When Ethyn Brodeur and Jules Gagnon were planning their wedding, she was very sure of one thing in particular.

“I knew I wanted a ‘winter wonderland’ wedding,” she said. “I wanted everything to be white and sparkly and ice blue – as sparkly and clean and pure looking as possible.”

Jules admits she despises the cold, Maine winters. So why choose a winter wedding? “It really broke things up for us,” she said of their January 26 nuptials at Calvary Baptist Church in Turner. “Combining a winter wedding with a tropical honeymoon gave us lots to look forward to.”

She and Ethyn, however, were able to achieve the goal of a “sparkly” wedding with some savvy shopping.

“I’m a major bargain hunter,” she explained, “so I hit all the after-Christmas sales.” White Christmas trees of varying heights, purchased for about $10 each and decorated with white lights, provided the backdrop for the 5 p.m. ceremony. Jules bought snowflakes and crystals for decorations. Even their cake topper radiated light as rhinestones formed their initials on a cake decorated with snowflakes and crystals.

Perhaps the most unique aspect of the wedding, however, and the part garnering so much attention from the guests, turned out to be the often over-looked wedding favors.

“I’m the kind of person who wants things to be unique, to stand-out and leave an impression,” she said. “Most of the favors are the same old thing, but I wanted mine to be in keeping with the theme of the wedding.” The catalyst for her inspiration turned out to be a photo of three glass canisters filled with candy she saw in a bridal magazine.

“I thought, on a huge scale, that would be awesome!” she related. From that point on she was on the hunt for glass jars, crystal bowls and dishes as well as attractive spoons for guests to dish out their candy favors into their individual snowflake bags inscribed with the couple’s name and the wedding date.

Jules estimates that for the nearly 200 people who attended the wedding, she spent no more than $200 for the favors and dishes.

The candy, she said, corresponded to the colors of her wedding – white and ice blue. Dark chocolate and nonpareils represented the tuxedos. A variety of mints, such as individually-wrapped Life Savers and other hard candies, made up a good portion of the candy table. There were even white frosted pretzels. They also included ice blue and white rock candy on sticks. Their floral designer, Leo Baillargeon of Lewiston, created a bouquet from the rock candy that was just breathtaking, she said.

“It was very successful and everyone loved it because they were going home with bags of candy,” Jules recalled. “The wedding was so romantic and elegant, it was like a fairy tale.”

Cover photo

& photos on this page

Courtesy of

Northlight Portraits