Most of us have spent a good part of our lives fantasizing about our wedding day. In fact, probably more than anything in our lives.  As children, we dress up our Barbie dolls who then marry the Ken dolls, in the elaborate imaginative style of our childhood play. When we reach adolescence, we giggle and chat about boyfriends and design our idea of who the perfect man will be. We begin to date and search for the reality we have spent much of our lifetime up to that point imagining.  

Eventually, a special person sneaks in and passes the scrutiny of the childhood fantasies and asks for a lifetime of loving fulfilment. It is the day that  dreams meet reality. The first day of the rest of your life. What kind of ceremony will honor the dreams of your past and the hopes of your future?  It has to be perfect, but where does it begin? 

That perfect day can easily become a tangled knot of complication and indecision. My recommendation is to leave this stress to a professional. Planning a wedding can be a daunting task, but to someone who does it professionally, the questions are easily answered, and the planning becomes routine, based only on the unique and personal dreams of the new bride and groom planning a perfect life together. 

Lately, we have seen flea market and heirloom weddings trending. I have also noticed a move toward designing with unfinished objects that spark our thoughts and send our memories to a different place. I am truly excited about these styles, because they  bring heritage and family together, and celebrate the old as equally as the new.  

Designing with antiques or collectibles is a worldly affair, but in a wedding, these objects can be combined in ways that reflect the personalities and the heritage of the new couple.  Each item should tell a story. Simple things that attract interest such as apple baskets, wooden ladders or drawers from grandma’s bureau add a comfortable aura, and adorning the tables with canning jars, old vases or brass bowls is a nice touch. I enjoy bringing these objects to life with something as simple as a fresh flower or stem, or extravagantly copious amounts of blooms to add contrast.  Add a little soft vintage lace, jute, and baby’s breath to balance the design... and my mind can’t help but to begin to create a beautiful day. This is what I envision... a blue and ivory heirloom wedding.

As you walk through the doors of St. Louis Church in a small pastoral town, your eyes follow the aisle lined with candles to the front of the church. every other pew is adorned with a small bouquet of garden flowers with pale blue satin streamers. Romanesque cement arches curve over statues of the saints and a marble tabernacle. There are stems of roses left on the edge of the alter for the bride to give as a sign of peace and a bouquet of white roses rests at the feet of Saint Mary with blue satin ribbons flowing to the floor. The back wall of the sanctuary is eloquently garnished with creamy white roses, open wide and filling the church with their sweet and captivating aroma. At the back of the church lies a basket of petals, waiting for the young flower child to sprinkle them down the aisle.

A white fabric runner is pulled down the aisle for the bride to follow her calling to her loved one’s arms. The music plays, and the bridesmaids begin the promenade. They are wearing simple chocolate brown, knee length dresses, accessorized with light blue cashmere cardigans. Their ears are embellished with delicate, blue pearls. Carrying small bouquets of gardenias wrapped in light blue double faced satin, they walk forward in light blue high heels to be greeted by their groomsmen.

The groomsmen are waiting at the front of the church in matching chocolate suits with small white blossoms on their lapels. Anticipation fills the air.

At the sound of the Wedding March, all the guests in the church turn to see the magnificent bride wearing a white Dupioni silk with an hourglass design. Her bouquet is stems of natural white Stephanotis, each blossom with a sapphire blue stone in the center (to represent “something blue”) and each stem wrapped and hand-tied into a cheerful mass of blooms. She floats down the aisle to where the man of her dreams awaits her, and they marry in a loving ceremony. The groom kisses the bride gently and proudly, then the church bells ring to share the couple’s good news with the world.

As they exit the church, copious amounts of petal fill the air, carrying the laughter and joy that this moment always brings, and the celebration moves to the reception hall...

The guests begin to enter the large foyer at Terraview at the Stroudsmoor Inn.  On the escort table is a Blue Willow bowl, 24” by 36”, filled with white Hydrangea blossoms. Candles are dispersing a warm glow and the guests are drawn toward the grand mahogany bar and conservatory. The two stone fireplaces are blazing with a comfortable sense of well-being and  soft music in the background completes the ambiance. Butlers move freely, offering horderves to their distinguished patrons from trays, each embellished with a blue blossom.

The cocktail station is decorated with a large wooden bridge display that symbolizes the new journey the couple is beginning as they walk together in the world.  A frame on the table contains a short story that I have helped the bride and groom create. It describes the meaning of their new life to them. All of the china holding the food is Blue Willow and the table is scattered with blue and white rose petals.

The cocktail hour passes quickly, and the guests are unaware of the hustle behind the stained glass doors to the dining room, where the staff is addressing the last minute details to carefully create the perfect dining experience. Each table is draped with crisp, white, floor-length satin linen. Half of the tables in the room are adorned with Blue Willow bowls filled with white garden roses. The other half bear tall trumpet vases arranged with white phaleonopsis orchids and blue roses. Three crystal candle holders glow on each table to set a comfortable mood, reflecting their light off the champagne, water, and wine glasses.  

Each setting is placed with a creamy white house china, with a willow character to the left of the glasses and a napkin crisply folded into a Lotus bloom. In the folds of each napkins are white chocolate doves wrapped in cellophane and tied with blue chiffon ribbon. Attached to each dove is a small white tag with blue script expressing the couple’s love of their family and gratitude to all those who have come to share in their special day.

The big doors open, and you can hear the guests whispering their approval as they link arms with their escorts and are greeted by the white gloved staff, each of whom is dressed in traditional black and white attire.  

Following a relaxed and elegantly prepared meal, the attention is, of course, drawn to the cake.  Five tiers high with three inch spaces, it is iced with a zigzag design, like the Willow china. It is subtle in design, but grand in size. The base of the cake is surrounded with Stephanotis, gardenia, blue and white roses, and orchids. It rests upon a mirrored tabletop, surrounded with glowing candles. Two white doves sit on top of the cake, with flower petals meticulously placed in a cascading fashion to the table below.

It is a ceremony that marks the beginning of a new love story, a new family, a new life.  A once-in-a-lifetime event that should have nothing less than the perfect celebration to memorialize a perfect union. This is what I strive to create in every wedding that I plan. Creating the perfect celebration is an art form all its own.