Today, our great friend Caroline Tiger featured our really beautiful monogrammed candles in the LifeStyle section of the Philadelphia Inquirer.   We LOVE these candles!

I know it’s been a while since we posted a Color Story.   Between our big move and one extremely busy wedding season, we just couldn’t find the time to do it right.   But finally, yesterday, we (Taylor, Alyssa and myself), along with Donna & Keith from Beautiful Blooms, Claudia Seyler from Claudia Seyler Beauty, Rian Winther from Eventions and of course, Marie Labbancz (our amazing photographer) joined forces to pull off our best photoshoot yet!

Our photoshoot for the next round of color-stories took place at the newly-opened Elkins Estate.   This place is amazing.  It was designed in the last decade of the 1800s and was built in Italy and France, then brought over here piece-by-piece.  The estate sits on 42-acres of gardens, rolling hills and ponds and was once the country sanctuary of Philadelphia entrepreneur William L. Elkins. In the 1930’s the Elkins family sold the retreat to the Dominican Sisters of St. Catherine de Ricci, who maintained the Estate as a women retreat for for 75 years.   Now, under the ownership of the Land Conservancy of Elkins Park (having been rescued from development and revived through delicate restoration efforts),  the Elkins Estate is a peaceful wellness retreat and a magnificent venue for all kinds of celebrations.  

Because of its phenomenal grandeur and gorgeous unique spaces, we chose Elkins Estate as the host of this season’s photo shoot (covering the color stories for the months of July, August and September).  They were our extremely gracious and accommodating hosts and were a pure pleasure to work with!  We’ll be posting the first color story next week – I’m SO excited!   

Here are some photos Leila snapped of the areas where our photoshoot took place — I guess you can think of them as “before” photos.   

Without giving anything away, here is one of the final shots that Marie took after our long photo shoot ended (it was really hot!).   I think Rian (from Eventions) was just a little slap-happy from the long day of hard work and heat!

So, we’ll be posting July’s color story next week!  Stay tuned.

As promised, here is the second and last installment of the story of Mindy & Ben.   No small wonder, we will be talking about this adventure for many, many years to come!

After the ceremony at the Broad Street Ministry, Marie Labbancz took this incredible couple out onto the center median for a classic Broad Street photoshoot.

Then finally, the couple arrived at the oh-so-very hip Crane Art Center in Philly for one of the most amazing wedding celebrations ever!   The building once housed a massive plumbing warehouse and huge seafood refrigerator, and is now home to some of the most innovative artists’ studios in the City.    Cocktails and divine hors d’oeuvres were impeccably created and served by the amazing chef and staff of Max Hansen Catering.   

See the gorgeous seating card table below?  I just adored this table executed with love and passion by Beautiful Blooms.   The individual vessels came from all over the place and were carefully chosen one at a time by Donna.   Honestly, there is a story behind each little vase.   And, again, with the cranes!   See how cool the seating cards are?  Two Paper Dolls did an amazing job on every single piece of paper.   Those guys never cease to blow me away!!   Look at that calligraphy!

And VU-Events — again — created exactly what we wanted.   They built this bar from scratch and lit it perfectly!

Finally the moment arrived and the massive metal refrigerator doors opened to a truly incredible room.   

Vic and his team at VU-Events did an amazing job of hanging TWELVE HUNDRED origami cranes that had been created one at a time in all different sizes and patterns of paper by a host of people put together by Beautiful Blooms.   How this started was that we had to come up with some way to deal with the acoustic issues that occur when one is planning to put a 15-piece band in a former refrigerator with 25′ ceilings.  We knew we had to drape the walls, but we also thought it best to install sound panels to kept the reverb to it’s absolute minimum.   Of course, huge sound panels across a ceiling are not exactly an attractive design element, so we decided to light them and hang origami cranes from them so it looked like flocks of crazy cranes flying across the ceiling.   The design and the plan could not not not have worked out better!   See for yourself!

The rest of the decor was pretty amazing, too!  

I want to tell you about a couple more things that made this wedding so so special (other than the fact that the couple and their families were among the sweetest, most loving group of people we’ve ever had the honor of working with).

First, the band:  Sultans of Swing.   I don’t know when i’ve ever seen a band rock a wedding like that.   It was just incredible.   At the end of the night, the guests were deliriously happy and exhausted from the incredible music and dancing that went on all night long, 

Then, the food.   Again, i would KILL for the ability to link to the incredible aromas that came from Max’s beautiful and divine food stations.   The guests raved and raved and raved — as they should!   Max outdid himself and his staff provided each and every guest with the best service they could ever possibly experience.  

The stunning cake and delicious cake was created by Truli Confectionary Arts!  Gorgeous!

Am I obsessing?  I guess I am.   This was the wedding of a lifetime.   I’ll stop talking now and just let you enjoy the rest of the photos!

