We recently got in touch with Karin and Corrado to share some of their thoughts about planning their wedding at the Mansion on September 25, 2010. Here's their story:
How They Met:
Corrado and Karin were in the same place at the same time a few times before they actually formally met. Ultimately it was a couple that they were individually friends with that would bring them together.
The Proposal:
After living together for about a year and a half Karin was starting to get excited and thinking that they would potentially get engaged soon. She really wanted to be surprised by Corrado when the time came so she didn't talk much about about rings or timelines. On a Saturday morning in April while Corrado assisted his Sister's husband move furniture, Corrado's sister Angela insisted that she and Karin go have some fun at the jewelry store and try on rings!
On their drive home later that day, Corrado noticed that Karin was very quiet. He asked her about her afternoon with his sister and she told him that they tried on a few rings just for fun. He smiled and said “don’t say anything more and the second we get home I want to hear all about what you liked.” When they arrived home, Corrado came upstairs with a pad and paper. He drew what looked like a loosely sketched circle with a round diamond on top and sweetly asked Karin “Is this what you would like?" Karin laughed and said "That is perfect!" Corrado pulled out of his pocket a blue Tiffany Box, opened it up and said "How about this one?" He then got down on one knee right there in the living room and asked Karin to be his wife. After jumping around with excitement she finally got out the word “Yes!” After opening champagne to celebrate she had a moment of clarity and thought - "oh no, did I blow his plans?" He said he had the ring for a few weeks now and was waiting for this perfect time and this was it!
Inspirations for the Wedding:
Karin said, "In planning our wedding our main goal for the event was to create a beautiful romantic atmosphere in which we together with our family and friends could enjoy ourselves to the fullest! The Wadsworth Mansion makes it very easy to customize your wedding to your individual desires. The atmosphere we wanted to create would have to include delicious and beautifully presented food & cocktails, fun & romantic music and a vibrant color palette. We had a hand in every creative element from picking our Signature Drinks and Dessert Martini Station to the Navy Blue and Moss Green Color Palette. "
"A combination of live ceremony music, a jazz trio for cocktail hour and a DJ for dancing allowed us to incorporate different types of entertainment," Said Karin. "Food and drink is where we allocated most of our budget, and we wouldn't have had it any other way! We truly wanted to delight our guests with a tasting menu including things like seared diver scallops, gnocchi with English pea and corn chowder and little individual parchment lined silver cups of French fries! Our vision was simply to create an exceptional experience for our guests and ourselves."
Why They Selected the Wadsworth Mansion:
Karin's sister got married at the Wadsworth Mansion in 2005. Karin was her Maid of Honor and was there with her every step along the way in creating her dream wedding experience. When Karin and Corrado got engaged she couldn’t stop thinking about how she would love to be married there as well. In an attempt to do something different from her sister they looked at other venues in CT but she said nothing was comparing to the Mansion. Karin was worried about how her sister would feel if they got married at the Mansion too. Luckily, she couldn’t have been more thrilled! She loved the idea and that it would soon become an even more special place for their family.
"There are so many things that make the Mansion so ideal," said Karin. "The history, high ceilings, beautiful patio, lawn and landscaping, the fact that it is private and you are the only event for the day, and the central CT location. But for me by far the most brilliant feature is the ability to create a wedding that is yours only. No two weddings at the mansion will ever look the same! You have creative freedom to make your dream wedding come to life and nothing can compare to that. And I soon realized that in initially looking elsewhere I was trying to be different and unique...but that is the beauty of a Wadsworth Mansion wedding, it is your story to create. There would be one similarity in both of our weddings and that was that my sister and I both would both walk out of the very same beautiful French doors onto the stunning patio and down our respective 'aisles' to say “I Do!” And I couldn’t ask for more than that!"
Here is some of Karin's advice for brides and grooms:
• Don't forget to enjoy the planning as it is all part of the experience! The wedding day does go by fast but all of the anticipation, dress fittings, and hair trials can be just as exciting as the wedding day itself. My girls and I always made each trip to a dress fitting or cake tasting into an event, with shopping or celebratory dinner and drinks after!
• Take your pictures before the ceremony if you can! If you are like us and are getting married at the same location as the ceremony taking the pictures before is a great way for you and your bridal party to maximize your time and also not miss your cocktail hour. Plus, walking down the aisle is overwhelming and emotional! Having some private time to see each other right before can get some of the jitters out and allow for a more intimate "first glance" at each other! Plus your makeup will be at its best!
• You adore all of your bridesmaids for the individuals that they are. Allow them to have say in their look for your wedding. For instance, if you want them all in the same dress encourage them pick their own shoes within a certain criteria i.e. color. If you want them all to get hair and makeup done, allow them to pick the hairstyle that suits them best. Your bridesmaids want to feel their most beautiful for your big day too!
• Make sure you work with your caterer, wedding planner and photographer to create a timeline and flow that will allow for you to enjoy, not rush through, your wedding reception. Everyone I talked told me I wouldn’t have time to eat at my wedding but we ate every single course!! You will work so hard to plan every detail, be sure you don’t miss a thing! By working with our caterer to coordinate first dance, cake cutting etc. at times when guests were already stopped and paying attention, we weren’t constantly interrupting the fun and it felt more relaxing. We really had time to enjoy every moment of our wedding together!
• Schedule to leave for your honeymoon a few days after the wedding. While it may sound romantic to jet set within 24 hours of when you become Mr. & Mrs., it is stressful packing for your honeymoon the week of the wedding when you are so busy tying up loose ends ...plus who wants to be worrying about getting to the airport on time for their flight during their wedding reception?! Book a really great hotel suite for your wedding night. Plan a relaxing breakfast the next day to catch up and recall all of the fabulous details with your family and friends. Spend the next day packing and relaxing before you fly out. You will extend the anticipation and excitement and leave more relaxed for your trip!
Thank you Karin for some really great suggestions!
To view additional photos from Karin and Corrado's wedding, visit our write-up from September here.
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