At some point in the planning process, our clients will start asking us about rehearsal dinners and/or welcome parties, which typically occur the night before the wedding after their guests begin arriving into town.   This weekend, our clients wanted their guests to spend an entire weekend celebrating with them in Philadelphia, starting with last night – the welcome party!

Neither family is Italian, but they wanted to honor Philadelphia’s strong Italian tradition by hosting their first celebration at Davio’s on 17th Street and creating an intimate European restaurant feel in Davio’s event space upstairs.   Thanks to Beautiful Blooms’ perfect decor, and Davio’s amazing service, the clients were thrilled and the guests were enthralled by the host’s very warm and welcoming first party of the weekend.

Please forgive the photos — I took them with my iPhone and I will never claim to be a photographer!  :)

Of course, before the rehearsal, we had to have our obligatory late July/early August monsoon, to get it out of the way for the weekend!

But then the skies cleared and everyone had a truly wonderful evening!

Off to get ready for the wedding!

Well, it’s official.   Eclatante is growing up.   

We are thrilled to tell you that Eclatante is moving to a new and beautiful new space in the chic, new section of Philadelphia known as  ”Liberties Walk.”   We’re really excited!

Eclatante’s new home will be the three glass store fronts you see here along one full side of a block of Liberties Walk.  Right now, the space is very raw — as you can see from the photos (taken by our great friend Marie Labbancz).  Consider these our “before” shots!

Lots of other amazing new things are coming, too!   Stay tuned to watch the evolution from this raw space into Eclatante’s new home and for all the new things coming to our block!  

Leila Miller

joins Eclatante as

Director of Special Events

Eclatante is thrilled to announce that Leila Miller has joined the staff of Eclatante Event Design as its Director of Special Events. 

Lelia has been a major part of the Philadelphia hospitality and events scene for many years.  Prior to joining Eclatante, Leila was an event planner for one of Philadelphia highest acclaimed catering companies – Feastivities Events.   Leila has planned and expertly executed literally hundreds of weddings and special events in the Philadelphia area.  She has appeared on HGTV and her events and expert opinions have been featured in Philadelphia Weddings, The Knot and Philadelphia Brides Magazine.  Leila was the 2007 Greater Philadelphia Chapter ISES Liberty Award Winner for Best Wedding Planner and the 2006 finalist for the Event Solutions Spotlight Rising Star Award.

Eclatante has been privileged to work with Leila on many events over the years.    At every one,  I was totally impressed with her unflappable ability to keep the party running perfectly.    Her precision and attention to detail, combined with her ability to provide clients with extraordinary guidance and attention – even the occasional shoulder to lean on — will make her an excellent addition to Eclatante.  She has an uncanny ability to keep it fun while commanding perfection for each event she works on. I am thrilled to have her on board.

If you get a chance, say “hi” to Leila.  If you haven’t met her already, I promise you will LOVE her!

I am Kendall Brown, the owner of Eclatante Event Design. Thank you so much for stopping by.

I have a great job – a big part of what I do is to keep up with all that is happening in the various industries that affect the design and creation of extraordinary events. To do that, I go to cutting edge restaurants, talk to great interior decorators, fashion designers, musicians and chefs and study travel magazines and those gorgeous books you find in upscale New York hotel rooms. You never know where the next amazing idea will come from – I pick up some of the best ideas just by listening to people like you.

Our clients are looking to host celebrations that are distinctive, sophisticated and honor the traditions of their families. They ask about the latest trends – what they are, whether they’ll work in reality and how to incorporate those trends into a classically beautiful event. These questions and the encouragement I’ve received from my clients, friends and others in the industry are the inspiration behind this blog.

And it’s a great way to find out from others what they see happening out there. Plus, my wonderful job gives me a front row seat to the most beautiful moments in peoples’ lives. It’s exciting to now have the forum to share some of the great stories we come across as we create and plan these events as well as reflect on the new trends in the industry. We would love to hear about your ideas and inspirations and welcome your suggestions on what you’d like to see on Eclatante’s blog. We’ll do our best to keep up!