bouquets by The Blue Toad Flower Shop

Justin and Mary Marantz (and Julia!) are experts at documenting the details! But, more than that, they are also there for all the behind the scenes moments that complete the story.

And … speaking of being behind the scenes, I read on their blog that J & M insist on enforcing a ‘ten minute rule.’

“What?” you say, “is a ten minute rule?”

Justin & Mary insist that … immediately following the ceremony … all of their couples (ALL of their couples) step away from the crowd. They take them to a previously scouted spot nearby and allow them to spend those first ten minutes after the marriage ceremony alone, to bask in the feelings of being husband and wife. To just be. Together. Alone. Mary and Justin are discreetly at a distance snapping a few pics, but for the  most part, the newlyweds are alone. (Read more about it here). This is a rule that all wedding photographers should adopt! Ten minutes. No exceptions.

The beautiful couple featured today are Becky and Tay, recently married in Vermont at the Sugarbush Resort. You can see all of the gorgeous details, the heartfelt moments and the spectacular photography from Justin and Mary Marantz right here {part i} and here {part ii}.

Their story …

How They Met

Tay and I met in high school. Although he is of Turkish descent, he was born in Australia and moved to the US at age 5. We grew up a few towns apart on Long Island, and then he moved to my school district in 10th grade. We didn’t actually start dating until after graduation, but we fell in love very quickly and stayed together throughout four years of college even though we were 250 miles apart. There were many long bus trips between Fordham’s campus in the Bronx, New York, where Tay studied, and Dartmouth, where I studied in snowy New Hampshire. The first time Tay came to visit me, he was shocked by how cold it was, but soon (after I casually mentioned that I would only marry a skier), he learned the joys of skiing and couldn’t get enough of New England!

The Proposal

After a few years of work and graduate school – sometimes in the same city, sometimes not – we finally moved in together while Tay got his master’s degree at Dartmouth. A year later we moved back to Long Island for me to attend medical school. That Christmas, Tay got down on one knee in the snow and proposed on the side of a ski trail at Sugarbush Resort in Vermont, where my family has skied every year for most of my life. Given the many memories we shared there, we knew it was the perfect place to have our wedding.

The Wedding

To give our guests a taste of why we love Vermont so much, we filled their welcome bags with some of our favorite local goodies, such as Vermont Liberty Teas and VerMints. We were married in Timbers Restaurant and had our reception at the Gate House Lodge, finishing off the night with fireworks over the mountain. We love the fact that we will forever be reminded of the happiest day of our lives whenever we return there to ski, which will be often!

Congratulations to Becky and Tay!!

And thanks so much ~ Justin & Mary for sharing!

Wedding planner – Tiffany Bailey, Sugarbush Resort; Catering – Sugarbush Resort; Officiant – Reverend Michael Caldwell; Florist – The Blue Toad; Ceremony guitarist – James Kinne; DJ – Chris Ryan of 2KuL Entertainment; Cake – Michelle Lunde of Delicate Decadence; Videography – Betsy Duany; Dress – Ines di Santo;

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Post tags: Justin & Mary Marantz, Sugarbush Resort, The Blue Toad Flower Shop, Vermont
Post categories: Little Black Book Blog, Traditional Elegance, Wedding Photography

From Sara True, lead designer for True Event … Inspired by all things girly, ruffles, texture and pink, Libby dreamed of a wedding every girl dreams of growing up.  She described her vision as modern romance with flair. “–because part of me is all girl, loves ruffles, pink, and sparkle, and part of me loves the downtown skyline and all things modern and a little funky. And most of all, I love the unexpected combination of the two!” Thus we set out to design a style that was just that. Decidedly modern with girly charm.

From Libby…When I first started the wedding planning process, I was a little overwhelmed with the whole notion of a “vision” for the wedding…in fact, the only think I had actually visualized up to that point was my groom (handsome, thick brown hair, insatiable wit…check!).  So at first, when people would ask me about my vision, I felt like the worst bride ever because I couldn’t really describe what I had in mind.  Enter…Abby & Sarah, the wedding goddesses who asked me all of the right questions, and helped me to really discover and put into words MY perfect vision for our wedding day.

