One of my client weddings was featured in the winter issue of Flower Magazine. Working with the oh-so-fabulous and oh-so-fun Marina Birch of Birch Design Studio, we took the client’s dreamy inspiration of the Viceroy Hotel in Santa Monica {showcasing a crisp black, white and bold green color palette repeated throughout the Wearstler designed hotel} and created a design that complimented the Georgian blank slate of the lovely Chicago History Museum.
Because wheels-up wasn’t an option for me – I was unable to ‘research’ the hotel style in person {it’s since been added to my never-ending life to-do list}, I put together just a few images of the luxe Viceroy lair, that I then took into consideration when creating the chic brides floral and decor designs. {see images below}
Marina had a custom pattern and motif created for the couple. One that graced elements from the wedding invitations, custom linens to the menu cards. We used the mostly white linens and graphic black chairs with {then} custom citron green seat cushions to provide the backdrop for a collection of black lacquered vases hosting copious amounts monochromatic green flowers and ferns (a favorite of the bride). {see images below}
The ceremony took place under a custom cabana-inspired canopy, detailed with graphic black trim and a petite chandelier. My talented Botanicals designers also created a chic floral monogram for the bride and grooms’ chairs that denoted the seats of honour. {see images above}
I had a blast taking the Viceroy’s fuse of ‘classic sophistication and contemporary chic’ style and translating it into an equally fabulous wedding design for one of the most lovely couples to date!
{wedding and posting credits} event design: kara at botanicals – a branch of hm design, wedding consultant: marina of birch design studio, event photography: garbo photography, inspiration: the viceroy santa monica, feature: flower magazine
My great friend (and proud mama of a new baby boy – (see previous entry!)), Lisa Gia Bascomb of Parties Etc., and I worked together on a late summer wedding. Their wedding is now featured in the current issue of Brides Chicago.
Lisa’s clients, Rebecca and Gary, were simple and laid back and wanted their wedding to reflect themselves, while also lending an urban chic feeling to the setting – all with no fuss. We selected a color palette of crisp, summery apple green and white.
Their Chicago wedding took place at the Museum of Contemporary Art, on the very day of the legendary Chicago Air and Water Show. (Setting up the outdoor ceremony was thrilling as the F-22 Raptors soared overhead!) Here are the images from the exciting feature.
The ceremony took place outdoors, under a gauzy chuppah, composed of layers of white chiffon, cinched mid-way by custom green floral cuffs.
Two alternating centerpiece designs were placed on guest tables around the Museum. One half of the tables featured glass collection style centerpieces. These centerpieces were composed of varied glass geometric vases, positioned symmetrically in the middle of the table. Each vase hosted a mono-floral collection of green or white flowers including open-cut calla lilies, cymbidium orchid blossoms and green button pomps. The remaining guest tables featured a tall, sleek glass vase will an architectural burst of sculptural white calla lilies. The base of these centerpieces hosted a trio of vases, swirled with submerged flax foliage and topped with a floating disk candle, for a romantic glow around the room.
We worked with the outstanding husband-wife dream team Pen Carlson Photography – who shot the absolutely stunningly artful images. Brett and Kiri are one of my latest obsessions. They truly ooze talent (I am constantly inspired by their work). On top of that, they are incredibly lovely to work with. Here are a few more showstoppers taken by the dynamic duo:
I delivered the bridal party flowers to an apartment high in the Hancock Building – check out this brilliant view of the air and water show that the bridal party took in as they were getting fussed and mussed over by hair and make-up.
A shot of the groom – I love the editorial style!
The bride carried a sleek bouquet of open-cut white calla lilies, cut short and collected in double-faced silk ribbon. I absolutely adore this photograph!
The bride and groom arrived on the remarkable summer day. A day brides dream of.
A stolen kiss. The groom wore a coordinating miniature calla lily boutonniere – the perfect selection to compliment the bridal bouquet, but also a great choice as they are a wonderfully hardy blossom that holds up fantastically out of water.
The current issue of one of Chicago’s hottest wedding magazines, Chicago Social Brides is on stands now.
I was pleased to find that one of my past client weddings was featured. As I have already talked about this wedding in an older post “Client Inspiration – Movie & Era” where I showcased her Inspiration Board; I will spare some (but not all!) details. Here was the full page spread…
The bride is the owner of one of the trendiest boutiques in the city, She Boutique, and had absolutely no free time – but did feel loads of pressure to fulfill a vision of an uber striking wedding – not to mention the hundreds of expectant guests, all awaiting a smashing display of the brides style. With a bit of simple direction (inspiration from the movie De-Lovely, a white, black and silver color palette and a love for all things sparkly…) I created a current, chic design with a nod to timeless style and charm…worthy of the fashionista herself.
Thanks to Cloud 9 Weddings, and The Drake Hotel – and my amazing Botanicals staff who took care of every last detail of the set-up while I happened to be walking down the aisle myself!
