Sliding back in under the radar...

I was just over at Perfectbound where I saw this....

and it reminded me of an event that I did a couple years back. I had a bride with a really challenging color concept.... royal purple, grass green, sunshine yellow... and just a hint of coral here and there....

At first I was a little frightened by the hodge-podge of colors, but in the end- the bride's enthusiasm told us to just go for it....

When you decide to go with such a BOLD color choice, then it is important that it is done in such a way as to appear effortless and not forced- otherwise you run the risk of coming off too strong and much like a child's birthday party. Bold colors are fun, but often can loose their elegance in translation.

So our recipe for that day went something like this:


1. Hold the wedding at MOCA, a modern art museum downtown... which provided a blank canvas of white walls and steel so as to not compete with the color choices. It is very important that brides realize that their choice of venue must dictate the design- and if the design or colors are chosen first, then the venue must follow suit... there is nothing worse then walking into a ballroom that is trying to be a tropical wedding.... or walking onto a beach where the beautiful shoreline is littered with trellis and garden arches. So remember.... you want it to flow naturally and effortlessly- don't force it.

2. We shipped in really vibrant flowers- keeping it simple. Using granny smith reindeer moss, tulips, mini callas, orchids, bear grass, bells of ireland, and wire we created arrangements that weren't (as the bride said) "fluffy". Playing with submerged pieces and free-form design, we sought to bring the contemporary sculptural art from the museum into the flower arrangements as well without getting too strange for the bride's somewhat reserved taste.











3. Next, we took a space that was very open and disected it. When the ceremony, cocktails, and reception are taking place in one location it is very important that you consider the flow. Just like a fine story, an event should have a beginning, a climax, and a denouement. We acheived this by seperating the space using white sheer voile fabric, hung loosely over the exposed piping... creating a backdrop for the ceremony- adding a little lighting caused a really dramatic effect and brought in the coral... later in the evening, the fabric was tied into oversided knots to reveal the buffet, stations, and cake. We also used lighting to our advantage. Due to the fact that the guests would be able to view the galleries at their leisure during the cocktail hour and later on, we could not give the space that low lighting effect, so we had to bring in bold uplighting to shoot up the 20+ ft walls... in doing this, we were able to seperate the spaces by color and then coordinate it with the linens to further give a distinct spacial layout.








4. From here, we began adding those special little details that brought together the overall design and made it personal to the bride and groom.... having an arts and crafts table for the kiddies... serving "MOCA" covered coffee beans.... passing the food on artist palettes, having signature drinks named after the couple's hometowns, a little of the couple's personality on the napkins and program (with a quote from their fav. movie Patch Adams)... a family friend played the violin prior to the ceremony and during the processional...she walked down the aisle to "Groovy kind of Love"- gave him a drum set grooms cake, and they danced to the Beetles....

This particular design was successful in its execution because we kept in mind several things:

1. Keep it simple. Don't over design or try to be too ambitious in your design.

2. Keep in mind your timeframe. For this design, we only had a few months and we knew that we would have a very strict and limited schedule for set up and break down at the museum. Because of this, we opted to keep it basic but impactual.

3. Keep your budget in mind. Sure, we considered doing Andy Warhol-inspired floral portraits of the couple... but let's be realistic.... this was a young couple in love and the last thing we wanted was to send them off into the great big world with a mound of debt- so we kept the outline figure in mind throughout the process... they opted to have a couple of stations but mainly passed trays throughout the reception. They cut back on flowers by working with us to have minimalistic designs in mass and single groupings. They chose basic bengaline linens, but chose to keep the tables minimal and provide lounge seating and a tent for overflow. They didn't go crazy with decor or trying to fill the big space- rather, they used inexpensive lighting techniques to their advantage. This allowed them to focus their budget on a live band, the museum galleries for their guests, and the venue. I love that we were able to illustrate how a designer can help you stay within budget, not bust it.

4. Don't compete with the environment. Playing off of the art, we were able to make this crazy color scheme work. We allowed the museum to speak for itself and allowed the decor to unfold around it seamlessly. Our overall concept was to just "dress up" the space- taking a stance that if one were to go to a lavish afair, they would keep their own sense of style but just jazz it up a little... and that is what we saught to do with the space- put it in its sunday best......