Clark totally surprised me on our first date when I opened my door and found him outside, smiling, and holding a beautiful bouquet of pink and purple tulips and a small black box.  I was totally flattered by the amazing flowers.  We had chatted on the phone on the days leading up to our date, and I had told Clark that I loved office supplies, which I chalk up to being an elementary school teacher.  I knew that this date was different and I knew that Clark really “got me” when I opened the box he brought for me and found a Staples “Easy Button!” We ended up talking the whole night at an Italian restaurant, and when they were getting ready to close, we took our date to an all-night diner where we shared dessert.  We had an instant connection and quickly realized that we were meant to be together.

Clark has the ability to make me smile like no one else can, and I am the happiest I have ever been in my life.  There are some ways that we are completely different; I have a type-A personality, and Clark is more laid back and able to calm me down.  Clark will also take time to think through his decisions, and I am much more spontaneous… which is why Clark’s proposal almost didn’t work!

In late June of 2009, Clark had purchased a beautiful diamond ring and decided to propose on a summer evening on the beach near our apartment.  The only problem is that when Clark decided it was finally time, it rained for an entire week!  When it finally stopped raining, Clark took me to the beach and brought a nice picnic.  We were enjoying ourselves, but many of my elementary students were there with their families and we kept getting interrupted.  We finally finished dinner and headed home.  Once we got home and got settled, Clark got down on one knee and asked me to be his wife.

I knew that I wanted to incorporated pink and purple into our wedding, inspired by those beautiful tulips from our first date.  We decided that we wanted to have a wedding that was traditional, classic, romantic, and elegant but full of fun touches that it made it our own.

Photographers: Robert & Kathleen Photographers / Hair: Catie Bane from Dana Bartone & Company / Make-up: Amy Fiordelisi from Dana Bartone & Company / Flowers: Elisabeth Zemetis from Blush Floral Design / Bridal Gown: Modern Trousseau / Lace Bolero: Modern Trousseau / Ceremony Location: Assumption Church / Reception Location: New Haven Lawn Club / Event Planning & Design: Candice Coppola from Jubilee Events / Reception Lighting: Rob Alberti from After Hours / Reception Entertainment: Bales Gitlin Band / Cupcakes: Sweet Cakes

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Post tags: After Hours, Art Deco, Assumption Church, Bales Gitlin Band, BLUSH Floral Design, Color Palette Purple Pink, Connecticut, Cookies, Dana Bartone & Company, Jubilee Events, Mondern Trousseau, New Haven, New Haven Lawn Club, Robert & Kathleen Photographers, Sweet Cakes, Vintage Chic, Wedding Bouquet, Wedding Photographers, Wedding Photography
Post categories: Little Black Book Blog, Vintage Chic

Click here to see the entire image gallery!

From Kristen Weaver Photography… Candice has always been specific about her own personal style; she graduated from FIT in New York and quickly moved out to LA to be a fashion designer; and she knew what she wanted for her wedding. Vintage, roaring 20′s style with sparkly metallic touches, an amazing reception venue and a heart-felt ceremony. Pretty much describes Candice. From her hair, to her flowers and reception gown – she used vintage brooches collected from various antique shows (the Rose Bowl flea market in her city, Pasadena, is her all-time favorite). The entire theme of the wedding was derived from a vintage brooch that belonged to her late grandmother – which she used as the main piece of her reception cocktail dress. Other pieces of her grandmother’s jewelry were used as her reception jewelry and in her ceremony headpiece.

Actually, calling it a ‘reception cocktail dress’ may be a bit misleading. Candice designed her gown from a piece of silk fabric that Kevin bought her as a Christmas gift, and layered it with metallic beaded fabric. The flapper-style dress was her entire creation, from the low drop back to the beads across her shoulders (one of her late-grandmother’s necklaces), and of course, her grandmother’s brooch on the front. She finished her style with a beaded Anthropologie headband and ivory Nina shoes with feather accents on the heels.

Candice’s ceremony gown was an amazing vintage-styled masterpiece by couture bridal genius, Claire Pettibone. Candice knew she wanted that exact dress from the first moment she saw it at Kleinfeld’s in New York (I asked, but no, she didn’t make it on “Say Yes to the Dress”).

