What do you get when you put an insanely talented event planner together with the daunting task of designing her OWN wedding. Well, you get this next featured wedding. A purely gorgeous, unbelievably romantic, hugely personal day with a bride that is literally glowing. Candice Dowling of Jubilee Events is one of our most loved Little Black Book members, planning and designing some of the most incredible New England affairs you’ve ever seen. And although I am sure that it was insanely challenging to design her own wedding style, the result was complete magic.
Being in the industry was both a blessing and a burden for me while Michael and I set out to plan our amazing wedding. As you can imagine, being constantly immersed in the loveliness of the wedding world posed unique challenges for me when it came to the look and feel for our wedding. Our color story rose out of my muse – my shoes – and my love for purple. Purple, gold, with pops of red and white. Another source of inspiration was the song my parents danced to at their wedding, Frank Sinatra’s “The Best is Yet to Come”. With these bits as our inspiration, we set out to plan the big day.
We met while living in Hartford, Connecticut – so it seemed only fitting to travel back there to be married. Hartford holds so many great memories for us and was the place where we fell in love. I wore a custom Modern Trousseau gown and was outfitted with all my lovely accessories by the girls at the White Dress. I wanted to walk down the aisle with something meaningful and secret sewn into my dress… “Live the life you’ve imagined.” There were special touches with me – a vintage hanky, my grandmothers pearl bracelet, and of course, my muse for our entire wedding. My Natalie Portman shoes.
Our ceremony was so incredible – our favorite part of the entire day. Our officiant was a close family friend who we’ve known for many, many years. She wrote the most beautiful ceremony that was partially inspired by the lovely writings of our photographers who had posted our engagement session with our love story on their website.
My shoes and the location of our reception really inspired the wedding. The G. Fox Department store was a major brand in New England and its headquarters were in Hartford. In fact, our bridesmaids dressed in little black dresses as that was what the women who worked for G. Fox wore to the department store. Our wedding reception was literally held in an old department store. While there were no more beauty counters or cash registers you can certainly feel the building buzzing with shoppers, smell vintage Chanel, or ride the original escalators. Our guests enjoyed vintage style cocktails in the mezzanine area which overlooks the large atrium we reserved for dancing. Our escort cards, with designs by Lilah Paper and calligraphy by Lisa Ridgely, where pinned to vintage black frames I ensconced with purple fabric. Guests left us notes and words of wisdom on vintage Hartford post cards, too.
Our florist, Jessica, created varying centerpieces and arrangements for dinning, using a variety of purple and white flowers. Our head table had flowers in eclectic containers down the center. It was absolutely stunning. We had over 50 tapper candles burning on the table as well. We chose to do a long, family style head table which I always recommend to our clients. On each table were bottles of Francis Ford Coppola wine – our favorite for obvious reasons! I can’t tell you how amazing it was to imbibe our favorite wine with our closest friends and celebrate our marriage!
We had the most delicious cake – chocolate and raspberry. I love wedding cakes, but for myself, I knew that I didn’t want anything traditional. I wanted something rich, architectural, and just plan delicious. Our four-tiered chocolate masterpiece, by Modern Pastry, was topped with handmade gold painted banners that Lisa calligraphed our inspiration… the best is yet to come. Our first dance was to Van Morrison’s Someone Like You, with a special line in the last verse…. “and lately I have realized, the best is yet to come.” After dinner we danced the night away and ended the evening on a high kicking note.
Planning by Jubilee Events / Wedding gown, accessories and attire by Modern Trousseau from The White Dress by the Shore, Clinton Connecticut / Makeup & Hair by Dana Bartone & Co. / Floral Décor by Jessica’s Country Flowers / Photography by Robert and Kathleen Photographers / Cinematography by Vantage Point Films / Ceremony Location by The Old State House, Hartford Connecticut / Reception Location by The Old G. Fox Department Store / Caterer by Marquee Events & Catering / Bridesmaids Gowns by White House Black Market / Cake & Confections by Modern Pastry, Hartford / Invitations & Paper by Lilah Paper / Calligraphy by Lisa Ridgely