Our warm and luxurious August Color Story embodies the end of summer and transitions beautifully into the feeling of autumn with its warm, inviting colors created out of hues of orange, red and yellow.  You can just the feel the magic in the air with this fantasy celebration! 

The venue for this month’s fantasy party was the elegant Elkins Estate, an amazing grand mansion just a few minutes outside of Philadelphia sitting on 42 acres of graceful rolling hills among beautiful ponds and a tranquil retreat center.  Our friend and photographer Marie Labbancz worked her magic once again behind the camera to bring you these amazing and stunning shots!

One of the most unusual things about Elkins is the fact that you can actually host hundreds of people for a sit-down dinner within the estate itself – a true rarity among the stunning Pennsylvania estates that serve as venues for the areas most beautiful celebrations!

The foundation for this elaborate table design is a wrought iron structure with soft colorful fabric creating soft puddling and hanging birdcages. We’ve been thinking lately that creating a smaller romantic setting for two within the wedding reception would be perfect for a couple’s first dinner together on the evening of their wedding.  And the Elkins Estate was, as you can see, the perfect place to implement this vision!

Rian of Eventions was the master behind the lighting and draping that brought out the magic of the entire design! 

We absolutely love the floral arrangement by Beautiful Blooms created out of a birdcage with a beaded dragon fly accent (from the personal collection of Donna from Beautiful Blooms) and filled with lush Alaskan pink peonies, early season virburnum berry, yellow roses and butterfly asclepius.  

Our couple’s table was decorated with a painted martini glass from Anthropologie,  Michael Weems’ green etched wine glasses, vintage plates and Anthropologie bowls. 

Notice the charming monogrammed votive candle from Eclatante’s Boutique placed at the couple’s placesettings.

And how absolutely fabulous is the bridal gown by designer Kenneth Pool, thanks to Jennifer’s Bridal in Wilmington, Delaware!  Our gorgeous model, Paula, was styled beautifully by Claudia Seyler of Claudia Seyler Hair and Makeup.   Claudia also provided the exquisite jewelry including this perfectly suited dangling drop bracelet and headband.   

As you can see, Claudia is a pure genius at what she does!   She also did a beautiful job of creating the perfect soft, flowing hairstyle and subtle makeup as the perfect look for this month’s story creation.

Our bride carried a beautiful hand tied bouquet of Alaskan pink peonies and early season virburnum berry expertly created by, of course, Beautiful Blooms!

Next up:  our breathtaking September color story of rich deep purple and yellow!

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 16th, 2009 at 5:06 pm and is filed under Color Palette, Event Design, Inspiration, Monthly Color Stories, venues. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.