What better way to kiss 2009 goodbye than by throwing this month’s fantasy New Years Eve Wedding party at the gorgeous Conservatory of Winterthur Museum and Country Estate in Winterthur, Delaware!  Through these gates a magical fantasy celebration awaits featuring the colors of onyx, gold and emerald.

These magnificent photos are compliments of our good friend and photographer Marie Labbancz who beautifully captures our step-back-in-time to the days of glamour and lavishness!

As you can see, our unique table design flows seamlessly in conjunction with this venue and the outdoor scenery. We absolutely love this striking centerpiece cone Beautiful Blooms created out of gardenia leaves with a burst of extraordinarily lush, black feathers.  Who doesn’t love feathers in winter?

Our table was decorated with cut crystal candleholders and gold pillar candles. We’re crazy about how the linens coordinate beautifully with the rims of each plate and cup, then brought together with perfect napkin rings!  Then, of course, the ultimate last touch with the feather placed inside each napkin.

Beautiful Blooms really outdid themselves with this unique bridal bouquet made out of green cymbidium orchids, green prada carnations and black feathers.

This absolutely stunning boutonniere was made of orchids and black feathers.

The fabulous bridal gown designed by Matthew Christopher and provided to us by Gabriella New York Bridal Salon (we love them!) is reminiscent of the glamorous and lavish styles of the 1920s and 30s – the era of gorgeous Hollywood starlets and incredibly extravagant parties.    Your eyes immediately follow the feather details along the back and length of the gown unveiling its sensational drama, softness and femininity.   Our model wears pearls to accentuate the vintage qualities and period style of this gown.

Claudia Seyler did the hairstyling and makeup for our bride capturing the essence of this time period by using pearl accents and bright red lipstick.

We hope you enjoyed our 2009 color stories as much as we enjoyed creating them and sharing them with you  Stay tuned for our January color story when we bring you our first beautiful surprise for 2010!

We’ve got something old, something new, something gorgeous and something blue for this month’s fantasy party!  We invite you to join us at this fun and elegant cocktail party where the colors of sapphire, orange and gold bring to life a festive October Color Story.

The venue for this month’s story is the reflecting pool on the grounds of the lush, glorious and historic Winterthur Museum and Country Estate nestled in the heart of Delaware’s beautiful Brandywine Valley in Winterthur, Delaware.

Photographer Marie Labbancz works wonders with her camera to bring you these breathtaking shots!

As you can see, the bar takes center stage at this sophisticated and extraordinary party!

We created a double-level bar draped in a rich krinkle sapphire blue taffeta. On the lower level of the bar, we used a beautiful Obi Belt made of luxurious orange and gold silk for a runner.  On top of this fantastic runner we placed beautiful florals by Beautiful Blooms created from drop dead blue roses inside gold cube vases, along with square votives.

We draped our side cocktail table with gorgeous orange linen with gold accents.   The arrangement on the table consisted of a dome vase with blue stones and orange callas.

What’s a party without fun signature drinks in carefully chosen tinted glassware.

And check out the gorgeous dresses our models are wearing – all provided by Gabriella New York Bridal Salon!

Forget the little black dress! Angel Sanchez is the designer of this amazing little white cocktail dress worn by our host model! Douglas Hannant designed the purple cocktail dress that our guest wears.

Claudia Seyler of Claudia Seyler Hair and Makeup gave our model a romantically styled 60’s type hairstyle reflecting the style of that incredibly chic cocktail dress!

Next up:  our November story – a stunning and romantic ceremony set in silver, purples and grey.

FINALLY!  Part 2 of Laura & Zach’s wedding!!   In case you need a refresher – take a look at “Laura & Zach – Part 1″.

You will love the photography by Laura Eaton Photography. Laura and Paul Eaton  really captured the essence of this wonderful couple!

When the guests entered the amazing F.U.E.L. House, they were delighted to see an extremely unusual display of seating cards — we designed a fabulous array of flowers in personal mini-vases created bu Beautiful Blooms with seating cards attached. Each little vase was hung gingerly from the wall of one of F.U.E.L.’s cool seating benches.

