Le Magnifique Blog: Conneticut

27 February 2012

A Connecticut Wedding by Justin & Mary

Get ready for this beautiful Connecticut wedding photographed by the ever so fabulous, Justin & Mary. The gorgeous bride was dressed in a simple yet beautiful Nicole Miller gown and wore fabulous Badgley Mischka heels while the handsome groom donned a Canali suit. Flawless florals created by The Flower Fall. Justin & Mary, thank you so much for sharing this lovely wedding with me and my readers!

Describe how you felt when you saw each other for the first time: Bride: Excited!! So excited and happy and ready. I could not stop smiling. Once we were together everything else sort of faded into the background for a few minutes. It was nice to have some time with just Jim before everyone else joined us for pictures.

Groom: There was so much effort put in during the weeks leading up to the wedding by some many people; the anticipation really begins to build and the meaning of the day can be lost in the commotion and planning. On the wedding day, I saw Lizzie for the first time when she joined me outside for pictures prior to the ceremony. She looked incredible, and that was when, for me, it started to be about us and our day. At that point, I stopped worrying about guests and planning and focused on nothing but enjoying the day with my wife.

Favorite moment: Bride: Being with my mom, Jim’s mom and my bridesmaids in the locker room beforehand. Seeing both of our Grandma’s during pictures – they looked so beautiful and proud. During my dad’s funny, sweet, sincere speech. Watching Jim’s little cousins have the best time on the dance floor. Seeing my gorgeous bridesmaids with the belts my mom had hand sewn for each them and appreciating how talented she is and how much work she had done throughout my entire engagement. Realizing I finally have a sister! Seeing Jim with his new ring on and feeling incredibly lucky to have found such a good person.

Groom: Some reception highlights will always be remembered, including the time the father of the Maid of Honor thought he was in a fraternity and decided to see how many sweet tea whiskey shots he could do and when our 6’8, 275-lb. friend did a split dancing to Party Rock, but, in addition to those moments, I really appreciated the time spent with family. It was great to take the time during the reception to catch up with our rather large, Midwestern families.

Unique Traditions or something that was special to you? Rather than take away from the energy of the party and the dance floor, we decided to cut our cake outside on the patio with just our parents. It was perfect. It gave us a few minutes with just them and made it special for us to share that moment together.

Advice for couples getting married? Sleep on it. Put yourself in your (insert family member, friend)’s shoes. Ask yourself what really matters to you and your fiancé and then give in a little for your families’ asks. Enjoy the day and let things roll.

Photography: Justin & Mary // Venue: Country Club of Darien // Videographer: Videler //

Florist: The Flower Fall // Cake: Brooklyn Cupcake // Entertainment: Half Prince //

Hair Stylist: Salon DeMatteo of Westport // Make-up: Beauty Marked Design //

Wedding Dress: Nicole Miller // Bride's shoes: Badgley Mischka //

Bridesmaids dresses: J. Crew Bridal // Groom's Suit: Canali // Groomsmen's Suits: JoS. A. Bank //

Invitations: East Six

Submitted via Two Bright Lights

12 January 2012

A New Haven Wedding by Summer Street Photography

Describe how you felt when you saw each other for the first time:

Groom- honestly, scared Bride- honestly, I felt so overwhelmed by entering into the church, and was so scared of tripping in my shoes that were a bit too big, that I don't remember looking at Mike for the first time. I keep trying to remember because I wish I could remember, but I just don't.

What was your favorite moment?

Bride- the music at the ceremony was performed by a cantor from the Yale School of Music. I still can hear her voice. Everyone came up to me after the wedding and told me how beautiful the wedding ceremony was and how angelic it felt. Groom- I really enjoyed walking around New Haven, and having everyone honking, shouting and congratulating us while we were taking our portraits.

Any special traditions?

Our cake, the croquembouche, or a piece monte, is a traditional french wedding cake, which my parents also had at their wedding day. Having picked a french restaurant for our reception, the pastry chef specialized in this, so it was a really beautiful aspect of bringing a piece of my parent's union to ours.

Which vendors were your highest priority?

The church, the Restaurant for the reception and the Photographer. The church- We both had a vision of having a traditional Catholic wedding in a stunning church, and we found it at St. Mary's. We both did some research on some of the churches in and around New Haven, and visited a few. St. Mary's is this beautiful stone church We happened to go to the high noon mass on Sunday at St. Mary's where they feature gregorian chant done by the Yale School of Music. It was really breathtaking. The reception- we wanted to really focus on having good food at the wedding, and in order to do that, you have to have a smaller guest list. We went to a few restaurants in New Haven and tasted food, and the Union League Cafe is by far the best restaurant in all of New Haven, and I thought the upstairs was so classy and elegant with the mahogany wood and fire place, as well as all the frescos and paintings, that we didn't even look at any other places after going there. Photographers- we initially asked a friend of ours who went to high school with Mike to do our wedding, but she was booked for the day, so we asked her to provide us with a few recommendations, and one of the photographers she recommended was Summer Street Photography. When I visited their website, I just knew that they would be perfect. We're not the posing type of people, and they complemented that really well- they capture moments.