There Were Signs All Along

We did the coolest wedding back in September. Our groom had a vision to get married in a clearing in the woods; and, boy, we did it up in style! Female guests were encouraged to wear their flats for the picturesque walk in and out of the forest. We hung signs along the way: Each one said one thing going in to the woods and then, during the ceremony, we flipped them over to reveal a different message as guests made their way out to the reception.

Deborah Lau Yu from Palettera Custom Correspondences illustrated 3 different versions by hand and mounted them on board that my poor team had to tie around trees at just the right height. The small army of photographers on hand that day from 5ive15ifteen Photo Company snapped these photos; they make me smile, every time I look at them.

This one still cracks me up: You're Almost, Almost There. It was probably only a 5 minute walk in the woods in total, but I thought it might be a good idea to let guests know it wasn't much further!

At this point, guests exited the main path and began the final leg in. Once they turned left, this is what they saw:

Sixteen waiters lined the footpath with glasses of festive pink champagne. Guests were able to take these into the ceremony site, where they were continually topped up until the ceremony began. On the way out, these same waiters lined up with trays of delectable hors d'oeuvre. We may have been in a forest, but our revelers were made to feel they were at a five-star restaurant. Albeit a five-star restaurant with trees in it...

This was the payoff for all their efforts: the enchanted ceremony location. I'm sure I'll write another post about what went into creating this one day, but for now, sit back and enjoy the magical setting, courtesy of the fertile imagination of Event Designer Bill Fulghum.

After the ceremony was done, guests started the walk out. Join them now as we exit the forest together... These are the 'new' messages on the signs:

Runway Bride

We had the best time planning this fashion-themed wedding shower for our 'Runway Bride' last year. The bride's mother, sister and Lidia Tacconelli and I schemed, planned and executed the most decadent party -- a fashion- themed brunch on a cold and grey Sunday last November at Malaparte.

Given that our bride loves all-things-fashion, we divided the guests up into 4 long tables, each with their very own designer look...

First up: Chanel with the classic 'tweed' runner (printed digitally, of course, by our friends over at Emerson Design), adorned with the pouffiest, whitest hydrangeas I've seen in a long time.

Next: Missoni. It's hard to tell from this angle, but Lidia arranged the carnations in the famous zig-zag pattern all down the troughs as well.

Dolce & Gabbana had their signature leopard print and red, red roses...

And finally, the Marc Jacobs table, in honour of our bride's favourite perfume: Daisy. To keep the look consistent, every table had the same core elements: black ghost chairs from Contemporary Furniture Rentals, black linens from Around the Table and black lucite troughs from FIORI.

When guests arrived, they were treated to passed 'breakfast' hors d'oeuvre: this photo shows the  yummy, mini-french toast on skewers, complete with real maple syrup in the bottom of the cups.

And look at these little lovelies: Mini lobster and quail-egg benedicts. The chefs at Malaparte got pretty creative with some wonderful breakfast finger foods. And everything tasted even better than it looked.

When the guests sat down, each place had a 'Vogue' magazine that doubled as a place card holder (the mailing label on the bottom right corner had each guest's name printed out) and opened up to reveal the menu that was to be served, all designed like a magazine layout.

Each course was created with the four designers in mind: Marc Jacobs? New York Pretzels & Lox... Dolce & Gabbana? Truffled Gnocchi... Chanel? Crèpes, bien sûr! And finally, our Missoni-themed dessert: Sweet melon and burrata.

We set up a lounge area, complete with Pucci pillows where we laid out the take away gifts: beautiful coffee table books and movies, all with fashion titles.

Finally, as with any wedding shower in a good, Italian family, many of the guests brought home-baked goodies. We had to keep making the table bigger and bigger as people arrived with more and more treats. It got to the point where I couldn't add any more tables to the space to accommodate all the desserts... Yes, people baked that much stuff for our guest of honour.

We did up boxes for the ladies to take bounty from the sweet table home with them, again with our copyright-infringement (eek!) take on the Bergdorf Goodman logo. I like to think of it as free advertising for that wonderful store... yeah, that's it...

Finally, a glimpse of the paper, tissue and ribbon we wrapped the flowers up with at the end of the party. The ladies literally left with armfuls of flowers, books and sweets!

