Connecticut Weddings

This stunning autumn-hued affair?  I’m filing it away in a special place I call the best ever. Think a movie-like love story (seriously) with amazing florals from Blush Floral Design Studio, the beauty stylings of Jennie Fresa Brow & Beauty Bar and a sophisticated gown from Everthine Bridal Boutique.  A Polished Plan crafted every moment to absolute perfection and Salwa Photography deserves some serious applause. Do yourself a favor and head straight to THE VAULT.

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From the Bride… My husband and I met in Florence, Italy while out enjoying aperitivo with our mutual friends from college. After three nights full of laughs and Italian wine with all of our friends, Chad was returning back to America, since he was only there for a brief trip. I had immediately fallen in love with Chad the moment I met him, and we know we had to start a long-distance relationship with the hopes of one day being together again. Well after three and a half years of snail mail, skype, and a “few” weekend trips to Florence and NYC, I made the big move to Texas to finally be with the one I love most. Within one and a half more amazing years in Texas, we bought a beautiful home together, rescued two spunky kitties, and got engaged!

I had never felt so elated and euphoric in my life and I never wanted to lose that feeling, I wanted to keep it between the two of us. Of course we had to tell our families so that we could all celebrate the amazing news together, so we shared the news and celebrate we did! Once we all came to our senses the planning started. At first it was Scotland or Ireland, and then the idea of a Backyard Black-Tie, but finally we realized what it needed to be, Italian in the most true and organic way.

Soon we found the perfect location in Deep River, CT, the Lace Factory. You could not find a more authentic, historic, perfectly aged building, on the Connecticut River, at the bottom of the mountain, surrounded by serine foliage. This place was an absolute dream. Quickly my mom and I got to work with the most incredible wedding planner in CT, Sarah Taggart of A Polished Plan. Both my mom and I had strong visions of what we wanted and with that Sarah was able to bring together the dream team of wedding planning.

We were incredibly fortunate that the owner, Andrea, of the Lace Factory is also the owner of the catering at Cloud 9. Andrea had recently returned from a vacation in Italy and was inspired to create a new menu that was authentic, fresh, and full of the incredible Italian flavors Chad and I love so much. To really top off the cake, she offered to make homemade lemoncello, and she even made a new cake flavor for me, chai spice with mascarpone butter cream! Yes, I was on cloud 9, the food in my life could not have been more divine.

When we started talking about flowers, I initially did not want many, it just didn’t appeal to me as a priority in a wedding. Honestly my husband and I are not huge fans of manicured florals, but thankfully my mom and Sarah knew better. Sarah introduced us to Beth from Blush, and what we saw in her little studio was inspirational. She opened our eyes to the lush side and her talents truly transformed the wedding. She created the most elegant and earthy centerpieces but brought so much personality and quirkiness to them. There were artichokes in the center of a flower arrangements, she also introduced succulents wherever she could, and single bud vases for a touch of fragility.

What was a priority for me was photography. I was so excited when we found Salwa Photography in NYC. Chad and I were able to plan a trip to NYC and meet Anna, one of the owners. She has the most charming, energetic and endearing personalities, that I knew she would be a perfect match for us. One of Chad and I’s favorite directors is Wes Anderson, and I also have a love for black and white photography, and with that visual direction Anna and her husband, Simon, captured the most stunning moments.

Day of the wedding, after Chad and I had our emotional first look photographs, we previewed the Lace Factory and we could not believe our eyes. Sarah and her incredible dream team had brought the venue to life. It was as though the Lace Factory found its true glory. As we walked in the staff was lighting the hundreds of candles that illuminated the garlands at each table. Meanwhile the three piece jazz band, Dandy Wellington, was setting up to serenade us all, and our DJ, Mike Voster, with incredibly suave taste in fashion and music was finishing his setup. Throughout the wedding planning my mom kept saying “I want this to be the wedding you dreamed of” but what I think she really meant when saying that was, “I want you to have a wedding you won’t stop dreaming of”. From the smell of the fresh autumn flowers, the taste of genuinely delicious food, to the sound of jazz flooding the Connecticut River, this truly is a wedding I will never stop dreaming of.

