Connecticut Wedding by Candice Dowling
What do you get when you put an insanely talented event planner together with the daunting task of designing her OWN wedding. Well, you get this next featured wedding. A purely gorgeous, unbelievably romantic, hugely personal day with a bride that is literally glowing. Candice Dowling of Jubilee Events is one of our most loved Little Black Book members, planning and designing some of the most incredible New England affairs you’ve ever seen. And although I am sure that it was insanely challenging to design her own wedding style, the result was complete magic.
Being in the industry was both a blessing and a burden for me while Michael and I set out to plan our amazing wedding. As you can imagine, being constantly immersed in the loveliness of the wedding world posed unique challenges for me when it came to the look and feel for our wedding. Our color story rose out of my muse – my shoes – and my love for purple. Purple, gold, with pops of red and white. Another source of inspiration was the song my parents danced to at their wedding, Frank Sinatra’s “The Best is Yet to Come”. With these bits as our inspiration, we set out to plan the big day.
We met while living in Hartford, Connecticut – so it seemed only fitting to travel back there to be married. Hartford holds so many great memories for us and was the place where we fell in love. I wore a custom Modern Trousseau gown and was outfitted with all my lovely accessories by the girls at the White Dress. I wanted to walk down the aisle with something meaningful and secret sewn into my dress… “Live the life you’ve imagined.” There were special touches with me – a vintage hanky, my grandmothers pearl bracelet, and of course, my muse for our entire wedding. My Natalie Portman shoes.
Our ceremony was so incredible – our favorite part of the entire day. Our officiant was a close family friend who we’ve known for many, many years. She wrote the most beautiful ceremony that was partially inspired by the lovely writings of our photographers who had posted our engagement session with our love story on their website.
My shoes and the location of our reception really inspired the wedding. The G. Fox Department store was a major brand in New England and its headquarters were in Hartford. In fact, our bridesmaids dressed in little black dresses as that was what the women who worked for G. Fox wore to the department store. Our wedding reception was literally held in an old department store. While there were no more beauty counters or cash registers you can certainly feel the building buzzing with shoppers, smell vintage Chanel, or ride the original escalators. Our guests enjoyed vintage style cocktails in the mezzanine area which overlooks the large atrium we reserved for dancing. Our escort cards, with designs by Lilah Paper and calligraphy by Lisa Ridgely, where pinned to vintage black frames I ensconced with purple fabric. Guests left us notes and words of wisdom on vintage Hartford post cards, too.
Our florist, Jessica, created varying centerpieces and arrangements for dinning, using a variety of purple and white flowers. Our head table had flowers in eclectic containers down the center. It was absolutely stunning. We had over 50 tapper candles burning on the table as well. We chose to do a long, family style head table which I always recommend to our clients. On each table were bottles of Francis Ford Coppola wine – our favorite for obvious reasons! I can’t tell you how amazing it was to imbibe our favorite wine with our closest friends and celebrate our marriage!
We had the most delicious cake – chocolate and raspberry. I love wedding cakes, but for myself, I knew that I didn’t want anything traditional. I wanted something rich, architectural, and just plan delicious. Our four-tiered chocolate masterpiece, by Modern Pastry, was topped with handmade gold painted banners that Lisa calligraphed our inspiration… the best is yet to come. Our first dance was to Van Morrison’s Someone Like You, with a special line in the last verse…. “and lately I have realized, the best is yet to come.” After dinner we danced the night away and ended the evening on a high kicking note.
Planning by Jubilee Events / Wedding gown, accessories and attire by Modern Trousseau from The White Dress by the Shore, Clinton Connecticut / Makeup & Hair by Dana Bartone & Co. / Floral Décor by Jessica’s Country Flowers / Photography by Robert and Kathleen Photographers / Cinematography by Vantage Point Films / Ceremony Location by The Old State House, Hartford Connecticut / Reception Location by The Old G. Fox Department Store / Caterer by Marquee Events & Catering / Bridesmaids Gowns by White House Black Market / Cake & Confections by Modern Pastry, Hartford / Invitations & Paper by Lilah Paper / Calligraphy by Lisa Ridgely
48 Comments about “Connecticut Wedding by Candice Dowling”
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January 4, 2010 at 12:44 pm
ok now my best of 2010 list has started haha
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January 4, 2010 at 12:45 pm
Candice - I am loving every word of your detailed write up and thank you for sharing all of these great ideas! "The G. Fox Department Store" must have looked great on your invitations! Such a cool idea for a venue...
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January 4, 2010 at 1:05 pm
The purple is gorgeous in every way. Beautiful wedding and love the shoes!
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January 4, 2010 at 1:14 pm
Candice - beautiful! Does anyone know where the inspirational shoes can be purchased? Thanks.
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January 4, 2010 at 1:20 pm
Amazing hair...and those shoes! Just perfect!
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January 4, 2010 at 1:21 pm
i want to find a wrap or shawl like her's to wear at my reception. any details on that piece or know where i can find something like it online?
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January 4, 2010 at 1:22 pm
I love the theme, I love the color, I love the perfume, I love the bride and groom, I love the cake. I love everything about this wedding. So amazingly beautiful.
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January 4, 2010 at 1:34 pm
I am absolutely in LOVE with the purple shoes. Just gorgeous!
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January 4, 2010 at 2:01 pm
check etsy for a shawl/bolero
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January 4, 2010 at 2:02 pm
I love purple! Love the shoes, the veil and the baroque frames!!
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January 4, 2010 at 2:03 pm
Yep, those shoes are a star. Gorgeous.
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January 4, 2010 at 2:05 pm
Loving the purple throughout! The shoes are fabulous.
