Fall-inspired shoot

By: Jessica Robinson
We styled the most gorgeous fall-inspired shoot yesterday at the Connecticut River Valley Inn, in Glastonbury, Connecticut.  The Inn is so pretty.  They have five suites for guests to stay and can accomodate an intimate wedding of 20 or a tented affair for larger parties.  Their grounds are stunning and the hospitality, incredible!

Thanks to Renata from Lovely Cakes, Jennifer from Cookie Creatives, Candace and Josh from Candace Jeffery Photography, Sean from Harborview Studios, Pat and Wayne from The Connecticut River Valley Inn, Larissa and Stephanie from Larissa Lake Make-up, Sarah from Parrott Design Studio, Gabriella New York Bridal Salon and Lamothe's Sugar House

Emily's Catering Group

By: Jessica Robinson

My mother was turning 60th this October and we decided we should host a big Birthday celebration on my parents farm (Lamothe's Sugar House).  So I went and saw Rick from Emily's Catering Group in Forestville, Connecticut.

Rick and Cheryl at Emily's Catering Group were phenomenal....almost beyond what I could ever put into words. From the beginning I asked Rick to create a menu for my Mother's 60th Birthday party. His ideas blew me away! He is truly an artist in the kitchen. The man is a genius with food, presentation and style/service.

From the incredible salad (baby greens, candied chestnuts, smoked bacon, bleu cheese, fresh figs w/champagne vinaigrette dressing) which was served with mini cups (individiual) of wild mushroom soup.... to the barbeque beef brisket and chicken with cranberry salsa. OMG!! Pure Yummy!

Guests could NOT stop talking about how delicious the food was. AND the wait staff, perfect. They were extremely professional and kept telling me to stop helping. (since I design wedding flowers, I always feel like it's my job to unload and set up)!! So great. I would recommend Emily's to ANYONE! Every little detail was PERFECT! They made our "Autumn in New England" dinner party beyond incredible!

AND my last minute request the day of the event, for cornbread to be added. Cheryl said absolutely no problem. The cornbread was melt in your mouth fabulous. (Most guests insisted I ask for the recipe!)

Call Rick for your next event. You will be just as impressed as we are!

Well Wed 2011 Magazine feature

By: Jessica Robinson

We did the most amazing shoot (with the most amazing group of industry leaders) back in May at the Collinsville Axe Factory.  Thanks to some pretty fabulous people!

Cookie Creatives by Jennifer/Candace Jeffery Photography/Larissa Lake Make-up/Camille's Bridal/DL Video Productions/Lovely Cakes/Lamothe's Sugar House/Go Against the Grain

Fall-inspired shoot

By: Jessica Robinson


Several times a year we work on styled shoots to inspire newly engaged couples.  Our ideas are brewing and coming to life right now.  I thought I'd give you a glance at what our incredible (and I do mean INCREDIBLE) team of industry leaders are putting together.

         (Zoe Clark Cakes)

          (Etsy vendor: Kathy Pierson)

Here is our team of industry leaders:

JCF Events

Candace Jeffery Photography

Emily's Catering Group

Larissa Lake Make-up

Cookie Creatives

Lovely Cakes
New England Country Rentals

DL Video Productions

LOCATION: Rock Hall, Colebrook Connecticut

Orange inspirations

Vatne Designs

By: Jessica Robinson

We LOVE accessories!  The perfect piece of jewelry or accessory can add so much interest to your wedding day attire and grab even more attention.  We asked Neallie Walvatne of Vatne Designs a few questions to help us learn more about her INCREDIBLE accessory line.

                                                                   (images by: Sheila Carlson Photography)

what inspired you to the jewelry line?
I have a background working within the bridal industry, and fabulous memories to go with that career. After staying at home with my little ones for a couple years I began to miss the creative outlet that my job offered me so I decided to start up on my own. I am so glad that I did, and I absolutely love that my little creations become a part of the biggest and most special day of people's lives.
what inspires your designs?
I have always been drawn to soft creamy colors and all things sparkly. I try to create timeless pieces that are more than just a seasonal trend, but offer brides lots opportunity to be worn after the wedding.
what makes your designs different from others?
Each and every pieces of my jewelry is hand crafted by me, specifically for each bride. I love to offer custom options and design according to my bride's vision, to make each piece the perfect one for them. Using high quality materials and Swarovksi rhinestones and pearls, I pay close attention to every tiny detail before I package up each piece, and send them on their way.

what is the price range of your designs?
My prices currently range from $30 to $220, affordable for brides of all budgets.

how will a bride be able to get her hands on your jewelry?
My online jewelry shop is the best way for brides to view my entire collection. I do sell to some beautiful retail locations as well, and they can be found on my store listings page. Many of my jewels are also sold on Wedzu, a wonderful array of handcrafted wedding items from independent designers.

what is your goal with your design line?
I would love to see Vatne Designs grow to include a line of baubles and bling for wedding decor. For now I am having a ball meeting wonderful wedding professionals, participating in styled shoots, and creating jewelry and accessories for brides and their bridal parties.

