The Bride Had Fairytale Wedding Cake For Her Gilded Mansion Wedding

The Bride Had Fairytale Wedding Cake For Her Gilded Mansion Wedding

The Bride Had Fairytale Wedding Cake For Her Wedding At A Gilded Mansion in Newport

Ashley – the bride about her wedding:

We were engaged in Venice in Italy. I am Italian, so we tried to tie a lot of Italian tradition and theme into our wedding, from our Italian shoes to our favors to the vase-breaking ceremony and our Venetian Dessert Table. We had an ethereal, romantic, fairytale theme, and we wanted the whole day to feel like a dream for our guests (and for us)!

It was a destination wedding as we live in DC and our friends and family are from all over the country. We started this weekend right before our rehearsal dinner on Friday. Will and I took a pre-wedding shoot with our photographer at The Chanler at Cliff Walk Hotel and Easton’s Beach. It was grey and dreary outside, though it created a theatrical backdrop for our beautiful photos!

pre-wedding shoot © Freire Wedding Photo

On Saturday, our wedding day, the bride(smaids) got ready at the Newport Marriott, and groom(smen) got ready at the Sea Breeze Inn. Our evening wedding ceremony, because of the sunset, was planned for 6pm. The entire wedding took place at gorgeous Rosecliff Mansion. Ceremony on the back lawn overlooking the ocean, cocktail hour on the terrace by the fountain, and reception in the ballroom.

We wanted our guests to have an immersive experience and really get to appreciate every part of the property. That was our primary goal. That Saturday was such a beautiful sunny day, and we luckily arranged to have our catholic ceremony overlooking the ocean.

Immediately after the ceremony, our guests enjoyed a champagne tower, Pamplemousse cocktails garnished with fresh orchids, and incredible tasty passed hors d’oeuvres. Will and I snuck away with our photo and video team and took the most unbelievable sunset shots on the rocks overlooking the ocean.

The shoot was so incredible that we came back last second for our first dance by Frank Sinatra. We listened to heartfelt toasts from my dad, maid of honor, and best man, and then danced the night away to Closing Time, who was the life of the party! We followed up with brunch the next day at Diego’s on the Wharf. The entire weekend felt like a dream, and I still can’t believe it was our own fairytale!

This wedding had to be published here once we decided to post real weddings because two of our team members were in part. All photos were taken by our celebrity wedding photographer Jan Freire and one of the most beautiful wedding cakes was created by awesome Lauren Wingate of Wingate’s Cakes.

Lauren Wingate about the fairytale wedding cake:

What a pleasure it was to create Ashley & Will’s fairytale wedding cake! We chatted, shared ideas, and pieced them together to make this couple’s dream wedding cake.

Ashley’s wedding cake’s powder blue color was made to match Newport’s Rosecliff Mansion’s ceiling perfectly. The custom gold detailing was added to match the wedding’s style and vibe and the gold ornamental details inside the 19th century gilded age mansion.

Since Ashley and Will only had about 50 guests attending their wedding, they were concerned about not having enough height for their cake. So, I designed a 3 tiered cake divided by flower installments to portray a grand presentation for a cake that only needed to feed a relatively small crowd.

