A Spring Wedding, Gala, Grapes and Grecian Touches.

You may recall back in January of this year I traveled to Puerto Rico to photograph the Engagement Shoot (or Love Story) of my beloved friend Olga and her fiance Dan, (click here for a full post and all the details on that shoot.)

Fast forward only four months later which after much planning, conceptualizing, and hard work, we finally arrive to the day these two love birds wed on a slightly rainy but marvelous May day in Chicago...

The Juicy Details

This special bride had not only one but two of us wedding planners working hard to make her dream day a reality. While I worked on the design concept, color scheme and overall aesthetics, her incredibly talented brother-in-law Elson - and a dear friend - took the lead in the execution of all the details, materials and flower arrangements - he arranged her amazing ceremony urns and gorgeous bouquet!  Together, along with the help of a wonderful group of friends and family, we made a "wonder-twin" team!:)

We also set the tone to this unique event with a customized invitation I made for the couple using one of my favorite shots from the Engagement Session in Old San Juan:

The Day of Event Pictures:

Centerpieces were a gathering of gorgeous Spring flowers in the purple, orange and cream color scheme for that day, the addition of fresh, plump grapes gave that added Grecian-inspired touch that made them especially unique and beautiful:

The Candy Bar, a labor of love from the Bride's Sisters, who executed her every desire with hand-dipping and decorating these delectable treats:

The Gorgeous cake:

The favors and other details:

The Table-scapes, simple, colorful and lovely:

The Reception was held in one of Chicago's Suburbs, in a gorgeous Historical Pavilion, The Lords Park Pavilion, which is surrounded by lush green gardens, truly picturesque!:

Everything came together for these two newly married dear friends of ours, and we couldn't be happier! A heart-felt congratulations for Olgui and Dan from the bottom of our hearts!!! We love you!!!

If your looking for creative, capable and always affordable wedding planning advice, or need a detailed-oriented Day-of-Coordinator, look no further. Please email me to cestlavie.events@gmail.com, or message me to my Facebook Page and we can get started planning an unforgettable event night of your own!

Stay tuned for a future post with plenty more of the wedding pictures I took  of this beautiful and beloved couple coming soon, as well as many many more updates!

An "Ode to Spring" Wedding

The beginning of Spring ( March 21st to be exact), is reason enough to celebrate -  well with the burst of new life appearing everywhere and fresh, vibrant color replacing the dreary, muted tones of Winter - who wouldn't want to throw a party? Now how about we combine the exuberance of the coming of Spring with (hands down) one of the most memorable events in a gal's life - her wedding - and you have a marriage made in heaven.... (pun intended :)

The "gal" I am referring to just happens to be one of my closest and dearest friends, and when she called me up with the news that she had found her Prince Charming and their nuptials were set for March of 2012 (after much screaming and jumping up and down with excitement and joy for her),  I set out to design an event worthy of this queen and her king!  All she asked is that I incorporate her love of the color purple and keep to their strict budget. I enthusiastically went to work creating a design that was simple, but sublime and embraced - in both color and concept - the beauty of Spring..

(click to enlarge)

Here are the detailed components for this event:

• The grape purple and  apple green are the main color components I selected, combined with touches of platinum and white for a crisp modern twist, this palette evokes the vibrancy of Spring.
• The purple and green invitations will reflect this traditional side flourish with a modern font for an appealing contrast.
• The tablescape will be simple and fresh. Reminiscent of a garden party with purple linens, platinum table runners and simple folding chairs.
• The centerpieces will be glass vases filled with green apples and touches of wild flowers in alternating heights. They will provide an organic, fresh and "edible" pop of color to the tablescape and are an excellent budget-friendly option to flowers.
• For favors, the bride's talented brother in law is planning to make and assemble edible treats with personalized messages and poems that will be wrapped up into these cute and inexpensive platinum favor boxes.
• The cake will be a simple, traditional white cake with touches of fresh flowers and miniature apples for decor. To go with the apple theme, one of the layers may contain an apple jam filling :)
• For place cards, an aromatic miniature bundle of dried lavender sprigs will provide not only seating assignments but an added little souvenir for guests to take home.
• The bridal attire will also reflect the freshness of Spring with apple green bridesmaid dresses, beautiful purple stilettos for the Bride and a sharp looking striped green and purple tie for the Groom;)
• Finally, to satiate the palette, miniature bottles of Spring Water in Perrier bottles will be set out for all the guests to enjoy.

Here is the Bride's Reaction in her own words:
"Omg!! I Love it!!!!!! You went above and beyond with this design, everything is GORGEOUS, thank you sooo much, now I am even more excited than ever!"

Wedding season is around the corner, in need of creative, innovative budget-friendly event ideas for your special day? Need inspiration to throw that fabulous soiree? Don't know where to start with the planning of your important event? Want the look of a platinum party on a pauper's budget? You've come to the right place. Please fill out my What is your Design Style Questionnaire or email me @ cestlavie.events@gmail.com to begin!

Please check out the other wonderful events I've had the pleasure to design and succesfully launch by clicking on the  Ces't La Vie Parties and Events  page. (click on link to be re-directed to this page, or look for it under "Pages" in the sidebar) and make sure to check back often for updates!