We recently lost a treasured member of our SMP Family, Eric Langlois. A beloved photographer, father and friend. But his work at Raw Photo Design continues to inspire, and his gorgeous family still gets to see his passion unfold through every stunning image he’s snapped up with his talented eye. Today we are lucky enough to be inspired by he and his wife Amber’s stunning work at the New Haven Lawn Club. They captured images these two newlyweds (who celebrated their anniversary yesterday) will treasure forever, and that is just such a gift. See all the gorgeous images here. You can also donate to the beautiful Langlois family here.
From the Bride… James and I met in the fall of 2004 while attending Fairfield University in Connecticut. Both of us were renting out neighboring beach houses on Fairfield Beach, CT. After several years of dating, James proposed on Rowland Road in the middle of our two beach houses where we first met. From the very start of the wedding planning process we both knew we wanted a Connecticut wedding. Having a wedding where we met and where we could envision our wedding day only left the feeling as if it was meant to be. We planned a summer wedding and picked July 7, 2012 as our wedding date. We wanted to combine the best of our worlds and somehow we pulled it off. We were able to have our CT wedding and add some New York City style into the details.
James and I both went into this process knowing that we would be 100% involved in the planning process. We wanted to do everything together and pick everything out ourselves. We jumped right in and enjoyed every single moment of the planning process. We chose the New Haven Lawn Club as our venue, which was by far our favorite. We loved how elegant the ballroom was, and the old classic feel of the venue, the amazing chandeliers. The entire venue is beautiful. It was the perfect canvas for our wedding day. Although we never had a theme, everything was seen to be very elegant and romantic looking. I knew from the beginning I wanted soft colors of whites, greens, pinks, touches of gold, lots of candles, and a warm glow throughout the room. It all came together with the help of New Haven Lawn Club wedding coordinators and our Floral Designer, Jack Colestos.
Planning all the little details was our favorite part. We knew we wanted Raw Photo Design and Pennylane Productions to capture us and our bridal party at spots in Fairfield that were very meaningful to us. We chose Fairfield Beach where we met and where James proposed, The Sea Grape bar where we have so many memories with our college friends, and Fairfield University which brought us together. We were blown away when we got to see how beautifully they captured all these moments. The antique taxi cab was a perfect NYC touch that my Dad and I were driven to the church in.
I didn’t walk down the aisle to your typical wedding melody; I walked down to “All This Time” by One Republic. It is a song James and I have always loved. After the ceremony finished we walked down the aisle as husband and wife to “Beautiful Day” by U2 playing. Our cake topper was a replica of the Love sculpture located in NYC very close to my office. James is an FDNY firefighter in Brooklyn; I knew I wanted to incorporate that into his groom’s cake. The very talented Erica O’Brien who also created our wedding cake made it look exactly like James’ helmet. He was so surprised. My mom even had the idea to put pictures of us as toddlers on the bathroom doors. We chose a signature drink of sweet tea vodka and lemonade and called it the “Tiki Tea”. The confetti was by far my favorite moment of the reception. We got that idea after seeing The Fray perform at Radio City Music Hall in NYC. During one of their songs they shot off pink confetti and I loved it. We knew it would be such a neat touch to our wedding. It really got everyone up and dancing all night, thanks to our Band ETA Music and DJ Danny Estrella we had a non-stop dance party.
When we look back on our wedding day we know we wouldn’t change a single thing. Our wedding day was everything I dreamed it would be. Most important, it was our day just the way we both envisioned it to be. All of our vendors did an amazing job and we couldn’t be more pleased with them. Our pictures and video sure do tell the entire story of our day, and that makes both of us very happy. I can’t tell you how much love and happiness we were surrounded by that day.
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Photography: Eric + Amber Langlois of Raw Photo Design | Cinematographer: PennyLane Productions | Ceremony Venue: St. Thomas Aquinas, Fairfield, Connecticut | Officiant: Father Victor T. Martin | Ceremony Music: David Harris | Reception Venue: New Haven Lawn Club, New Haven, Connecticut | Floral Design: Flowers and Company | Cake Design: Erica O’Brien Cake Design | Catering: New Haven Lawn Club | Programs + Menu Cards: Designed by Bride’s Brother, Michael Zaleta | Wedding Dress: Badgley Mischka via The Plumed Serpent Bridal | Shoes: Jimmy Choo | Jewelry: Paris by Debra Moreland | Bridesmaids’ Dresses: Amsale via The Plumed Serpent Bridal | Monogrammed Bridesmaid Bags: Ballard Designs | Bridesmaids’ Bracelets: Kate Spade | Hair + Makeup Team: Dana Bartone | Bride + Groom’s Wedding Bands: Tiffany & Co. | Groom’s Tux: Vera Wang | Bow Tie: Urban Outfitters | Band: ETA Music Westport | DJ: Danny Estrella of Dash of Class Entertainment | Lighting: Partners in Sound Productions Entertainment Group | Audio: Pro Sho Productions | Limos + Taxi Cab: Silver Star Limos