Jessica and Kristopher met in July of 2007, when her best friend Barbara brought her to his families annual “Lobster Bake”. Sparks flew instantly. Their chemistry was clear to everyone around them, and within days the two were dating. Jessica is from Uncasville, CT and Kristopher is from Taftville, CT.
Jessica used Kia from ESTOccasions for full wedding planning. “Kia is not only an amazing event planner, she is an even more amazing person and friend,” Jessica told me.
“On our wedding day, I was calm as a cucumber. I did not have a worry in the world, it was all taken care of, which is NOT how anyone that knows me would have expected me to be acting on such an important day.”
Kia took things above and beyond by making Jessica a custom card box to look similar to a Lobster trap to go with the theme of the wedding. It was white washed with a hint of blue, with some starfish. She also made a custom cake stand with just the right touch of “blind and beach” according to Jessica.
“She kept us on track with what we needed to do next, but also just let us sit back and ENJOY. Everyone talks about her to this day about how WELL she kept everything running smoothly.”
Her invitations were done herself through estoPrints, which she runs. She also made recipe cards for guests with a “secret family recipe” of Italian cookies that have been a tradition in my family for the past 50+ years, programs, a banner, and children’s coloring books. Also DYI? Her seashell balls for the isles and flower girls, and the metal sand pails with crayons and activities to accompany the children’s coloring books.
She got her wedding cake from Chocolate Rose Bakeshop, which was a traditional white square offset cake. There was 3 layers, with just orchids for a cake topper, and some chocolate starfish randomly placed. She also had a Grooms cake in the shape of a 3-Dimensional Fenway Park as a surprise to her husband.
They used Peter Black with Wedding Bells Photography in Old Lyme, CT for photos and were very happy with his services. She said he was very accommodating, present for everything, and they had multiple shoots with him.
“He is absolutely a JOY to work with, he even had our pictures printed and ready 4 days after we came home from our honeymoon!! There are not enough words to describe how much we will treasure those photo’s and the work that he did!”
Jessica couldn’t say enough positive things about her DJ’s from Jamkat entertainment. Everyone kept telling them how much fun the wedding was, and there was hardly a moment when there wasn’t someone on the dance floor. She will be keeping them in mind for all future events going forward.
Some of her other favorite vendors included Melissa Ashley Brides (Westerly, RI) for her dress, Claudio’s Formal Wear (Uncasville, CT) for men’s clothing, Adriana Pacuku from The Beauty Bar for makeup, and Melissa Bonnoffski of Stylish Blooms (Bristol, CT) for flowers.
Their limo service was a hot topic with her though.
“I don’t even really want to talk about them, But absolutely HATED Joshua’s Limousine. Charged almost double of what my contract said, needless to say I got a REFUND for what they owed me. Only after the owner tried to “friend” me on FB to potentially solve the problem…instead of CALLING me. Bad business.”
Another vendor she didn’t have rave reviews about? Their venue, Ocean Beach Park (Port n’ Starboard). While the view and the price were excellent, the attitude and frequent “run around” she got was not. The food was good, but not fresh, and they didn’t have special area to accommodate the bridal party.
Jessica’s best tip for a bride planning a wedding in Connecticut?
“If you have the time and talent to do it, do it yourself projects and sentimental touches really add a lot to your wedding. Don’t make it a typical cookie cutter wedding. Do something that is totally YOU and your spouse, and something that your guests will remember!”
The two currently live in Taftville currently with their two dogs, Mason and Molly.
What ideas did you get from Jessica’s wedding? What are your ideas for your own wedding? What about your wedding was similar/different?
Want your wedding featured here? Email me! Jen@WeddingReports.com.
There is neither the name of the person who married Jessica and Kristopher nor any review of that person. Why? Wasn’t the ceremony important?
Hi Ernest! We were certainly not trying to imply that the ceremony itself is not important. To avoid leading anyone to speak positively or negatively about any vendor in particular, I just ask the brides I speak with to share feedback about some of the vendors that they worked with. As you know, there are many vendors involved in a wedding, so we just ask the Bride to highlight ones that stood out for her. If you would like to chat about this further, please feel free to email me jen (at) weddingreports (dot) com. Thanks!
Hi, this is Jessica. I just saw this comment sorry for the delay. I did not feel it necessary to talk about our Ceremony because it was something sacred to the two of us and our families. Not necessarily anything to write about. We got married at my childhood church, and there was nothing negative about it. It was perfect. I don’t feel there was anything to give feedback on when it came to that. Therefore we didn’t include it. It was my childhood priest and we were also the last ones to be married by him in that church. Other than that, we know how we felt about our ceremony, and that’s all that matters.