I wanted to start my week off right, so I decided to tell you about a wonderful couple that we helped down the aisle this past December. We loved Heather from the first day she came into the office. Cheerful and just as sarcastic as I am, we bonded immediately. I was the main planner on her wedding, but Xochitl would often join us just because we loved Heather so! We started planning over a year from the wedding date (which is actually rare) and we got so much done so quickly, that for months we would just meet to hang out. So, needless to say, I have TONS to say about this wedding. In the interest of time, and for to maximize your attention span, I will try to tell you all of my favorite elements. Really, what it boiled down to is that this wedding was truly about them. Things that they loved were incorporated into the day and people knew that the were at a Heather & Espo event. So without further ado, I will tell you all about what they did right!

1. Say it with Paper- Heather loved paper. She was one of these rare creatures (like Xochitl and myself) that could spend hours at Paper Presentation and gawk at paper products. She also had very clear ideas about what she wanted to see for both the STD and invitation for her wedding. When confronted with this combo we often suggest custom stationary, and it so happens that our favorite Regas NY had also been referred to her  by another friend, so a match made in paper was born. The Save the Date was modeled after a vintage post card, while the main invite was based on the mercury glass that Heather loved, and that found its way to tons of our wedding elements.

My favorite part of the invite was that their nicknames were printed on the invite liner. How cute is that?!

Now, the real crown jewel of this invite series was the Program. Heather wanted a stationary piece that everyone would get when they walked into the event. In the piece they would find their escort card, a menu, a program, and a note of thanks from the couple. Heather had a ton of “mock-ups” that she worked on herself, and Regas just polished it up a bit and came up with this, in the eggplant color that was our accent color for the wedding:

2. Downtown Bride- Heather came to us with her venue selected, The Angel Orensanz Foundation. Now, if you have ever see it or attended an event there, you know that it is a stunning and unique venue. Since the event was in the winter, Heather wanted to get ready as close to the event as possible, and take photos in the area. A suite at The Hotel on Rivington down the street solved that, and is only 2 blocks away from the venue. What could be easier? Thanks to our prayers being answered, the day was unusually warm, and we were able to have them meet for the first time on the THOR penthouse terrace, and honestly can you top this view?

3. Take advantage of your ‘hood- Heather and Espo loved their photographer, AAB favorite Dave Robbins. They wanted to walk around the neighborhood and take candids of the two of them, and focus less on posed shots. They were a bit camera shy, so it helps that Dave is literally like a buddy you want to hang out with. He helped them relax and take these truly stunning shots.

I gasped when I saw this photo. Honestly, one of my favorite wedding photos of all time.

4. “We are gathered here today…”- Now, most weddings that you see at Angel Oresanz will have the couple being married at the foot of the alter/stage. Heather and Espo wanted their wedding to be intimate and feel like people were surrounding them, rather than be up on a stage. We opted to have them enter through the front of the space and have guests sit in the round, with the ceremony taking place in the center of the venue. A simple set-up let them be the stars of the show, and let no guest be further than 3 rows away from them.

5. Let Them Eat Cake- Both Heather and Espo cared about serving fantastic food. Thanks to a lovely menu by Creative Edge Parties we served up a fantastic meal that included Braised Short Ribs and Branzini…yum. Now, what Heather was really excited about was cake:) From day one she told us how cake and coffee were her favorite part of the meal. So rather than one large cake, each of the tables had a smaller cake. She wanted them to feel free to dig in at any point of the night. I thought that we should wait and pass out the serving pieces later in the evening, but she knows her crowd, because people started asking for them to be cut OR cutting them themselves early in the night!They also served as our table numbers, because we like to multi-task:)

6. Love your venue- The great thing about Angel Orensanz is that it needs so little. Heather wanted to let the venue shine. She loved the idea of a simple table top and cool lighting to showcase the space.We used ivory linens on the tables, but mixed in cool mercury glass accents to make the look tie together.

7. Last but not least- Heather was obsessed with a deconstructed smores favor. She literally put all of these together herself, and we passed them out at the end of the night. Yummy. I had one (or two) myself!

This post could be SO long, because I think that Heather and Espo infused their event with so many personal touches. However, I have another Angel O client that needs my attention, so a lucky 7 top details will have to do!

Congratulations to the happy couple!

I had a real Angel Orensanz day yesterday. I heard from a client who married there in 2009 and just had an adorable baby boy, a bride who was married there in December and who is now just my friend, AND from a caterer who wanted my opinion about a floorplan in the space. Now, I love the space, so I was so happy to have spent the day thinking about it! Now let me tell you about a couple who were married there last January.

I first met Margaret in the lobby of the Bowery Hotel and loved her from the start. She was sweet and easy going, knew what she liked, and wanted to make sure that their families felt a part of the celebration. The couple already had a date and venue and although both were from the South, they had dated and  fallen in love  in the city, and wanted this to be the backdrop for their wedding day.

So how do you make sure that your mom knows she is a part of the process even if the wedding is far from home? First, Margaret made sure to use her mothers trip wisely. Her visits were carefully planned and activities were arranged to make the best use of her time. Sample, tastings, and visits to the venue were all done during these trips. Her mom was able to meet all of the vendors and develop relationships with everyone. By the end of the planning process, we were speaking to her as much as we were speaking to the bride!