After about an hour long chat with the girls, I knew that I wanted our wedding to be an interesting and unexpected combination of equal parts modern and romance–equal parts stainless steel and ruffles. I wanted a monochromatic color palate that included all shades of neutrals, all shades of pink, and tons and tons of texture.  I also really wanted our reception to be a CELEBRATION.  I wanted a party complete with lots of dancing and laughing and of course sushi eating (Patrick owns an awesome sushi restaurant called Zumi). I wanted my guests to have a good time and to really get to take in Nashville!

THE FLOWERS

Now that we had the inspiration for our wedding (and by “our” I mean Libby, Patrick and Style Me Pretty’s wedding…ha), it was time to start thinking about every element and how we would integrate all of Libby’s loves into one cohesive design. First up, the flowers. Libby wanted ruffly, romantic, unabashedly girly flowers which of course, came in the form of Peonys. Sarah and I recruited Nashville based floral guru and designer, Chase Rivers, to help us bring the vision to a reality. Chase is AWESOME and so talented.

From Chase Rivers … As far as the overall wedding flowers, Sarah told me the basics, Peony, garden roses, sweet pea, ranunculus, babies breath. We added some anemones to the mix and weaved in plum foliage and wisteria vine to add texture and dimension. Lucky for our budget, we had a contact who was going to allow us to pull peonies from their peony farm at no cost. It was going to allow us to take the floral design to an entirely new level…every peony lover’s dream. But as fate would have it, that wasn’t in the cards (more on that later), so we ended up ordering the flowers above in the colors Libby was wanting..many shades of pink, pink and more pink.

THE DETAILS

Because Libby wanted to marry a very girly, pretty aesthetic with a more modern, clean execution we needed to pull together a general blueprint for the products that we would bring in to round out the look. We wanted modern meets girly, in a chic, sophisticated and utterly timeless way. The space itself was this ultra modern rooftop rose garden (sounds pretty bad-ass doesn’t it)…think steel tables and chairs, wooden beams, pyramids overflowing with roses and a killer view of Nashville…all neatly tucked on the side of a skyscraper. Yeah, I know. OK, back to the task at hand. Here are the products that Sarah True and I sourced to really bring Libby and Patrick’s style to life.

The VERY first item that we bought, that ultimately inspired the entire wedding style, was that awesome chandelier from Urban Outfitters. With that, Sarah easily let the rest of the design fall into place. The silver cylindrical CB2 vases would give the ruffly pink flowers a more modern base, the zebra rugs would provide that bit of swank that we needed, the lucite trays would be amazing on top of mirrored coffee tables in our lounge areas and the ruffly pink pillows…well, they were just so gorgeous we couldn’t resist.

We are actually selling most of the products that we bought if you are interested! More details on that later!

THE RENTALS

While we were sourcing the decor elements, we needed to really flush out the design concept in terms of the rentals we would bring in to transform the bare space into an inviting and warm place that guests would want to stay forever. We enlisted the help of Classic Party Rentals in Nashville who literally hit it out of the park. Together with Sarah True, the fabulous designer behind the day, we came up with four defined spaces for our event…4 lounge areas, a dance space, food stations and dining. Click here to see the floor plan.

Although Classic Party Rentals provided ALL of the rentals for the day (I told you they kicked butt), the real focus turned out to be the lounge areas that Mark and Allison at Classic helped Sarah design. Each of the four lounge areas would consist of 2 benches, 2 reflection tables, 2 small square ottomans, a zebra rug, some throw pillows, a lucite tray and perfect floral centerpiece.

So in terms of inspiration and ideas, we had a lot. Add in some fun DIY’s, the most gorgeous flowers you’ve ever seen, a giddy bride, vendors who traveled from four corners of the country and oh, did I mention the Nashville floods that literally left us without a venue until the week before…and you have a real life wedding adventure that I will never forget. STAY TUNED to see how it all turned out. Coming up next!

