I was honoured to be approached by our good friend, Kadie, to design her recent winter wedding. Because my husband and I were invited to attend, I had the luxury of seeing both sides of her day, through the eyes of a vendor and as a guest. Everyone worked wonderfully together, eager to create the perfect day for such fabulous clients and friends.

Kadie works for one of the hottest wedding designers in the world, Monique Lhuillier in LA, and therefore has an impeccable, discerning sense of style. I was thrilled and inspired by Kadie’s vision of a chic black and ivory wedding – set in snowy Chicago. Kadie’s favorite ivory rose, Vendela, was the star of the evening used in abundance, paired with graphic black details.

The soiree took place at the W City Center Hotel…a contemporary hotel, rich with ornate and unexpectedly eclectic details.

The ceremony took place in one of the two ballrooms. The aisle was bordered by custom chiffon-covered cylinders floating disk votive candles, creating a beautiful pathway of flickering flames – visually anchoring the unique chandeliers above. The end of the aisle was noted by a grand fireplace, also enhanced with varied flickering candles. With the addition of provided custom floor to ceiling curtains, the ceremony was warm and utterly romantic.

We positioned the Place Card Table outside of the second ballroom, on a long rectangular table. Kadie provided me with fabulous jet black faceted crystals that we used to fill a pair of shallow, black rectangular boxes. Guests’ seating assignments were nestled into the crystals for a unique presentation. A shapely black lacquered vase hosted a perfect floral sphere composed exclusively of a pavé collection of open roses.

The second ballroom hosted the intimate dinner and was also sectioned of by floor to ceiling textured sheers to feature a private lounge for dancing and relaxing. I designed three simple and varying centerpiece designs to be placed on guest tables alternating around the room.

A portion of the tables featured shallow geometric black boxes designed with a flat hedge of open roses, the stems left long to showcase a bit of the organic, thorney foliage. Vintage black glass votive cups complemented each design, mimicking the eclectic feeling of the setting.

An alternating portion of the guest tables featured an ornate black riser, also topped with a perfect sphere of open Vendela Roses. The base of the stand featured a trio of varied black candlesticks topped with thin, graceful taper candles and loose rose blossoms.

The third centerpiece design featured a tall black candelabra, left graphic and bare. The base of the structure, however, hosted a trio of varied candlesticks each topped with a miniature floral sphere composed of dozens of Vendela Roses.

The cake was a simple design composed of squared-off layers topped with off-set ivory rose clusters.

With the help of Kadie and her fantastic LA-Based wedding planner, Alex Alexander, ( http://alexeventsdesignandcoordination.com/ ) we created an evening that had a classic and romantic feeling, but was executed in a manner that was chic and current – fit for the fashionista bride.