Bedford Village Inn Winter Destination Wedding

 

Today I got to do two of my favorite things, shopping and.....shopping. For wedding dresses no less. Most of my brides don't get dresses. They get gowns. Over the top affairs call for them. The bride is the center of attention and should be dressed accordingly. My bride is throwing a lavish destination wedding in the middle of January. I can hear the soft jingle of the horses as they make their way through the snow with my bride in sparkling white and my groom in a tuxedo and mittens. We have chosen the Bedford Village Inn as our choice to entertain her guests and to celebrate the wedding.

It is quintessential New England, charming in it's architecture, lovely in its appointments. We have had many discussions regarding the wedding although it is still a year away. But we do have to remember that this is a destination. Meaning everyone including the west coast bride and groom are flying in for this event. So needless to say there are a lot of details that need to be taken care of.

Today it was about dresses and the look and color way of the wedding. All went well as we chattered away over lunch. So many details to take care of and now we have decided that we will move forward with a rehearsal dinner on site as well. I was lucky that the vast majority of my appointments today were on Newbury Street. I even had time to pop in on my favorite Back Bay Blonde, Lauren Killian, from Person + Killian Photography. She has been hired for this event and I can hardly wait to work with her on this frozen inspired engagement shoot and of course the wedding.

It is no wonder why we start working on weddings sometimes two years before the event, man there is a lot to do. Hey there is still time to dream a little bit. I think that I will take a moment to do just that. To picture what my bride might look like as she triesvon on the most amazing collection of gowns. I know that within,  her gown is there. Just which one? Will she wear the long elbow gloves that I suggested. Of course you won't know until I publish pictures from the event in some time from now.

You can tell that I am thinking that a winter bride needs to steal the show. I want her to have a gorgeous silhouette to her gown along with enough embellishment to wow, but not so much that she ends up looking like a Russian Princess. (Think Dr. Zivago)

We will find a way to work in all of the winter classics that one would expect from this sort of wedding. West Coast is going to represent of course. We have planned to have a regional selection of wines and cheeses from the west coast so guests can experience a bit if where the bride and groom are coming from.

There will be more of course, for now the look and my nervous anticipation as to my bride and her gown.

I just want to hum, let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.

 

Tess and Erik | Bermuda Beachside Ceremony

You know, in a way I am happy that it sometimes takes months after a wedding to get the albulm all set up and ready to print. The hardest part is putting together the best images, telling the story and EDITING. Impossible to to when you have an amazing destination wedding on your hands. That is what we had for the wedding of Tess and Erik. This wedding happened last spring on the beautiful Island of Bermuda. Have you been there? If not, I highly suggest it. The first time that I stepped off of the plane on that bit of English heaven in the atlantic, I knew that I would be inspired. It is not tropical, but has tropical elements. It is not English, but it has English elements. I adore it!!

Bermuda Destination Weddings | The Fairmont South Hampton

It seems as though the minutes are ticking by, counting the moments until Tess and Erik's wedding at The lovely Fairmont Southampton, Bermuda. We have been in the best of hands with Wendy Rustalsis, the wedding specialist of the resort. It probably would have been better to install a watts line between our two offices. My last meeting with my bride brought a wonderful moment that comes in the course of planning a wedding, to be stumped looking for more questions to be answered. We are there, we know the details, we know who is coming when, and who is leaving when. We are on it !

Now that the bride and groom have approved the flowers and the look of their wedding, we can get to work sending these very photos that you see here to our partners that we will work with in Bermuda. One of my absolute favorite florists is Flowers by GiMi, located in Hamilton, will work with me to produce a lovely collection of flowers for both the ceremony and the reception. If I could pack these precious little flower arrangements filled with roses, tulips and sweet pea, I certainly would. I have to trust, oh and I do, that GiMi will do an amazing job interpreting these flowers for the wedding. I will be in town early and of course, I will make the jaunt across the harbor to check things out at their studio prior to the wedding.

As I look and try to find something to edit in the look of this wedding it is oh so very hard. One of my partners, Kelli at à deux deserves a special little Bermuda round of applause. Her work on the print material is a quintessential facet to this whimsical and colorful wedding design.