Good night, guys!

NY Daily News

Sylvia Weinstock is really one of a kind.  I just don’t think there’s another person on the planet quite like her.   Thirty years ago, she totally broke the mold of cake design resulting in cakes that reach the outer limits of the imagination of most of us.   She started this amazing cake trend —  all with buttercream — not a drop of fondant.  

Thanks to Rosemary, Donna O’Brien’s long-time friend from Manhattan who has worked with Sylvia in the past, Donna (of Beautiful Blooms fame) and I were invited up to Sylvia’s incredible cake studio where her masterpieces are created. Donna blogged about our incredible meeting and talked all about how just gorgeous everything was, and incredibly delicious. (Donna’s favorite filling was the apricot, but I’m still thinking about the caramel.  UnBelieveable. Her cakes are not only the most beautiful cakes you will ever see, they are to-die-for divine!)

I want to add that Sylvia spent a lot of time talking about the special events industry in general.   She’s been doing this incredible cake thing for over 30 years — long before cable television!   She has seen it all.   And with an infectious enthusiasm, she loves our industry every bit as much as she did thirty years ago when she started “this crazy thing.”  She even shared with us some of her preliminary sketches that she does for her clients; her sketches alone are incredible and it will never cease to amaze me that her works of art are created out of sugar. Just sugar.  Sigh.  

Now for pics.  I think, first I’d like to share Sylvia’s famous flowers.   She ducks credit and gives it all to her talented and dedicated team of artists who take pride in every single detail — look for yourself!

Here I am with Rosemary, getting every morsel of that incredible caramel filling from my fork

Finally, our last shot with Sylvia:

More news about Sylvia coming soon!!  Oh, and you should absolutely check out Sylvia’s book about her masterpiece cakes:  Sylvia Weinstock’s Sensational Cakes

This morning I got up ridiculously early to get to New York City to a meeting with Silvia Weinstock, the original phenom of masterpiece cakes (more on that later).   In addition to our  terrific meeting, Donna (from Beautiful Blooms) and I tripped throughout the Flower Market district in the Chelsea section of Manhattan.   

It was just amazing to walk through garden after garden of gorgeous flowers in the middle of the all the urban sounds of NYC.   I just Love New York!   Here are some pics of today’s field trip.

Here’s one of my favorites.  Almost every flower shop had it’s own adorable greeter.   I love this guy sitting in the pin cushions!

We’ll tell you more about what’s happening with Sylvia Weinstock these days and what we’ve got up our sleeve!!

I am so excited about posting this wedding!!!  Because of all the amazing twists and turns that were borne from the outrageously creative and fun personalities of the couple, this is one we have to do in parts.   Marie Labbancz did her usual incredible job of shooting Mindy and Ben’s wedding.   

You can gather a lot about a couple from the engagement photos — I have so many favorites from the zillions to choose from — here’s just one!

We got to know this wonderful couple from almost the day they were engaged through all of the design and  planning and their absolutely incredible wedding day.   We got to bring on some of our very favorite professionals, including Beautiful Blooms, Marie Labbancz, Two Paper Dolls, Sultans of Swing, VU-Events, Claudia Seyler and Max Hansen Catering to give Mindy and Ben a truly amazing wedding that will be remembered by every one of their guests AND their A-Team professionals for EVER! Everything single thing Mindy and Ben dreamed of was something really really special.   Helping them achieve the wedding of their dreams was also a dream come true for us!

Is it any wonder that this adventurous and exceptionally interesting couple chose The Broad Street Ministry for their wedding ceremony?  I just LOVE this story.   The building once housed the city’s most elite worshippers.  Now, however, it ministers to not only Philadelphia professionals, but the homeless as well!   Hanging from the ceiling are hundreds and hundreds of origami cranes inside of which are the handwritten prayers of many of Philadelphia’s homeless.  

After all that, of COURSE Mindy and Ben chose “The Crane Arts Center” (a/k/a “The Ice Box”) to host the absolutely magnificent party for their guests –more on that next time…It’s a story in itself!!   You won’t believe what we did there!!! 

I’ve never known a bride to choose shoes like Mindy did.   These amazing tie-dyed blue flats by Kenneth Cole were perfectly suited for her.  

Their  invitations (created by Two Paper Dolls) were just fantastic!!!   Look closely and you will see how Two Paper Dolls wrapped the whole crane thing (as Mindy would say “NOT STORKS PEOPLE!!) into the phenomenal lining of the invitation envelope.  Even Mindy’s hairstyle was selected with care and lovingly created by Claudia Seyler.    

There’s MUCH more to come about this once-in-a-lifetime wedding.   Hint:  Who knew you could do so much with origami???

I have no clue when it started, but I love paper flowers.  I was so happy when we finally got to use them in an an event design for our February Color Story (remember?)

