Melissa & Bill had their whimsical ceremony and reception at the Waveny House in New Canaan, CT on September 25, 2009. The mansion itself is a work of art, and it was the perfect setting for Melissa & Bill's dream wedding! The Waveny house is a Tudor Mansion available to rent for weddings and special occasions. It was built in 1912 for the Lewis Lapham family and every single detail inside and out is reminiscent of that era.
The mansion and the absolutely perfect September weather were an unbelievable starting point to build on. Danielle from Flowers by Danielle came in and brought her impeccable traditional arrangments. Melissa had initially wanted cream colored flowers, but after some thought decided she wanted to go with mauves, fuschias, burgundies, wines, and even purples.
Danielle did an outstanding job of pulling together all of these colors in a unique and exciting collage of flowers. Some of these flowers you have to see up close to believe! Danielle set her two focal arrangements on two pillars for Melissa & Bill to enjoy at their ceremony. She surrounded the back veranda with pillar candles with floating rose petals in vases. Everything was so perfect and so romantic!
Melissa & Bill's ceremony was emotional, and exciting. The ceremony took place just as the sun was going down and the moon was rising directly over them! At one point I said to Bill, "You just couldn't order more perfect weather," and it was completely true.
I loved this photo of Melissa & Bill as they came back from saying their vows. They were both so happy and so in love. We bustled Melissa's dress and they were ready for Cocktail Hour since they had done their formal portraits before the ceremony. Their photographer John Videler of Videler Photography was so much fun to work with, and he has an amazing eye. I can't wait to see more of his photos!
Melissa & Bill added a lot of personal touches to their wedding. Each placecard was a different photo they had taken on their trips around the world. Each table was named after a different place they had been together. Many people commented and I agree, that Melissa's placecards looked like post cards. They were awesome! I also want to share with you how absolutely amazing the catering team from Ciao Catering is. Under the leadership of Tom Devine, his team helped us with set up so that we were incredibly ahead of schedule. After they helped us they made us coffee! Many people don't know how long a wedding planner or caterers day is, we usually start in the morning and can work up to 20 hours on your wedding day! Coffee is greatly appreciated!
After the ceremony, we moved Danielle's beautiful focal arrangements behind the sweetheart table, flanking the fireplace that Danielle filled with varying heights of pillar candles. This was one of my favorite parts of the room.
The sweetheart table had a beautiful long arrangement that Danielle designed across the front of the table, with Melissa's all mauve Dahlia bouquet centered in a vase. Danielle draped clear crystal beads from Melissa's bouquet, which paired with her grandmother's cross and her other jewelery that Melissa wrapped around her wrist, oozed romance and tradition. I think Melissa's bouquet may have been one of her favorite parts of the wedding!
For Melissa & Bills centerpieces, we chose to create three types of arrangements: a low urn arrangement, a medium height vase with floating flower inside, and a tall candelabra arrangement.
The tall Candelabra arrangements were my favorite. Many of the guests loved the arrangements in clear vases with the floating rose inside that was lit from within. The low arrangements looked like they were right out of a stunning English garden. Melissa surprised Bill with a groom's cake to commemorate their travels. They truly are world travelers! The two wedding cakes were designed and constructed by Torben Bang of Chocopologie in Norwalk, CT. They were as delicious as they were beautiful. The world was made of a hollow white chocolate sphere. Amazing!
MELISSA & BILL'S VENDORS
Floral Design Flowers by Danielle
Entertainment Fun Factory DJs
Photography Videler Photography
Linens & Chair Covers Chair Affair
Cake Chocopologie
Catering Ciao Catering