You are about to see my personal wedding Achilles heel. This is my all time ultimate wedding weakness. We all have one – for some it’s the DIY backyard wedding and for others it’s the elegant ballroom wedding. Mine is the classic, New England wedding with nautical inspiration. I can’t pin point what exactly it is that makes me crumble each and every time I see one executed to perfection, but as soon as I lay eyes on the rope knots, or the sailboats, or the nautical flags my heart sets sail (yep, I went there). You can only imagine how excited I was when I linked up with Sarah True of True Event and she passed along this peace of nautical wedding heaven. I hope you enjoy it just as much as I did, minus the corny sail puns. XOXO – (the other) Abby from Life in the Super Burbs
And before I go, a few words from the amazingly talented vendors behind the scenes:
From the lovely bride:
My husband and I wanted a relaxed outdoor wedding near the water….so when my husband and I stumbled upon Elihu Island in Stonington, CT, we knew it was perfect! I grew up in CT and Clark spent his summers in nearby Weekapaug, RI so the location was ideal. We wanted to have a wedding that was simple yet elegant and where we were surrounded by our families and friends. We were so lucky to be able to hold our wedding in such a beautiful and unique spot.
Blue is both my husband’s and my favorite color so it was an obvious color choice and it set the tone for our ocean/water theme. I decided to add in a touch of yellow just to add a splash of fun and was thrilled with how it turned out!
I planned the wedding long distance from Washington, DC so I was very lucky to have the fabulous duo from True Event/Chocolate Creative Design to help me pull all of the details together. Lucinda Wesson helped me create our beautiful custom letterpress invitations and stationery. And the talented Sarah True was always there with creative ideas and inspiration throughout the planning process and was a tremendous help over the entire wedding weekend.
Our actual wedding was amazing! Despite the threat of a looming storm, we decided to go ahead with the outdoor ceremony. Although my father walked me down the aisle amidst a few sprinkles of rain, the storm never actually came! We were married under a large tree looking out over the water….it was just what we envisioned. The rest of the evening unfolded without a hitch (no rain!) and we just enjoyed every minute of celebrating our day with all of our family and friends.
From Sarah True of True Event:
Laura and Clark were married on Island Farm, Elihu Island. One of the most magical places in Connecticut to get married. With only four weddings a year it is an exclusive venue in Stonington off of Long Island Sound. The color palette was navy and white with pops of yellow. We wanted to create a nautical, preppy, island wedding with subtle delicate, girly details, so we combined nautical details of rope with eyelet ribbon and lace. The escort cards were pinned to nautical rope that hung like ribbon along a navy board. Table Numbers were crafted using the rope as well. Guests signed vintage boating oars for the guest book that Laura and Clark could hang for years to come in their new home. On the tables we used eyelet paper to wrap the votive candles, and the menus tucked in the napkins. Overhead in the tent we combined white and white eyelet paper lanterns off of the center poles to form a cluster/chandelier effect which glowed into the night. The cake was laced with eyelet detail and sat on a white eyelet linen.
From Chocolate Creative Design:
Laura and Clark knew exactly what they wanted and thanks to Soho Letterpress who designed Deirdre and Jason’s paper ( featured on SMP), we were so inspired that we designed a similar suite. The real fun was in coming up with creative ideas for the table numbers and escort cards. For the table numbers, we decided it would be interesting to take a simple glass vase, wrap it in wax paper and then glue handmade rope numbers on it. This way it served two purposes both as a votive as well as the table number itself. With the escort cards, Laura’s sister hand-calligraphed the envelopes while I created a board that consisted of many pieces of rope tied in knots which we carefully pinned the individual cards to. Using rope as the third design element, allowed us to have consistency throughout. It started with the invitation and continued through to the reception. (hint: when working with rope, be prepared to have a few singed fingertips)
From Hana Floral Design:
Laura wanted simple yet elegant flowers for her June wedding with a nod to the CT shoreline. We used a color scheme of pale yellows and whites to her backdrop of navy.The tent was filled with white phaleonopsis orchids in distressed silver compotes, along with cubes of white peonies and votives galore.Laura carried a bouquet of fragrant white flowers~ lush peonies, gardenias, phaleonopsis blooms, freesia and garden roses. Her maid’s carried pale yellow garden roses, lisianthus, tulips, ranunculus, freesia and pale green hydrangeas. Two flower girls had charming halos made up of yellow and white flowers and nantucket baskets filled with petals.
The ceremony took place under “the big tree” on Elihu~ an oversized wreath made up of hydrangeas and yellow lilies was the background of the ceremony. Cute nantucket baskets hung from navy ribbon along the chairs.
From Jennie Fresa Beauty Library:
“Laura was looking to achieve a very natural and classic look for her wedding day. Kelly Sharkey of JFBL styled the brides hair in a soft chignon and side part. For makeup, I used a very sheer tinted moisturizer and a touch of bronzer for a sunkissed complexion! Keeping her eyes very simple, we applyed shimmering, taupe eye shadows and a chocolate eye liner. We finished the look with a nude-pink lip shade that emulated Laura’s natural lip color! She was a picture perfect classic bride”!
Vendors: Event Design/Coordination: True Event / Paper: Chocolate Creative Design (Anna Sawin Photography) / Venue: Island Farm, Stonington, CT/ Photographer: Adeline and Grace, Erica Mancini/ Behind the Scenes/paper shots: Adeline and Grace / Caterer: Gourmet Galley Catering/ Florist: Hana Floral Design/ Dress: Bride – Vera Wang, Bridesmaids- Simple SilhouettesString Quartet: Suite Occasions/ Band: Soul Sessions / Rentals: Rentals Unlimited / Tent Rentals: Sperry Tent/ Makeup/Hair: Jennie Fresa Beauty Library/ Officiant: The Copps/ Lighting/Generator: Power Posse Productions