And here is the dream team that made it happen…

Sarah True of True Event: The BEST designer on the planet / Justin and Mary Marantz: Photographer’s whose work will make your heart stop / Julie Hill of Elysium: Cinematography that you’ll hardly believe  / Laura Hooper: Papergoods that are as beautiful as they get / Classic Party Rentals: Furniture and Rentals that literally transformed the space / Wildflower Linens: Linens that were BEYOND gorgeous /Jacki and Angela of Elegant Weddings by Angela: Planning and Logistics / Zumi Sushi: The groom’s awesome sushi restaurant that catered the wedding (how cool is that) / Chuck Arlund of Arlund Imagery: Libby’s Day-Of Photographer who snapped some gorgeous photographs / Estilo Weddings: The most perfect cake flower ever / Melangerie NYC: The most adorable gift bags ever.

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2010. | Permalink | 19 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Arlund Imagery, CB2, Classic Party Rentals, Elegant Weddings by Angela, Elysium Productions, Justin & Mary Marantz, Laura Hooper, Nashville, Peonies, Tennessee, True Event, Urban Outfitters, Wildflower Linens, Zumi Sushi
Post categories: Casual Elegance, From Inspiration to Reality, Inspiration Boards, Traditional Elegance

So, all you need to do is print this template out on 80lb card stock (try Paper Source). Using a 3.5″ hole punch, cut out the circles. Then using either a small amount of glue or some double stick tape, adhere them to corn dog or popsicle sticks (corn dog sticks are a little bit longer). Voila!

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2009. | Permalink | 9 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Do-It-Yourself Inspired, Justin & Mary Marantz, Stir Sticks
Post categories: DIY - Other, DIY Projects

We always LOVE the unposed, laid-back style of The Marantz’ group shots. What a wonderful bunch of friends Jenna & Joe have!

And just as wonderful was the reception and the floral decor. Tracy Romano Events and KD&J Botanica did a tremendous job …

At the end of the night, the Black Rock Yacht Club served the guests these adorable mini-burgers & fries!

Congratulations Jenna & Joe … you guys look like you had a fantastic wedding day!

And a HUGE thanks to Mary and Justin for allowing us to repost your fabulous work!

For more Marantz Moments … keep a close eye on their website!!

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2009. | Permalink | 20 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Black Rock Yacht Club, Boutonniere, Centerpieces, Connecticut, JD&K Botanica, Justin & Mary Marantz, Mini-Burgers, Placecards, Purple, Ring Pillow, Table Settings, Traci Romano Events
Post categories: Centerpieces, Little Black Book Blog, Real Weddings, Traditional Elegance, Wedding Decor, Wedding Photography

OK, so we didn’t exactly find the Marantz’ … but we do count them as friends!

This is straight up, off their website …

A chill New England wind blew in out of the south and waded its way through a mire of blue-gray fog … she pulled her veil close around her and stood quietly in the background. She didn’t have to be there. Didn’t have to wait. Her pictures were finished and she could’ve gone inside among the warm glow of friends & family. But she just smiled as she quietly declined. “I’ll wait for him.”

She’d been waiting for somebody like him her whole life. Someone who would love her with his whole heart and take care of her the way that she knew she would always take care of him. Someone who takes her hand when she’s getting out of a car and holds her just a little tighter when they dance. Someone who would love not only her, but her whole family as if they were his own. A comfort in the quiet, a compass in the storm. And today, more than any day, she knew that she had found him. See, she didn’t have to be there. Didn’t have to wait. But somewhere along the line she decided, “I’ll wait for him.”

Married: Joe & Jenna

Jenna & Joe were married at the beautiful Black Rock Yacht Club with the help of the amazing Traci Romano Events and Katherine Jacob of KD&J Botanica. And they got the coolest day EVER with all this crazy beautiful fog. ‘Cause as any photographer will tell you, we’ll take clouds and fog over bright sun any day!! So as you will very soon see why, I think their whole day felt like one big ongoing Ralph Lauren ad. Yea, it was nautical yumminess at its finest! First up, Justin went to hang with the guys and got some of my favorite guys getting ready shots…ummm… EVER:

Nobody tells a story better than Mary & Justin Marantz … their images, their words  … the best!

More of the story … tomorrow!

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2009. | Permalink | 6 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Black Lake Yacht Club, Bow Ties, Bridgeport, Color Palette Navy, Connecticut, Getting Ready, groom, Gucci, Justin & Mary Marantz, Men's Attire, New England, Polka Dots
Post categories: Little Black Book Blog, Real Weddings, Traditional Elegance, Wedding Photography