This, loves, is a bride and groom after my own heart. A stunning couple that tackles DIY likes it’s no one’s business and, with the help of the amazing A Polished Plan, throws a wedding that is equal parts pretty and fun. Think lots of gold glitter courtesy of the “glitter addict” bride, a fabulous Lace Factory setting and sweet vintage stylings. See it all captured by The Melideos right here.
From The Bride… I love the fact that when people ask how Ben and I met we have a fun story to tell. I had gone with a friend to watch her boyfriend’s band play at BB Kings in Times Square (which is a big feat because anyone who lives in NYC will tell you that is the last place they’d want to be on a busy Friday night). While watching the band play I noticed a cute tall guy standing rather alone, so at the end of the night I threw caution to the wind and approached him. We started talking and introduced ourselves, he told me he worked as a producer for Good Morning America but moonlit as a Calvin Klein Underwear model – to which I replied that was funny because I actually worked there! He made me show him a business card as proof and wrote his number on it for me adding “$10 says you don’t call.” I had lost my phone earlier that night and after searching the streets of the Lower East Side the following morning I gave up and went to the nearest Best Buy to get a temp phone. I really liked this guy and wanted to be able to call him! That night I got home to Brooklyn and saw that he had not only sent me a text but Facebook message and we agreed to meet up that same night. After a few hours of conversation, we realized I went to the same college as his parents in Colorado and that we had mutual friends in other states. I met his parents exactly seven days later and we’ve been inseparable ever since…
Three years later Ben proposed while we were running along the East River – complete with our dog Bailey in tow – and we began our incredible journey to create our beautiful wedding day. All we knew was that we wanted something that felt like “us,” relaxed and fun, and would be held in the fall, as close to the time we met as possible. Even though we were living in Manhattan, we wanted to find a venue outside of the city so it had the feel of a destination wedding but without all of the travel. We had originally found a great old mansion in Fairfield, CT that was a historical site with a lot of land and was right in our budget. Unfortunately, after Hurricane Sandy, there were weeks of cleanup and extensive damage to a lot of areas in the town and we had to find a new venue. Luckily, I happened upon an amazing venue in a sleepy little town further east in Connecticut, an old Lace Factory that had been converted into an event space. It was right along the river so it had a very relaxed vibe and had the interior charm of some of the loft spaces you might find in NYC.
We got right down to planning and soon realized that because of our busy work schedules and the distance, tracking down and meeting with the perfect vendors wasn’t going to be something we could do on our own. Thankfully, I discovered our amazing wedding planner, Sarah from A Polished Plan, and we literally couldn’t have accomplished anything without her! Because we were working on a budget, we weren’t able to contract Sarah for the whole process, but arranged a planning partnership so we could work together to recommend and book vendors and to reach out for “panicked help” throughout the year. She was able to suggest amazing vendors who were happy to work with our DIY approach and the final outcome was beyond words.
We wanted to have a “fall” themed wedding without doing the typical orange and red color palette so we chose muted versions of dusty teals and soft pinks with champagne, gold and a pop of coral for fun. I am a self-professed Glitter Addict, so once we settled on the colors I literally turned our apartment into a glitter factory. To save some money, both of our families started collecting different size tin cans and mason jars that we spray painted gold and glittered to use for the flowers and candles on the tables. Even our florist got in on the fun and glittered some of her own jars and containers! Our wedding was the weekend before Halloween, so I ordered 100 mini white pumpkins to use as decorations, some of which we painted gold or glittered to tie the whole theme together. One of my favorite discount finds for the wedding were the vintage LOVE marquee letters that I found at the Brimfield Fair last summer, spray painted gold and filled with string lights. We really wanted to give out favors but were afraid to overspend, so we decided to make caramel apples and use them as escort cards, as well. I went to a local farm and picked up five bushels of apples for a bargain and we had both of our families come to our apartment and turned it into a caramel apple factory! They were all so helpful with all of the finishing touches; we couldn’t have done it without them.
We wanted to have as many personal touches as possible to remind us of our loved ones. I used the lace from the bottom of my mother’s wedding dress to wrap around my bouquet and pinned it into place with a pin borrowed from my aunt that was my grandmother’s. We hung pictures of close family, childhood and college friends, and our favorites of us together along the long entry wall at the venue. For the bathrooms, I blew up embarrassing grade school photos of Ben and me to hang on the entry doors. I also found the business card that Ben gave me that night we met and framed it in lace and placed it on the guestbook table, proof that his pick up line was a real thing! Instead of the traditional guest book we opted for a Jenga set and wedding mad-libs, whenever we need a good laugh we go thru them – we truly have some of the funniest people in our lives.
For our ceremony we were married under my grandparent’s chuppah that was used for their 50th wedding anniversary. My grandmother passed when I was 12, so it was very meaningful for me to know that a little piece of her was there with us. My childhood Cantor and close family friend was our officiant, he talked us into writing our own vows which we are so grateful we decided to do! We were able to laugh and really enjoy the moment, which meant the world to us.
My greatest piece of advice to future brides is to trust your gut. For almost every vendor that we booked, we had one that fell through first because of availability or just following our gut that they weren’t the right fit for us. What we ended up with was a group of absolutely fabulous vendors that helped make our day so beautiful and carefree we were able to focus on what was important – a celebration of our love with our closest family and friends.
Photography: The Melideos | Floral Design: Stems Flower Design | Wedding Dress: Romona Keveza Legends | Bride's Shoes: Badgley Mischka | Bridesmaids Dresses: J.Crew | DJ: Play Something Good | Groom's Suit: Brooks Brothers | Transportation: Jolly Red Trolley | Catering & Wedding Cake: Cloud Nine Catering | Ceremony & Reception: The Lace Factory | Event Planner & Designer: A Polished Plan | Groom's Shoes: Vans | Hair & Make-Up: Simply Gorgeous By Erin | Tie & Tie Clip: J.Crew