The tablescapes were absolutely beautiful and truly suited perfectly to Laura & Zach’s sweet and natural style.   We love the combination of the chartreuse and purple linens along with multiple tinted vases filled with gorgeous florals from Beautiful Blooms.   So so sweet.

Here is a prime example of why we love succulents!

And, of course - -the never-failing photobooth!

We will always remember Laura & Zach and what a dream they were to work with!

Our September Color Story offers an escape into a world of the rich and vibrant colors of deep purple and yellow in a magnificent and elegant setting.  We love the energy of this stunning story!

This month’s fantasy party takes place at the Elkins Estate on the terrace of this amazing grand mansion. Photographer Marie Labbancz once again showcases her creative genius by capturing these breathtaking images and shots!

As you can see, our unique table design works wonderfully in conjunction with this venue as the simple outside exterior brings focus to the fascinating, customized and complex centerpiece.

We absolutely love this two-tiered plexi-glass centerpiece structure created by Beautiful Blooms with hanging yellow calla lilies and a floral arrangement comprised of bunches of deep purple hydrangea, yellow calla lilies and yellow eremerus on top.

The lower tier of this amazing composition contains a tasteful mixture of purple votives and yellow roses.  We chose the linens and place settings in perfect compliment to the mood set by  this gorgeous table.

Our table was also decorated with just the right amount of tall yellow vases and small yellow bud vases – all from Eclatante’s Boutique!

Look at the way the light bounces off the yellow colored glass vases and clear glassware creating a modern celebratory feel!

To complement our table design, our bride carried a hand tied bouquet Beautiful Blooms created from deep purple hydrangea, yellow spray roses and bupleurum.

Finally, what can we say about the Pronovias gown provided by Jennifer’s Bridal in Wilmington, Delaware that our beautiful model Paula is wearing – just perfect and absolutely stunning!

Claudia Seyler of Claudia Seyler Hair and Makeup did the styling, hair and makeup for our bride capturing the essence of her beauty with a gorgeous full bun and natural makeup.

We hope you enjoyed this month’s fantasy celebration as much as we enjoyed creating it!  Stay tuned for our October feature when we bring our creative flair and event design expertise to the Winterthur!

In the heat of summer, we discovered a beautiful and peaceful retreat in the shade nestled in Cheltenham Township, Pennsylvania where we could drink cold lemonade and sweet iced tea and sit outside with great friends to celebrate one of life’s most important and beautiful rituals.

Reminiscent of the way things are done in the south, we brought in the illusion of cool temperatures with a blend of blues, silver and white to cool things down just a teeny bit.

Our wonderful team came together to create an absolutely beautiful, tasteful and classic celebration at the enchanting Elkins Estate which sits on 42 acres of graceful rolling hills among beautiful ponds and a tranquil retreat center.  

Photo from Elkins Estate Website

Photo from Elkins Estate website

Once again, our praise and thanks go out to Marie Labbancz, our wonderful friend and photographer who photographed this color story with her usual love and incredible gift of capturing exactly what makes each celebration unique and beautiful!

The story begins with the classic and tiny details reminiscent of the great parties hosted by gracious hosts back when Elkins Estate was built in the 1890s.   An acute attention (and love of ) the “little things” takes this celebration to a whole new level.

We LOVED this beautiful table and benches, place settings and linen provided by Party Rentals, Ltd.   These were the foundation of an incredible summer table! 

Rian, the go-to lighting guy from Eventions caught our vision perfectly when he hung these great rustic tin stars from the wooden trellis above our dinner table.

The table was very tastefully decorated with centerpieces artfully created by the incredibly talented team at Beautiful Blooms.  The large, hand-wrapped moss balls you see here placed on top of tall cut crystal vases were wrapped in silver bullion wire.   Miniature white cymbidium orchids and cobalt blue delphinium florets were also attached to the silver bullion wire and strung from the large moss balls.  Also adorning the table were floret-size moss balls with crystal accents and gorgeous candleholders embedded with crystals provided by Beautiful Blooms.