Is there anything else that you think our readers would be interested to know?
My blog is a wonderful site to view real weddings, styled shoots and custom creations. I love to receive photos from my brides, and it is so fun to see their long awaited big day, and to share it with others. Follow me on facebook for giveaways and special discounts.

Designer- Winifred Bean

By: Jessica Robinson

Winifred Bean is one of the newest designers to hit the market.  We asked the designer (Angela) a few questions about her gowns and what inspires her designs.  See her thoughts below.  Her gowns are simplistic and really pretty!  You'll find all of her gowns available on Etsy.com

what inspired you to launch a new line of gowns?

  I've worked in the fashion industry for 10 years (DKNY, Michael Kors, Rebecca Taylor),  most recently for smaller business and start-ups, and always knew I wanted to start my own business.  But I got the idea to do wedding dresses while looking for my own wedding dress last year. I felt there was a lack of places and designers who offered elegant, simple wedding looks for brides with creativity, taste and style - and most importantly, on a budget!  

what inspires your designs?

  The designs are inspired by current fashion trends and couture runway styles.  Designs you see on the runway or on the red carpet and think "that would make a great wedding dress if it only came in white".  They are simple, relevant to current fashion trends, yet vintage in a classic way.  Modern vintage I like to call it...

what is the price range of your designs?

Currently all styles are around $2000 - as the line progresses I plan on introducing styles as low as $700 and maybe as high as $3000 if I get really creative.  

how will a bride be able to get her hands on your gowns?

Currently dresses can be purchased at the Winifred Bean Etsy shop - www.etsy.com/shop/winifredbean.  If brides live in the NYC area I can schedule private fittings.  Soon we will be partnering with boutiques to sell the dresses and will sell the styles on-line on the Winifred Bean website later in the fall.   

what is your goal with your design line?

Ultimately I want to help brides find the perfect dress (and look) for their wedding day at a reasonable price.  Not only do I hope to do that stylistically with the designs offered but by also giving brides the opportunity to mix and match tops and bottoms to certain styles if they'd like.  

anything else that you think our readers would be interested to know....

As a bride, I scoured endless blogs and magazines for inspiration.  In addition to offering a customizable dress experience with the Winifred Bean line, I also plan to offer editorials to help the brides style their dresses and find items to compliment their look.  I want to make the "wedding look" experience as seamless as possible..

And stay tuned, I hope to launch a few new dresses and a small bridesmaid collection next year! 

Back from vacation

By: Jessica Robinson

We're back from our much needed vacation and rested up a bit.  We're working on a few styled shoots for this fall and winter.  I'm dying to see the new copy of Well Wed magazine that is set to come out any day now. 

The garden did me good while we were away.  I got back to lots of ripe corn ready to harvest, juicy heirloom tomatoes and crisp cucumbers.  Summer salads are on our table this week, with some fresh mozzarella pieces.  Summer brings us lots to look forward to in the fall.  Days are warm and start to get cool as we stretch into autumn.  Oh and the kids go back to school.  Most moms are jumping for joy at this time of year!  So I'm now thinking I'll start jotting down a few notes and possibly write a children's book or two.  I do most of my writing during the winter, with my toes toasty warm next to our fireplace and a big cup of hot chocolate.  The snow that falls from the sky inspires me.  I take an occasional break to shovel the sidewalks and bring in some more firewood.

Real wedding @ Webb Barn

By: Jessica Robinson
This very pretty wedding was featured recently on Style Me Pretty blog.  We LOVE every little detail.  We worked along side Sixpence For Your Shoe and Ryan Designs to design this one!  Be sure and check out the full feature on Style Me Pretty!

 The ever talented Justin & Mary Marantz.... every little detail is captured in their absolutely gorgeous shots.

Vermont wedding

By: Jessica Robinson

Back in July, our team of designers headed to The West Monitor Barn in Richmond, Vermont to design this incredible wedding.  Our idea (along with Ryan Designs) was to suspend centerpieces from the rafters, bringing the attention up into the barn, rather than completely on the table.  OH, and what a dramatic statement!

The couple's flowers were simple, yet so very dramatic.  Lots of locally grown mint and dusty miller along with a ton of gorgeous garden roses.  I LOVE garden roses!  Not only do they have a beautiful light floral scent, they look incredible.  Tons of petals surround into this flat, yet completely fluffy round shape and create a garden rose (which some refer to as a "cabbage" rose).

