Rachel and Marc's wedding was one for the books. I mean, look at this tent. Everything about this formal, black-tie elegant affair just screamed GLAMOUR!
Now, can you believe that we planned this entire thing in 8 weeks? Rachel, like many of my 2020 brides, had her initial weddings plans affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. She was planning a destination wedding in Bermuda but when guests were no longer able to travel internationally, she had to make a shift. And she called me!
Her brother recently purchased a beautiful house in South Glastonbury, CT and he was willing to let us host everything on their property. Like any at-home wedding, the first thing we had to do was a site visit with a tent company to figure out what could and could not be done. The slope of the yard dictated where our tent could go. We walked the rest of the grounds to determine the ceremony space, cocktail hour location, guest parking arrangements, restroom trailers, and so much more.
At-home weddings have so many little details that go into making the day run smoothly. We are quite literally building your venue from the ground up and everything needs to be brought in. And when you want your at-home to feel like guests are being transported into a top-notch venue, it requires even more work.
This tent took 3 full days to construct. Making sure that vendors arrived in a logical order is part of my job. Before lighting can go in, the tent needs to be fully up. Before rentals can get dropped, the major lighting & drape installs need to be complete. Before floral greens can be hung, the lighting team needs to install wires. It is all part of a puzzle and it is our job as the wedding planner to ensure the pieces fit together correctly.
I drew my design inspo from what Rachel told me she wanted. Exact words "a bougie secret garden." And I think we nailed it. Despite this being a black-tie wedding, we still wanted to keep it feeling laid back. Rather than a full sit-down meal, Rachel wanted to create various lounges throughout the tent with open seating. We had one head table and four guest tables with assigned seats for bridal party and immediate family. We filled the rest of the tent with 4 sleek, all-white lounges, hi-tops and low-tops with chairs. We passed a different food item every hour so guests could be on the dance floor or engaged in conversation and still have something brought to them. We did offer a stationed food display for anyone wanting a more substantial meal. We created a laid back vibe in a very formal setting just by switching up the way we served the meal. And it worked so well for this group.
This wedding and couple was one for the books. It is still one of my favorite designs I have ever created. So much went into making this day as beautiful as it was. I had the pleasure of working alongside a fabulous team of wedding vendors that went above and beyond to bring this vision to life!
Vendor Team:
Planning & Design by Connecticut wedding planner: Alyssa Jean Signature Events
Photography: Chris & Becca Photo
Catering: Emily's Catering Group
Tent: Tents Unlimited
Rentals: PEAK Event Services, Durant's & CT Rental Center
Lighting & Drape: Shindig Lighting
DJ, Video, & Cocktail hour tent drape + lights: Vivid Events
Florals: Studio Blush
Officiant: Love, Honor, Cherish
Valet: Park & Go Valet
Shuttles: Specialty Transportation & Dattco
Neon Sign: Howdy Dudey Neon
Beauty: Dos & Dyes by Julie and Beauty by Alyssa
