Connecticut Garden Wedding From Studio Foto
A few days ago we gave you a glimpse of Tammy in her absolutely stunning lace wedding dress. Today, we bring you the rest of the story ~~
from Tammy …
When dear friends of ours offered to host a garden wedding for us in their newly redesigned gardens at their home in Norwalk, CT we were so excited. Gilles and I were married in July at the Mairie in Paris at a small ceremony. With many of our friends and family absent from our ceremony in Paris, we were so happy that our friends offered to host our US reception with close friends and family. We decided to hold our reception on my parent’s 50th wedding anniversary. It was a perfect day.
Our reception was planned in four months mostly from Paris. SMP was a great help for inspiration, resources and ideas that really helped me plan the reception …such as the color palette: french blue and white with antique red accents, casual elegance look and feel, stylish details and floral arrangements. The inspiration boards were especially helpful. Details of the wedding were very important to me. I included small touches of French flair to honor my husband’s heritage.
Tammy’s chignon is so classic and so perfectly paired with the lace gown!
The buffet menu was incredible. Our caterer really understood our vision to combine American and European cuisine. The charcuterie table was a great success. Details included: a menu board, kir royals, french wine, french bisquits with chocolate from Paris at each place setting, matchbooks given to us by my best friend was such a lovely surprise, an appetizer of home made pate from Gilles’s grandmother, lanterns with ribbon tails with blue lights, stamped cocktail napkins with a stamp from etsy, french-english flashcards placed at the cocktail hour for conversation bought on etsy, french blue ribbons tied on napkins, handmade guest book, elegant clean floral arrangements for tables to compliment the gardens, handmade ring pillow in french blue toile.
The best part of the day was being with all of the family and friends we love. We had symbols of our loved ones everywhere all throughout the day. Chris and Joe offered their beautiful home, our friend, Michael married us in the garden, my best friend Deb assisted me with every aspect of the wedding a few days before the ceremony (hanging all lanterns to wrapping napkins) and was my coordinator the day of the wedding (I am blessed to have her in my life).
What a charming, intimate celebration!
Advice to other brides. It is possible to plan a perfect wedding day in a short amount of time. Come up with a budget and figure out what is really important to you. Ask friends for referrals for catering companies, music and rental companies. Be upfront with your vendors about timing and budget. When they know what they are working with, it makes for a more pleasant experience.
To our hosts Chris and Joe, thank you very much for hosting our wedding and for all your help and effort in making the day just perfect. We are so lucky to have friends like you in our lives.
Perfect!! A backyard garden wedding full of charm, elegance, and wonderful food & drink. You can tell that this was a very heart-warming day…filled with family and friends, love, laughter and a touch of attitude!
On a slightly different note … congratulations to Krystal and Paul, masterminds of Studio Foto … on their own engagement!! To see more of their fabulous fotography, and read a great marriage proposal story, check out their blog and website.
krystal’s engagement ring shot
Oooh! So pretty :) Any idea what kind of shoes Tami wore? They look like they were flats, and I'm looking for a flat sandal like those for my wedding... Tami if you are reading please let me know!
Thanks!
I ADORE this wedding, thanks for sharing! Their details are brilliant.
Would love a tip as to who made the polka dot flower girl dress if anyone knows... I've been searching high and low for something dotted for our flower girl!
Where do brides get those globe lanterns?? I would love to find some for my wedding!
Hi Kinsey,
I am not the bride but I found globe lanterns for my daughters'wedding online. The company I found sells them for around .99-1.29 apiece! Very, very reasonable. Please let me know if you would like my email address. I would be happy to check the name tonight and pass it on. Elizabeth
I would love to know the name of the company with the globes, if you would please pass it on
HI. My shoes are from JCrew, metallic gold kitten heel sandals. They were very comfortable.
Hi Maggie,
Thank you. I loved the details too. It was really fun to put together.
The polka dot dress I found for my niece was purchased at Target by Issacc Mizrahi on clearance for $11. I could not believe it either.
Have a good day.
Tammy
Hi Kathleen,
I bought the paper lanterns from www.lunabazaar.com in 3 different sizes to hang in clusters.
I also decided to put LCD lights inside the lanterns to add some light in the tent. The light provided a lovely, romantic glow. It was much less expensive then adding lighting through our tent rental company. We also hung the lanterns with grosgrain ribbons in the tent to add some color and detail.
Good luck.
Tammy
Tammy -- congratulations on a beautiful wedding and reception! I updated the post to include your thoughts and planning process. Thanks for sharing!
WOW this wedding is STUNNING! Love the pop of colors, the flower girl's dress, the crispness of the blue and white - just great all around.
And of course big hugs to Krystal and Paul.....finally :)
Wow! Thank you for all of the kind words! It's always great when we have a couple that cares about all the little details as much as we do. Tammy and Gilles were a fantastic couple to photograph, and their wedding was one of our favorites from last year.
Also, thank you to the SMP crew for announcing our engagement! You can be sure that we'll be looking at SMP for ideas for our own wedding :)
Where is your dress from - i love the lace?
Hi Paula,
Thank you. My dress is by Jim Helm.
Way to go Paul & Krystal! You guys rocked this one! Love all the details and the vantage point on the lanterns!
Hi Tami, Wow, what a beautiful day you had in such a beautiful setting. Why no picture of your dear friend Deb? Was she not in the wedding? Would love to know what she wore as well? Best Wishes to you and Gilles!
Tammy, where can I find such good friends, would they rent out their beautiful home? I am getting married in July 2009! P.S. why no pictures of them? Thanks for your help!
Absolutely stunning.
Where did you find the chalkboard? I was planning on using chalkboards at my wedding too for the seating assignments but haven't had much luck finding the right one online, where did you find that one?
Stunning shots of a stunning wedding! Great stuff Paul + Krystal!!
Hi Cara,
I looked everywhere for a chalkboard and could not find one I liked. I decided to make one instead. It is REALLY easy to make. I went to Home Depot and picked up a piece of precut wood and a can of chalk board spray paint. It dries really quickly. Good Luck.
Hi Tammy,
Congrats on a gorgeous event! I'm wondering if you might share the name of your other vendors - who did the catering? And the flowers are stunning. You must have had quite the team to pull all of those well thought out details together!
Gorgeous!
Victoria
The blue you is a magnificent accent.
What an absolutely lovely wedding. I hope the marriage is twice as beautiful.
A gorgeous wedding! I noticed that your dress is Jim Hjelm. I am looking for a dress like yours. You looked fantastic! Is the dress an ivory lace over the champagne silk charmeuse? Thanks, Tiffany
Hi Tiffany,
Thank you. Yes, my dress is ivory lace over champagne silk charmeuse.
Good luck to you and congratulations.
Tammy
Hi, I think you're wedding looks really beautiful. I'm planning one for next August at my parents house in CT and really appreciate learning about where to get the lanterns. I'd be very interested in what tent company you used, if you were happy with them and don't mind recommending. I have so many questions and won't bother you with all, but just one other - did you only use the lighting in the lantern for the tent or did you have it lit with additional lighting from a rental company? Also, who was your florist??
Any advice would be so much appreciated!
-Ariana
I'm planning a wedding in CT as well and was wondering if you would share your caterer? the food looks dee - lish!