Congrats to my fabulous mother in law!
December 4, 2007

Granted, the congrats is a bit delayed since I am behind with my posts- but this is definitely a post very close to my heart which I am so excited to (finally!) share. My mother in law, Joyce (who is one of the warmest people you will ever meet) and Ken (a most wonderful man,) recently celebrated their incredibly touching and beautiful wedding day which I was honored and thrilled to be such a close part of.
Planning Joyce and Ken's wedding was very special to me and of course it had to be perfect in every way. (Remember- this is my mother in law! Noooo pressure! hehe..) Joyce specifically requested that she NOT know anything about the plans (aside from location and a few other key details..) so almost everything was a surprise on the big day. It was such a blast coming up with the design concept and details knowing that it would all be a complete surprise and I was very honored to know she had full trust in my ideas for her and that I could take the big job off of her hands. Joyce is definitely the planner of all planners- she is always brilliantly hosting and entertaining- so not knowing what I was up to must have been tough for her! This was one celebration where I didn't want Joyce to have to lift a single finger though (otherwise before we knew it- she would have been in the kitchen cooking on her own wedding day!) That is just the way she is-always giving and caring for others. Now it was her turn!
For this wedding, I chose to go with a very neutral and organic, clean color palette. The wedding was held outdoors at the house of one of Joyce's very best friends and I didn't want to compete with the natural surroundings or attempt to turn the space into something it was not. Instead I chose to pick up on the greens of the grass gardens, the blue of the sky and the sandy, earthy color of the mountains which were a gorgeous backdrop to the space. I used raw silk on the tables to bring in a hint of luxury and elegance- yet chose to leave it un-hemmed and naturally frayed to keep with the casual surroundings. I used ceramic containers rather than glass to keep the materials
earthy and warm rather than modern and cool. I chose to use only long tables for guest seating to better fit the shape of the yard and also as a way to maximize the impact for table decor. I used white monochromatic single bloom hydrangea repeated down the length of the tables which provided a clean, effective 'wow' factor. White paper ball lanterns glowed romantically and appeared to float in the air..
Everything was set to go as planned and with only three days to go, we all watched in shock as the weather report predicted RAIN for the wedding day. The executive decision had to be made- we needed to tent the entire wedding. While this was far from the original plan, and required quite a bit of reworking (and a significant increase to the budget)- it turned out absolutely beautifully. The rain pattered throughout the evening and guests stayed toasty and dry. The paper ball lanterns and candles created an incredible amber glow against the white tent walls in a way that would not have otherwise been acheived.
It could not have been a more special, romantic, gorgeous, perfect day. Congratulations Joyce and Ken!

Photos below taken by my dear friend Emily Engle whose company Brulee Photography is beginning to take off!


My favorite photo of the newlyweds- such a sweet moment after the ceremony!


I fell in love with this shade of silk dupioni at an inexpensive fabric store and ordered as much as I could. I loved the color because it was so versatile- depending on how it fell in the light it would change shades. Joyce's bridesmaid's dresses were a deep blue fabric which also shimmered into different shades, so I chose to pick something within the same color family rather than trying to match exactly. Simple kraft card stock made for sweet, minature sized table numbers.


Lanterns glow in the background as puffy white tufts of hydrangeas line the tables.


Taking last minute clippings from around the garden was a solution and way to bring in the colors and feeling of the yard into the tent.


Trays of wheatgrass held guest placecards on skewers and brought the outside in as well.


Joyce's beautiful collection of cake pedestals were used to display the cake as a sweet alternative to a traditional tiered look.


I decided to make light of the gloomy conditions outside by creating funny labels for the beverages which were intended to be cool and refreshing (on what we had expected to be a hot day!) "Stormy Sangria," "When the Weather Gives you Lemons" lemonade and "Rain Tea" gave guests a chuckle.


Serving only beer and wine rather than a full bar is a great way to maximize a budget.


The beautiful glow of the lanterns..


Had to put a shot of my handsome hubby with his mom!


Guests had so much fun with the cookies and milk favors. I ordered cookies from Diddy Riese (so yummy and so cheap!) and packaged them with a very simple label. Along with the tiny lunchroom sized milk cartons, these were the perfect take away at the end of the evening!




All of the fabric panels I had made to hang outdoors found good use inside the tent too. They worked perfectly for the plain, unattractive tent walls- especially where the tent poles were visible!
2 comments

2 Comments:

Can you recommend places to find linens in LA - i would love to do a custom runner like you did her. Thanks!

By  Anonymous, at January 4, 2009 at 7:17 PM  

Hi there,
I believe I found this particular fabric at Michael Levine (located downtown in the garment district.) Overall, ML is fairly reasonably priced and you can find some really great steals on the sale tables sometimes as well.

By  {duet}, at January 5, 2009 at 10:11 AM  

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