Little moments were captured in her details – like Kevin’s proposal in front of the historic Flat Iron Building in NYC. The inside of his wedding band is engraved with the address of the building, and they set out Flat Iron postcards for guests to write little notes for them to read later. A mirror was inscribed with his proposal message, “Candice, you have had a lot of great memories in New York. I want this to be the greatest memory you ever have… Will you marry me?”, and below the mirror a vintage dresser carried the guest favors – vintage bottles of perfume and Flat Iron cuff links, with a custom silk screened jewelry box.

Candice’s own engagement ring was created by an estate jeweler in New York City; and her engagement session, that I shot back in August, featured some of their favorite places in Los Angeles, Pasadena, Redondo Beach and Santa Monica!

Wedding Photography: Kristen Weaver Photography / Cinematography: Lunch Pail Pictures / Floral Design: Flowers by Felicia / Wedding Ceremony Location: Wayfarers Chapel / Wedding Reception Location: Viceroy Santa Monica Hotel / Bride’s Shoes: Nina / Groom’s Tuxedo: Dolce and Gabbana / Wedding Dress: Claire Pettibone via Kleinfeld / Reception Dress: Candice Konya (The Bride) / Wedding Cake Designer: The Butter End Cakery / DJ: System 3 Entertainment

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Post tags: Art Deco, Black, CA, California, Champagne, Claire Pettibone, Dolce and Gabbana, Flowers by Felicia, Kleinfeld, Kristen Weaver photography, Lunch Pail Pictures, milk glass, Nina, Roaring Twenties, Santa Monica, Southern California Wedding, Stystem 3 Entertainment, The Butter End Cakery, Viceroy Santa Monica Hotel, Vintage inspired, Wayfarers Chapel, White
Post categories: Vintage Chic

All the fab rentals came from our favorite Luxe Event Rentals!

We weren’t quite done with this lovely fest, so when we heard the talented team at Vantage Point Films was on hand for the wedding, and had an amazingly beautiful highlight film, we were all over that. Want to see it?

Melissa and Peter | The Highlight Film from Vantage Point Films on Vimeo

From Jubilee Events … Melissa and Peter were married on a chilly November evening in Greenwich on the harbor, with a beautiful vintage / deco wedding style. Their ceremony was held in a local church with 200 of their closest family and friends. The altar was dressed with two massive fall foliage trees dripping with candles and lanterns as designed by Datura – A Modern Garden. The aisles were flanked with custom iron lanterns and nearly 200 candles.

Melissa and Peter’s reception was held at L’escale, a world famous restaurant in downtown Greenwich with the most delicious french food! Guests dined in a ballroom filled with thousands of candles and gorgeous long and round tables with beautiful branch centerpieces.

From Datura – A Modern Garden … It was clear from the first moment I met Melissa that her bouquet had to be something special. We chose white paphiopedilum orchids which were so fresh and perfect, we decided to accent them with only a single green trick dianthus at the center and a few spirals of grass at the base. For her attendants, we chose bronze cymbidium stems with uluhe fern shoots and grass.

For the ceremony, we brought in 14 foot beech trees at their autumn peak and strung Moroccan lanterns from the branches. We lined the aisle with fresh autumn leaves and accented with over sized lanterns.

At L’escale, we chose two centerpiece styles: we countered a white orchid and candle component composition in slender stemware and gathering vases with an art-deco style branch centerpiece strung with white vanda orchids and votives in blown glass globes. For their sweetheart table, we designed a custom branch cascade with willow and orchids.

Photography: Katie Slater for Carla Ten Eyck Photography / Cinematography: Vantage Point Films / Flowers: Datura – A Modern Garden / Event Planning & Design: Jubilee Events / Reception Location: L’escale at the Delamar Hotel / Dress: Claire Pettibone / Beauty: Jill Imbruogo and Arlene Cole / Bridesmaid Dresses & Jewelrey: J. Crew / Cupcakes: Great Cakes of Westport / Uplighting: Shoreline AV / Lounge Furniture: Luxe Event Rentals / Band: Vali Entertainment

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Post tags: Art Deco, Cara Ten Eyck Photography, Claire Pettibone, Connecticut, Datura: A Modern Garden, Delamar Hotel, J. Crew, Jubilee Events, L'escale, Luxe Event Rentals, Shoreline AV, Vali Entertainment, Vantage Point Films, Vintage, Winter Wedding
Post categories: Bouquets, Centerpieces, Little Black Book Blog, Traditional Elegance, Wedding Cinematography, Wedding Decor, Wedding Flowers, Wedding Photography, Wedding Planners & Designers

Regardless of the special spot I have for this wedding, it’s packed full of fun little details that are sure to provide tons of inspiration to all of you design gurus out there.

