Real Wedding – B&J!

It’s always nice to have a little summer inspiration during the dreary winter months, and this client wedding should just about do the trick!  
A wonderful couple of mine was married this past July.  They wanted a wedding that felt seasonal, comfortable, slightly preppy, with a touch of rustic and a hint of whimsy.  Their crisp color palette was simply navy, green and white.
Here was the inspiration board I created at the start of our planning together:
And here’s how it all came together…
The bride carried a fluffy and full bouquet exclusively of white lisianthus.  We worked an heirloom necklace into the ribbon wrap for a personal touch.  The groom wore a coordinating boutonniere, backed by a rich camellia leaf.
The bridesmaids wore simple chiffon navy dresses and carried monochromatic bouquets of ‘green trick’ carnations (!) punctuated with hypericum berries.  All of the mens’ ties were the perfect green and navy stripe.  Loved them, so!
The ceremony took place at St. Clements, nestled on a charming residential street in Lincoln Park.
The happy couple revisit the location of their first meeting over coffee.  Her married monogram was stitched into her dainty clutch for use later at the reception.
[Clockwise from top left:]  
The cocktail hour took place on the beautiful plaza of the Chicago History Museum, where the stripe theme continued with darling custom cushion covers.  
Refreshing mojitos were circulated during the early evening cocktail hour.  
Verdant fern foliage was collected in petite silver julep cups.  
We brought umbrellas to provide a bit of shade from the summer sun (for both guests and the performers we hired from a busy Chicago corner).  
Instead of a traditional guest book, I often will have custom postcards created by our stationer.  The postcards have simple prompts, encouraging guests to write a note to the bride and groom.  At the end of the evening, I collect the postcards and give them to a family member who will [at random] mail them off to the newlyweds throughout their first year of marriage.  It is a very special way to keep the excitement of the day with you long after the celebration ends.
Before guests were invited inside for dinner, they found their seating assignments pinned on boards covered in fresh foliage.  We then move the boards inside to display the scribed postcards. 
 The Chicago Room featured a combination of rectangular, square and round dinner tables and alternated rich navy with crisp ivory table linens.  The elevated centerpieces were simple, manicured bundles of salal foliage, adding a rich pop of color against the neutral backdrop.
The round tables featured a lower collection of white blooms contained in varied vessels.  A trio of shaded lamps provided extra illumination at the table.
Each place-setting was pre-set with a rattan charger, a mason jar water glass and mercury glass votive cups (masking the faux votives required by the venue).  Arrangements of white roses, hydrangea, garden stock and lilies were presented in cut crystal, mossed pots and worn silver.
Jesse made a handsome custom bar of rich wood [to match the chairs] and green and white striped fabric [to match the straws, of course!].  Opposite the bar, across the dance floor was a comfy lounge finished with custom pillows.
Toward the end of the evening, the couple was able to sneak away from all of the excitement…finally sharing a quiet moment together on the beautiful steps of the History Museum.
A special thanks for the amazing roster of vendors:
Photography:  Averyhouse
Event Design:  Jesse of Event Creative

Real Wedding: Stephanie & Scott!

A recent client of mine had her beautiful wedding ceremony and reception at the Chicago History Museum. The ceremony took place outside on the 90+ degree day, squeezed in between spurts of cooling drizzle and rumbles of thunder.


The simple and elegant ceremony was positioned on the terrace of CHM, a custom wrought iron arch created the frame for the bride and groom, laden with apricot and sage green colored flowers and foliages to visually pop against the verdant green backdrop.

A custom runner was pre-laid and secured, while the aisle was noted by simple graphic pomanders composed of green button pomps, suspended by chocolate double-faced silk ribbon loops.

The couples pooches were the stars of the ceremony, standing in as ring-pups. I made adorable floral pillows that were secured on foliage garlands and tied around the pooches’ necks.


The reception took place inside, safe from any weather issues. A world of sage green, apricot and chocolate greeted guests. Copious amounts of polished wood containers and artful manzanita branches were detailed with sage green hydrangea, cutie chocolate brown cosmos and a few varieties of open apricot colored roses and spray roses.

The bride and groom were gorgeous and seemed as if they were floating on air as their careful planning paid off in the form of their dream affair.

{photo credits: bride and groom recessing + pooch picture by elegant videos by kris; remaining photos compliments of erica barraca}

Press Feature – Lauren & Casey

One of my client weddings was featured in the winter issue of Flower Magazine. Working with the oh-so-fabulous and oh-so-fun Marina Birch of Birch Design Studio, we took the client’s dreamy inspiration of the Viceroy Hotel in Santa Monica {showcasing a crisp black, white and bold green color palette repeated throughout the Wearstler designed hotel} and created a design that complimented the Georgian blank slate of the lovely Chicago History Museum.

Because wheels-up wasn’t an option for me – I was unable to ‘research’ the hotel style in person {it’s since been added to my never-ending life to-do list}, I put together just a few images of the luxe Viceroy lair, that I then took into consideration when creating the chic brides floral and decor designs. {see images below}

Marina had a custom pattern and motif created for the couple. One that graced elements from the wedding invitations, custom linens to the menu cards. We used the mostly white linens and graphic black chairs with {then} custom citron green seat cushions to provide the backdrop for a collection of black lacquered vases hosting copious amounts monochromatic green flowers and ferns (a favorite of the bride). {see images below}

The ceremony took place under a custom cabana-inspired canopy, detailed with graphic black trim and a petite chandelier. My talented Botanicals designers also created a chic floral monogram for the bride and grooms’ chairs that denoted the seats of honour. {see images above}
I had a blast taking the Viceroy’s fuse of ‘classic sophistication and contemporary chic’ style and translating it into an equally fabulous wedding design for one of the most lovely couples to date!

{wedding and posting credits} event design: kara at botanicals – a branch of hm design, wedding consultant: marina of birch design studio, event photography: garbo photography, inspiration: the viceroy santa monica, feature: flower magazine

Client Inspirations – Frenchy Garden Feast

A stylish client of mine came to me via the lovely wedding planner Susan of Big City Brides with the hopes of having her wedding feel like a garden-inspired, Frenchy Feast.

Before writing her proposal, I put together a quick inspiration board (pictured below) for her based on her desired look. This helped to ensure we were both on the same page, visually, before proceeding to the sample mock-up of her centerpieces.

Here are a few images showcasing the translation of a few adjectives and images to her Inspired Wedding Design (Pictured Below)…

Varied vintage silver vessels overflow with gardney flowers like open roses, peonies, ranunculus, anemones and lisianthus to name a few. Unruly jasmine vine, grapes and plums tumbled from the arrangements to the tabletop.

A charming spray rose was tucked into each knotted guest napkin.
I framed each beautiful window with rich eggplant curtains, lending an intimate feeling to the affair.

It’s the little touches I adore! We had unexpected, petite designs tucked in various nooks around the setting to create a more homey feeling. Here a silver footed bowl hosts a heaping mound of fresh fruits, gently punctuated with raspberry colored spray roses.

{special thanks to Susan and her dreamy team of big city bride planners, to the chicago history museum for providing the wonderful backdrop for the event}