Graphic designer bride, Candie, had her hand in every detail of her big day and the result is a joyful, candy-colored celebration in Buffalo NY. Candie and Chris enlisted Shelley’s Florist to create a gorgeous bouquets of big blooms and berries that popped against the sky blue of the bridal party. The couple also reached out to friends and family to help create the personalized reception details. We’re especially loving the addition of the vintage Rolls Royce set against the backdrop of historic upstate New York in the images captured by Alexandra Elise Photography. Enjoy!
from the bride: I was so excited to be able to have our ceremony in the same church that my parents were married in, Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Williamsville, NY. My grandparents attend the same church every week and it had a special meaning to me. Our reception was held at the Hotel LaFayette in downtown Buffalo, which was the perfect setting for two people that love Buffalo as much as we do. Since I lived in Florida for 25 years, most of my friends and family were from out of town and I wanted them to feel the BuffaLOVE and the exact reason that I moved back to this wonderful place. There is such a sense of community here that you just don’t get many other places. We tried to keep the theme by providing Anderson’s custard and lemon ice as a dessert, sponge candy and Buffalo shaped chocolates as parting gifts and we even filled each out of town guest’s hotel room with a handmade box filled with all of our favorite Buffalo items – Weber’s mustard and Frank’s Red Hot Buffalo sauce. Buffalo staples were a common theme!
All of the planning moments were my favorite! I am a graphic designer and wanted to have a hand in every little detail of our big day. Everything was designed by myself and then crafted by both my new mother-in-law and myself. This was also special to me being that we got to spend so much time together. I designed and printed all of the paper goods from the save the dates to the thank you cards, the invitations and napkin holders, the place cards, the church programs as well as hand-painting each and every sign that adorned our reception area. Together, my mother-in-law and I made all of the fabric/flower swag that adorned each pew at the church, we painted and added flowers to a vintage wagon for the flower girl (we even glittered the wheels!), we made all of the ribbon wands to be waved at us during our receiving line, and I even made the sign that adorned my favorite touch: the Rolls Royce! We made each table runner, our best man made the wooden table numbers and signs for us to paint and then glitter, and we even designed the ladders that were behind the head table; it was quite the feat! Although it was many months of hard work, I already miss it. Those were some of the best memories that I will cherish forever. It was important to us to include all of the important people in our lives in any way that we could, so it was amazing to have a friend of mine compose and play the music that he had written just for me to walk down the aisle to and to have another close friend of ours (one of the groomsman’s wives) be our cantor. There were special things and people everywhere you turned!
For the wedding day itself, I couldn’t believe how calm I was; I loved being with all of my girls who were all in from out of town. From the moment the rehearsal started the night before, it was just a giant love-fest that continued on. It was so exciting to have my hair done and wonder what Christopher was feeling and how handsome he was going to look in his blue suit. The two of us are so affectionate with one another and have so much love that we decided to write our own vows. That was probably the hardest part of the entire wedding planning process. Trying to explain the kind of love that you have for this person and the kind of wife that you want to be for them; not an easy task! Since we didn’t do a first look, it was the most magical feeling to stand at the end of the aisle (I waited a few moments before walking down to take it all in) and look at the man that is going to be your husband in just a few minutes. It was amazing and a feeling that I’ll never forget. Afterward, practically every guest told us that you could feel the love oozing out of our families and friends and that the emotions were rare to find in such abundance. It was thus far my favorite day of my life and I cannot wait for us to build more memories together. We are the perfect team!
Photography: Alexandra Elise Photography // Florist: Shelley’s Florist // Invitations & Paper Goods: Rock Candie Designs // Reception: Hotel LaFayette // Videography: Jacquelyn Daley // Rolls Royce: Advantage Limo // Trolley: Buffalo Trolley // Frozen Custard and Lemon Ice: Anderson’s Ice Cream // Cupcakes and gluten free cake: Fairy Cakes // Church: Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary // Film Lab: PhotoVision Prints // Second Shooter: Emma Clark