Prepare yourselves, SMPers… these Westport nuptials by Forevercandid Photography are about to turn your Wednesday into a literal swoon-fest of wedding goodness… and you won’t know what to do with yourselves once you lay your eyes on the sweet vintage touches, darling DIY details and fabulous rustic setting. Trust me, there is just no better way to liven up your weekday than with this fabulous farm fête. Plus, with every moment planned to absolute perfection by Veronica Alexandra of Blue Ivy, there is an entire gallery of gorgeous details still to be seen. Join me there for more!
Click here to see the entire gallery of images!
From the Bride… Cristian and I are, what you might call, an unlikely couple. He was born in Colombia; I was born in Taiwan. Our paths crossed one fateful summer in a city far away from home, after some time getting to know each other long distance across US and international time zones, we both ended up working in Boston, MA. The rest is history as they say. When we embarked on the journey of wedding planning, we had a vision but not a clue on how to execute it. It was entirely a learning process that turned into many creative collaborations, DIY projects and the most fun I had in a long time! We dreamt of a rustic New England barn wedding but didn’t initially follow our instincts. With less than a year to plan, we rushed into our first venue – an exquisite ocean front historical mansion in Rhode Island – only to come to terms that it just wasn’t us. We gave up our deposit, started over, and found the venue of our dreams by by word of mouth with six months to go. Tip #1 – follow your instincts.
Our theme was rustic, vintage, shabby chic. Bittersweet Farms was the perfect venue. Bittersweet, a former barn in Westport, nestled in the woods with a garden gazebo, preserved all of the natural charm of a farm as backdrop to its formal dining amenities. The staff was incredibly flexible in letting us customize our experience – from food and drink menu selections to ceremony & reception set up. They even allowed us to use hay-bales for seating during our ceremony.
We wanted to feel at “home” on our Big Day, so we decided to turn the restaurant into a cozy living room / backyard. Vintage books from the public library (yay for unlimited check out!) and hand picked tea pots, mason jars, mugs, bottles from the thrift shop were spread across burluxe covered tables and various corners of the room. Our florist did a fabulous job selecting romantic muted colors including ivory, nude, and champagne with pops of coral & yellow flowers to fill the hundred plus vessels. She created a unique arrangement for every table that complimented our overall theme – all within our budget!
Tip #2 – Have fun. Cristian and I wanted to ensure that our family and guests enjoyed themselves on our special day. We were both “Gleeks” in high school before there was Glee, so we surprised our guests with a flash mob performance featuring 10 a capella singers dressed as waiters. Many seriously thought they were singing waiters! In crafting a fun filled experience for our guests, we had a ton of fun ourselves in the process including the creating a custom wedding website, interactive wedding invitations, a DIY cupcake tower, a hand drawn finger print “guestbook”, crossword puzzle in our DIY wedding program, a Jib Jab video in our wedding slide show (which our photographer, Amber, helped put together), and designing a marriage advice game that got everyone participating!
I still can’t believe we planned a wedding in six months! It would have been unimaginable without the help of friends, amazing vendors (some of whom are friends like our web designer & musicians and most of the others were found by word of mouth,) my mother-in-law who helped tailor and customize my dress, and our ingenious wedding planner, Veronica. I didn’t believe in hiring help, but I’m very glad we did. We had a million ideas in mind, but time was not by our side. This did not faze Veronica, who after 6 months of refining ‘plan A’ was faced with inclement weather on the day of our wedding (ceremony was supposed to take place outdoors) and had to reinvent our ceremony in a much smaller space. Her execution on the day-of was priceless.
Wedding Photography: Forevercandid Photography / Wedding Planner: Veronica Alexandra of Blue Ivy / Wedding Venue: Bittersweet Farm / Ceremony Musicians: Jenna Ordway, Justin Lee, Jaime Vergara + Kione Ebalaroza / Cocktail Hour Musicians: Receita de Samba / Wedding Videography: Well Spun Weddings / Cupcakes: Konditor Meister / Floral Design: A Victorian Garden / Hair + Make-up: Styling by Lisette / A Cappella Singers: The Harvard Opportunes / Shuttle Service: Groundforce One / Candy Apple Favors: Frenchy’s Popcorn / Formal Invitations: Blue Ivy Designer, Ricardo Morales-Hendry / Printer: Ink Kiosk / Guestbook: Blue Ivy Designer, Ricardo Morales-Hendry / Bridal Gown: Maggie Sottero / Bride’s Shoes: Badgley Mischka / Groom’s Suit: JoS. A. Bank / Wedding Website Design: Variabilis / Custom Bridal Bolero: Rosie’s Bridal (Miami, Florida)