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January 4, 2010 at 2:39 pm
Jessica, I would suggest Bozie on Etsy: http://www.etsy.com/shop/bonzie
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January 4, 2010 at 2:43 pm
Thanks all for the incredibly sweet comments! The shoes are Te'casan limited edition Natalie Portman named "Plath". I'm afraid they are not available anywhere! A pair may pop up on ebay but they are hard to find.
xxoo
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January 4, 2010 at 2:44 pm
The cake, the color, the hair-everything is gorgeous!
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January 4, 2010 at 2:45 pm
love the shoes! where on earth did you find them?? :)
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January 4, 2010 at 2:47 pm
Simply GORGEOUS! Loving all the purple.
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January 4, 2010 at 2:53 pm
The photos are exquisite! Thank you for sharing!
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January 4, 2010 at 2:54 pm
AAhhh, such beauty. Mike and Candice are so gorgeous. As usual, Candice really delivers on design. You have such a great eye for style.
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January 4, 2010 at 3:00 pm
Oh my the hair! The hair! The shoes! Sooo pretty.
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January 4, 2010 at 3:07 pm
Simply stunning! And yes, being in the industry can be both a blessing and a burden while planning for one's big event.
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January 4, 2010 at 3:40 pm
Her hair! And the ceremony space! And her shoes. It's all so elegant and fun and chic. Very stylish!
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January 4, 2010 at 3:58 pm
Gorgeous colors!! I am trying to decide on colors for my August 2010 wedding and this wedding may have sealed the deal for purple!
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January 4, 2010 at 4:03 pm
flawless....just like Candice!
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January 4, 2010 at 4:26 pm
Candace, you go girl! So proud to be a fellow I-Weddie with you. Your work is simply stunning. What a fab way for you to start the New Year.
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January 4, 2010 at 4:34 pm
And oh my gosh... i forgot to say: CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR MAIRWIDGGE. ;-) tHIS must be such an incredible high to not only see your own work on Style Me Pretty, but to have the wedding be YOUR OWN! hOW FUN is that?!? I loved reading your story. Thanks so much for sharing with us.
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January 4, 2010 at 5:05 pm
Oh, WOW. Her hair is AMAZING.
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January 4, 2010 at 5:24 pm
This wedding is oh so beautiful.
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January 4, 2010 at 6:00 pm
Love the purple details, and the gown is gorgeous!
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January 4, 2010 at 7:38 pm
Candace, I'm a wedding photographer in Seattle and grew up going to that G. Fox in Hartford when I was little. How fun that you got married there! Your wedding looks gorgeous, and those shoes!
I'll have to check out the store next time I go home. Thanks for sharing and Congratulations! -
January 4, 2010 at 7:51 pm
Gorgeous photos Candice! <3 <3 <3 all of them! :-)
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January 4, 2010 at 8:54 pm
Joann - what an incredible story!! I simply love hearing that. You MUST go while you are in town. Thank you so much for sharing your memories there!
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January 4, 2010 at 9:01 pm
oooh I am in LOVE...the flowers are amazing, but those shoes...they are a work of art:)
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January 4, 2010 at 11:04 pm
I think this is the most stunning, cohesive wedding I have ever seen! Beautiful!
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January 5, 2010 at 12:12 am
YUM! The second I saw the shot of the brides hair I gasped and thought- this one's gonna be good! So refreshing to see the bright purple!
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January 5, 2010 at 10:01 am
Where are the shoes from? Love everything about this wedding!
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January 5, 2010 at 1:35 pm
I heart this wedding. So love the purple and all of the elegant style.
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January 5, 2010 at 4:58 pm
Candace!!! What a wonderful surprise to see you here. What fabulous-awesome work. A huge, huge kudos to you, my friend!!
Daisy -
January 5, 2010 at 5:10 pm
Amazingly gorgeous! I wouldn't expect anything less from you Candice!! So many fabulous details! So glad your beautiful wedding is up for everyone to see!!
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January 5, 2010 at 6:54 pm
What a great wedding to start off the new year! I am in LOVE with the bolero on the bride in the reception shot! Where can I find that??
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January 5, 2010 at 8:15 pm
I was shopping today and saw some purple shoes and thought of you and your wedding and had to come back and look again. Truly beautiful and elegant.
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January 5, 2010 at 8:56 pm
This wedding is AMAZING!
where did her wonderufl veil come from? -
January 5, 2010 at 10:21 pm
Did you make the lavender boxes or purchase them (and where?). I love the idea of throwing lavender!!
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January 6, 2010 at 2:32 am
So in Love with this wedding. I am gettimg married May 15 2010...wanted to know were you got the veil and bolero from?? Thanks!
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January 6, 2010 at 7:08 am
Hi ladies~
The shoes came from Te'casan in the city.... no longer in business
The veil is from The White Dress by the Shore
The bolero is from bonzie on Etsy.com
The lavender boxes I made. I purchased favor boxes, cut the tops so they were open, put a pretty white dolie inside and placed the lavender on top. The lavender was purchased in bulk (still have a ton!!). Did you know when you step on lavender it releases more of its fragrance? It smelled BEAUTIFUL in there!!! -
January 6, 2010 at 10:30 am
wow. i adore the whole look of everything! any way we can get a tutorial on how the hair was done???
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January 6, 2010 at 11:47 am
Congrats Candice and everyone else - beautiful beautiful beautiful!!
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[...] bated breath’ to see the photos from Candice’s own wedding. So yesterday’s front page SMP feature was a huge delight for me! Not only was it all that I knew it would be … it was one of those [...]