Over the River and Through the Woods

Ever go to a wedding and feel like you're running from place to place? Laura Hooper of LHCalligraphy based out of Northridge, California custom designs one of a kind maps for weddings or weekend getaways. You can map out an entire city with fun attractions for out of town guests, mark all the spots of your wedding festivities, or can be used to feature a couple's journey through life.


Laura also designs everything from place card holders to menu signs to invitations- check out her custom made compass place cards!



Laura's beautifully crafted designs have been featured in several wedding and event publications. Great idea for your guests to find their way around a new town!




Photos by: LHCalligraphy.com

High Class Escorts

Our wedding last week was one of our first attempts at creating an eye-catching escort card display, and it was fun to play around with colors, textures and other visual elements. I mean, it's just going to be seen for about 5 minutes, so how do you make it memorable? Check these cute, and quite memorable, escort card displays!

Can you imagine trying to get photos of all your guests to hang with their escort cards? That's exactly what this couple did, and even hung photos of those who attended "in spirit".

Cute cappuccino cups and wheat grass gave this display a whimsical look.

These hand-blown Mexican shot glasses doubled as place card holders and unique favors... and I'm sure they got the party started right!


photos: theknot.com

Hot Topic

Found this "thermo light" made of hundreds (thousands?) of thermometers. This could be used as a really neat tent installation for a Halloween party or something.

photos: designboom.com

Table Escape

Oooh, surfing my blogosphere today I came across some beautiful photos of a simple yet creative table runner on The Bride's Cafe. Beautiful strands of colorful ribbon look like they have been placed just so, not too done, but definitely thought out. Possibly inspired by the Bride's colorful satin sash?

Here are some more nice little tablescapes I found surfing through the rest of The Bride's Cafe.

Burlap runners and mason jars, rustic and vintage, could be used at a place like the Cotton Dock.

Above, don't know about those stools, but, hey, whatever works!

Spring hath sprung, above.

Photos: via The Bride's Cafe

Out Draping a Tent

... with friends, be back tomorrow.

photos: BizBash

re:cycled

I've been looking into recycled glass for a wedding I'm designing, and while these are way out of our price range, they are really cool. Transglass Recycled Glass from re:modern are handcrafted by artisans.

Locally, we can find recycled glass from Fisher Recycling and use the pieces in serving, like James Burns of JBC Catering does, his presentation is greatly enhanced because of the recycled glass he uses.

Graffiti Nation

I never thought I would read the words "graffiti" and "wedding" in the same sentence... but I stumbled onto a website actually named WonderfulGraffitiWedding.com where they have a really cool idea about adding a unique twist to the big day.

Described as so easy to apply, even a nervous groom can do it, these vinyl transfers stick easily and remove quickly without harming surfaces. Definitely worth looking into, these are... sticking on me?! No, that was lame, they are very cool!

Gotta run, been so busy lately!!! TTYL, LYLAS, OMG!!!

photos: wonderfulgraffitiwedding.com

That better be chocolate on your pants.

"-- Every wall in the Godiva Decadence Suite is made of chocolate.

-- Two renowned pieces of art - Gustav Klimt's "The Kiss" and a Jackson Pollock-inspired abstract - have been reinterpreted in chocolate by Godiva, exclusively for the suite.

-- A luxe daybed decorated with Godiva chocolate is the ideal place to indulge in a dark chocolate truffle straight from the pages of a literary masterpiece, many of which can be found in the suite's chocolate bookcases.

-- Additional chocolate decor highlights within the living room include a coffee table filled with chocolate designed to mirror Godiva's iconic Gold Box, fashionable chocolate "Pucci" armchairs and a chocolate fireplace.

-- The dining room, illuminated by a chocolate and amber crystal chandelier and several dark chocolate candelabras, boasts a chocolate mosaic table and chairs and a buffet toppling with an abundance of Godiva pieces, setting the mood for an incredible dessert weekend. "


photos: icydk.com, source: PRNewswire

Baroque-back

A room in the Hermitage Museum

Russia... a very mysterious place to me, but luckily my brother-in-law is very knowledgeable in this area. He lived and studied there for a while and gave me a few tips that would help me design an event that evokes Imperial Russia, but would allow room for a contemporary twist. For example, there was a heavy baroque influence in the architecture and design of the Russian city of St. Petersburg and we've all seen the many baroque-inspired whimsical design elements in decor that can have a huge visual impact on a party.

I chose red and black because I love how they feel a little bit enigmatic (like the KGB or something) when paired together. I found these red lucite candelabras, above, at everythingart.com and they provide quite a striking silhouette.




Left is a big, bold patterned linen made by Isle Design.

Below is a yummy mirror that would look Очень (very) cool with an Aleksandr Pushkin poem or quote written on the glass since literature is such a huge part of the culture.

"The illusion which exalts us is dearer to us than ten thousand truths."

or if you're feelin' sassy,

"Иллюзия которая возвеличивает нас, для нас дороже, чем десять тысяч истин"

And because in a perfect event planning world, we would be able to rent any and all types of chairs for a reasonable price, so here are some fantasy chair rentals, first in red from etsy.com (friggin' $1,800).

In black from a really neat antique reproduction website.

