1. Real Weddings

A Romantic Vineyard Wedding at Jonathan Edwards Winery in North Stonington, Connecticut

The wedding of Emily Sanchez (27 and a teacher and opera singer) and Charles Ogalin (27 and a medical-device representative) created the atmosphere of

The wedding of Emily Sanchez (27 and a teacher and opera singer) and Charles Ogalin (27 and a medical-device representative) created the atmosphere of a romantic walk through a winery on a sweet summer day. “We both love being by the water and visiting vineyards, so it was important to me to ‘marry’ the two places for our wedding day,” says Emily. This influenced the couple’s choice to host their ceremony in St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in Mystic, Connecticut, followed by a reception in a nearby vineyard, Jonathan Edwards Winery in North Stonington, Connecticut. Emily’s light and airy Stephan Jolie wedding dress allowed her to be comfortable walking by the water or between the vines, and she wore a lace-lined mantilla veil to pay tribute to her Cuban roots. “It was very important to me that I looked like myself at the altar, which is why I wore my hair down and kept my makeup natural, with more concentration on the eyes,” says the bride. She and her mother planned the perfect party under a tent in the vineyard, which included soft decor in blush, ivory and gold. The five-tier wedding cake, created by Ana Parzych Custom Cakes, stood out as a focal point: A grand cascade of detailed blush sugar flowers with stunning gold leaves and a single gold tier, which represented a wedding band, captured the romantic essence of the day. The couple’s favorite part? “Our first dance song,” says the bride. Emily’s father and brothers performed the song that Charlie proposed with: Peter Frampton’s “Baby I Love Your Way.” “It was surreal to hear all of our guests singing along while we danced and took in the moment,” says Emily. See the sweet details of the day captured by Melani Lust Photography, below.

The bridal bouquet was a loose, hand-tied arrangement of peonies, garden roses, spray roses, lisianthus, sweet peas and ranunculus in ivory and blush hues with sprigs of greens. The bouquet was wrapped in ivory satin and had long tails of ribbons in ivory satin, silk and lace. “I can still smell my bouquet to this day!” says Emily.
Emily worked with Kimberly FitzSimons to create the perfect invitation suite that melded her love of gold, script and letterpress. “She helped me incorporate a unique belly band with our names letterpressed onto it that elegantly held the entire suite together,” says Emily. “I loved my invitations so much that I fell asleep holding them!”
Mystic, Connecticut, Venue
Emily and Charlie knew they wanted to do a first look before their ceremony to calm nerves and get one final kiss before tying the knot. “My mother drove up to Mystic, Connecticut, every weekend to scout the perfect location,” says Emily. “I will never forget my cathedral veil flowing in the wind as I walked past the lighthouse toward Charlie, smelling the salt water in the air and seeing the groomsmen standing on the coastal boulders trying to get a closer look.”
The bridesmaids wore floor-length dresses from a Joanna August collection in a light mint color and carried soft blush bouquets with long blush-and-ivory ribbon wraps. The groomsmen wore white dinner jackets with classic black tuxedo pants and bow ties, to match the groom.
St. Patrick's Catholic Church Wedding Venue
Emily knew she wanted a mantilla veil in honor of her Cuban roots, so she chose a cathedral-length veil to match the white lace on top of her wedding dress. “The beautiful lace of my dress and the mantilla veil really spoke for itself,” says the bride.
Ribbon-Waving Recessional from Little White Church
Wine Bottle Bud-Vase Table Assignments
Guests found their escort cards at a wine-barrel table that held wine bottles with labels for each table’s seating arrangement. Marcardin Calligraphy inscribed guests’ names in gold ink onto delicate blush paper in Jonathan Edwards corks, which the couple collected throughout the year leading up to their wedding.
Ana Parzych Custom Cakes in Cheshire, Connecticut, custom-designed the couple’s five-tier wedding cake. It was covered in textured white fondant that was brushed with gold pearl dust and gold-fondant pearl borders. The single gold tier represented a wedding band. Sugar peonies, ranunculus and garden roses in shades of soft pink, with gold centers, leaves and stems, cascaded down the side of the cake. “Ana graciously gave us the cake sketch she initially made after our consultation, and it’s framed in our kitchen,” says the bride.
Each table had gold mercury glass arrangements of ivory, peach and blush. Table linens consisted of blush and ivory satin underneath a gold lace overlay. Each place setting had a gold chiavari chair, a gold beaded charger, gold flatware and glassware with a thin gold rim.
Gold-Beaded Clear Charger with Gold Flatware
Short Gold Mercury Vases with Blush Flowers
“We both love being by the water and visiting vineyards, so it was important to me to ‘marry’ the two places for our wedding day,” says Emily. The couple fell in love with Mystic, Connecticut, and selected one of their favorite vineyards, Jonathan Edwards Winery in North Stonington, Connecticut, for their reception.
“My favorite part of the entire wedding was our first dance song,” says the bride. Emily’s father and brothers performed the song that Charlie proposed with: Peter Frampton’s “Baby I Love Your Way.” “It was surreal to hear all of our guests singing along while we danced and took in the moment,” says Emily.
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Gold Sparkly Spelled-Out Table Numbers
Bride and Groom with Rainbow in Connecticut
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