From the photographer, Britney…

Erin and Kevin arranged for a less than traditional timeline and had a pre-ceremony cocktail hour where they greeted their guests as they arrived. It was so nice to move straight from the ceremony right into dinner at two long tables, one on either side of the Traxx courtyard.

I love this bold color palette, the retro-inspired monogram, and the completely perfect vintage train motif. They really play up the art-deco vibe of the location and the refined playfulness of the couple. Thank you to Britney and Joe from Turn Loose the Art for sending this wedding our way. Congratulations Erin and Kevin!

Coming up in a bit, a contemporary vineyard wedding…

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Post tags: Art Deco, California Weddings, Los Angeles, Train, Turn Loose The Art, Union Station
Post categories: Casual Elegance

from Heather: The ceremony was in Rittenhouse Town, part of the Wissahickon woods. We could only invite immediate family and a handful of our oldest friends. To see every one’s smiles after the ceremony was the best part of the day!

My stepfather, Paul, drove me up to the ceremony in a 1932 Ford pickup he built himself from pieces. I was so proud to ride in it and loved that it matched the time period. He started building it while my mother was still alive and she never got to take a ride, so getting into it for the first time on my wedding day was an emotional roller coaster, so happy, but also sad. We were both bawling when I arrived to the sounds of the bagpiper playing “Here comes the bride.”

Did I mention everyone was crying at the ceremony!? My best friend Sarah read a passage from the Velveteen Rabbit about what is “real”. Jason, Shawn’s brother, read the last paragraph from “The Road” by Cormick McCarthy. After the ceremony Jason said a beautiful toast about how I have always been a part of the family, but it was good now to make it “official” and again I cried!

The reception was at the Sedgwick Theatre on Germantown Avenue in Mt. Airy. It is an art deco movie theatre built in 1928. I love the fashion and styles of that period so it was really important to me to have “vintage” hair and a cocktail dress.

The reception was a blast! I did not want a formal wedding reception, just a big party. It was a representation of us and our loved ones. We had a pool table and games for the kids. I also had a dress up photo booth for guests to take their own photos. On the center stage, there was a slide show running of my photographs from the past 14 years of our friends and family. The kids had fun jumping around on the stage and dancing in front of the photos! There was theatrical lighting to add to the ambiance. We had an Irish trio play at the cocktail hour who actually knew my mother, she played traditional fiddle in her life time. I also had the redware pottery she made put out on the tables. After cocktails the dj took over with a great assortment of country, indie rock, 80′s music videos played on the screen, hip hop and lots of dance music from our generation. It was overwhelming seeing every person I know and love in one room, all there just for us! I am so lucky to have met Shawn 14 years ago and gained so many friends and family.

These fabulous photos were taken by Sarah Miller, her friend and frequent second-shooter. For more of Sarah’s work, check out her website and blog!

LOVE the vintage-styled wedding touches that Heather executed flawlessly! Isn’t she totally gorgeous!!?

Heather has written about her wedding on her own blog and has provided a list of recommended vendors. It’s a really comprehensive list with great comments about each one. She’s also included the sources for her veil, shawl, dress, etc… There are a few photos taken by other photography friends of Heather’s and their names are also credited on her blog.

True vintage glamour ~~~

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Post tags: Art Deco, Bagpipes, Birdcage Veil, Hair Accessories, Heather Fowler Photography, Mt. Airy, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Photo Booth, Rittenhouse Town, Sarah Miller Photography, Vintage Hairstyle, Vintage Style, Wissahickon
Post categories: Little Black Book Blog, Real Weddings, Vintage Chic