I was honoured to be selected by The Knot magazine as one of their Style Stalker Features in their current Spring/Summer 2010 issue.
They reached out to me months ago, hoping for loads of information about my personal wedding style – and after 5 pages of written beauty and design goodness that I passed along, The Knot narrowed it down to a few simple questions and {some paraphrased} answers. I thought I’d elaborate just a bit.. {but please forgive me for any overlapped details from previous entries!}
When I started to think about, dream about and envision our wedding day, I imagined how everything would look in photographs…after all, once the day flies by that is all we are seemingly left with! Because the setting of Hinsdale Golf Club was so dreamy on its own, I took cue from the grounds. I was very much inspired by Gatsby-inspired looks, also driven by my color palette of white and bold yellow with Frenchy black accents.
While I adore fashion and design of all kinds, my personal style is rarely trendy. I do always strive for a ‘unique’ look, but do tend to be attracted to timeless, sophisticated styles over anything too avant-garde.
I went for a look that was ‘Country Club Chic’, ‘Garden Gatsby’…current, but again timeless and sophisticated. I wanted people to say, “that is so Kara”. I still hear that to this day.
The tent was set in the middle of the golf course, guests arrived via open-air trolley {once the thunderous rains stopped!}
Inside the tent, graphic black and white linens provided the backdrop for Frenchy footed urns and ornate stands topped with lush, textural and gardeny floral arrangements of peonies, roses, orchids, arabicum and fresh lemons. I was also obsessed with our ultra-classic black and white checked dance-floor!
I loved these little guys…the satellite arrangements were nestled at the foot of the elevated centerpieces. I am also known for being quite the foliage snob…see the charming richly hued camellia and gardenia foliage accented by the velvety soft grey dusty miller? Love.
While cocktails were initially to be held in the lawn, the awful weather encouraged everyone to stay inside. Here were the barely-used cocktail tables, finished with cutie black and white striped custom seat cushions.
Because our ceremony was to take place outdoors in the garden, I never wanted anything too formal for my dress. Our wedding was not black tie – crystal detailing, ornate embroidery, formal trains etc. did not feel appropriate for our setting. I certainly wanted something unique, but didn’t want to fall prey to too many trends. Local designer, Alice Padrul, designed the absolute perfect dress for me.
I loved how the light, loose chiffon pieces gently danced in the breeze…
The ring I ‘borrowed’ to wear on my right hand came from our jeweler, Joel Singer. I already felt amazingly like a celebrity, borrowing gorgeous jewels for the evening…but when my husband let me know I didn’t have to give it back, I was beside myself!
Even in my everyday life, I am a HUGE lover of vintage earrings – large, classic and slightly obnoxious. I found these gorgeous earrings at Weddings 826 in Lincoln Park and knew they were perfect. They reminded me of the Chanel Camellia pair I’ve drooled over for years!
I didn’t ever envision myself wearing a veil…again, it seemed too formal for our garden-party wedding. A single, off-set gardenia was nestled into my perfectly coiffed hair by Sophia, our Beauty on Call stylist.
I knew I wanted the girls in bold yellow party dresses…{poor girls, what troopers – but don’t they all look fantastic?!}…Good old J.Crew had the perfect color in charming styles I thought would look great against the verdant green backdrop of the golf course.
I chose rich magenta peonies for the girls unexpected bouquets, simply because my mother and I adore the bold hue {look at her stunning dress – it matches the girls’ bouquets perfectly!}. Because I have done plenty of client weddings incorporating the beautiful color, we shied away from using it as a key player. That said, however, we did need a bit of a ‘pink-fix’ and thought it would add a lovely contrast to the girls dresses.
The bridal party looked smashing – boys in black tuxes with black and white stripped ties and yellow spray rose boutonnieres, next to the beautiful girls in sunny yellow…A friendly {while a bit rambunctious and unorthodox} game of croquet was the perfect way to relax in the lawn between dances.
Thanks again to The Knot for the feature…we wedding insiders covet the glossy pages for trends, stories and features!
{image and detail credits} magazine images from the knot. all photography by gerber and scarpelli. tent and lighting provided by partytime productions. all linen from bbj linen. chairs, tables, chargers, goblets etc. from tablescapes ltd., all flowers produced by botanicals, dress by alice padrul, earrings from weddings 826, hair & make-up by beauty on call. bridal party dresses from jcrew