I was honoured to be approached by our good friend, Kadie, to design her recent winter wedding. Because my husband and I were invited to attend, I had the luxury of seeing both sides of her day, through the eyes of a vendor and as a guest. Everyone worked wonderfully together, eager to create the perfect day for such fabulous clients and friends.
Kadie works for one of the hottest wedding designers in the world, Monique Lhuillier in LA, and therefore has an impeccable, discerning sense of style. I was thrilled and inspired by Kadie’s vision of a chic black and ivory wedding – set in snowy Chicago. Kadie’s favorite ivory rose, Vendela, was the star of the evening used in abundance, paired with graphic black details.
The soiree took place at the W City Center Hotel…a contemporary hotel, rich with ornate and unexpectedly eclectic details.
The ceremony took place in one of the two ballrooms. The aisle was bordered by custom chiffon-covered cylinders floating disk votive candles, creating a beautiful pathway of flickering flames – visually anchoring the unique chandeliers above. The end of the aisle was noted by a grand fireplace, also enhanced with varied flickering candles. With the addition of provided custom floor to ceiling curtains, the ceremony was warm and utterly romantic.
We positioned the Place Card Table outside of the second ballroom, on a long rectangular table. Kadie provided me with fabulous jet black faceted crystals that we used to fill a pair of shallow, black rectangular boxes. Guests’ seating assignments were nestled into the crystals for a unique presentation. A shapely black lacquered vase hosted a perfect floral sphere composed exclusively of a pavé collection of open roses.
The second ballroom hosted the intimate dinner and was also sectioned of by floor to ceiling textured sheers to feature a private lounge for dancing and relaxing. I designed three simple and varying centerpiece designs to be placed on guest tables alternating around the room.
A portion of the tables featured shallow geometric black boxes designed with a flat hedge of open roses, the stems left long to showcase a bit of the organic, thorney foliage. Vintage black glass votive cups complemented each design, mimicking the eclectic feeling of the setting.
An alternating portion of the guest tables featured an ornate black riser, also topped with a perfect sphere of open Vendela Roses. The base of the stand featured a trio of varied black candlesticks topped with thin, graceful taper candles and loose rose blossoms.
The third centerpiece design featured a tall black candelabra, left graphic and bare. The base of the structure, however, hosted a trio of varied candlesticks each topped with a miniature floral sphere composed of dozens of Vendela Roses.
The cake was a simple design composed of squared-off layers topped with off-set ivory rose clusters.
With the help of Kadie and her fantastic LA-Based wedding planner, Alex Alexander, ( http://alexeventsdesignandcoordination.com/ ) we created an evening that had a classic and romantic feeling, but was executed in a manner that was chic and current – fit for the fashionista bride.
A recent client wedding felt like a blur, as the whirlwind of details were pulled together in less than two months.
One of my most stylish brides to date hired me a mere month an a half before her late September wedding date. Luckily, however, it seemed as if we were a match made in heaven from the first day we sat together in our consultation room – chatting and dreaming about a worthy wedding design – to the minute she walked down the aisle, tearing with excited anticipation.
Lucky for me, this bride had done her research. As an interior designer for one of the hottest firms in Chicago, she knew it was important to properly vocalize her wishes for her wedding design. She had scoured countless glossy wedding, fashion and design magazines for inspiration. She had also taken inspiration from her unique and charming venue, The Murphy Auditorium, and from one of her favorite designers, Ralph Lauren, famous for a casual sophistication like no other.
The bride envisioned a wedding that oozed richness, specifically achieved through her chosen color palette of deep purples and blues enhanced with antiqued silver and pewter accents – surrounded by the rich wood-paneled walls of the room. She hoped for a wedding reminiscent of a men’s club circa 1920. She hoped for a wedding that may seem as if it were a vignette designed by Ralph Lauren, himself, for their fantastic Michigan Avenue store.
The ceremony was lit merely by candlelight. A custom aisle runner of rich navy spilled into the pleated curtains erected to mask the bands equipment. The aisle was bordered by a collection of varied glass vases, brimming with crystal clear water and topped with floating disk votive candles – a pathway of illumination leading the bride to her groom – all placed atop a solid border of feathery white rose petals. Creating the dramatic framed focal point for the couple was our vintage wrought-iron geometric arch, laden with rich and unruly foliages including magnolia, cotinus and camellia, bursting with bundles of white local hydrangea and open champagne colored roses, finally finished with the unexpected addition of black grapes and hanging mason jar votive candles.
