The theme and environment of your wedding help to tell a story: your story. The wedding you design will reflect who you are as a couple and your vision for life together as spouses.
Nowadays, we collect wedding ideas from Pinterest, Bing, and wedding blogs. The creativity, beauty, and elegance of the wedding ideas on these sites are endless, and so it's tempting to want to use all of them on your big day. Ultimately the question is, "What is my style and what is my story?"
Creating a story not only lets your guest in on who you are as a couple, it also sets the stage for a visual feast for your guests. Mixing and matching, no matter how much you love it, is confusing for all. You want your guests to be able to say, "Yes, I get this."
Recently, one of my current brides showed me these great white knotted balls that could be used to hold a table number. She loved them and asked my opinion. I loved them too, just not for her wedding. Getting married in Newport, her story has evolved into "Vintage Romance by the Sea." Her dress, the groom's attire, flowers and color palette area all unveiling the story.
As fun as the knotted ball was, it did not match the theme. I explained that everything must match the story you are portraying, and now she is so excited about her story that she is able to weed out things that are great, but just aren't great for her.
Below is a story about a recent wedding that is an example of telling your story.
Nick and Jennifer were not your typical bride and groom. Residing in New York City, their love of food has earned them a reputation for searching out the best of the best. In fact, they would go as far as to order only certain things at each place, and would even shop at separate grocers for particular things, such as meats at one store and vegetables at another. Needless to say, when planning their wedding, it was no surprise that the aspect that was most important to them was the food. They selected the culinary and event design team at Festivities to plan and cater their special day.
To celebrate their marriage, Nick and Jennifer chose a rustic, farmer’s market theme in Nick's parents' back lawn. The romantic feel of a backyard wedding is a trend that has been extremely popular in this summer wedding season. For this wedding, that style created the perfect setting to highlight the quality of the local and pure food that the couple loves so much.
As guests arrived for the ceremony, they were greeted at a welcome bar featuring mint and ginger-infused iced tea, using fresh mint from the mother’s garden, as well as homemade lemonade.
The post ceremony luncheon was held under a tent, designed to feel very natural and homey. The tables were covered with flax organic linens, 100% cotton dishtowels served as napkins, and the centerpieces were made up of driftwood boxes with tall thin glass vases holding beautiful meadow flowers. With the expertise of floral designer, Charles Case, beautiful airy, light, and meadow-like arrangements were created for the tables and under the buffet arrangements.
The al fresco setting was a perfect backdrop to a menu taken directly from the Farmer's Market. As guests sat for the traditional toasts, they enjoyed a trio of selected artisanal pickles created by the chefs at Festivities along with olives, olive oil and crusty breads. Chalkboard lists let guests know what treats were in store for them. At the buffet, vegetables were the stars along with organic beef, grilled ahi tuna and lollipop shrimp.
The carefully selected menu continued on with a sumptuous dessert buffet that sat amongst custom crafted fruit and vegetables crates. Peach blueberry streusel tarts, chocolate hazelnut biscotti and fresh fruit were joined by Turkish Baklava and Bouchon brownies couriered in from New York City and topped off with a handmade ice cream sundae bar.
Jennifer and Nick spent the afternoon celebrating with friends and family, sharing their favorite pastime…spending time with each other and enjoying every morsel of food!
The event turned out beautifully, and was even chosen as Brides.com’s hot wedding of the season!
So, when planning your wedding, remember this. Everyone can have a storybook wedding, but each storybook wedding can be a different story. What's yours?
Festivities is known for the finest in catered foods, sophisticated presentations and innovative event designs. For almost 30 years, this brother –sister team have kept their business on the cutting edge of food and event design. Multiple time winners of “Best of the Gold Coast”, Roe and Bill offer their clients a warm, customized experience when planning their most important celebrations.
Rosinne K. Chlala
Co-Owner/Event Consultant Festivities
203-847-7774
info@festivitiesevents.com
festivitiesevents.com
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Twitter: @festivitiesct
Photograph by Kate Eiseman