Wedding Details
Claire and Connor's December 9th wedding was a great celebration! We had such a wonderful time planning and preparing for their big day and wanted to share some of the links and parts of the day with you.
The excitement and planning started the minute Connor asked for Claire's hand in marriage. The engagement party was a successful surprise and kicked off the wedding season for our family. Here are some items that are great for planning and gifts for the bride to be.
Click here for links for Engagement and Wedding Items
Check out my earlier blog about the bachelorette party we hosted for Claire at our lake house last summer. Claire had two beautiful showers with friends and family. The engagement time was filled with many celebrations for the engaged couple. Having white dresses for the various bridal events was a must and Claire did a great job of dressing the bridal part!
Links for White Dresses and Accessories
My Mom wanted the box to include something sweet, something savory, a non-alcoholic drink as well as champagne. She walked through the grocery store and looked for food in green packaging. The savory was a small bag of rosemary bruschetta from our local grocery store. Using local items is also a nice touch for out of town guests to enjoy. The sweet was a bag of mint and dark chocolate bag of individually wrapped Ghirardelli chocolates as well as a little bag of Tate's mini chocolate chip cookies.
There were two cans of Perrier water placed inside frosted plastic cups with the C and C wreath logo printed in gold. The personalized cups were ordered online from Totallypromotional.com. A split of champagne was centered in the box. A small muslin drawstring bag contained a makeup remover wipe, a packet of Emergen-C, a pack of Happy Tears tissues and Simply Mints. The little travel sizes are perfect for guests to stick in their pockets or handbags. Everything was nestled in shredded white crinkle paper.
Claire and my Mom had the stationery designer create a beautiful welcome card that coordinated with the wedding invitation. It gave transportation details and things to do in Cleveland. The outside of the box had a large round sticker with their C and C logo in gold. They ordered the label from Stickermule.com.
After a fun day of hair, makeup, lunch and getting ready together, Claire had the first look with our Dad. It was a really sweet moment right before her and Connor had their first look. Our two families enjoyed champagne and appetizers while we watched the first looks and took family photos with the photographer.
We had a fun time taking family photos at the base of the beautifully decorated staircase.
Our two families boarded the bus at the venue and traveled to the church for the 5:30 pm mass and ceremony. The church was candlelit with candelabra decorated with greenery at the ends of the pews. The mass was beautiful!
As the two families processed down the aisle, we walked right back onto the bus and went directly to the venue. Upon arrival at the reception, the band was playing, guests were greeted with glasses of champagne, the food stations and bars were open! Claire stepped aside and the bridal concierge bustled her dress and the makeup artist did a quick makeup retouch.
We also had three different soft seating areas available for guests to sit, relax and talk. For one of the areas, we had an armoire opened and the florist filled it with battery operated candles and beautiful flowers. Not only was it inviting, the space made for a beautiful photo backdrop for our guests.
Claire and Connor spent the first hour greeting guests inside the main door and then Claire did an outfit change. She removed the lace top and added a diagonal off the shoulder piece to her dress. The result looked like a completely different dress! The newlyweds were announced. They cut the cake and then my Dad welcomed everyone with a beautiful toast to the new couple. The groomsmen gave their toast and then Elizabeth and I toasted Claire and Connor.
The rest of the reception was a fun celebration with lots of dancing to the twelve piece band. At about 10:30 pm, the staff walked around with trays full of late night snacks. There were a variety of chicken fingers, tater tots, corndogs, sliders and fries served in cute white diner baskets with parchment paper liners.
Around 10:00 pm, the wedding planners put our favors out for guests to take when they left. We had ornaments with the C C wreath logo printed on them in gold. My Mom put each ornament in a white gauze drawstring bag with a note the stationery designer made thanking guests for attending. The ornaments were dispersed among four metal handle containers. One was left with the valet parkers, one at the coat check, one in a seating area near the elevators and another by the exit. The next morning we passed out extras to the employees and also brought them to the brunch.
With a half hour left to the reception, Claire and Connor changed into going away outfits. Claire wore black tuxedo type pants, black high heels, a white strapless bodysuit and put the lace top from her wedding dress over the bodysuit. My parents have her a quilted black Chanel crossbody with two white interlocking C's on the front as a wedding present. The lace little jacket will be fun to wear maybe on their first wedding anniversary as well.
Connor changed into gray pants, a white button down and a red tartan plaid blazer. They danced one final dance and then left for an overnight at the Ritz Carlton. They left the next morning for their honeymoon to the Cayman Islands.
This is a fun picture someone snapped of the five of us right before Claire went to change into her going away outfit!