Two weeks and I will have my little french painted toes in the pink sand of Bermuda again.

Karen and David | Cape Cod Destination Weddings at The Chatham Bars Inn | Tuesday Wedding

Karen and Dave are in love, there is no doubt about that. When they decided to run away and be married, they decided to fulfill a dream and headed to the Cape from their Midwestern homes. The perfect choice to celebrate their destination wedding for two was The Chatham Bars Inn. I am lucky that I get to work there so much. It seems my love of the sea, elegant settings and impeccable service go hand it hand with this grand old dame of the Cape. I have to say that I have never done a wedding for just two people. It was like my own private editorial shoot, Karen and Dave letting me lead the way through their incredible day, a Tuesday no less. Every time I told someone I was working on a wedding on Tuesday they would say "A Tuesday Wedding?", yes a Tuesday wedding.

I got down to Chatham a little early and had a chance to sit in the main dining room of the hotel and eat a little breakfast from their incredible breakfast buffet. I always have the same thing, fruit and bacon, coffee and juice. The view quickly relaxed me and got me excited to be with my bride and the groom. I headed over to their SPA Suite at The Inn a little early, because I was going to do the bride's make-up. Me? Are you kidding? Girl, I have been playing with make-up since I was a little boy. I love how colors and shading bring a face to youthful life. I think of it as painting, just different paints and brushes.  I rarely if ever do make-up for my clients, but I do love that she trusted me to create a fresh and flirty natural look. As a wedding planner and designer I see all aspects of a wedding as fashion. I have my hand in everything and over the years I have learned either to do it myself or hire the very best.

She gasped when I first walked into the room with the simple flowers that we had planned in our phone consultations. Her bouquet was a lush mix of seasonal flowers done in an unexpected and bold color way. The tiny asters with their yellow center were happy addition to the bouquet. They seemed to be smiling all day, just like the bride. It was a great honor to be with them during their intimate catholic ceremony, just the two of them with two ladies from the church serving as witnesses. I sat with these ladies and they knew the bride and groom as much as I did, yet we all cried as the groom choked up during his vows. This was a wedding after all, the love and romance was in the air.

Following the ceremony, I got to take the bride and groom around the grounds of The Chatham Bars Inn for their wedding photography. It was like we had the place to ourselves and they trusted me and let go, just being in love, letting me capture them against stunning backdrop after stunning backdrop. They roared with laughter as did I when I had them scoot into the huge chair on the second floor of the hotel. It brings to mind Lily Tomlin and I love it!! After our photoshoot, I led them to the grand porch and arranged to have champagne brought to them. Meanwhile, I headed over to their SPA Suite where they would enjoy an in room dinner, couples massages and enjoying each other as newly married husband and wife. I rearranged the furniture and of course brought in flowers, candles and petals to dress up the lovely table that the hotel had set in front of the fireplace.

I got back to my bride and groom as they sipped on champagne and had some snacks. I knew that it was time for me to go, I was sad in a way, because we so clicked and laughed the whole day. But in the end, so happy for them. Congratulations Karen and Dave !!! Many thanks to my friends at The Chatham Bars Inn, you make my job easy.

 

Musuem of the Shenendoah Valley Weddings | Melissa and Jeremy | Shades of Berry

I have known Melissa, the bride for a long, long time. When she was just out of college and driving the world's smallest car, she worked as a teacher with my husband. She and he quickly became friends and of course, I was totally charmed and fell in love with her.  too! Over the years,  Kevin and I  have remained great friends with her entire family. To get the call that Meilissa was engaged to Jeremy made my heart skip a beat. I was thrilled in her happiness and excited for Jeremy, whom I had yet to meet. His bride's family could not be nicer!! An amazing family.

I was totally flattered, as I always am, to be asked to design and help plan her wedding which was held at The Museum of the Shenendoah Valley in Virginia. Over the course of our time working together, I was amazed at the effusive response of the design work from the ENTIRE family. I knew that if they liked the print material that I worked on with Praez Occasions, then they were going to be blown away with the floral display, linens and decor and other surprises that I had up my sleeve.

