Creative Ambiance Events had the pleasure of bringing to life a stunning design concept for the wedding of Ali and Ben. Almost one year prior to their wedding, Ali and Ben met with Creative Ambiance`s head designer, LisaMarie Dwyer, to discuss their vision for their special day that was to take place at the beautiful, seaside Castle Hill Inn in Newport, RI. The bride-to-be was unsure of the exact look that she wanted for the upcoming nuptials- however, she did know that she wanted to have rich, deep colors and for the flowers to look as if they were plucked right from the garden. With these two ideas in mind and the fact that Castle Hill Inn was built during the Victorian Era, LisaMarie and Ali and Ben decided on having a “Victorian Seaside Splendor” concept for their wedding.
After months of planning and anticipation- both for the happy couple and for everyone here at Creative Ambiance, Ali and Ben`s wedding day had finally arrived. Despite the gray skies, the view of the water and the Newport Bridge from the ceremony space was still just as breathtaking as always. At the altar, crystal garland was strung across the arbor, while two white, small tables with floral arrangements in bronze planters were placed on either side of the arbor. At the beginning of the aisle were two white, long tables- the same design as the smaller tables that were placed at the altar- that were each adorned with a floral arrangement in the same bronze planters that decorated the smaller tables at the altar. In front of one of the long white tables was a hand painted gold mirror placed on an easel that read, “Welcome to Our Day!” with Ali and Ben scrolled across the top of the mirror and their wedding date written at the bottom. For a finishing touch, deep red and purple rose petals were sprinkled down the aisle in an ombre effect. Besides the beautiful bride and the handsome groom, the showstoppers of the ceremony were the stunning bridal party flowers. The bride carried a gorgeous bouquet composed of blush pink campanella cabbage rose, plum colored dahlias, chocolate cosmos, dusty miller, magenta globe amaranthus, lightning celosia, white hydrangea, scabiosa pods, green eucalyptus seeds, and white miniature rose buds that was decorated with burgundy colored ribbon and lace from her mother`s wedding dress. The maid of honor, who wore a marine lake blue colored dress, carried a smaller version of the bride`s bouquet. The bride`s ten bridesmaids donned black currant and storm colored dresses and carried smaller, simpler versions of the maid of honor`s bouquet. The groom, dressed in navy, had a boutonniere composed of a blush miniature rose bud, magenta globe amaranthus and dusty miller leaf. The groom`s best man and ten groomsmen as well as both the father of the bride and father of the groom and the grandfather- all dressed in navy- wore simpler boutonnieres composed of a blush miniature rose bud. The mother of the bride, mother of the groom, and both grandmothers carried tussie mussies composed of three peach campanella cabbage roses and seeded eucalyptus.
After the ceremony, the wedding guests headed over to the cocktail hour that took place under the tented area on the lawn. Each of the high top tables was decorated with plum colored tablecloths and hand-blown bubble vases that contained small rose buds. Two hand painted gold mirrors each featuring the newlyweds` signature drinks were placed on easels in front of the bar. Drinks were served with custom-made white napkins that had written in gold foil, “Love, Laughter and Happily Ever After”. Castle Inn`s trademark white Adirondack chairs were given a pop of color with jewel toned velvet pillows. A lounge area that included a green, Victorian style velvet sofa, and a zebra patterned chair and giraffe patterned chair- both from the 1920s, a nautical inspired lamp, and a round oyster shell-colored ottoman gave the space an intimate and inviting feel. The designated “smoking area” included four vintage, black cigar-smoking chairs with vintage ashtrays. The focal point of the cocktail hour was a large clamshell placed on a black pedestal on the charcuterie table. From the clamshell flowed a romantic swag of lush flowers and greenery.
Inside the tented reception area, the card table featured an enchanting Wish Tree with gold branches and moss and adorned with tiny gold keys with white tags attached to them. A small, hand painted gold mirror in the shape of a key hung off of one of the branches asking wedding guests to share their “keys to a successful marriage” with the bride and groom. Next to the Wish Tree was placed a clear acrylic box for cards with silk flowers placed inside. Rose petals were scattered along the edge of the long, wooden table to complete the ethereal feel. Custom made place cards lead guests to their tables that were draped with a shimmery oyster-colored tablecloths and accented with a unique centerpiece in a vintage, seaside inspired vase. Each vase differed in color, size and shape- but all vases included some element of the ocean and in them were flowers common to the Victorian Era in rich colors. Small, gold mercury glass candle votives added to the romantic feel of the space. The table numbers were gold, hand painted mirrors in all different styles that had written on them each table`s number and the name of a place where the bride and groom had had a memorable date. The stage where the band was playing was decorated with a mink colored sheer draping backdrop and a greenery garland along the dance floor. The mink colored sheer draping was also used to decorate the walls and the ceiling of the tent. The long, wooden farmers table in the center of the reception area served as the head table for the newlyweds and their immediate family and wedding party. Along the center of the table ran a long greenery garland that was adorned with flowers that matched those of the bridal party and vintage lanterns of different sizes and styles. Inside each lantern was placed a gold mercury glass candle votive. Above the head table hung birch ladders that were decorated with greenery garland, flowers that resembled the ones on the head table, crystals and hanging, hand-blown glass bubbles, each containing a rose bud. The bride and groom`s dark brown, chiavari chairs were each decorated with a custom made silhouette of a person from the Victorian Era. For the bride`s chair there was the silhouette of a woman facing the groom`s chair, and for the groom`s chair there was the silhouette of a man facing the bride`s chair. Each painting was tied to the back of the chair with a burgundy colored ribbon and framed with a greenery garland. In the middle of the head table was a gold framed mirror with the words, “Castle Hill”- the couple`s most significant “date” yet.
As the night went on, two custom-made corn hole games featuring the bride`s and the groom`s silhouettes were placed on the lawn, along with custom bags that read either “Team Ben” or “Team Ali”. Guests had the opportunity to snack on delicious sweets at the couple`s dessert station. The dessert station, located in the Castle Hill Chalet featured two gold framed hand painted mirrors- one that listed all of the different dessert options, and the other in the shape of a clock that had written on it roman numerals and in the middle the phrase, “Time for Dessert?” Ali and Ben`s magical, Victorian Seaside wedding dream had come to life and the staff here at Creative Ambiance Events are honored that they had chosen us to take on the task of helping to make their dreams come true.
Want to see more weddings at Castle Hill that were done by Team CAE? Check out our Pinterest board: https://www.pinterest.com/lisamarieuncutt/castle-hill-weddings-2016/
