autumn couture

this couture wedding corresponds with the design inspirations that i posted in the last entry. there are so many details to this wedding, so let me highlight a few for you to enjoy as you read along.

the gown

the bride's couture gown  that i designed and constructed for her was made from over 50 yards of raw silk and hundreds of tiny austriancrystals. the weight of the dress was held up with over a thousand yards of crinoline in the petticoat she wore underneath. this dress took me about 2 months to design for the bride, and  about 3 days to construct. it is by far the the fullest dress i have ever made. because this bride spent her entire engagement getting into better shape, we held off on contructing the gown until the week before her wedding.  the sleepless nights were worth it when i saw her in her gown; she was perfect.

the bouquet

i constructed the bouquet using vendella roses, snowberries, brown cymbidium orchids, magnolia leaves, green grapes (i love fruit in arrangements) and crocosmia pods, and, as requested by the bride, a few sea shells that held sentimental value. curly willow was then wound throughout the entire bouquet. i then tied off the bouquet with a chocolate brown satin ribbon.

 the custom linens

i constructed the table linen out of lush chocolate brown velvet. the napkins were made from gold spun damask fabric. the table was then layered with endless yards of raw silk. you can compare this table with my sketches in the last entry to gain a better understanding of the design process and see the "before and after"

the centerpieces

the centerpieces were constructed from peach roses, leonidas roses, lucadendron, crocosmia, calla lilies, poppy pods, artichokes, eggplants and pears. They were contained in an eclectic variety of vintage urns, rustic twig-woven baskets and and dark wood cake pedestals.  Rolled beeswax candles dusted with sparkle powder were alternated with the centerpieces for lighting and a touch of glamour.

the art gallery

the art gallery was lent to me from the private collection of gerald baron's personal work.

the favors

the chocolate balls placed at each setting were hollow in the middle and filled with truffles for each guest to enjoy. each ball rested on a bed of spun sugar and was tied with french ribbon. they were removed from the place settin before dinner started by the servers.  We then set them on top of a bed of vintage tulling and placed the entire unit in a clear box. The favors were then returned to each guest's place setting shortly before the evening came to an end.  ashley e rodriguez was the brilliant artist that created these.

the cake

the bride could not decide what kind of cake to have, so i made her all three of her favorite flavors in different forms.   the tiered cake was enrobed in fondant and wrapped with a satin ribbon and adorned with sugar paste leaves that i cut out and hand painted.  the cupcakes were iced in chocolate before i piped a chocolate rose on each one and dusted it with gold luster dust. the third cake was a carrot cake that i intentionally iced  rough and fluffy to create a juxtaposition between it and the tiered cake.

additional credits:

photography: michele m waite

venue: resort semiahmoo

creative collaboration: lynne baron design