Connecticut Vineyard Wedding at Saltwater Farms

What do you get when you throw a handful or two of some of our favorite LBB vendors into a Connecticut vineyard for a wedding? I'll give you a hint - it's stinkin' spectacular. This gorgeous wedding was planned by TRUE Event, flora'd by Hana Floral Design, beautified by Jennie Fresa Beauty Library, fed by Gourmet Galley, dressed by Bella Bridesmaid, and captured brilliantly by Robert & Kathleen Photographers. And those invited from Paper Moss - are you serious? I'm not kidding when I say spectacular. The whole affair is personal, beautiful, and chic - this bride knew what she was doing when she chose her big day team. Click here for the rest of this fantastic vineyard affair!

















And last but certainly not least - we've got a special highlight film from Buzz Media Company. If you don't already have an obnoxious grin on your face (like I do) you most definitely will after seeing this great film.

emily + justin from Buzz Media Company on Vimeo.

Justin and my love story began in the unlikeliest of places, a Spring Break bar in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Many of our closest friends were there with us on that fateful March night and then celebrated with us, over five years later, at our wedding. Those who were there from the very beginning will always hold a special place in our hearts and our lives, prompting us to take a Spring Break ’06 reunion picture on the dance floor at the wedding.

The one thing we knew when we embarked on planning our wedding was that we wanted a “kick off your shoes and dance” kind of party. The Connecticut shoreline has always held a special place in my heart and we wanted to find a unique venue that captured the beauty of the area. As soon as we drove up to Saltwater Farm Vineyard we were completely blown away by the metal airport hangar waiting at the end of the long gravel driveway. From the outside, Saltwater resembles an ice hockey rink and given Justin’s lifelong love of hockey, we thought this surely was a sign that this was our wedding venue. We fell even more in love with the space as we walked inside and gazed at the glowing metal wine tanks and towering wood beamed ceiling. We knew this was exactly the type of space we were looking for  - rustic, charming and utterly breathtaking.

Starting the planning process felt both exciting and overwhelming. With so many decisions to make, we enlisted the help of Sarah True from True Event and other amazing vendors to help us make our vision into a reality. My mom and I are both very artistic, crafty people and I knew I would want to take on various DIY projects as part of the wedding. With the help of friends and family we collected corks for an entire year and used frames made out of wine staves to create an escort card corkboard. I also constructed a scrapbook documenting our love story that served as our guestbook. These special touches are things we will be able to use in our everyday life that will continue to remind us of our incredible wedding day.

Working on designing our wedding paper was one of my favorite parts of planning our wedding. We worked closely with Paper Moss to create an invitation suite that would complement the rustic chic feel of the day. The creative process was incredibly fun and we watched Paper Moss create the most stunning, double letter-pressed invitation with a gorgeous hand drawn vine design. We were able to weave the design throughout the rest of the wedding paper and even the menu chalkboard.

When we woke up on the morning of July 16th, we welcomed in a perfect sunny summer day. Jennie Fresa and her team went to work as I sat around with my closest friends eating lunch and anticipating the excitement of this day. We could not have begun to imagine how the space would transform with Sarah’s magic touch. I knew I wanted a colorful wedding and chose a palette of jewel-toned purples with accents of bright blue and pink. We wanted to capture the rustic feel embodied by the winery and Sarah incorporated burlap wrapped candles into the table. Yumiko from Hana Floral Designs created the most unbelievable chuppah and bouquets that displayed the bridesmaids cobalt blue dresses. The rustic brown branches of the chuppah contrasting with the bright, colorful flowers and pure blue sky was absolutely breathtaking. This set the stage for our ceremony where we had the privilege of being married by my mother’s childhood friend.

Walking down the aisle on that July day was overwhelming. Never again would Justin and I be surrounded by all of the people who love and care about us. We chose to have a “first look” before we saw each other at the ceremony. I highly recommend this to any bride. There was so much anticipation building up to this moment and I was already feeling the emotions of the day bubbling over. Being able to see the smile on Justin’s face, and the tears in his eyes, when he turned around was priceless. We were able to stand together, look into each other’s eyes, and have a few moments to take in what we were about to do.  This also allowed Justin and I to share in the signing of our ketubah together with our families. The actual ceremony felt like a whirlwind to me and seeing each other prior did not take away the butterflies of excitement I experienced seeing Justin waiting at the end of the aisle.

Our guests enjoyed cocktail hour on the patio and then entered into the airport hangar for a night of eating and dancing. The room was aglow with purple up lighting and our guests sat down to a French family style meal catered by Gourmet Galley. It was really the amazing Hudson Project band that made the party unforgettable. They had the dance floor filled the entire night and took the evening to a whole new level. It was exactly what we wanted – a wedding dance party!

Our wedding day was beyond what we could have ever imagined. Not only were we surrounded by the love and affection of our friends and family but also the idyllic beauty of Saltwater Farm. We are so thankful to both Robert and Kathleen Photographers and Buzz Media for capturing the beauty of our day for us to relive forever.

Photography: Robert & Kathleen Photographers / Flowers: Hana Floral Design / Planner: Sarah True of TRUE Event / Hair & Makeup: Jennie Fresa Beauty Library / Gown: Vera Wang / Shoes: Manolo Blahnik / Catering: Gourmet Galley / Band: The Hudson Project / Venue: Saltwater Farms Vineyard / Videographer: Buzz Media Company / Bridesmaids Dress Designer: Thread via Bella Bridesmaid / Invitation Designer and Stationery: Paper Moss / Save the Date: Posh Paperie / Desserts: Vanderbrooke / Chalkboard & Calligraphy: Meghan Chapin Calligraphy