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Tessa Parks and Andrew Stiene wed on August 8, 2020 in Cincinnati, Ohio. Their special day was one full of color– which touched every single detail of their wedding. From the invitations, to the seating chart.. down to the bride's wedding band and accessories. Tessa chose the Brooke Bracelet in bubblegum pink and the Minnie Bracelet to pair with a blue and white chinoiserie bracelet she already had in her collection.
In three words, describe your wedding style?
Colorful, Artistic, English charm
What provided the most inspiration for your wedding?
Hazen's founder & designer, Taylor Turner, was truly my biggest source of inspiration for our wedding. I had never seen anything like her special day and looked through her IG too many times to count to find inspiration for my own wedding. Every detail was carefully thought out, it was stunning!
What aspect of wedding planning was most exciting to you?
There were several aspects of wedding planning I found to be so exciting. I knew I wanted to incorporate as much chinoiserie and blue and white pieces I could get my hands on. For me, the saying “more is more” is what I wanted in regard to blue and white pieces and details. I also wanted several other colors in addition to blue and white. The first décor item I decided on really set the tone for the inspiration and style of our wedding. I chose high quality die cut paper jardinere chargers designed by Molly Hatch. The chargers worked perfectly because they provided a lot of color and allowed for the use of as much chinoiserie and blue and white touches I could find. I took that charger everywhere with me to make sure details coordinated well with the same colors and style that were in the placemat. When I found something I loved, I would hold the charger up next to whatever I was considering and that helped simplify décor decisions and kept me from getting overwhelmed. I also decided on clear glass plates for the reception so guests could see the full beauty of the charger underneath. Finding the item that I knew would be the inspiration of our wedding was so exciting.
The other aspect of wedding planning I found to be so exciting was picking out the flowers for our centerpieces and my bridal bouquet. Since our wedding was postponed due to Covid, we had to change a few details around. We originally ordered 720 peony stems from Red Twig Farms outside of Columbus, OH for our original May date. Then we had to move our date to August and peonies were no longer available. So my next favorite flower, dahlias, would be in season and Red Twig Farms was so kind to give me nearly their entire crop of about 475 dahlia stems to make our centerpieces work. They were so beautiful and came in numerous colors. Two days before the wedding my aunt and grandma arranged the dahlias from their buckets into their vases. I didn’t want anything too busy so only the dahlias were in the centerpieces, they were so happy and colorful inside the tent for our reception. For my bouquet, I was told dahlias would not last in the heat, so I turned to my favorite local and gourmet grocery store, Dorothy Lane Market in Centerville, OH to make my bridal bouquets and boutonnieres. My mom and I have admired their beautiful and unique selection of flowers for years and it was very special to have them as a part of our wedding day. My husband and I just moved back to my hometown of Dayton, OH in May. So the morning of our wedding I woke up, drove about two minutes to DLM to pick up the flowers and then I was on my way to our venue with my Frenchie, Pippa, in the backseat next to my gorgeous flowers. Pippa was in the backseat because she was my flower puppy and trotted down the aisle in the cutest Rifle Paper Co. collar and leash. It was such a sweet moment.
What made you decide on Hazen for your big day?
I loved the look of the Hazen bracelet stacks I was seeing on IG, mainly from Paige Minear’s account where I first heard of the brand. I knew I would be wearing the same earrings my mom wore on her wedding day and I needed a special accessory to pair with them. I also wanted jewelry I would use in my day to day life to remember our wedding day. It was also something different I hadn’t seen other brides wear. Since I was wearing all white I wanted to add a bit of color to my bridal look. The Brooke Bracelet came out in bubblegum pink and I knew I had to have it, that shade of pink is my favorite color and it matched my bouquet. I later bought the Claire earrings in the same color to match and it always feels like such a treat when I wear them together. I already had a chinoiserie bracelet to go with the Brooke Bracelet and thought the Minnie complemented the set perfectly. The Hazen bracelet stack photographed so beautifully and pulled out the colors of my bouquet and also my wedding band that has multicolored sapphires similar to my mother’s wedding/engagement band.
The bride wore the bubblegum pink Brooke Bracelet (no longer stocked) and Minnie Bracelet from Hazen & Co.
This is a note for all Covid brides still waiting for their special day- Even though it was frustrating to postpone our wedding day, I truly believe it all worked out for the best and I wouldn’t change a thing. The extra time we had to plan made it possible to really think about small details and special touches we could add. I felt strongly that even though we were living through a global pandemic I was still was going to have the day I had always dreamed about. I was not interested in having a small ceremony and a reception later down the road, I was not interested in having a micro wedding and using the money for a down payment on a house, I wanted what we had on 8/8/2020. For some brides those alternatives might be ok, but for me I knew I would be settling for a wedding that filled me with frustration and sadness when your wedding day should be exactly the opposite. I stood my ground and did not lower my standards when friends and family members were encouraging me to do so. My advice to Covid brides is to be true to yourself and what you envision your wedding day looking like. Do not settle for a day that is not true to the love you share with your partner. It is a day to celebrate your love as a couple and how you choose do that is entirely up to you.
Note- Our ceremony and reception were both outside so Covid restrictions were not as strict as they would have been inside the Arts Center which gave us more flexibility and freedom but there were still many obstacles we had to overcome. Our venue had quite a bit of outdoor space and that made it easy to socially distance. At the time, the guidelines for weddings in Ohio were changing daily so the two weeks leading up to our date were very frustrating and there were times I thought I was going to have to postpone again. My venue listened to my concerns and we made it work and while still following the Ohio Department of Health guidelines. My husband and I feel so blessed to be able to celebrate with our closest friends and family. We had several people tell us it was a much needed and nice break from reality. My wish is that my story gives hope to other brides feeling discouraged they might never get the special day they have dreamed of for so long. Never, never, never, never, ever give up and love conquers all.