My team drove overnight from the south coast of Massachusetts, 13 hours south and finally arrived in beautiful Virginia on the Friday before the wedding. We were just in time to run through the rehearsal. I stepped up to the plate and made sure that all of the details came together  and were executed in an elegant and timely manner. I used to think that all the things that are important to me....shoulders back, smile gently, flowers at the waist, look ahead, were common understanding. They are not, so it was great to get a wink from Frank, Melissa's father indicating that he was happy that I was there as the wedding planner. I was delighted to sit with Melissa and Jeremy at the head table during the quaint rehersal dinner. We caught up and shared in the amazing excitement that was brewing over what was sure to be a delightful wedding for the two of them the next day.

I woke early, anxious to get to work on the finishing touches of the florals. We have done this so many times, that we were able to set up the remote studio and I got to work. Furiously, I worked to arrange thousands of flowers, create bouquets that were fit for a princess and to make sure that they were all ready to go for the afternoon ceremony. One of the tricks that I use from up my creative sleeve is to put the reception flowers on display at the ceremony. Because the guests were to enjoy a lingering cocktail hour +, my team and I would have the time to move the flowers to different displays, so they could make their final statement within the reception tent.

All the details were ready, the string quartet softly played in the alcove at the end of the stunning garden cathedral lined with majestic trees, trained to gracefully bow. I knew that it was "time" for me to go and get the bride. She and her mother, my dear Pat, cried when they took their bouquets. I too was more than emotional to see one of my best friends in her stunning gown. I adored the fact that he something borrowed was her identical sister's veil from her wedding last year. I made the cues and sent the bridal party down the aisle, knowing that my last cue would be to the princess bride, Melissa on the arm of my good friend Frank, her dashing dad.

The photo of the two of them making their way down the aisle is perhaps one of the best bridal photos that I have ever taken. I will cherish that moment of perfection. Their beaming smiles with the sun streaming through the trees to gave a spiritual and almost devine feeling as we tearily watched the couple exchange their heartfelt vows. Following the ceremony we were going to be on a strict timeline so I made the best use of time and caught up with the bride and their bridal party to get the great wedding photography that you see here.

My team and I moved all of the flowers from the ceremony to the reception tent on another part of the Museum's property. We were ready as a company to have an incredible reception. My work as a designer was over and I could finally have a cocktail and mingle with the guests. I was asked to give the first toast of the night, a great honor. It was a thrill to recap our friendship with humor and to meet and embrace Jeremy and his family. I did not party too hard, I couldn't, the minute that the reception ended, I knew that we would have to pack it up and hit the road overnight to Boston to continue my work.

I think about Melissa, Jeremy and their family often. They are part of ours and I look forward to the "next" moment of joy and celebration. They know that I love them and wish them nothing but the best. I will always look back at these photos filled with shades of bright berry and think of my princess bride and our priceless friendship.

Congratulations Jeremy and Melissa !!! Love always, CMP

 

 

Kat & Ben | Bohemian Beachfront | Chequassett Club Weddings

When the phone in my office rang and there were two people on the other line, Kat and Ben, I knew that we were at the beginning of a wonderful relationship planning their beach front wedding down on the Cape. Kat and Ben have a west coast vibe about them. So of course their wedding would have to take on a bit of bohemian flair to reflect them. Kat and I had many conversations about the flowers and design for her wedding. She is artsy and has great taste so it was easy and fun for her to shop and source all of the pretty things that she would want to use for flowers and candles at her wedding. As we planned and designed the wedding, I got to take a sneek peek early on at the driftwood arbor that was being constructed for the ceremony. It was already amazing lying in state in the back yard. When it came to life on the beach, the day of the wedding, It was amazing. The tide receded for what looked to be miles, leaving sand an subtle pools of water that reflected the brilliant blue sky. I thought that the photo of the arch here on my style blog, shot by the grooms brother Jeremy, was inspired by the painter Dali and remains one of my all time favorite ceremony scenes. Thank you so much Jeremy for letting me use this image.

