like to use wine bottles in varying heights and colors with a view peonies or hydrangeas tucked in to bring some height to the table. I love the look of wine bottle vases / centerpeices!
More planning ideas to come from this uber special event..
Brown & Green Bridal Shower: The Nitty Gritty
I love weddings and I equally love to plan smaller, more casual and intimate affairs. When our clients approached us with their décor ideas for a brown and green shower, we ran with it and really made every penny go as far as we could. With a little preparation, creativity, and persistence, you can come up with equally beautiful and affordable tablescapes for your next event. I wanted to share with you where we purchased all of our vases, crafting items & supplies. I also wanted to give you a step-by-step tutorial on how we pulled all these small details together which I’ll follow up with tomorrow.
But first, our shopping list:
8 chunky square votive candle holders
$1.97 ea, Wal-Mart
5 Tall, thin vases
$1 ea, The Dollar Store
3 Tall and chunky mosaic vases
$1 ea, The Dollar Store
4 round, traditional vases (not pictured)
1 ea, The Dollar Store
4 packages (two per pack) of 7 inch & 9 inch tissue “bells” (for the kitschy factor!)
$1 ea, The Dollar Store
6 packages of tissue paper in brown, green & hot pink (8 sheets per pack)
$2.29, Wal-Mart
3 packages of stick-on crystal embellishments
$2.29 ea, Martha Stewart Crafts
3 Rolls of ribbon (thick brown, brown/white polka dot, thin green)
$2.97 ea, Wal-Mart
1 Roll of cooking twine
Free, because we don’t cook!
80 stems of fresh assorted mini gerbera daisies
$79.80 (with overnight international shipping!) farmstogo.com
Grand Total: $135 (give or take some cents)
Items used but already owned by us:
Stampin’ Up! Engagement Stamp Set with rubber stamps and ink pads
Cardstock for tags
Hole puncher
Floral wire
Wire Cutter
Circular paper cutter
Fabric glue
Tealights
Not bad, right? The key to beautiful and affordable décor is to shop around for the best bargain. I recommend looking in the stores we’ve mentioned, plus places like Home Goods, The Christmas Tree Shops, Ocean State Job Lot, Big Lots, Marshalls, TJ Maxx, Target, Michaels, Joann Fabrics, and your local discount store. These are all wonderful resources and you can sometimes find the “find of a lifetime!”
Shopping for discounted flowers can also be really difficult. To be sure that you order the correct amount of flowers, do a trial run of your centerpiece beforehand. It’s always good to have some extra blooms on hand, as the shipping process tends to eliminate a few beauties from the bunch. Also, if you are ordering the flowers yourself, make sure they are delivered no more than two days before your event (unless otherwise specified by the floral company). You want to make sure that the flowers you’ve chosen are at the peak of their blooming cycle and are as fresh as can be (no one likes half-dead flowers!) If your floral budget is limited you can do what we did – tie the blooms together to mimic a bouquet. I think it’s just as elegant as a lush and full arrangement.
Tomorrow I’ll provide you with some tutorials on how to take all the ingredients we’ve purchased and turn them into our décor!
Part of the Brown & Green Shower series
- Brown & Green Bridal Shower
- Brown & Green Bridal Shower: The Nitty Gritty
Brown & Green Bridal Shower
This weekend I was super busy with an awesome event, where I got to really exercise my creativity and frugality for a relaxed and casual bridal shower. It was a lot of fun and we were able to do ALL the décor for under $200! Tomorrow I’ll give you the details on how we kept costs so low, and where you can get all these amazing items. Check out our pictures below, and be sure to click on the thumbnails for a larger version!
The Tablescapes
All the tables were adorned with a variety of chunky vases filled with white and yellow Gerbera Daisies that we hand wrapped in twine to give an elegant bouquet effect.
The Details
The yard was adorned with tissue paper “pom-poms” (or tissue flowers, if you prefer) that we hand made. They were all jeweled with small crystals for an added bit of bling, which ended up looking like dew on the petals! All the vessels were wrapped in ribbon in brown, brown & white polka dot, and green. We also made the brides monogram and incorperated it into the tablescapes with some twine and ribbon. I especially love the “mr. & mrs.” we created out of card stock and stamps from Stampin’ Up!
Part of the Brown & Green Shower series
- Brown & Green Bridal Shower
- Brown & Green Bridal Shower: The Nitty Gritty
Dressing Up a Table
I love designing table scapes, especially for intimate dinners and parties. I’m always looking to acquire unique and beautiful vases, pitchers, and other containers to use on the table and as interactive pieces for dinner (I love best when things serve a multipurpose!). I have a closet full of greatly shaped containers in a variety of different textures. While surfing the ‘net this afternoon, I came across this darling website called Three Potato Four. They are based out of Virginia where they run their self-proclaimed “mom and pop shop.” What I love most, besides almost every single item they sell on their website, is that they’ve taken the leg work out of finding unique vintage pieces. They have a wealth of items to browse, but my favorite was their array of unique, delectable and colorful pitchers, containers, vases, whatever!
I first fell in love with this milk bottle carafe that looks so beautiful with a single flower, a bouquet, or just filled with your mornings orange juice. I love the shape of it and the thickness of the glass. It is a unique piece that I can’t wait to use!
Of similar ilk is this vintage water bottle that also looks wonderful with just a single bloom. My mom use to have these types of vintage pieces that she would occasionally pick up at tag sales or estate sales. She especially loves medicine bottles.
My most favorite item is their alphabet gift tags. I’ve emailed them about personalizing the order to just include a set amount of one letter. I doubt it is possible unless they are vintage inspired pieces, but if they can offer that option, these would be wonderful as favor tags and in other elements of a weddings design. And because they are black and white they can appeal to a variety of different decor palettes. Either way, I’m ordering myself a set. For $8.oo, how can you go wrong?