Feeling better and self-motivation

By: Jessica Robinson

I've ALWAYS believed that everything happens for a reason and that positive energy brings good things.  The world can be a very cruel place and competitive environment. 

Over the last few years I've developed an amazing company, written two books, had two kids, bought a home and tried to update the yard a bit.  I've also helped my parents with their farm and company by developing new products and promoting sales.  SO needless to say, my life is crazy.

I've learned that I need to make time for myself.  As selfish as that might sound.  It's true.  If I feel better, I'm a better wife, mother, daughter and business person.  I've started a re-energizing mission with Amie from Waterfalls: A Spa on the Farmington River.  She's amazing! She's very motivated and a powerful woman.  We're going to be doing different facials, massages and eating better together.  It's time to make a difference. 

I've already set my mark with design.  Now, it's time to set it personally.  Of course, this will probably motivate me even more to do something crazy and over the top with design too!

With Love! Jessica

Busy summer months

By: Jessica Robinson

It's such a crazy time of year for our company.  Wedding after wedding, different looks, unique ideas and more thoughts on how to make weddings different.  We're also squeezing in a vacation and a few long weekends this year.  (which is honestly, something we haven't done in a long time!)

Right now, we're focused on some pretty wonderful weddings we're designing and a fall-inspired shoot that we're doing with some great vendors soon.  I'll sit down at night around the fire pit and brainstorm ideas.  It's a constant mind shuffling of "oh, that would be so cool" or "what if we did this..."

Weddings (to us) are about a tremendous amount of detail.  Layer upon layer of superb detail, adding interest and making your eye move to see what's next.  It's also way more beyond the flowers.  I LOVE the flowers, but our design goes into the table setting, the china, how the flatware is presented, desserts, favors and stationery items.  We LOVE details!

Fall inspired shoot

By: Jessica Robinson

Our design team is taking a few weeks off to enjoy the summer sun and beach tides.  But, before we do... we wanted to share a little fall inspiration we are working on.

FALL is one of my favorite seasons in New England.  I LOVE the autumn breezes, rich hues of amber, red and green fading slowly.  The farmer's markets are full with fabulous harvest picks such as plump apples, acorn squash and sweet local honey.

My creative brain is wrapped around this stunning cake.  It's inspiring our fall themed shoot.  Fall can be romantic and purely stunning sophistication for an event.  The weather has cooled down a bit and yet the evenings are still warm enough to be outside to enjoy the stars shining up above us.  This cake is by: Zoe Clark Cakes

Stylish Perfection blog

By: Jessica Robinson

We've been toying with the idea of creating a truly unique blog that featured lots of talented wedding professionals and many real weddings.  The real weddings will be from all over New England, New York and Pennsylvania. (we'll expand from there as we go)  So, welcome Stylish Perfection!   Right now, we're accepting applications for outstanding vendors in their field.   email us for more details: jessica@stylishperfection.com

Our team of writers will be blogging about everything wedding related.  Rehearsal dinners, great venues and all sorts of unique decor ideas.  No wedding would be complete without custom designed wedding invites, scrumptious wedding cakes and pastries.  Top industry leaders will be featured so you can find the best of the best.  We are grinning from ear to ear with excitement. The launch of the new blog starts mid-September.

Design studio for weddings

By: Jessica Robinson
Be inspired in our new Collinsville design studio.  We are situated right in the heart of Collinsville, Connecticut.  Our design team can transform any venue into your wildest dreams.
                                                 
We have two lovely flower boxes that are overflowing with hot pink pentunias under our windows.  Our plan is to create the same look over the entire length of the trestle bridge in Collinsville on the rails to trails path.  So far, we have permission from the rails to trails committee.  Just waiting now for approval from the town of Canton. 

One of the bigger things we are working on is a new wedding blog.  It's going to be called Stylish Perfection.  Our goal is to bring readers a wide range of weddings, real advice and pure inspiration to create real weddings that fit their own individual styles.  We'll be featuring real weddings from all over and many vendors we love.

Real Connecticut wedding @ Webb Barn

By: Jessica Robinson

Every detail about this fun barn wedding are incredible!  Many talented professionals creatively put together this fun wedding.  Justin & Mary Marantz took all of the breathtaking images and we couldn't be more beyond pleased with them!  They are simply amazing, as always~

So here is part ONE of their images from Justin & Mary.  While your mouth drops over those images, take a look at all the vendors involved!  Who ever said a barn wedding would be a backyard event was completely wrong!  This wedding is romantic, whimsical and simply gorgeous.  The flower blooms were put into various Depression Glass tea cups and bowls.