We incorporated  the truly gracious details of times gone by (that we’d LOVE to see returned on the hospitable tables of hosts everywhere!)  These knife rests and salt cellars are classic and beautiful – guests are truly captivated by elements they may never have seen before.  But then, the blue and white chopsticks tucked into the napkins require no explanation.   All of these little elements are available at the Eclatante Boutique.

We also added a lovely vintage pewter two-tiered tray so that guests would have sweets at their fingertips all evening long.  And favors are presented to guests in very interesting and beautiful oragami paper boxes.   (The tray and the favor boxes are also available at the Eclatante Boutique.)

Now, take a look at Paula who was beautifully styled by Claudia Seyler (of Claudia Seyler Beauty).    Claudia chose the perfect gown (by Manuel Moto of the Pronovias Collection) from Jennifer’s Bridal in Hockessin, Delaware, then created a look with her dress, hair and makeup that was not only stunning, but perfectly suited for the occasion!   Finally, Beautiful Blooms created a lovely floral head-ring from moss, clear crystals and blue delphinium blooms.

Our beautiful bride carried a truly unique hand-wired bouquet of white mini-cymbidium orchids, blue delphinium orchids intertwined with moss loops, silver wire and clear crystals. 

Stay tuned!  Our August color story is coming soon and it’s gorgeous!

Our brides and their moms agree – most of the time – on the vision for the look of their upcoming wedding.   But sometimes the very best looks are born when the two have ideas that don’t exactly “square” up.  Here, we’ve taken very traditional colors – gold and silver – and created a clean, modern celebration. This way, the traditional mom and the modern bride can each have their wish!

The color palette

The inspiration board

Our inspiration was the very interesting work of Piet Mondrian — a waaaaaayyy-ahead-of-his-time artist whose designs consisted of a grid of vertical and horizontal lines and the use of primary colors.  You might recognize this canvas he created:

We had a great team come together to implement the design for our story.    And here are the gorgeous results (as captured by our amazingly talented photographer & close friend, Marie Labbancz).

The F.U.E.L. House was truly the perfect blend of traditional and modern to host this very chic January wedding.    VU-Events hung all the drapery and gave us amazing lighting.  Total Table provided the gorgeous gold table runners and Party Rentals Ltd provided the perfect tables, chairs and place settings.

Beautiful Blooms‘ elegant etched candle holders sitting on the mantle of the fireplace is one of those perfect details that set a wedding apart from all others.  

And Two Paper Dolls created the perfect touch — menus and table numbers designed around Mondrian’s art.   

And now for the Yummy part!  Feastivities created a SCRUMPTIOUS dessert for our January story:  white and dark chocolate raspberry napoleon with raspberry coulis and pistachios.

Thanks go out to everyone who helped us put together this stunning January wedding.    Stay tuned for February’s color story – we have very cool surprises in store!

HAPPY NEW YEAR

EVERYONE! 

HERE’S TO A THOUSAND THINGS TO CELEBRATE IN 2009!

We love the holidays!  So, rather than fight the wonderful colors of winter and gem stones that work perfectly in front of a fireplace, for DECEMBER’S COLOR STORY, we decided to play right into winter’s arms and create a gorgeous Sapphire and Silver party that would put a twinkle in everyone’s eyes!

The Color Palette

The Inspiration Board

The Stunning Results 

(as captured masterfully by Marie Labbancz)

Again, the F.U.E.L. House provided the perfect backdrop for December’s fantasy party.

VU-Events hung the gorgeous blue velvet drapes and set the enchantment with amazing lighting.  The scroll gobo projected against the bench wall was a great dramatic touch. Total Table provided the super-rich blue linens and Party Rentals Ltd provided the perfect glassware and gorgeous dupioni silk pillows. 

We LOVE Beautiful Blooms’ wonderful floral tie-backs made from ivory roses, peonies and navy cut crystals button accents for a regal accent.

The midnight magic was created by candles glowing from beautifully coordinated blue votive cuts and etched footed glass candleholders with sprinkled Swaroski crystals placed on mirrors.

Finally, Feastivites knew exactly what would warm our guests on a cold December night: Kir Royal (Champagne with Cassis), Accented with Golden Spun Shard Garnish on Glass

 CHEERS!!!