Kristyn and Anthony had originally wanted a destination wedding. However, her father had other plans! Her father and his friend, Chris, went to Florida and carefully selected 20 palms tree. Five of which was donated to the town of Old Lyme and the other 15 went to Chris’s venue, The Aquaturf; who also provided catering. The wedding was a small town affair and many from their hometown of Ellington helped make the day possible.
Extra Special Details
From the groom:
The first look. It was extra special. It really gave me that moment to talk before the ceremony and see how gorgeous your bride looks, but while also being able to tell her one on one.
The message at the ceremony. The guest minister that spoke at the ceremony, I think allot of people received his message very well and it was so meaningful to more than just the bride and groom everyone felt the love and the compassion he had.
The vibe of the wedding. At no point did it ever seem to die down the flow of everything and the emotions were consistent. I have never seen so many of my friends get so emotional, it really means a lot when you see some of the closest people in your life show how sensitive they can truly be. It’s a wonderful thing.
From the bride:
The DIY Projects. We love to plan events and spend time with our family and friends, so when we got engaged we wanted to add a lot of our own personal touches, and have a little more of a unique style wedding. We created pallet couch seating with tables set up to them with large white and gold throw pillows for a dressy look. We bought large outdoor sofa style couches we set up outside the tent for guest to sit back and relax with their food and drinks with sofa tables and gas and wood fires going for ambiance. We hired a steel drum band to give a Caribbean beach feel, which added a fun vibe. Between my Dad and his friend, Owner of AquaTurf in Southington CT, they had palm trees brought in from Miami so the beach was covered with about 20 palm trees. It was an unbelievable site. My sister made our wedding cake, and we spent the day before with my bridal party making our boutonnieres, corsage, and bouquets. It added another special and personnel touch. We created special dishes with Aqua Turf including pasta hand tossed in a cheese wheel from Italy and we had homemade toasted almond and coconut ice-cream for make your own sundaes and homemade donuts.
Closing time. We had fireworks at the end of the evening. It was a fun addition that everyone loved.
Tips From The Couple
From the groom:
For guys do as much as you can do to help out. When you see the final outcome it means so much more. It also goes a lot further just telling your bride she did a good job. Planning together can also be fun.
From the bride:
Have fun with the entire planning process. Enjoy the time together to plan a day that is so special to each of you not only because you will be husband and wife, but that it represents both of you and what you love. To be able to look around and see all the details that you had spent so much time working on all come together is something special in itself. The engagement time is so special and soak up every moment leading up and on that special day and then every day after. In the end it will all be how it was supposed to be.
Money Matters
Wedding Budget: $45,000 +
VENDORS
Photographer: The Terrible Child Photography
Hair Stylist: Aneeta Li Salon
Caterer: Aqua Turf
Tuxedo and Mens Attire: Jackson and Connor