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!!
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.
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.
When planning a destination wedding, the Save the Date becomes a much more important part of the wedding stationary suite. Of course, it announces the wedding, but for destination weddings it is also important to get a good understanding as to who will be coming to your wedding. There is so much more to plan for when your guests are travelling to your wedding. For example things like hotel room rates, travel to and from airports, hints to international travellers and things to do while you are at the destination should all be included in the Save The Date Design.
Tess & Erik are so excited about their wedding as are their parents and the rest of the family as well. Who wouldn't be right? Hello, ......we are all going to Bermuda. The design for their Save the Date is coming along really well. I love how à deux has used the bride's signature shades, inspired by the stunning waters that surround the cluster of islands known as The Bermuda's. Adding details such as the shells and a bit of sand to the invitations will give the guests an experience of travel from the moment that they open this fabulous invitations.
We will have an additional printed card in the suite which will outline air travel and accomodations so guests can take advantage of the lesser fares by planning in advance. When we send the invitation, the guests will be able to visit a wedding web site designed just for Tess & Erik. Along with their engagment photos, we will be able to give her guests a digital glimpse into the Fairmont South Hampton Bermuda and it's amazing grounds. My guess is that they are going to be thrilled. I can hardly wait to get mine in the mail!!!