Click here to see the entire gallery of images!

From the Bride…Brendan and I have known each other for almost ten years. We were introduced by our best friends from our separate high schools, who are now married. After dating on and off for a while, dating other people, living in different cities.. him in Charlotte, me in New York, we were finally in the right place at the right time. The friends who introduced us threw a barbeque right before the birth of their daughter and we were both in town. We had our first “official” date the next week, where Brendan wooed me with his homemade Chicken Marsala & Arrested Development on DVD. That night, I even brought Brendan, a member of Red Sox Nation, a bottle of “Big Papi” Celebrity Wine. As a die hard Yankee fan, I knew that this was a gesture not to be taken lightly. We were long distance for two years when we took a trip down to Brendan’s family’s beach house in Southport, North Carolina and he surprised me by proposing on a dock in Wilmington. (Yes, it was very Dawson’s Creek).

When we started planning our wedding last August, we knew we wanted it to reflect who we are together and who we are as individuals. We wanted to have a day that was “shabby chic” with a carefree, fun vibe. The venue for us was the most important thing and when Lighthouse Point Park came up on my google search for “Unique Connecticut Beach Wedding”, I immediately fell in love. With a beach for the ceremony, a covered historic building with a (working!) carousel for the reception and an outdoor area for cocktails, I couldn’t have dreamt up a more perfect location. Starting with the invitations and save the dates, we worked with Shadowboxer Ink and Wicked Bride to create the perfect prelude in stationery form.

Brendan, who studied art in college, created all of the signage using one of the fonts from the invitations- from sawing the wood to painting the letters- and the wedding canopy, which was so enormous, I burst out laughing in surprise the first time I saw it. Attempting to do our part for the enviornment and contribute to the style of the venue, I drew everything on chalkboards- the ceremony program, the menu and the table numbers. Each bridesmaid had a different flower that composed their bouquet and all three were in mine, along with the white roses to match Brendan’s boutoniere. I also tied my late grandmother’s wedding ring and family birthstone ring to my bouquet. The flower arrangements were casual and displayed in mason jars of different sizes and wine bottles that we had collected since our engagement. Even the champagne that we drank the night of our engagement was made into a floral arrangement on our table. Our cake topper was a symbol of our “mixed marriage”, as my father refers to it- and a perfect example of how we respect our differences.. just not in October.

Brendan loves to cook, and we both love to eat, so food was very important to us as well. We selected all of the food with the amazing Gina at A Thyme to Cook and could not have been more in heaven. Soft pretzels displayed on hot rocks? Really? We also wanted to give our guests something that they could cherish forever, so we created an e-mail account for our guests to send recipes to and we created a cookbook out of all of the recipes we received, along with some of our families’ favorites. Even our caterer chipped in and added the soup recipe from the first course!

As much fun as planning the reception was, we knew that the most important thing was the ceremony and we added lots of special touches to personalize it. I walked down the aisle to “I Will” by the Beatles- the same song that my mom and dad danced to on their wedding day. Our two ridiculously adorable flower girls were daughters of two couples who are very good friends- one of them being the couple who introduced us. We always say that she is “our age” since we reconnected a few weeks before she was born. We wrote our own vows to each other and had a “sand ceremony” to symbolize the joining of our individual lives.

I’ve never been the kind of girl who has dreamt about my wedding since I was young, but I did start dreaming about it the day I met Brendan. Our day could not have been more special- we were surrounded by wonderful friends, family, food and wine and an enormous amount of love.

Wedding Photography: Beyond the Lens Photography / Floral Design: A Victorian Garden / Event Design + Decor: The Bride / Ceremony + Reception Location: Lighthouse Point Park & Carousel House / Invitations + Dessert Signs: Wicked Bride Stationery / Save the Date Postcards: Shadowboxer Ink / Bride’s Shoes: Jimmy Choo / Wedding Dress: Pronovias / Make-up: Makeup by Marisa / Hair: JoBella Downtown Salon & Spa / Catering: A Thyme to Cook, Inc / DJ: DJ Alias of Scratch Weddings / Guitarist: Scott Samuels / Wedding Cake + Cupcakes: Sugarbelle / Cake Topper: CreativeButterflyXOX / Hotel/Getting Ready: The Study at Yale / Bridesmaid Jewelry: Kendra Scott / Bridesmaid Dresses: Dessy / Groomsmen Suits + Ties: JoS. A. Bank + Michael Kors / Signs: The Groom / Cookbook Favors: Morris Press Cookbooks / Guest Transportation: Premier Limousine

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2011. | Permalink | 11 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: A Thyme to Cook, A Victorian Garden, Beyond the Lens Photography, Connecticut, CreativeButterflyXOX, Dessy, Jimmy Choo, JoBella Downtown Salon & Spa, Jos A Bank, Kendra Scott, Makeup by Marisa, Michael Kors, Morris Press Cookbooks, New Haven, Premier Limousine, Pronovias, Scott Samuels, Scratch Weddings, Shadowboxer Ink, Sugarbelle, The Carousel at Lighthouse Point, The Study at Yale, Wicked Bride Stationery
Post categories: Casual Elegance, The Blog

We asked today’s beautiful bride, Julia to tell us a little bit about their day …

There is so much I could say about our wedding. The days and nights we spent planning it together… The countless hours spent looking at/trying on dresses only to ultimately decide on a jcrew mail order… the family, friends, and vendors who helped out along the way… but when it comes right down to it, I think the one thing that defines the day is that it was perfectly us ~ and that made it perfect.

And the one thing that ALL of Justin & Mary Marantz’ couples agree upon … they have stunning proof that all of their hard work in planning their wedding was well worth it! A few more stunning photographs from Justin & Mary …

A huge collective sigh! Just beautiful!

