Tag: Martha Stewart Weddings

If I had to pick one wedding from my career that I am most proud of, it would be this wedding. We first came to know this family when we planned a rainbow themed wedding for Jessica’s sister, Hanna, and it was an honor to plan a second celebration for the same family. This is a family we love and deeply respect, and I have no doubt they will be part of our lives forever. I will always appreciate the trust they had for us, and the freedom they gave us to dream big. The mother of the bride, Laurie, once again challenged me to think outside of the box and encouraged the creativity in me to flow freely. I’ll be forever grateful for the experience of working on both weddings with this family.

People always ask me my favorite detail from this wedding, and it is an impossible question to answer as there were so many elements that I loved.  Here are some of my favorite highlights from the day: Gold metallic brushstrokes carried throughout the event from save the date to the petit four favors; custom grey velvet table cloths and aisle runner; 14 foot living trees that are now planted at the families home; that amazing Alexandra Vidal gown; miniature wedding cakes for each guest; custom candy bars with the name of the couple; Pottery Barn chandeliers that arrived the day before the wedding; Casa de Perrin’s beautiful place settings driven up from California, the concrete planters we used as centerpieces; the seven (yes seven) wedding cakes; the lucite chuppah and seating assignment boards and the fact that we pulled off a wedding on top of a roof in downtown Seattle!

We had a staff of 38 people that worked around the clock to pull this wedding off. I’m proud of our team, and proud of ourselves for what we accomplished. I hope you enjoy these images that give you a glimpse into this special day. And make sure to pick up a copy of the current fall issue of Martha Stewart Weddings to see the 10 page spread!

Happy first anniversary Jess and Todd!

Special thanks to my talented team of designers that came up to help me out with this wedding. I could not have pulled this off without all of your help and the thousands of flower stems each of you touched. Tinge, Oak and the Owl, Reverie Made, Splendor of Eden, Seventh Stem and Finch and Thistle.

Also, extra special thank you to Sally from LaHappy Design for working with me tirelessly on all of the stationery and big picture design ideas for this wedding.

Event planning, design, and flowers, Sinclair & Moore

Reception location, The Great Hall at Union Station

Catering, beverages, bar, mini desserts, chocolate bar, and petits fours favors, Lisa Dupar Catering

Photography, Belathée Photography

Videography, Cabfare Productions

Stationery and calligraphy, La Happy

Cakes and mini cakes, The SweetSide

Reception band, Impulse

MC and reception DJ, Chris Graves

Rentals, Casa de Perrin; Cort Party Rental; Choice Linens; Kevin Bradford Design

Bride’s gown, Alexandra Vidal

Bride’s shoes, Manolo Blahnik

Hair and makeup, Erin Skipley

Matron of honor’s dress, Oscar de la Renta

Flower-girl dresses, Olivia Kate Couture

Groom’s tuxedo, shirt, and pocket square, Lanvin

Lighting, audio, and backline, GreenLight Events

 

 

I’ve waited a long time to share the photos of this wedding that was featured in Martha Stewart Weddings.

Anyone who is familiar with my work knows that I love a neutral color palette.  Taupe… grey… champagne… blush… maybe touches of navy here and there.  Neutral colors are my favorite and definitely where I feel most comfortable designing.

Then I met the wonderful Ritt family.  They came in and colored my world with their bright personalities, love for people, passion for life and their request for a rainbow wedding.

I’m not going to lie… when I first heard the words rainbow and wedding, I wondered to myself how I was going to pull it off. They wanted it to be classy and sophisticated, yet fun and bright.  I remember googling “rainbow wedding”  and I was horrified with what I saw and it left myself wondering what had I gotten myself in to.  I was so far from my neutral color comfort zone and thoroughly confused as to how to pull it off.

I think that is what I love the most about this wedding.  I was pushed out of my comfort zone, and challenged to think bigger, better and brighter,  and the result was a wedding out of my normal box.  I learned so much from the mother of the bride, Laurie, throughout this process and not only came out a stronger and more diverse designer, but I think a better person too. Laurie reminded me why I started my business in the first place as she encouraged me to keep dreaming and perfecting good ideas until they became even better.  She pressed for me to give a particular reason why I did or did not like something in particular,  encouraged my talents, believed in my vision and in the end trusted me to just do my thing uninhibited.

I never thought I would do a rainbow wedding, but I am so glad that I did.  I couldn’t be more proud of the outcome and I am excited to finally share these photos from Belathee with you.

Make sure to also pick up a copy of the spring issue of Martha Stewart Weddings to see the 10 page feature of this affair.

The Ranch Studios perfect captured this wedding and made the whole day feel like a dream.  Make sure to check out the vide below.

I also have to give my wife and business partner, Jamie, a huge shout out.  Sometimes credit is only given to the visual design of an event and people just talk about how beautiful it was.  Even more difficult than pulling together a design, is pulling together and managing about 50 vendors who all have specific needs and requests. From determining timelines to figuring out how much lighting, power, and space was needed to making sure nearly 200 plus people were picked up and shuttled to the wedding….  Jamie handled every detail of this event and managed to pull off a seamlessly smooth affair with grace and ease.  She read through and responded to literally thousands of e-mails for this wedding and hours and hours of phone conversations to make sure everything was in place.  She is truly the foundation of this wedding and the really hero in my book.  This would not have been a smooth wedding had her skill set and discerning eye not been overlooking every component of the day.  She makes our partnership strong.

And the other key vendors:

wedding dress: Vera Wang

hair and makeup: Erin Skipley

custom striped linens: Choice Linens

mini cakes and macarons: The Sweet Side

stationery: la Happy 

rentals: ABC Rentals

Ceremony Venue: Union Station

Reception Venue: The Four Seasons 

The Spring Martha Stewart Weddings Magazine has hit the stands this week and we not only have a 10 page featured wedding, but we were also named one of the top 62 floral designers in the country! We feel so blessed and privileged to be part of this publication, and so excited to finally share this rainbow wedding we did this past summer. Here is a little peak at the article, but make sure to pick up the magazine to see the full spread!

Thank you Martha Stewart for all of the love and for coming to be part of Hanna and Bret’s wedding.