Imagine my dolphin squeal when I found this kit on Etsy!   With instructions!   

I think these would be so much fun at a dinner party or a cocktail party.    I’m going to make a zillion of them!

We’ve been working on a few ideas lately, one of which is to bring you closer to some of the most beautiful and interesting  venues in and around Philadelphia. Eclatante has been honored to create celebrations in some absolutely amazing places.  We thought that people might enjoying seeing them because most people don’t even know they exist!   

First up is Bonnet Island.   I adore this place.  It is absolutely gorgeous and presents some of the most creative opportunities we’ve ever had.   Take a look at these photos taken by the brilliant Marie Labbancz. 

Donna O’Brien of Beautiful Blooms and I teamed up on all of these — the magic created was so much fun.  Two Paper Dolls did an incredible job of creating the absolutely PERFECT printed accents pieces.   GORGEOUS!!!

Another party at Bonnet Island:

Do you have time for one more?

Not only is Bonnet Island one of the most beautiful places we’ve ever seen for a ceremony and reception, the Estate also includes eleven drop-dead gorgeous guest suites and an incredible bridal suite that will take your breath away.  

So, that’s Bonnet Island Estate.   Let us know what you think!

At long last, this September Eclatante will begin its monthly class series on stylish, fun and creative entertaining. Understanding that just about everyone is looking for ways to enjoy themselves while spending a bit less money, we have assembled a great team of experts who will guide the interactive instructions through great topics, such as:

“Wine Pairings and Wine Tastings Made Easy”

“From Great Invitations to the perfect Thank You Note: The Art of
Communication.”

“Bar Basics 101”

“How to set a Beautiful Table at Home: Florals, Candles, Placesettings and Linens”

“Everything you ever wanted to know about wine—in an hour and a half”

Each class will last between an hour and a hour and a half.   The schedule of classes will be posted soon. 

Then, Eclatante and Beautiful Blooms are teaming up to present bi-monthly Sunday Seminars which will feature experts from all different areas of entertaining to demonstrate how to create effortless and memorable home parties — invitations, to music, to food, wine, table settings and décor.

Sunday Seminar topics will include:

“Tailgating parties at home: Super-fun, clever and scrumptious”

“The Perfect 2009 Holiday party”

“The 1950s Potluck becomes the 2009 Home Supperclub”

“Creating a Fabulous Dinner Party and Actually Enjoying it”

Workshops will vary in price (from $25 to $100) depending on the cost of
materials.  For more information about Eclatante’s entertainment classes or the Sunday Seminars, contact Eclatante Event Design at 215.925.9911.

And to round out the amazing things happening on the Walk, the team at Beautiful Blooms will begin their floral design workshops on Saturday Mornings from 11 am-2 pm ($150) and Tuesday evenings from 6:30 pm-8:30 pm ($135 for most Tuesday evening workshops).   Topics will include “Urban Vase,” “Go Green,” “Hand-tied for the Home,” “Thanksgiving Designs,” “Seasonal Wreaths,” “Florals, Fruits & Veggies,” “Floral Tablescapes for the Home” and “Color Trends.”   Contact Beautiful Blooms B0utique at 215.925.3111 or check out the Beautiful Blooms’ Blog for more information.  

For some reason, don’t ask me why, I get hung up on certain flowers for a period of time.   I do the same thing with colors or color combinations, and certain articles of clothing or even scents I want to be around. 

Today I realized that I LOVE blue delphiniums.   They’re just so pretty.   You’ll find them in an array of blues from sweet light blue to a deep rich color bordering on purple.    

They’re been around for some of the best events we’ve seen — see how pretty they can be?

Photo taken at Cairnwood by Marie Labbancz.   Beautiful Blooms executed a fabulous arrangement we designed for the inside of a fountain.

These lovely bouquets created by Beautiful Blooms were photographed by Tania Lezak at a wedding at the Avalon Yacht club.

And look at this amazing cuff made of delphiniums by Beautiful Blooms.  Simply gorgeous!

Okay, that’s it for today’s obsession!

Getting married again is a wonderful thing!   Given all the beautiful things that are coming together when people are getting married later in life, we believe that it is a life-changing event worth celebrating well!   Eclatante’s little niche with Later-in-Life weddings is becoming pretty well-known in the wedding circles. Thank goodness, people are finally catching on to how important these events are in people’s lives rather than treating them like there’s omething less-than about one’s last wedding (how silly)!

In Newport, RI (one of my very favorite places to disappear to — you really should go!) the extremely well-read Newport Weddings wedding blog gave their readers our advice on later-in-life weddings.

PS:  For more information about Eclatante’s focus on Later-in-Life weddings (or Last Weddings, as we like to call them), take a look at Special Events Magazine http://specialevents.com/weddings/Retying_the_knot_20070405/index.html

Are You Planning A Second Weddings In Newport R.I.?

