Chelsea was one of my sweetest brides of the 2021 season. She came to me four months before her wedding and was really concerned about the aesthetics & design of the space. She had a lot of her vendors already booked but really was unsure how everything was going to come together. At the time, it was still unclear what the Covid guidelines would be for larger events. The venue did have a tent in place but Chelsea had her heart set on seating her guests inside the castle. She came to me worried over how to design the space so the tent wouldn't feel empty (it wasn't being taken down even if we could use the interior) and then what the plan would be if Covid prevented us from using the ballroom.
Immediately, we got to work! Chelsea really wanted a romantic, elegant, sophisticated look for her wedding. And when you're getting married in a castle, it should be glamorous! We started our partnership by scheduling a walk-through at her venue to go over the different spaces, weather plans, Covid plans, and then look at what pieces the venue offered so we knew what we wanted to use and what we wanted to upgrade. We also sat down and looked through all of her current vendor contracts so I could figure out what she already had in place, what we needed to modify and what was missing.
Next step was drafting a design proposal. We went through her floral design, the tablescape elements, a design plan for the tent including lounge furniture and upgraded drape, as well as cake and stationery design. Once Chelsea approved the proposal, I got to work on implementing this. In addition to bringing the design vision to life, we were hard at work crafting a timeline for the day and confirming vendor logistics. With only 4 months to go until the big day, we didn't waste any time.
Finally, their wedding weekend arrived! We kicked things off on Friday with a rehearsal at Ruth Chris's Steakhouse followed by their rehearsal dinner. Chelsea arrived looking absolutely fabulous! In addition to being one of my nicest brides to date, she is by far, one of the most stylish.
Saturday began with hair and makeup at a private residence before Chelsea and Mitch shared their first look at Saint Clements. Our ceremony began on the back lawn overlooking the Connecticut River an hour before sunset. Chelsea and Mitch exchanged their vows under a lush arbor created by Diane Gaudett.
Following the ceremony, we directed guests to enjoy cocktails under the tent and on the expansive patio. A violinist and cellist greeted guests upon entry. The reception took place inside the ballroom (Chelsea got her wish!) Guests partied the night away until 12:30am!
Check out the five star review Chelsea gave us after the wedding:
Alyssa is absolutely amazing!!! Before we found Alyssa, I felt so overwhelmed with planning our wedding. I needed help streamlining everything as well as organizing myself and all of my vendors so that nothing got missed, and Alyssa did it seamlessly. She’s prompt, direct, SUPER organized, and on top of absolutely everything. She would tell me exactly when I needed to pay vendors, she made appointments with my venue to make sure we were all on the same page and it was what I wanted, and always helped me with anything I asked her. She always responded super quickly which is great for a bride because there’s so many things on your mind you just want to address it and cross it off your list as quickly as possible. She’s on top of it all and I was fully confident that our wedding day would go exactly as we wanted as long as she was there - and it did!! It was even better than we expected which I didn’t know was even possible!! Don’t hesitate to hire her - she is absolutely the reason my wedding was so stress free and went so amazing. She is worth every single penny, I promise. We love you Alyssa and are forever grateful!!! XO
Vendor Team:
Planning & Design: Alyssa Jean Signature Events
Venue: Saint Clements Castle
Photography: I Wanna Marry
Florals: Diane Gaudett Florals
Beauty: Lolita Jade Salon
DJ: Billy Jones
Drape: EZ Occasions
Rentals: PEAK
Transportation: Dattco & Lindsey Limousine
Cake: Chimirri's