A Coastal Grandmother Summer Wedding at Connecticut's The Mayflower Inn
The Planning
Design / Vibe / Vision
The Mayflower Inn and Spa's interior, designed by Celerie Kemble, is exquisite and known for its punchy patterns and elegant use of bold color. As event designers, we so often look for ways to bring the outdoors inside to a space, but in this case, we sought to do just the opposite... to bring the sensibility and style of the indoor space out to the Mayflower's iconic Shakespeare Garden lawn and the sailcloth-tented reception. We curated a few patterns and unexpected elements to bring a bit of the sensibility of that space outside to the garden party-style wedding festivities.
Bridal Portraits
Flat Lays
The Fashion
Wedding Gown
Hayley wore three unique looks on her wedding day, including a couture dress designed for her by A'dor Couture that she wore for the ceremony, a sleek Elizabeth Fillmore gown that she wore for the reception, and a sheer Mark Ingram Collection cape that she wore over that gown for the first look and portraits. She carried a navy blue Bella Rosa Collection clutch, engraved with their wedding date on a silver plate affixed onto the interior.
Bridesmaid Dresses
Hayley and her sisters chose floral print dresses from Reformation that they loved. With an intimate bridal party of four bridesmaids, each was able to select a unique neckline and length in the same pattern, so that no two silhouettes were the same.
Wedding Party
Ceremony
Cocktail Hour
The Details
Food & Drink
Immediately following the waterfront ceremony, guests were treated to an al fresco cocktail hour on the Shakespeare Garden lawn, with tray-passed hors d’oeuvres, champagne, and cocktails. The elegant seated, plated dinner service included a seasonal fresh salad course, and a duet entrée of grilled ribeye and a classic New England crab cake paired with a risotto cake, saffron broth, and asparagus. For dessert, everyone enjoyed carrot cake layered with cream cheese, graham cracker crumbles, and vanilla buttercream.
Florals & Decor
Floral elements included ranunculus, tweedia, hellebores, queen anne's lace, garden roses, stock, clematis, and greenery such as geranium foliage, maidenhair fern, and Italian ruscus.
For the ceremony, we used hydrangea, larkspur, and delphinium to line the back row of chairs and give a bit of presence to the ceremony area, which was set in a large field at the edge of a pond. The dinner table arrangements included an assortment of delicate, textured clear glass bud vases with clusters of white flowers.
Wedding Cake
The wedding cake was made by the exceptional pastry team at the Mayflower. Each buttercream iced tier was wrapped with a textured navy and white ribbon, and the cake was displayed on a white pedestal stand, atop a patterned linen tablecloth.
Special Detail #1
The saffron taper candles on the dinner table were inspired by the wall color in the Mayflower's striking "Parlour" space.
Special Detail #2
Upon arrival, guests received gift boxes filled with savory and sweet treats, in addition to a watercolor map of Washington, Connecticut, and the Mayflower. The gift included a personalized welcome note that encouraged guests to "get the party started" with a custom QR code to access a playlist that Hayley and Jack curated for the weekend.
Special Detail #3
After the reception ended, the party vibe continued into the wee hours, as Jack had made advance arrangements to have his own gear set up to DJ the after-party.
Couple Portraits
Reception
