Kittansett Club Classic

One of the first jobs that I ever had was at the Marion General Store. One of the highlights to our work week would be on Saturday afternoons when we would watch gorgeous brides and their handsome grooms make their way out of the stately Congregational Church on their way to celebrate their new marriage. More often then not in Marion, they moved on to the swank Kittansett Club to celebrate. I remember thinking that I would LOVE, love to be at that wedding.

What a thrill it is for me to be working with Sarah and Ryan on their classic wedding in Marion, Massachusetts. They have hired us to do the flowers in shades of pink. The bride is a stunner, the groom, old school handsome. Surround them with my CMP flowers and we have memories that will last a life time. I am sure that I will get goosebumps as they make their way out of the church, so many memories it is hard to believe that it is more than twenty years since I stood their waiting for the bride. Soon enough I will see her again.

Vintage Winnie The Pooh themed baby shower

I am not normally a fan of balloons for parties. Too cliche, too easy. However, when I saw a classic and vintage drawing by A.A. Milne of Winnie the Pooh holding on to a balloon, I knew that I hit just the perfect note of inspiration for a boys baby shower. As I do with most of my projects, I start out by researching the inspiration for what I want the party to look like. I have been so helped with the introduction of Pinterest into my world of technology. I am constantaly pinning and organzing the things that I want to incorporate into my creative, design work. Check out my inspiration board that was used to come up with this party rendering. The cuteness of babies got me on this one. I can hardly wait to see all of these details come to life in celebration of a new baby!!

Inspiration | Downton Abbey

 

It seems that I am always intrigued with things associated with the English. Perhaps it is my roots here in New England that craves to understand what it was like then. The idea of the Manor house has always appealed to me. I can recall being young and thinking if my sisters can be mermaids, why can't I be a Merbutler? In my head it was about service. I think this all came to be when the library at my school was cleaning out some old books. There in the stack to be thrown away was a 1950's version of Emily Post's blue book of etiquette. The rules of living and living well fascinated me. Trust me, we sat at the table, family farm style and dug in. We always had manners, but never footmen at our service. I have read that book many times and it still sits on my bookshelves to this day. Each chapter from how to write letters, to how to dress, to how to run a proper house. I thought that there were many people that were actually living in an environment where the upstairs maids didn't even get to sit with the downstairs maid.

I know now that the height of Edwardian Society at the turn of the century in England was really the last glowing hours of this sort of manor house living. It was then that the aristocracy of England had to start to marry into the newly minted money here in the United States. By taking title and estate and securing it with the riches of the American Industrial Revolution, English Society and Manor house living exists in some form to this day. The best example that I have seen in this come from the wonderful PBS series, Downton Abbey. Each detail is immaculate and the development of the characters through the seasons even better. I have watched all of the first season and I am enthralled. I am right back in that little cabin in the woods again reading my Emily Post, dreaming, like we all do. I follow every detail and love that this season will show manor house living during the breakout of World War II.

You might ask what does this have to do with wedding planning and design? Inspiration. Those moments in time of a grand party or intimate moments at home are for each creative person inspired by something else. In the wee hours of the night as I sit and watch my favorite shows such as Downton Abbey or read my favorite books over and over, I know that what I have seen, comes out in the sketching that I do. Not only is the gown drawn by me, the fun and flirty daisy pattern in the background is also done by me. I think that it goes so well together. I can just see lady Catherine making her way into the dining room to receive her guests. 

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.

 

In Home Wedding Celebration on the Cape

To be married for 50 years is a remarkable feat. It is indeed a time to celebrate with family and friends. Linda and Sandy, clients of mine asked if I would put together an at home celebration for them, their guests and their family to celebrate their marriage. They wanted to spend time at their new home on Cape Cod and to invite guests in rather then head out in the to the Summer traffic. My team and I have planned a wonderful weekend full of yummy food, flowers, celebration and of course five star service. No detail has been left undone right down to the plans to iron the pillow cases and to have flowers at the bedside when it is time for our guests to retire.

Whether it is day or night, 24 hours a day my team and I will be on hand, sleeping in the loft no less, to make sure that this family has the time of their lives. It is exciting for me, because they really have let me come up with anything that I want........as long as it compliments the house. Linda's home is filled with incredible modern graphic art filled with bold color. The art looks incredible against the stately architecture of their Cape Cod style home. I thought about this as I put together a look for the height of the weekend, the Saturday night party that will be hosted right within their living room. I wanted soft, modern and inspired. As I looked through their wedding album, I was inspired by the amazing  black and white photography from their wedding 50 years ago. I used this as a base line for design reference and then layered on modern bold statements of both graphic black and white and pops of bold color.

The classic wedding day of course is white, as Linda and Sandy's wedding was years ago. That memory stands, but now their lives have been filled with color based on their love for one another and their family. This couple is cool, I am excited to celebrate with them.

Congratulations on 50 Years Sandy and Linda. Totally inspiring.

Ashley and Mike | Chatham Bars Inn Fall Weddings

Shhhh, want to know a secret? While many people think that the height of Summer is the perfect time to visit Cape Cod, Fall is actually known for better weather, quieter streets and the serene charm that the Cape is renowned for. When I started to work with the Evirs family, I knew that their request for a Fall wedding on the cape would be perfect. While we talked about hosting the wedding at many places, we ultimately decided to host the wedding at The Chatham Bars Inn. I have worked there many, many times. Each time, the couture weddings that I have planned with my brides have gone off without a hitch. There are so many lovely vistas, settings and backdrop to host not only an event,  but and affair.

I am actually starting to get goosebumps in a good way. The dreary days of winter are here. I can't wait for the warm sunny days that lay ahead. Between now and then, Ashley, my bride, her groom, her mother and my self have a lot of work to do on the details to the wedding. With wedding planning and design, my process is always the same. There are times when I work on all of the details, there are other times when I work on just one aspect of a wedding. For each of the elements and services that I offer, I work with the bride and the family to discuss color and fashion details. There are times when brides come in with lots of pictures and ideas and there are other times that a bride really needs my help to pull in all of her inspiration and turn it into a cohesive, exuberant design.

I have loved the times thus far that I have gotten together with Ashley, my bride and her family. Each time, I find out a little bit more, which makes my job easier. I had the very special pleasure of being asked to accompany the bride and her mother to try on dresses. Of course, the dress sets the tone. We set off to the tres elegant L'Elite Bridal Salon on Newbury Street in Boston. I could tell that the bride and her mother were nervous. I quickly set a charming tone and relaxed my bride and her mother by selecting gowns that were perfect choices for Ashley. The dress that I have drawn above is not Ashley's dress. She did not want me to reveal the details to her stunning Monique L'Hullier gown and accessories. Instead I chose to design a gown that would look great on my bride. Let me tell you this, she stole my heart at the moment she stepped out of the dressing room. Her mother welled up, I welled up. It was a regular puddlefest. Bridal Perfection.

From that point, I knew that putting together the details to her wedding just be a matter of pulling more information out of my bride. We sat down this past Friday to discuss putting together the pieces to a wedding. Through that process, we purused dresses and color ideas for the bridesmaids. While we did not make a final desicison, we ruled out using navy as a choice for the bridesmaids. Instead my bride left with some direction to bright, rich color, from a sophisticated fall pallete for her gals.

You can see from the sketch above that we have pulled together an amazing collection of fall color.....in an unexpected way. I especially love the use of pale ocean blue linens. I think the main ballroom and it's richly upholstered dining chairs will look great with this choice.