Thank you, as always, to Anthony Manieri from 5ive15ifteen Photo Company and a special shout out to all the Oliver & Bonaccini staff at Malaparte. You all helped us create an experience that few will forget anytime soon...

PS: WedLuxe Magazine featured this shower on their blog last month. Click here for more pics and even more details!

Bold and Beautiful at the RCM

It's always so gratifying to see months and months of planning and dreaming come to life... and even more exciting when it becomes immortalized in print! We were thrilled to see the wedding of Lauren and Jim at the Royal Conservatory of Music appear in the current issue of WedLuxe Magazine, featuring every bold and brave decision our colour-loving clients made. Seriously... how many brides do you think choose red chairs for their weddings?!! We were a match made in heaven. Scroll down to see some of these glorious details...

Event designer and florist Lidia Tacconelli went to town with this riot of colour. When Lauren presented us with her ombre concept, Lidia took it and ran... Check out the gradual changing of colour of the flowers moving down the shelves on the left of this photo. She did the same with the flowers going up the aisle in the church too.

I love the layering you can see in this photo: the vintage, moiré silk ribbon on top of a custom taffeta coral runner, which in turn, lay on a soft pink (yes, it's pink) lace runner. Notice the four different candle holders in the foreground too and then the custom lucite trough holding the flowers.

The place card table had gradating rings of carnations... I think Lidia said there were close to 900 of them, fitting together to have the place cards sitting atop. In the detail shot, you can see one of the illustrations that Jeff Jackson did for us. 

A hundred years ago, when I was a student at the Ontario College of Art and Design, Jeff was a GOD in the world of illustration... when Lauren told me he is married to her cousin, I knew we had to take full and shameful advantage of that relationship! He illustrated the anemones that we used in the invitations, menus, place cards, as well as the table numbers, the "Lauren + Jim' crest and the best piece of all: the map showing all the important places pertaining to this wedding and their lives... including the dog park where Jim had proposed months before. You can see more of Jeff's work here.

Finally, we finished off the night (and the ombre look) with the cake. You will see that Bobbette & Belle even gradated the colours of the filling between layers. It was a mouthwatering combination buttercream AND cream cheese icing. People went bananas... now I can't have them put anything else in to their cakes!!

The happy couple... A very special thanks must go to Lauren, her mom and sister for being so open, receptive and enthusiastic about everything we suggested. It was a true collaboration and I loved every moment of working together. And special, special thanks to Anthony Manieri from 5ive15ifteen Photo Company for preserving the memories so beautifully for as all with  the gorgeous photographs.

Pick up a copy of WedLuxe on newsstands now or click here to read the online version of Lauren and Jim's story.

Lindsay + Jamie: Before and After

We had such great response to our previous 'Before and After' post that I thought we should do it again, this time with the wedding of Lindsay and Jamie that was so beautifully captured by Anthony Manieri of 5ive15ifteen Photo Company and gorgeously featured in the Winter/Spring edition of WedLuxe magazine. I've started this post with an 'after' shot first (because it just looks better as the first image!), but from here on in, we'll go to 'before' pictures first...

 

Here's the view, looking in the same direction, taken the day before, just as they were starting to rig the ceiling with all the AV equipment. This is the order in which a tent wedding comes to life: 1. Floor, 2: Tent, 3. AV/electrical and chandeliers, if required, 4. Draping, 5. Carpet, 6. Furniture, 7. Floral/decor and finally, 8. People!

Now we move to the big day itself... You can see that the ceiling is draped, the carpet and tables are laid and Gisele and Co. are starting to load the floral in. Way off in the distance, you can see the chairs are already in place for the ceremony later that afternoon...

This shot shows how everything came together on the tables... our 'Garden Inside a Tent' concept come to life... I always say that once clients have planned a wedding, they'll never attend another one in quite the same way! After you've spent months and months on every little detail, down to which rose will sit in which way on which linen napkin, you notice things you never would before planning your own...

The Money Shot: Gabi kept the vinyl tent sides on to keep guests out until Anthony had finished taking photos. This picture shows the massive floral pieces hanging over the dance floor; they were covered with hydrangea, roses and phalaenopsis orchids and the actual structures mimicked the boxes on the tables that held the topiaries.

And finally, our charming couple, twirling around the dance floor for their First Dance... To read their wedding story as it appeared in the pages of WedLuxe Magazine, click here.