sophisticated simplicity

elena . . . the best way to describe the style of this bride was simple, classic, understated elegance contrasted with minimal, surprising and unexpected pops of pattern and bling.  she was a bride who had distinctive taste and knew what she did and did not like.  she knew she wanted it lovely, sophisticated, detailed and high quality, but she also knew she didn't want a lot of flowers, matchy-matchy details, abundant color nor any kind of unnecessary fluff. my job as her designer was to take the boundaries she set, define her particular style and then come up with a concept that was highly styled and tailored yet as clean and simple as possible. below are the results.

elena only liked a few kinds of flowers . . . peonies, rannunculus and gardenias.  the problem was, it was late august and both peonies and rannunculus were out of season.  it was basically a miracle when when my flower wholesaler called me and told me she had located a small farm in europe that somehow had a small crop of these flowers left.  my response: "i'll take the whole farm."  i had just enough to squeeze out the bride's bouquets and a handful of centerpieces. 

Elena wanted her wedding welcoming to children, and so she invited several of the kids closest to her to be part of her day.  i suggested putting them, along with all of the bridesmaids, in ivory dresses so the color of their dresses would not take away from the bride's dress.  everyone in ivory kept the look clean, simple and unexpected. 

although it was challenging to create a wedding that was both incredibly simple yet highly detailed, the results made it worth the hours and hours spent at the drawing board.  

because we decided to go light on the flowers, we needed to make sure every other detail played a more prominent role.  we created all of the tablecloths using thousands of yards of tulle that we cut, sewed and then layered and layered them on square tables to create a dark to light colored effect. we painted branches gold and glued little articles of bling to make them sparkle a bit more.  the centerpieces were simple and clean. minimal flowers in crystal vases, blocks of color piled high with pillar candles, crystal candle sticks with taper candles and very minimal accents of zebra print.  i created a lounge with custom pillows, popped the area with gold drapes, large mirrors, vintage tables and a zebra rug.

the cake echoed the tent's decor with elements of sparkle and crystal paired with a zebra print pattern.  canlis restaurant created the amazing dessert display.

i love this wedding because it shows you do not need excessive amounts of decor and cluttered tables to have a highly styled wedding.  simplicity speaks volumes, and clean lines keep the look fresh. 

the dusty 45's might be my favorite band of all time. they have so much style, personality and enthusiasm, that every performance amazes the crowd. from playing the trumpet with fire coming out of the horn to the jokes they might crack between songs, it is hard to take your eyes off of them while they perform.

one last observation to note: if you look closely at the bride's dress, you will notice she is wearing the same dress design that my client, erin, from my previous post wore as well.  it also happens to be the same dress that chelsea clinton wore earlier in the summer.  i love that both brides wore the same dress, yet could not have weddings that were more different in style and ambience.  for me, it shows that no matter what the bride's style might be, i am confident i can produce a wedding that will be perfect for them.  that's what keeps my job fun, interesting and new.

vendor credits:

photography:  michele m waite

cake: market street catering

desserts:  canlis

tent, chair rentals:abc rentals 

band: dusty 45's