One thing that the couple did totally on their own was plan their ceremony. Not only did they want it to reflect the two of them, but they also wanted to keep their guests entertained. It was one of the most personalized and memorable wedding ceremonies I have ever witnessed. First, to acknowledge their families, they had all of their family members walk down the aisle in the processional. A gospel choir serenaded their guests with the couple favorite songs.

Readings? No, this couple opted to have their “toasts” during the ceremony! Now, I know, that is a big ask of your best man and maid of honor…but they came through in the clutch. No major teasing or roasting here,  just two people(who happened to be their siblings) sharing the best things about the bride and groom and sharing how blessed they felt to be sharing in the day. Xochitl is usually the crier here, but I must admit that my eyes did get a bit teary.

Now when it comes to personalizing a day I always think of food. Is that because I am always hungry? Leslie from Marcey Brownstein Catering helped us put together a menu that incorporated some of the foods that satisfied the couples more adventurous palate, while incorporating Southern comfort food. Yum, I am getting hungry just thinking about it.

When it came to decor, Margaret knew that she wanted to incorporate Magnolias. Her parents had Magnolia trees outside their Georgia home and the were a taste of home. When we began the process, the bride’s mom (Mrs. B) put together a floral arrangement of her own using the leaves from her tree. We used that as the main inspiration for the centerpieces.

Our wedding version blew the couple (and her mom) away!

I told you we took Mom seriously! Despite being a rather larger wedding (over 200) the space felt intimate while still allowing us a very large dance floor. The bride and her mother personally wrote out each and every place card. Lots of work? Yes, but a great personal touch…if you have nice handwriting!

Now, to complete the day, the couple wanted to surprise their guests with a special performance. What better than a little break dancing action to get the party started?

Thanks to Maggie Marguerite for the wonderful photos. Happy Anniversary to Margaret & Ted!

Xochitl and I are both obsessed with New York City. She loves it in a way that only a native can, while I love it so much that I chose to leave sunny California and consider this home. We also are both obsessed with city weddings. HOWEVER, we are also happy to work on a few weddings outside of the city throughout the year. It’s a nice little change of pace that keeps things interesting:) So, I was so happy to work on a wedding out in Orient Point, Long Island this summer.

Evan and Kelly were set on a wedding at The New Leaf Cafe when she first came to meet us. A public event at the park however caused the couple to re-consider. She knew that she wanted it to feel outdoor-sy and feel in love when she visited Driftwood Farms. A fully functioning farm with animals on property, a barn, and a beach view. What’s not to love? So off we went to the furthest tip of the North Fork!

I was so excited to have Leslie from Kiss the Bride Films on board. I often have brides who are wary of a videographer for fear that they will get in the way of the photographer, have an annoying light, or try to interview their guests. No one is less like this than Leslie. As a matter of fact, one client thought that we had opted against a videographer for her wedding (her mom was the one that wanted video and was our contact for this hire) and she never noticed a video camera. So stealth is Leslie!

Hope you enjoy the video!

Enjoy!

Last week I shared a few photos from Jean’s ceremony, and I wanted to follow up with a few photos of the gorgeous reception!

When we began to talk about her reception, Jean had SO many ideas, that it was hard to choose which ones she wanted to go with. There were talks of an enchanted forest, and visions of a starry night, mixed in with a dash of desire for hot pink. This is totally common for brides, especially in the early stages of the process. Ultimately she decided that she wanted it to be a “Harry Potter’s cafeteria” feel with rich fall colors throughout. Rather than go with the traditional fall colors, we went with a navy base, with fiery orange and yellow accents.

As gorgeous as the room looked, the most important part of the day is celebration! I often find that this is the hardest part to show you on our blog. It is easy to show you the gorgeous cake, the stunning decor, the imaginative menu cards, but the best part of the day is literally the moments where you feel that you are celebrating with the couple. The touching toasts that make the couple tear up. The entire crowd in a dancing frenzy. The couple feeling like this is the party of their lives. Luckily, Jonathan Young was able to capture the fun of this event!

Congratulations to the bride and groom!

Last week I posted a bit about Ella & Josh. I meant to tell you all about their lovely wedding in my last post…but I got a bit carried away with the pre-ceremony shots. Today I wanted to share with you some awesome details about their wedding day!

Ella’s mother is an Episcopal minister, so obviously the ceremony was very important to them. We spent a lot of time thinking about ways to make it personal. The first decision? To have Ella’s mother officiate!

The ceremony, as you might expect, was very personalized. The bride had a friend sing their entrance songs. Now, sometimes I get a little afraid of this because sometimes the friend who is a singer is “karaoke good” and not “bride walking down aisle good” but this friend was AWESOME! I got the chills as she started to sing. Since Josh is a graphic designer, he was in charge of the program. Not only was this program lovely and totally in the couple’s style, but it also helped people follow along with the bilingual readings.

I love when wedding have elements that are special to the couple. You want the day to reflect you and your style as much as possible. I mean, otherwise all weddings would be the same right? Below are a few elements that made the day their own. The couple saved vintage postcards and used them as their escort cards. Chinese take-out containers held the favors, but also served as a Brunch reminder for all of the guests. A dessert bar displayed their favorite local sweets with descriptions written out by the couple (and their very neat handwriting!).

My favorite thing was something that we never even planned on. The bride’s parents only had two wedding photos that survived the Nicaraguan civil war. To honor them, the groom sketched out one of those photos for them as a thank you present. The parent were overjoyed and wanted to have it displayed at the reception. It added a special element to the reception!

Thanks to Heather Waraksa for the fabulous photos!