Dana & Mike's Spring Wedding at The Riverview

Dana and Mike were married in early June at The Riverview in Simsbury, Connecticut.

Dana hired me 10 months before her wedding day looking for help with design and sourcing her remaining vendors. Weddings at venues like The Riverview often all look really similar. They typically provide all of your basics and most clients just use those. While there is nothing inherently wrong with that, it's not the style most of our couples gravitate towards. Our couples value aesthetics and often want upgraded tabletop items, drape installations, enhanced lighting concepts, etc.

Dana booked The Riverview because she had such a large guest count (250+ guests) and venues that hold that capacity in Connecticut are really limited. She knew she wanted to make upgrades to the space so it didn't feel so cookie cutter.

She had a vision for lots of white everywhere. While I would have loved to completely overhaul the space, when working at venues with strict time parameters for set-up, we have to be more strategic. We literally don't have time to do big installations or swap out every piece. Our set-up window was two hours so our design choices came down to what we could do within that window.

Dana and I decided on the following upgrades: reception chairs, linens, upgraded table glassware and a GOBO display to hide the partition wall. We brought in other fun details such as gorgeous, statement flowers, custom signage and a cigar roller. While the end result wasn't a complete transformation, these changes truly made a big difference! Even the staff were commenting that the space looked different from their usual weddings.

The day itself took place in several different locations. The couple kicked things off at the Delamar Hotel in West Hartford before a party bus picked them up for the ceremony at Christ the King Church right down the road. One of Dana's must-have pictures of the day was her emerging from the limo while all her nephews waited on the church steps to see her. It was such a sweet moment.

After a traditional mass and receiving line, everyone made their way to The Riverview for the party. Between signature cocktails, a full raw bar, a sweet Happy Birthday toast to Dana's dear aunt and music by a Wilson Stevens band, every guest was having a great time celebrating our beautiful couple.

Dana and Mike were one of those couples that were truly a pleasure to work with. Dana was organized, responsive, and most importantly, so kind.

Before seeing the images from their day, make sure to read Dana's 5-star review!

Omg I cannot say enough about how amazing Alyssa was to work with! The planning process was a breeze - she was so on top of things and always super responsive. We had a large, kind of complicated wedding with a 3pm church ceremony, 6pm reception at a ballroom where Alyssa and our vendors only had 1 hour to flip the room from the previous wedding and Alyssa handled it all seamlessly! I leaned on Alyssa quite a bit for design advice (florals, stationery, rentals, etc) and the final product was stunning! We got so many compliments on how beautiful the church and ballroom looked. One of our guests told me it was the "wedding of the century!" My husband and I had the most unforgettable wedding day all thanks to Alyssa!!

VENDOR TEAM:

Planning & Design: Alyssa Jean Signature Events

Venue: The Riverview

Photography: Lacey Gabrielle

Stationery: Christina's Design Studio

Band: Signature via Wilson Stevens

Flowers: Stems

Beauty: Laura Gordon & Paige Cool

Dress: Plumed Serpent

Video: Shutter Media

Cigar Rollers: Up in Smoke

Calligraphy: Nob Hill Jane

Rentals: PEAK