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 & Erik | Destination Wedding Planning | The Fairmont South Hampton, Bermuda

Settling in to my sketch pad for me is a great escape. I can put all my worries in this world at bay for hours as I sit, visualize and start the design process of a gorgeous wedding. The past couple of days I have been working and working on the design for Tess and Erik's springtime Bermuda wedding. God, I got so close the day before yesterday until I started to draw the grooms face and head. Oh boy, that sketch was ruined. I could have done some Photoshop magic, but the process I like to keep a bit more pure than that. So with that practice under my belt, I was able to hit the pad again and to work on the "finished" sketch for this project. My bride is in love the color of the water in Bermuda. How could you not be ? It is a rare turquoise that I have not seen in my many travels to warmer weather. It is a perfect inspiration to this fun and elegant destination wedding. I chose to fill in the back of my sketch digitally and of course I just had to get the perfect shade of Bermuda pink to compliment the details. It seems that everything at The Fairmont Bermuda is Pink, for a gay guy it does not get much better than sippin' swizzles under a pink and white stripped umbrella. That is mostly a fantasy, like the sketch I guess. I know that I will be running all around, and of course taking the trolley, to make sure that everything that we have planned and designed is perfect!! With a design map in place, we can get to work on the Save the Dates and finding a perfect bow and pearl necklace for the ducks.

Bermuda Destination Weddings | The Fairmont Southhampton

It is a tough job, but somebody has to do it right? When generational family friends of Eastover Farm in Rochester called on me to work as their wedding designer and planner for their daughter's wedding, I jumped at the chance. It was hard for me to believe that she would not want to be married in the stone lined fields of their family's elegant estate, but she too has always had a dream as a bride and it did not include the farm. Instead a beachy, elegant wedding was her choice. After a lot of discussion, we finally agreed that The Fairmont Southhampton, Bermuda would be a perfect place to celebrate this once in a lifetime event for their family. I just got off the plane last night from my trip down to sure up the details prior to bringing the family down to the island to review all of the wonderful surprises that I have in store for them. Every detail to the hotel is simply impeccable and the service rivaled the best hotels in the world. Even I was impressed and in awe of the well oiled machine and staff that make up the experience of this five star resort. I was especially impressed with two people on the resort, first the trolley driver who sang  and acted out " The Wheels on the bus go round and round....." to the delight of two little cuties and their parents who had hopped in with us for a ride from the beach back up the winding road of the resort to the hotel. Every person on that trolley, myself included was humming along and smiling as the jolly driver tooted the horn and swished the windshield wipers. The second stand out was our waiter on the last evening of our stay. He charmed us with his Indian accent and beaming smile and of course he waited on us and every guest there as if we were royalty. A very special treat. Of course it is hard to thank every delightful staff member who always greeted us with smiles and exceedingly good service.

I fell under charming spell of the island from my first sight of it's crystal blue waters and elegantly dressed gentlemen in their "Bermuda" shorts and knee socks. Prior to leaving I too, had to don a pair of knee highs, pink of course with my matching "Bermuda Pink" shorts and because it was a chilly 72 degrees that evening I decided to throw a pink cashmere sweater over my shoulders. I loved it and I fit right in with the locals and British tourists who painted a colorful palette across the south lawn of the hotel for "Tea" (a.k.a. Dark and Stormies or Rum Swizzles) Lucky me, I get to head back in a few weeks to act as the guide to my clients and friends. I am sure that my bride will be thrilled, but can I convince the groomsmen to wear knee highs and Bermuda shorts?

Destination Las Vegas, Bellagio Hotel Wedding

 

I have spent some of the happiest moments of my life in Las Vegas. There is no place on earth like it so it is no surprise that it still serves as the wedding capital of the world. I knew that it would be just a matter of time before I got to go to another wedding in the dry desert. The strip boasts a dazzling collection of five star hotels for brides to choose from. The creme de la creme is of course The Bellagio Hotel. Every detail of the hotel is amazing, but it has won my vote for it's voracious and over the top use of flowers through out the common spaces of the hotel. Every couple of weeks, the lobby is turned into a magical floral escape for the senses. I can hardly wait to see what it will look like when I head out in February to do some pre-planning work with my bride. At the same time, I am going to capture her engagement photos using some of the iconic landmarks the city boasts and of course the signature details to the hotel will not be left behind.

There is lots of work to do as the planner for this wedding especially since we will be working so far away from home. I have my hands in everything from the save the date and invitation design to the floral design that will be implemented out in Vegas to the music planning and picking the menu. My bride, Lily and I are having a great time chatting over the details, which I am sure will be just as amazing as the hotel. So exciting.

Beautiful Flowers, Belle Mer

I love when I am called on to do just the flowers for the wedding. There are so many talented and creative brides out there along with wedding planners and industry professionals that call on me to work on arrangements for weddings and parties.  I love seeing my lush, romantic, signature flowers against the pretty dresses and on the billowy cloths of the tables and of course in the hands of my gorgeous brides.

I was so lucky to be called on by the Paglucia family to be the floral designer and stylist for their daughter Sarah's wedding at the ultra modern Belle Mer on Newport Harbor. Longwood Events has done it again with their inspired take on Newport weddings. Long known as a bastion of wealth from the gilded age, Newport has long been know as an epicenter of New England parties and weddings. I love working there at fabulous facilities like Belle Mer.

Sarah was one cool bride, she had seen my work several times before both at family friends and of course her sister's wedding. She said to me CMP, do your thing, so that I did. I chose rich plum and fuscia tones and mounded them in gorgeous arrangements for the guest's dinner tables. For a little added pop of color, I chose deep aubergine linens and placed deep pink phaleonopsis orchids on them through out the cocktail area of her reception.

I love being a guest at the wedding, so honored, so touched to be among so many people that I have celebrated with before. It is hard to believe that it has been five years since I first met Leila, another family friend that started this whole chain of weddings. Congratulations Sarah. Thank you so very much for having me as part of your incredible day.  To my pal Bunky, thank you for the slow dance to Celine Dione. It is my favorite wedding memory.

Many thanks to Jim Sun from Sun Photographics, for his amazing photography of a gorgeous bride and groom.

 

 

 

Wychmere Wedding Flowers by Chad Michael Peters

 

The use of color has to be one of the best ways to liven up a wedding. I just loved, adored working with the Dacey family to make their daughter Shannon's wedding flowers  nothing short of extraordinary. We were after all out to entertain and wow close to 300 guests. Big league.

The details that they brought in as inspiration were awesome in citrusy bold shades. I carried that look throughout the rest of the decor for her day. The roses, peonies, and citrus orchids just looked so awesome against the bold colored bridesmaid dresses and the neutral tones of the Wychmere Harbor Club.

Many thanks to my friend Karen at the Club for being a fan of my work and of course to my friend and signature partner Corinna Raznikov for her world class photojournalism.