Emily's Catering group
Sixpence For Your Shoe
Sandra Downie Beauty
Modern Trousseau and The White Dress by the Shore
Kendra Scott (Bride's necklace)
Cookies Creatives
Dancing Pen Calligraphy
Stonington Paperie
Lauren Kroesser- cake (groom's sister)
Ryan Designs

HB home- mirrors
Webb Barn (Wethersfield, Connecticut)
Niletti Creations (rings)

Choices for Favors

By: Jessica Robinson

Food is always a good option for favors.  I think it's important to remember the season you are getting married in.  If you have time, you can always make something yourself.  But, I stress that you should only do that if you have time and it won't make your already crazy life more crazy!

Maple candies are a great New England choice for a perfect taste of New England.  Lamothe's Sugar House can make maple candies in various shapes and sizes.  Packaging can also be customized depending on your style and tastes.  Any of their products are also a great addition to Out of Town guest bags as well.  They make really great Maple Kettle corn for that perfect salty yet sweet craving.

Cookie Creatives offers many wonderful choices for favors as well.  Of course, I'm big on attending an event and walking away saying "Wow! that was so different!"  So when you are looking for something out of the box call her.  I love the idea of a scrumptious dessert station with lots of goodies you remember from your childhood.  That way everyone can fill up a small container and bring it home with them for that mid-night snack.

Inspirational styled shoot (behind the scenes)

By: Jessica Robinson

A few weeks back, we teamed up with some pretty amazing wedding professionals to design a styled shoot for Well Wed magazine.  Candace Jeffery Photography, DL Video Productions, Larissa Lake Make-up, Camille Bridal, Go Against the Grain, Lamothe's Sugar House, Avery Soda, Party Rental Ltd., Lovely Cakes and Cookie Creatives joined forces to design something many will be inspired by.

Raspberry Rhubarb jam packed in pretty glass jars and flower lid from Lamothe's Sugar House. (which as many of you know is my parents farm)  I picked the rhubarb fresh and made a big batch of jam with my Mother the week of the shoot.  We punched a small whole in the custom designed tags (by Go Against the Grain) and tied a natural piece of twine onto the jar.  That added touch of something made from home.  Food is always a really great choice for a favor.  Something guests are sure to remember and savor.

Beautiful Farmhouse style tables were used for a lovely table setting.  We went for a French country inspired style, with a touch of rustic and a ton of great detail.  Detail, detail, detail makes all the difference. You'll see what I mean below.  We put lots of effort into making every little detail stand out.  Jennifer from Cookie Creatives made a yummy selection of desserts and pastries for our dessert station.  (which we set up on a vintage white washed bench that Larissa had)  Details go beyond the food too, it goes into the detail of how we displayed everything so pretty.  Jennifer had some great glass footed cake dishes and plates that displayed everything nicely.  Renata from Lovely Cakes designed a stunning cake that fit

Take a look at the incredible behind the scenes video that DL Video Productions put together of the entire shoot!  I'm so impressed with this video Dave made.  Every little detail is captured and brought to life in his video.

Barn wedding inspirations

By: Jessica Robinson

Barn weddings are big right now.  There are many barn properties throughout New England, New York and Pennsylvania.  Barns can either be rustic and simplistic or over the top gorgeous!  Many barns start as blank spaces.  As a designer, it’s a great opportunity to let my creative juices flow freely.  Earthy wooden exposed beams allow us to hang lanterns, chandeliers and drape sheer fabrics.  I love hanging vintage doors and old window panes from rafters too.  

Real Connecticut wedding @ Sarah Porter's Memorial Hall

By: Jessica Robinson

As many of you are probably aware, each year our company hosts a "Deserving Couple" contest.  We take hundreds of applications for the contest.  We search for a couple struggling financially and really in need for an uplifting wedding.  That wedding, designed by our company becomes an over the top event.  We network with some of the industry's leading professionals to create a drop dead gorgeous wedding.  This wedding is something the couple never dreamed they could afford or have.  Doing this brings tears to our eyes and fills our hearts with many emotions of love, hope and faith.

Karri and Chris were married at Wesleyan Chapel in Middletown with their reception following at Sarah Porter Memorial Hall in Farmington, Connecticut.

You really could see the strong passionate love in both of their eyes.  It brings so much joy to our hearts to be able to bring tears to a bride's eyes as she looks at her flowers for the first time.  The process of design and talking about how everything will look to the actual creation of the event is amazing.  We have to listen to a client about what they want and be able to bring that out in our designs.  Karri wanted something different, something a bit modern and loved pops of color.

 All of the vendors that brought Karri and Chris' look together were amazing!  We are so very honored that they were able to be a part of something so special.

Sixpence For Your Shoe
Emily's Catering Group
JCF Events 
Steve Depino Photography
The Plumed Serpent
Paper Olive 
Dancing Pen Calligraphy
Taylor Rental of Manchester
Sandra Downie Beauty
Lovely Cakes
Cookie Creatives by Jennifer
Ryan Designs