Connecticut Weddings

January 9, 2009

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.

  1. Robin Dini says:

    Shucks! The one wedding where I didn’t get a chance to sample a piece of cake! That’s so not like me :)

  2. This is just the burst of summer we need on a snowy day! I love all the details. Yay Robin!

  3. love the greenery tucked into the napkin!

  4. Lisa Bergs says:

    Robin,
    If you’re ever in Torrington, stop by for a cupcake. :)
    Lisa,
    Cakes Unlimited

  5. Hugh and Nancy Manke says:

    It’s wonderful to relive that special day in such a thoughtful way!

  6. Kansas City wedding says:

    Congrats! lisa & Sean nice photos of your wedding ceremony.

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