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Photography: Salwa Photography | Event Planning + Design: A Polished Plan | Floral Design: Blush Floral Design Studio | Wedding Dress: Everthine Bridal Boutique | Stationery: Social Alchemy | Bridesmaids’ Dresses: Everthine Bridal Boutique | Makeup: Jennie Fresa Brow & Beauty Bar | Hair: Posh Salon | DJ: Electric Gentleman | Venue: The Lace Factory | Cocktail Hour Music: Dandy Wellington and His Band | Furniture Rentals: AFR Furniture Rental | Lighting + Drapery: Social Decor | Linen Rentals:Party Rentals Ltd | Rentals: Rentals Unlimited | Trolley: Jolly Red Trolley

I do believe spring is trying to be fashionably late this year, so a wedding like this bloom-filled beauty is just what we need in New England right now. Perfectly captured by Katie Slater Photography at The Lace Factory with florals from Ashleigh’s Garden, you can soak up a little spring-time pretty to hold you over here. 

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Photography: Katie Slater Photography | Floral Design: Ashleigh's Garden | Wedding Dress: David Fielden | Reception: The Lace Factory | Bridesmaids Dresses: Donna Morgan | Catering: Cloud Nine Catering | Makeup: Bold Face Makeup | Hair: Sarah Archambault | Band: Major Motion Band | Transportation: Essex Steam Train | Day Of Coordination: William Parkinson Events | Dress Boutique: The White Dress by the shore

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

I feel like the luckiest girl in the world to have a front row seat to all the pretty we share on the daily. But what I love even more? The backstage pass that gives us a peek at how it all comes to life. Enter this lovely workshop hosted by Justin & Mary and designed by Stacie Shea Events. It’s designed to take photogs through every step of a wedding and the result is a serious dose of gorgeous. From Carrie Wilcox‘s bursting blooms to Roseville Designs invitations, this gallery is a perfect midweek pick-me-up!

From Stacie Shea Events… Justin and Mary Marantz put on the Walk Through A Wedding series for two days of amazing action packed information on what it takes to be a wedding photographer. The first day is typically all shooting and walking through each step of the wedding day as if Justin and Mary were actually shooting it. They cover everything from the getting ready to a dark church to posing the couple to shooting the reception complete with killer details.

Justin and Mary start bright and early at their home in New Haven talking about the “Why” and the first day typically goes all day winding up with some fantastic night shooting. Throughout the first day they cover all those trouble spots like posing an unruly bridal party, organizing the family shots, off-camera lighting at the church and reception, what to do if you only have 10 minutes for the portraits, and how to have a game plan to shoot the reception details before they get destroyed. Everything for this amazing workshop is set up to be just like a real wedding, so this is literally a one stop shot for all those things that many photographers struggle with.

This past May an amazing team of vendors paired up to help put this workshop on for Justin and Mary at the Lace Factory in Deep River, CT. Justin and Mary work together to select a color palette that they would like to work with for the shoot and then Stacie Shea and her team paired what they feel are the most perfect lineup of vendors to match the theme. This workshop was based on Tweed, light blue and teal shades.

Photography: Justin & Mary | The Weddings | Event Design: Stacie Shea Events | Floral Design: Carrie Wilcox Floral Design | Invitations: Roseville Designs | Dishes And Flatware: Juliska | Fashion Design: The White Dress by the shore | Hair And Make-up: Simply Gorgeous By Erin | Lace Factory: The Lace Factory | Linens: Wildflower Linen | Linens: BBJ La Tavola | Models: Justin & Mary | The Weddings | Pies: Pickles And Pies

I’m here to let you know Carla Ten Eyck Photography has a handful of super talented photographers. I’m talking, capture the emotions, bottle up the details, freeze the love, photographers. And Julie Morowski is one of them. As you can plainly see by her take on this ridiculously beautiful wedding, she gets lucky with the couples who are drawn to her… but considering her style is pretty much the epitome of perfect, I’m not sure how much of that is really luck.

From the photographer… Natalie and Scott are just darling, and so was their Lace Factory wedding. I had so much fun with these two lovebirds, and of course my sidekicks Erik and Ryan Lambchop. There was lace, and trains, and smiles, and love, and family, and friends. And it was just perfect.

Photography: Carla Ten Eyck | Flowers: Ashleigh's Garden | Ceremony: Mount Saint John's School | Reception: The Lace Factory | Catering: Cloud Nine Catering | Hair and Makeup: Rina's Beauty Center | DJ: Scratch Weddings