The reception centerpieces were designed low to the table, allowing the evening to feel like an intimate candlelit dinner party. I considered the whole tablescape when creating the brides reception design. Vintage inspired silver-footed compote bowls overflowed with bountiful creations of Dutch blue hydrangea, purple lisianthus and garden stock, camellia foliage and velvety dusty miller. We chose chairs only found at Tablescapes Rentals that feature a champagne colored finish – a warm accent to the silver tones used on the table. Exquisite solid silver chargers were topped with a folded navy napkin framing the dinner menu and a charming sprig of seasonal privet berries. The elegant shape of the Murano stemware oozed elegance, as the table was lit with an abundance of candlelight.
The cake was simple and elegant. We created a petite hand tied bouquet of rich purple lisianthus and anemones accented with textural privet berries that simply rested atop the highest tier. The stems of this tiny nosegay were bound in navy Swiss double-faced silk ribbons left long to tumble down the tiers, for a graphic and graceful contrast against the classic ivory dressed cake.
Although the planning flew by in a matter of weeks, the details and the design could have fooled anyone, masked as years of careful planning because of the passion and inspiration I felt to create a wedding fit for one of the most stylishly savvy brides I’ve had the pleasure of working with.
A favorite client of mine, Alison, came to me (along with with my favorite planner friend Lisa Gia Bascomb of Parties Etc.) to help her design their November wedding last year. She wanted their day to have a classic, warm feeling – but did not want it to look expected nor stereotypical. Their beautiful wedding is now featured in the current national issue of The Knot.
Both the ceremony and the reception were held at one of our favorite venues (perfectly suited for a fall wedding), Cafe Brauer. The ceremony took place under a worn, wrought-iron chuppah, a canopy created from billowing rich chocolate taffeta chosen to compliment the table linens. The front of the chuppah was designed with a rustic collection of natural grapevines, white fluffy hydrangea, open garden roses and seasonal foliages.
Her color palette of chocolate brown and rich burnt orange was the perfect compliment to the raw brick setting.
With a guest count that allowed us to play with the size and shapes of the tables, we decided to seat guests at a collection of square tables and long rectangular tables.
The square tables hosted vintage rusted urns designed with textural collections of green Dutch hydrangea, orange ranunculus, tulips, roses, looped magnolia foliage (to showcase the velvety brown backing) and rope-like hanging amaranthus tumbling from the arrangement.
The rectangular tables hosted mono-floral collections of the saturated orange blooms to create a cleaner, more streamlined look running down the length of the table.
The Cub’s Dixieland Band surprised guests with serenade during the cocktail hour.
Here are a few more beautiful photos, shot by the amazing Pen Carlson duo.
Cafe Brauer has a wonderful skylight detailed with raw, exposed beams that are perfect for hanging things from. Here, to add to the warm, rustic feel, I suspended dozens of mason jar votive candles – twinkling above guests as they danced.
Alison’s bouquet was designed with out-of-season blooms including lilac, parrot tulips, lisianthus and ranunculus to name a few. I wrapped her bouquet with textural swiss silk ribbons, secured by her grandmothers vintage brooch.
Below is one of my favorite shots…so artful.
Her chilly November wedding left guests in awe of her Martha-worthy personlized details and perfectly special day.
My good friend (and industry ally – she’s one of the top sales consultants at Levy Catering!) Briana Merrill got married last fall. What does someone who works on client weddings every weekend decide for her wedding look? I was lucky enough to have been chosen to design their simple, elegant wedding that is now featured in the current issue of The Knot Chicago…
Briana and Nate got married in the gardens outside the Lincoln Park Zoo, on one of the most beautiful days of the early fall. Her charming wedding reception took place at the legendary Cafe Brauer, one of our favorite venues. The site has a warm, rustic, prairie-style feel to the space. Briana wanted to play up it’s key attributes, and therefore selected a color palette of creams, sages and chocolates.
I used a selection of varied containers – from richly stained wooden pieces (that complimented the rented chairs) to vintage rusted urns. We found lanterns that reflected the arts-and-crafts architecture of the venue and worked them into some of the designs.
During the ceremony, we had rustic shepards hooks hosting gorgeous, lush pomanders noting her aisle. The intention was to relocate all of the pomanders to the chairs of the bridal party table – but because she was blessed with such a gorgeous, sunny day – the pomanders were looking quite tired by the end of the ceremony. We created a pair of show-worthy ones to highlight the bride and grooms chairs from extra event flowers. Nothing like improvising! Briana’s bridal bouquet was gorgeous and the perfect accessory to her chic, sophisticated dress. It was designed in classic whites, creams and champagne hues – but executed with flowers like lisianthus, veronica, dahlias, cymbidium orchid blossoms, ranunculus and hypericum berries to give the bouquet an elegant rounded silhouette, rich in texture.
Working with the oh-so-savvy wedding consultant, Katie Kozlowski of Dettagli, was a blast and we were able to execute a wedding for our friend Briana that lived up to her very high standards!
Additional notes: Thanks to the wonderful Kurt Gerber of Gerber and Scarpelli (who shot my wedding!) for the lovely images!