She spent a ton of time collecting trios of Indian brassware and gorgeous ruby red, violet and plum colored glass. I think one of her coolest finds were the hanging lanterns that we hung around the outside tent. So pretty, but of course, I had to be the one to a., bump my head on them and b., get wax all over my navy blazer. Totally worth the hit to the head.

Kat and I agreed that she would get the "stuff" and I would be responsible to put it all together with fresh flowers. So I am assuming that Kat also spent a lot of time on one of my newest favorite sites, Luna Bazaar. If you do not know this place, it is a fabulous resource for lanterns, accessories, lighting, candles and just about anything else decorative. We, as a company use them as a resource all of the time. I loved the Mexican cut paper banners that added a totally bohemian festive feel to the sail loft at The Chequassett Club on the Cape.

The day was fast paced as a wedding day always is. Everything came together and the bride made her way to the ceremony carrying a lush bouquet of English garden roses and her favorite, camomile. On the arm of her dapper father she gracefully made her way down many stairs to the beach, where her brimming eyed groom stood proudly for his stunning bohemian bride.

Venue: The Chequassett Club

Wedding Planning and Design : Chad Michael Peters

Flowers: Chad Michael Peters

Wedding Decor : Luna Bazaar

Officiant : Rev. Kathleen Geagan

Wedding Gown : Vintage

Catering: Terra Luna

Photography seen here : Chad Michael Peters

Offical Event Photographer: Julia Cumes

Christie and Brad | Samoset Inn Weddings | CMP for Elegance and Grace Weddings

I met Andy Delucia, of Elegance and Grace Weddings over the phone. In that first phone call, I knew that she and I would hit it off and that working together to design the wedding that she was planning for our bride, Christie would be challenging, fun and would result in an incredible day. It was just that.

We worked together for almost a year to design floral details and decor that would perfectly match the vision that our bride had for her once in a lifetime day. We went back and forth with regard to color and how to best showcase the setting in an upscale and sophisticated way. I am happy that as part of my design process with the client includes both sketching and setting up a demo day so the bride has a chance to get as much of a real vision as possible as to what her day will look like. The tone on tone, pale taupey grey linens were a perfect showcase to the overblown blooms arranged in silver mint julip cups and mercury glass. Some of the tables had one style of arrangement and others had clusters of vases and candles sweetly arranged. The pale butter ivory roses, blown open by hand to look as if their petals are opening up in the sun of a garden, were stunning mixed in with the other pale flowers and luscisous blue hydrangea.

The days leading into the wedding were almost a round the clock production as so many details to a wedding have to get done the week of it. We headed out from my studio at five in the morning on the day of the wedding with our van jam packed with pretty. We arrived an hour earlier than we had planned, which gave us a rare treat of extra time to unload and arrange to prepare to execute this lovely wedding design.

Andy, of Elegance and Grace weddings had things well under control on the grounds of The Samoset Inn. Having had the tents set up the day before.  The lovely tent from Sperry was incomparable in it's details. The hand hewn poles varnished to a gleaming Mahogany and billowing flags high atop its architectural peaks, provided an impeccable palette of protection and taste to host this wedding.

We finished everything and then some laying out floral details, candles, lighting details and helping to futz and putz with linens and placement to make sure we got rave reviews from our guests. I knew that magic was in the making, when the mother of the bride came to visit us under the tent after spending the early afternoon entertaining guests around the sparkling pool of the resort. She choked up right away when she saw our plan coming to fruition. She smiled and wiped away a tear and told us that the bride was sure to be overwhelmed with the work that we had done.

And then there was that moment of perfection, when the candles are lit and I look around and even I find it hard to believe that this is all real. Just too pretty, just too perfect. Andy came back to the tent, pretty as a picture in her own change of outfit for the evening. I was too happy at that point to turn over the reigns of this party to her. I could picture how gorgeous the bride would be be in her Vera Wang gown against the picturesque backdrop of The Samoset Inn.

I purposely did not publish a picture of the bride and her groom wanting to give an opportunity to the official photographer to do her thing. She knows that I love to get a glimpse of the photos early so I can share them with you. In the days to come, I so look forward to showcasing her work and showing off this gorgeous bride and her family. Until then, enjoy the details of this lovely wedding. The bride, trust me, is worth the wait.