Finally, some other essential elements of this theortical Russian soiree would be, of course, vodka and caviar. To feel like a Tsarina yourself, serve up a Black Russian with Stolichnaya Elit, and make some caviar moons, if for no other reason than to say you did.

On the VIP list: "The Russian" Lord of the Dance, Mikhail Baryshnikov

Cool Holiday Centerpiece

I was surfing through my friend Paul's photos at CharlestonPictureCompany.com and came across the recent Blackbaud Holiday Party at Charleston Place. The centerpieces were so fun and festive! I don't know who planned the party or did these centerpieces, but Feliz Navidad!!!

UPDATE: I found out the fabulous McRae Smith from Blackbaud planned the party and conceptualized the ornamental pieces, bravo!

Photo: CharlestonPictureCompany.com

Let's go inside this time

Okay, now that I have my head screwed on straight from the gala, I wanted to thank and link to all the vendors that made it possible! We held the event at the Daniel Island Club this year, which is a beautiful space with a stunning view.

Our guests entered to the Kevin Hackler trio playing light jazz music and nibbled on scrumptious passed hors d'oeuvres of beef tenderloin carpaccio, bacon wrapped sea scallops and tomato mozzarella crostini. They viewed the auction items in the foyer and sipped on drinks for the cocktail hour.

After that, we opened the ballroom doors as we asked guests to "board the plane". Tables were draped in luxurious pin tuck linen from BB&J, and hydrangea centerpieces evoking fluffy clouds from Tiger Lily were beautiful in the various sized milky white vases. At each table setting was a gift from Chocolate Perfection with an edible copy of our invitation cover printed on it. OtherBrother Entertainment lit the room in cool hues of blues and aquas to complement the color scheme and provided an inviting all white dance floor. Stephen Duvall Decor created seating areas on each side of the dance floor.

Our emcee/flight attendant Trixie Layover (fabulous actress Mandy Denaux) introduced the evening's festivities with a witty monologue filled with flight attendant lingo. Vintage Velvet played as guests noshed on a four course meal of tomato bisque with lump crab and basil oil, boston bibb salad with goat cheese buttermilk dressing, thyme-roasted prime rib of beef and a duo of desserts of whiskey bread pudding and bittersweet chocolate mousse, for the men and women respectively. On the two large screens I played a looping video of clouds which transported guests through the air -- and the evening.

Doug Warner, Mandy "Trixie Layover" Denaux, and me!

When dessert was served, Doug Warner, our speedy auctioneer extraordinaire, ran through our six auction lots in less than thirty minutes with a few bidding wars over the jet-setter and travel-related auction items. After the auction, guests danced to VV's swanky tunes and made their way outside to the Sky Club Lounge where mod furniture from Stephen Duvall Decor, and OBE's red and amber uplighting on the columns, was the talk of the party.

Thanks to all our wonderful vendors, you ROCK!

Photos by Charleston Picture Company.

April Showers

My girl Allison's wedding is in April and her east meets west theme is coming along nicely. I pitched an idea about oragami invitations, how cute would that be? I think it can totally be done in a way where it doesn't look like a 3rd grader's art project-gone-awry. Thick, weathered paper, beautiful graphics and fonts and delivered in an interesting oragami pattern or simple paper crane.... or something that can be folded flat to send in an envelope... we'll see about this one.

For Allison's wedding I'm building my first large-scale lighting design, see my two concepts below. I think we're going with #2, forgive the 3rd grader's art project-gone-awry, but parasols in a beautiful Japanese pattern, above, bringing in her blues and purples will look stunning like this because you will be able to see all the architectural ribbing on the inside. So excited, thought I'd share.

above is a cluster of parasols with a bulb inside to illuminate.

I think we're going to try this, above, with 8 parasols attached in a

large circle and a bulb in the middle somewhere.

Do you see what I see?

Mirror strands, like the ones above will sparkle behind the stage

The Gibbes Ready, Jet-Set, Go! Gala is next Saturday, December 8. I'm starting to get all cloudy in my head because of all the last-minute details! I thought it would be a good mental exercise to post my design so I can see what it seems like all together.

The gala theme is retro air travel, hence "Ready, Jet-Set, Go!" and some items included in the live auction will be "The International" - a trip for 4 to a luxury golf resort in Ireland, "The Weekender"- tickets for 2 anywhere in the country and fine Gucci luggage to go with it, and "The Mogul"- a getaway to Beaver Creek, Colorado.

Ireland above and a diva-licious necklace from Geiss & Sons below

So, in the spirit of aeronautics I am focusing on making these jet-set guests feel like it's the best plane ride they've ever been on (not hard to do, if you're not really on a plane, right?). Here is a small sample of my design ideas.

Tiger Lily will create a few different versions of the arrangement above, to look like clouds

Groupings of two different shades of blue pintuck linen will add interest

got these customized wing pins made for staff to wear and guests to have fun with

There's a lot more--like flying through the clouds, the VIP Sky Lounge area, the all-white dance floor, furniture arrangements to mimic airport waiting areas, Vintage Velvet, etc. but I feel so much better now that I can see all of this together. Maybe I'll do the rest next post. What do you think?

photos: BizBash, Tiger Lily Florist, BBJ, istockphoto