rooftop chuppah sneak peek

Designing for Rachel and Michael was such a joy and this is certainly one of our favorite wedding designs of the season. From the very beginning Rachel had a specific vision in mind, focusing on black and white with saturated pink hues. I especially love this wedding because of the black and white chuppah. The burned out velvet textiles carried a vintage vibe, but are updated with a modern ‘burnt’ brocade pattern.

We repeated the same brocade pattern in the aisle entrance pedestals, the sheer black and white talis covering and again in the 60’-0” aisle runner. The pink hues were introduced from the onset with the custom designed graphic stylings of Daniel Crawford beginning with the glam meets rockabilly invitation and concluding with the ‘oh so very cool’ Ketubah.

The focal flowers consisted of hot pink anemones, cattelya and phalaenopsis orchids (as seen here is the detail shot of the teardrop vases), with seasonal ranunculus and sweet peas interspersed in the bouquets. We presented all the flowers in simplistic contemporary glass and Lucite vessels, (to be seen in future posts). This concept is not necessarily just about the flowers.

The installation was seamless thanks to expert coordination by Kelly of Mint Weddings and Megan Bachman at Andaz Hotel.

If any words such as modern, contemporary, sleek, sexy, or urban describe your personal style for your wedding, this rooftop ceremony location must make the top of your list.

We are especially thrilled to have our work photographed by Paula and Mike of Luna Photo; they are simply one of the best at telling the full story, from behind the scenes to the detail shots (which are our personal faves). We will most certainly be posting again when we have the good fortune of seeing those images!

Look closely and you can see the darling flocked black cones on the end of each chair with white rose petals. {click on image to enlarge}

who you calling moody?

worth the read...photos at the end...promise!

Creating this company had been the perfect external manifestation of what I inwardly feel. I can recall many times in my past being called “moody,” but if you took a deeper look you would see a girl with many aspects of her personality confined in just one female form.

It's like wanting to wear blue jeans and a t-shirt one day, while on another longing for simple frills and maybe a touch of bling. I love design, I love color, texture, raw materials, the visionary process of bringing many seemingly different objects together to make a unified whole. But, for the life of me I cannot settle on just one aspect, one style, that is THE perfect expression of ME.

There is no fault in this; it actually serves me quite well in designing for my clients. I can be just as excited about rough-hewn wood, moss and succulents, as about black lacquer square boxes with deep red roses and a burned out velvet brocade aisle runner. That is what is best about this profession; I get to be more fully expressed through you, the client. There is never a dull day, no humdrum weddings here and for this I continue to be grateful.

I have been known to say, I would rather die a slow painful death than to design the same wedding over and over again. I may not be moody, but I can be dramatic! I love approaching each project anew, with fresh eyes; for each of you are distinct, both in your individuality and in your togetherness as a couple. I welcome your stories, your dreams, even your concerns. Each gives life to the vision, enlivening the process, and infusing fun at a time that can have its stressors.

For me, the meat and bones, flesh and blood of a personal design project most often begins with an emotion…or two. Bringing a tabletop to life is a very poignant act for me. In the tabletop for the 2010 Ceremony Magazine edition the prevailing sentiments were nostalgia combined with determination; nostalgia for the past and determination of purpose for Adorations in the coming year.

You may wonder, how does one convey this in design? Perhaps a tabletop shoot on the corner of 13th and G in downtown San Diego, our "Vintage Avenue," for example. Mingling curvaceous peonies, garden roses, delicate skeleton magnolia leaves and parrot tulips with rustic reclaimed wood pedestals, wrought iron and galvanized metal were the perfect expression of nostalgia and determination for me.

Joshua Aull of Joshua Aull Photography took notice of this in telling the photographic story with attention to the leading lines of the red brick wall and galvanized industrial door. His intuition and perspective helped bring this shoot to life. The flower selection in the magazine layout and further displayed below was an obvious choice for me; it’s all about color and contrasting texture, making the corner of the East Village the perfect choice to shoot a classy vintage vibe. Check out my amateur photo of Josh while he captures the scene…

click on any of the images to enlarge for a better view!