Candace + Stephanie's Two Wedding Celebrations
Two celebrations are better than one! Candace and Stephanie celebrated twice - first with “I dos” on a medieval terrace in Côte d’Azur overlooking the French Riviera then an all-day party at The Lytle Hotel in downtown Cincinnati. Stephanie takes us back through both celebrations - from the seven-course dinner served over 1000 feet above the Mediterranean to a midnight horah! She said it best: Candace and I are definitely a more unconventional couple, so it was no surprise when we picked not only two weddings, but that one was going to be quite a trek for our guests to get to (my 80-year-old grandmother even had to climb the mountain in France to get to the chateau, and she did an amazing job!) We had such an amazing time and plan on going back to our French chateau for anniversaries to come in the future!
Photos from France by Yana Photography. Photos from Cincinnati by Kristin Brown Photography.
How would you describe the style/vibe of your wedding?
Old World Europe-chic? If that is a thing? And our Cincinnati reception was very modern and just plain fun!
Tell us about your wedding stationery vision.
Very minimal and clean.
Tell us a little about you and Candace. How did you meet?
We met on Bumble! Candace reached out to me and a week later we went on our first date at The Pony in OTR. From then on we were inseparable!
What elements/traditions did you incorporate to make it unique to your love story?
We wanted to make sure that all the decisions we made really screamed "Stephanie and Candace" From our first dance song (a blink-182 banger) to our outfit change in Cincinnati (I couldn't resist having three wedding dresses), to making sure our goldendoodle was involved in the photos at our reception, I think every time someone grabbed food, a drink, or a dance they knew we had chosen everything!
Take us back through your wedding days.
They were both amazing!
In France, we rented out a chateau on top of a cliff overlooking the French Riviera. Candace and I stayed there the night before so we were able to wake up to gorgeous views and take our time in the morning having breakfast looking over the Mediterranean Sea. We had our wedding parties get ready altogether with us so we drank champagne all day while getting our hair and makeup done. When it was time for the ceremony, our guests were given glasses of champagne and led out to the terrace. Both of our parents walked us both down the aisle after our bridesmaid’s processional. Candace's father officiated which made everything that much more personal. We ended the ceremony with a smashing of the glass (after I had to use my father's shoe to break it, my Jimmy Choo just didn't cut it!), which meant it was time to party! We had a beautiful cocktail hour with all the Moet you could drink and then went into the chateau for a seven-course dinner led by the two-Michelin star chef they have. We spilled back out onto the terrace for our reception complete with an amazing band, more champagne and drinks, and late-night sandwiches!
In Cincinnati, we didn't want any ceremony, so we just had a party! We started the day with a workout for our bridal party with our personal trainer and went back to Lytle Park Hotel to get ready for the day! We echoed our day in France with champagne all day while getting our hair and makeup done (we also had to get Chipotle for lunch for our bridal party, as it is Candace's favorite meal!). We got the party started on the rooftop with custom cocktails and, of course, more Moet than we knew what to do with! We had heavy hors devours, more drinks, and a band that kept us dancing well past midnight (making sure we got the horah in!). We ended the night with grilled cheese and French macarons for everyone to take home.
Why was your venue perfect for your celebration?
In France, it doesn't matter who you are or what your style is, a medieval chateau overlooking the French Riviera was just fabulous. We love to travel so we knew we wanted to do something overseas. I am also a big fan of anything glamorous and "extra" while also being the pinnacle of class, so our guests being able to overlook the sea while sipping on French champagne was just everything we wanted. We wanted our guests to leave our wedding saying "wow, I've never been to anything like that and I had the time of my life." I also was able to take a few moments while our reception was happening, look out to the views we had, and really appreciate that this was a once-in-a-lifetime wedding and not another carbon copy of every wedding someone had already been to.
For our Cincinnati reception, we really just wanted a party at a place that would give us everything we needed! We are not into DIY or anything of that sort, so for the venue to be a one-stop-shop as far as not having to bring in my own caterer, bartenders, decor, etc. was a huge selling point. It didn't hurt that it was a gorgeous view and reminded us of the vibe we had in France (downtown Cincinnati may not have the same views as the south of France, but everyone loves being on a rooftop!) We knew the drinks and the food were going to be amazing and we still had people walking out of that reception saying it was the best party they had been to!
Vendors France:
Photographer - @yanaphotography_ | Florist - @ferrismara | Wedding Day-of Coordinator - Diana Martazov | Venue, Catering, Cake/Sweets- Chateau Eza | Hair & Makeup - Hair by @kevin_smeenk and makeup by @irina.awad | Music - Spyglass | Wedding Dresses: Hyde Park Bridal for both!
Vendors Cincinnati:
Venue & Catering - Lytle Park Hotel | Photographer - @kristinbrownphotography | Wedding Day-of Coordinator - Aryn Colvin | Cake/Sweets- Donna's Cookies and @fngoodedesserts | Hair & Makeup - Hair by @stylist_caitlinmitchell and makeup by @omegabeautycincy | Music - @siv_band | Wedding Dresses - Our first dresses (jumpsuit for Candace, long dress for me) were both from Lulu's! My second dress was a Nadine Merabi and Candace's was from Revolve.
