“Becca & Paul were married in New Fairfield, Connecticut. They had their ceremony at the Candlewood Clubhouse, the community where Becca spent her summers growing up. They had a beautiful, rustic ceremony by the lake, which was followed by a reception hall where all of the decorations and centerpieces were DIY. It takes a bride with vision to pull of this kind of creativity, and a mom that’s excited to help! Between Becca and her mom, they made all of the decorations, table settings, flower arrangements, and even put together the doors that were a backdrop for the ceremony. Everything looked amazing and it was like Pinterest came to life when you entered the hall.” –Forever Photography

What is your favorite wedding day memory?

As weird as this is going to sound, the rain is really what made our day. If you had asked the week of our wedding, I would have said that the rain would have been a huge pitfall, but the week before we drove and bought 50 umbrellas and some Hunter boots from Nordstrom and said bring on the rain. Although we lost a lot of the awesome things we had put a lot of work into with plans for an outdoor ceremony, cocktail party and dessert bar, I wouldn’t have traded the weather for anything. Our ceremony ended up being in a tent in the parking lot and having our ceremony is such close quarters made it so intimate. Here we are in this open tent with everyone we loved and the only “walls” we had were the rain keeping everyone together. When my dad walked me down the aisle to Paul, there was just this moment of quiet and comfort and calm that only my husband and a good rainstorm can bring. Now whenever it rains I get these happy memories from those moments.

What did you DIY for your wedding?

It would probably be significantly easier to list the things we didn’t do ourselves! My Husband and I weren’t super picky about anything, we just wanted a good party and neither of us could have cared less what color the table cloths were so that’s where my Mom came in. So when I say DIY, I mean I found something I thought was cool on Pinterest and I sent it to my Mom who actually found a way to make it ours and make it happen. My Mom is an actual superhero. I would send her ideas for things and they would be made and in our living room the next time I visited home.

I designed and made all the paper things {Save the dates, invites, menus, do not disturb signs, programs and envelopes} in Photoshop. We made my belt for the wedding, all the hotel gifts, all the signs, decorations, vignettes. We didn’t get rentals for anything besides our tables and chairs. My Mom bought all of the table cloths and bought and hand made 200 napkins into flowers. She took the Costco bulk flowers and made all of our bouquets, centerpieces and hanging flowers. My Dad built the alter for our ceremony, as well as a lemonade stand and popcorn bar for the cocktail hour. The venue is a completely blank clubhouse so every detail, every photograph, every table, chair and vase was handpicked by my Mom and I throughout planning.

I wanted it to feel like a family party so I wanted mismatched plates and centerpieces and antiques all over. My Mom spent every weekend for 10 months going to tag sales and thrift stores and acquiring every single item while my amazing Dad build everything she couldn’t find.

Did you have a something old, new, borrowed and blue?

For my Something Old, I’m named after my Grandpa Lou, he and I were very close. My Mom had one of his old favorite ties cut into a heart and filled with lavender {our families favorite scent} which I had tucked in my dress. For my Something New, my Husband gave me earrings the morning of, which were beautiful! For my Something Borrowed, m Bridesmaid Jordan was wearing a really pretty necklace to my rehearsal dinner and I had forgotten to pick one up to wear with my wedding dress so she graciously let me borrow it to wear day of. Lastly, my Something Blue we’re my wedding shoes!

Any advice for brides currently in the planning process?

Remind yourself that the majority of the day is just a party. Things will go wrong and it won’t matter. Those programs you spent hours designing that didn’t ship on time, they won’t be missed because nobody knew they were going to be there in the first place. The reason you are there is to commit yourself to your partner in front of the people who are the most important. It may rain, but in the end you are starting a new chapter in your life with the person who matters most and that is all that a wedding is about. -Becca, the bride

Event Credits

Photographer: Forever Photography // Videographer: Precious Moments // Venue: Candlewood Knolls Clubhouse // Wedding Planner: Nancy Herbert // Florist: Costco // Catering + Cake: Event Caterers // Invitations: CatPrint // DJ: Superior Sounds // Transportation: First Student Inc. // Engagement Ring: Sackowitz Jewelers // Bride's Attire: David's Bridal // Bride's Shoes: DSW // Bridesmaid's Attire: David's Bridal // Hair: Christie & Company // Make-up: Cheri Haller // Groom's + Groomsmen's Attire: Men's Warehouse