Thanks to the awesome Marantz’, Sarah McCoy and most especially to Julia & Mike for sharing these great photos with us. And a HUGE congrats to Julia … the beautiful bride … who is now sporting the title “Apprentice” at the Marantz headquarters! Can’t wait to start featuring your work too!

{to see the full gallery, click here!}

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2009. | Permalink | 9 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Connecticut, Invitations, J. Crew, Justin Marantz, Lighthouse, New Haven, Sarah McCoy, Sunflowers, Thank You Notes, The Carousel at Lighthouse Point
Post categories: Do-It-Yourself Inspired, Wedding Invitations & Stationery, Wedding Photography, Whimsical

Delish!

Just in case you missed the second post … those are drumsticks (above). Mike is a drummer and Julia secretly had them passed out to their guests at the church. When they were leaving the ceremony, much to Mike’s surprise, they were greeted by the clattering of the drumsticks. Pretty darned cute!

And this is one of my favorite shots from the day!

… more on the way …

{to see the full gallery, click here!}

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2009. | Permalink | 4 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Centerpieces, Connecticut, Cupcakes, Desserts, Drumsticks, favors, Justin Marantz, New Haven, The Carousel at Lighthouse Point
Post categories: Casual Elegance, Do-It-Yourself Inspired, Real Weddings, Wedding Photography, Whimsical

I think they did a great job tying together the whimsy of the carousel with the decor of the reception! Festive and light-hearted, lots of hanging lanterns, brightly colored flowers in simple antique medicine bottles that Julia & Mike found in antique stores … just so many little touches that made this space so special.

Not to mention romantic!

If you’re just joining us … Abby has given me carte blanche on the SMP blog today. And when she’s away, I feel impelled to share a secret or two with you guys! One quick, little-known fact about Abby …When Abby was a young girl, she LOVED carousels and really wanted a hobby horse in her room! They were kind of ‘pricey’ … but I honestly did look for one that, perhaps, we could refurbish. Never did find one, but to this day, carousels remind me of Abby! On one of our family vacations, we spent a few days at Martha’s Vineyard.  She was SO excited to ride the historic Flying Horse Carousel, but devastated when she dropped the brass ring!

Lots more detail shots from Julia and Mike’s wedding to come a little later this afternoon …

{to see the full gallery, click here!}

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2009. | Permalink | 4 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Carousel, Connecticut, First Dance, Hobby Horse, Justin Marantz Photography, New Haven, Paper Lanterns, The Carousel at Lighthouse Point
Post categories: Do-It-Yourself Inspired, Real Weddings, Wedding Photography, Whimsical

From polka dots and drumsticks to pick-up trucks, sassy yellow shoes and sneakers …

Gotta’ love the Chevy!

Justin & Mary Marantz are two of our favorite Little Black Bookers … We’ve featured a couple of their really great weddings (Katie & Colin, Josh & Beth). But to be perfectly honest, Julia & Mike’s engagement shoot is probably the all-time BEST Little Black Book Blog feature ever. Mary guest-blogged for us about engagement shoots {Getting to Know You!} and Julia & Mike’s was a real hoot! Take a look … {click} A 1952 Better Homes & Garden spread. Super cute. And for more of their vintage-themed engagement shoot, here’s a link to the original Marantz post.

{to see the full gallery, click here!}

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2009. | Permalink | 5 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Connecticut, Drumsticks, Justin Marantz Photography, New Haven, Paper Lanterns, Polka Dots, Rose, The Carousel at Lighthouse Point, Truck
Post categories: All Real Weddings, Casual Elegance, Real Weddings, Wedding Photography, Whimsical

And so, since I tend to rely heavily upon our Little Black Book members for inspiration, I turned to Justin & Mary Marantz for a New England wedding filled to the brim with SMP-styled wedding details.

Julia and Mike were married last year in New Haven, Connecticut. As a surprise for Mike {the drummer}, Julia ordered custom drumsticks with their names and wedding date on them and had everyone banging them as they ran out of the church! How clever is that …

A beautiful day, a beautiful bride … and a great pair of yellow shoes = a recipe for success!

Lots more to come from the oh-so-talented Marantz team!

{to see the full gallery, click here!}

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2009. | Permalink | 8 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Connecticut, Drumsticks, Justin Marantz Photography, New England, New Haven, Polka Dots, The Carousel at Lighthouse Point, Yellow Shoes
Post categories: Casual Elegance, Real Weddings, Wedding Photography, Wedding Style, Whimsical

Being detail-oriented is what life … and love is all about!

Just a bit about “details” from Mary Marantz …

It’s what makes it unique. Makes it different. Makes it them. It’s the thoughtful cards for no apparent reason, the time it takes to add humor to the ordinary, the care that goes into the design. It’s flowers when you least expect it, a hug when you really need it, and doing more for the other person than you would ever think to do for yourself. It’s cooking dinner, and making coffee, and picking new paint colors for the dining room wall. It’s listening to music, and planting flowers, and working together side by side as you take on life’s chores. It’s the way he looks at you like no one in the world could ever be more loved. It’s boy meets girl. And anyone could see, it’s a perfect fit.

photography by Justin and Mary Marantz

More details from Julia & Mike’s Connecticut wedding in a bit …

{to see the full gallery, click here!}

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2009. | Permalink | 7 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: bouquet, Connecticut, Details, Justin Marantz Photography, New Haven, Sunflowers, The Carousel at Lighthouse Point
Post categories: Casual Elegance, Real Weddings, The Blog, Traditional Elegance, Wedding Photography, Wedding Style