  • The couple’s names: Ashley Esposito & William Girten
  • The number of attendants: 50 guests. It was essential to us to keep our wedding intimate.
  • Venue: Rosecliff Mansion, Newport, RI 
  • Wedding Planner: Leila Ryan Events 
  • Bride’s Gown (Rehearsal Dinner/PreWedding Beach Shoot): Grace Loves Lace (Everly 2-piece gown) from Grace Loves Lace NY Flagship
  • Bride’s Gown (Ceremony and Reception): Galia Lahav Bridal Couture (custom Alma 2-piece gown) from Bridal Reflections NY 5th Ave Flagship
  • Bride’s Shoes Rene Caovilla (Veneziana Jeweled Lace and Snakeskin Slingback in Silver) from Bergdorf Goodman NY Flagship
  • Bride’s Jewelry
    • Earrings: Tiffany & Co., from NY Flagship – “Enchant Scroll” diamond and tanzanite chandelier earrings
    • Necklace: Mark Broumand from LA Flagship, “Diamonds by the Yard” necklace
    • Bracelets: Tiffany & Co from NY Flagship, “Metro 5-row” diamond bangle
    • “Metro single row” diamond bangle
    • Diamond tennis bracelet was a Sweet-16 gift from my parents in 2003
    • Rings (right hand): Tiffany & Co from NY Flagship – “Soleste” diamond and tanzanite ring, 2.45 carats
    • The small diamond solitaire ring is vintage; it was my late grandmother’s engagement ring
  • Bride’s Veil Boutique de Voile (custom cathedral veil) from Bridal Reflections NY 5th Ave Flagship
  • Bride’s Hair & Makeup: Hair: Mallori Rose of The Best Of You 
  • Makeup: Erica Wright of Glam Done Wright
  • Groom’s Tux BOSS from Hugo Boss showroom, Tysons VA
  • Groom’s Shoes Salvatore Ferragamo (Belshaw Patent and Velvet Balmoral) from Bergdorf Goodman NY Flagship
  • Groom’s Watch Rolex Datejust from London Jewelers, Wheatley Plaza, NY
  • Groom’s Bracelet David Yurman (silver box chain bracelet) from Tysons VA Showroom
  • Rings – Hers & His: Mark Broumand (all custom) from LA Flagship. 3 carat custom Pear-shaped diamond engagement ring with halo, pave band, and filigree basket in platinum. 0.65 carat marquise cut diamond eternity band in platinum. 1.6 carat custom fancy brown diamond and rose gold men’s wedding band
  • Bridesmaids’ Dresses Portia and Scarlett (Sienna gown in blush) from NewYorkDress NY showroom
  • Florals Polly Hutchinson of Robin Hollow Farm
  • Floral Preservation Keepsake Floral 
  • Catering Danielle Costa of Blackstone Caterers
  • Cake Lauren Wingate of Wingate’s Cakes
  • Invitations I handmade made them myself! All stationery for the entire wedding was handmade by the bride.
  • Rentals Peak Event Services 
  • Linens Peak Event Services  
  • Entertainment Ceremony and Reception Band: Closing Time
  • Videographer Valery & Mark Raymond of Veiled in Motion
  • Photographer Jan Freire of Freire Wedding Photo
  • Favors We gave out the traditional Italian bomboniere of 5 Jordan almonds, as well as blue Murano glass-handled cheese knives for our favors. Will proposed to me on New Year’s Eve in Venice, Italy, and we visited the island of Murano the following day. Murano is famous for glass making, and after visiting, we knew we wanted to give out favors made of Murano glass!

Let us know your thoughts about this exquisite intimate wedding and mostly about that fairytale wedding cake in the comments below. If you want to check more real weddings, you find them on our website.

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18 Comments


  1. Brianne

    That has to be one of the most beautiful weddings I’ve ever seen! Everything about it was so magical.

  2. Colleen

    Oh wow. Fairy tale is right! Everything about these shots is just oozing with romantic charm.

  3. Elizabeth Ervin

    The cake was a fairytale? I think you meant the entire wedding! That dress and those shoes, girl. These pictures are fabulous.

  4. Ashley t

    Her wedding looked so stunning. Beautiful dress and a gorgeous cake! they look so happy.

  5. Cinny

    Oh wow, those pictures are beautiful! I would love to have such awesome pics.

  6. Ej Requina

    The bride looks genuinely happy and the place is just gorgeous. Everyone should experience their fairytale ending glad they found theirs !

  7. Elizabeth O

    That has to be one of the most beautiful weddings ever done. I love her dress, the venue, the outdoor areas, the cake, and everything else. It’s just so pretty and magical.

  8. Emily Fata

    This looks like a royal wedding! Yet, the couple looks so very happy and in love.

  9. Lyanna Soria

    Wow, that wedding is absolutely beautiful and definitely a fairy tale like event. Totally loving the photos and they look so adorable.

  10. Gervin Khan

    First of all, Congratulation on a very memorable dreamlike wedding. I’m very happy for both of you, wishing you an awesome and harmonious relationship as a couple.

  11. Sara | mshealthesteem.com

    Gorgeous couple, gorgeous wedding, gorgeous cake, gorgeous dress! Wow! Definitely a fairytale wedding ♡

  12. Marysa

    This definitely sounds like the perfect fairytale wedding. I love all the details put into this, and the photos are gorgeous.

  13. Emman Damian

    I love these wedding photos. The entire wedding looks so magical. And I would love to try that cake, that looks so yummy!

  14. littlemisadvencha

    Congratulations on this wedding! The pictures are all great, plus the CAKE! it’s stunning!

  15. Monidipa

    It is really beautiful, one of the most beautiful weddings I’ve seen. Perfect fairytale!

  16. WanderlustBeautyDreams

    These wedding photos are so dreamy! The cake looked so pretty too.

  17. Melanie williams

    Oh wow what an amazing day for the bride and groom. So lovely and that cake looks yummy x

  18. Clarice

    What a beautiful wedding! Congratulations to Ashley and Will. Love the wedding cake. It may not be huge but I believe it’s perfect.