Those of you who have  attended an Eclatante event knows that we know how to draw a crowd. 

Well the same holds true for our home on Liberties walk.  Our die-cut curtains have caught the attention of our entire neighborhood.  As the sole veil between the outside world and the Eclatante magic we can’t seem to shed the gawkers.  

We’d like to think it’s us, but let’s be honest, these curtains are astounding!  They are extremely unusual, chic and fun, but the strange part is that the people with their noses pressed against the window to our office gawking at these amazing curtains either don’t or can’t see past the curtain into our office.   We’re always shaking our heads about that!

Add this delightfully unexpected element to your home and it is sure to be a conversation (and compliment) starter.  Take it one step further and make it the center of attention at your next dinner party.  you can use a single panel as a room separator or screen.   Or here’s an idea — turn the curtain into a wide table runner (if you have a table wider than 42″).  Pair it with a gorgeous wood table and play up a nature theme or layer it over a brightly colored tablecloth for a little whimsy.  

Made of Tyvek (the same stuff the USPS priority and express mail envelopes are made of) these curtains are tear, temperature, and water resistant.  One side of the 42″ x 96″ curtain is white but you have the option of black, white, lilac or green for the other.  Hanging them is a breeze!  The little velcroed loops can slip right over a string of fishing line – no need for curtain rods!  Amazing!

Come down to the Eclatante boutique and stare for yourself!  Or, give us a call at 215.925.9911 and we can have them sent right over.  We just hope you are prepared for the onslaught of curious passersby.

Welcome to Marisa and Chris’s wedding!  This unbelievably adorable couple came to us wanting to bring all of their families’ traditions and their love of the shore to life in a beautiful wedding.  And the amazing photography by Tania Lezak tells the story so beautifully that I almost don’t need words to tell you how perfect this wedding was!

Marisa’s father is a very talented graphic artist — he designed the logos for the printed material used throughout their wedding.

Chris and Marisa each have been Jersey Shore people almost since they were born!  So, of course, they got married there.   The lovely rehearsal dinner took place at Chris’s parents’ summer home right on the ocean in Ocean City, NJ. It was such a pleasure running down to the shore from time to time to hang out with Chris’s family at their gorgeous shore home right on the ocean to plan the rehearsal dinner.

Take a look at this charming rehearsal dinner cake created by The Cake Studio in Ocean City NJ to mirror the story of Chris and Marissa, all the way back to Chris’s days as an OC lifeguard!

Finally, their day arrived.

The wedding ceremony took place just down the street.   The readings were done in both English and the Bride’s mother’s native Italian, so that the guests who arrived straight from Italy would understand every word!

Beautiful Blooms created these gorgeous bridesmaids’ bouquets of white peonies, yellow ranunculus and gorgeous blue hydrangea.

After the ceremony, the couple and their bridal party went back to to Chris’s parents’ house for photos then spent time cruising the Boardwalk and the beach.   Amazing photos, eh?  

The reception was at the beautifully located Avalon Yacht Club in Avalon, NJ, where the sky was simply magnificent.

The tablescapes on the beautiful dinner tables draped with royal blue pintuck linens sometimes included vases filled with submerged tulips, roses and hydrangea and electric blue wire, while others had a trip of square vases filled with bright blue hydrangea, bursting white peonies and dreamy yellow roses.  

The guests ate, drank and danced all night long!   It was a truly a great night.   

We wish Marisa and Chris and the very very best from the bottom of our hearts!

Rachel at the Seaport Museum by DVideography

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Rachel at White Manor Contry Club by DVideography

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I <HEART> <HEART> <HEART>  Broken Plate, a great little source for fun stuff I’ve discovered along the path of creating truly unique events for our clients.   

Someday, when i am snowed in at home for three days in a row and I have way too much time on my hands, I’m going to figure out which questions I hear most from couples as time draws nearer to their wedding.   Whatever else is on the list, I know that, up among the most-asked, would be the question about how to make the groomsmen attire, well, less dull.  

I’ve seen some pretty fun things get passed between grooms and their guys — and here’s of one my favorites:

I hear you wondering what could be so fun about cufflinks.   Here it is:  These are made from broken old plates.   While coordinating the ties of the groomsmen is a total must, this funky way of bringing in color and personality to the groom and groomsmen attire is really fun.   You can even purchase groomsmen packages to insure the overall look is constant, but then again, you and your guys may have something else in mind entirely!  

If you want to use your own plates, that’s cool, too.  Broken Plate will work with whatever you send them.   Otherwise, they’ll hunt down the perfect plates to use from vintage shops and thrift stores until they find just the right plates for your wedding.  Then they’ll smash them.  How fun is that?