Vintage &DIY wedding

 Inessa and Rob celebrated their 2011 wedding integrating lots of vintage and handcrafted details, so beautiful that I just needed to post the inspiring pictures even if the wedding was already a few months ago. The pictures speak for themselves.

Wedding trend: Ombre

The Ombre pics at green wedding shoes are so cute, I just needed to link everybody to it. What a sweet trend, and if you like, you can "green" it just by using eco cool ingredients and materials. It's fun to be inspired.

Captain America gets his girl

Claire and Chris got married on Saturday, October 22 in a secret Silverlake, CA mansion, which was only revealed to their 140 guests when Twin Valet shuttled them to the mighty entrance gates. The inspired crowd marveled at the mysterious beauty of the Moreno Estate and celebrated gorgeous Claire and handsome Chris till late into the romantic night. Chris, the renowned writer of Captain America (with his best man Stephen McFeely) wrote the quirkiest Thank You speech I have heard in my 10 years of wedding planning. After Claire's witty welcome it was the second time that guests had tears of laughter and heartfelt emotion in their eyes. It showed perfectly why Chris and Claire truly are a 
match made in wonderland. 

 

They met at a traditional tea party in London, found that they both worked on "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe", dove into phantasy worlds and philosophies and enjoyed each others sense of humor. Was it a few hours or a few days later that they both realized they missed the other?
We had so much fun telling their story in the details of the day with winks to the tea party, English twists and magical happenings a la Alice in Wonderland.

 

Chris mom collects romantic pieces of the past and flew in with vintage tea pots and lace linens, which one of the siblings remembered to have seen on their huge dining table many years ago.



The wish fulfilling candies were guarded by waving Elizabeth and to keep the English happy, we had not just coffee but a tea bar with a bunch of different teas and what they call: "bisquits", cute cookies.

  

And then there was the cocktail party...

Claire and Chris handpicked several hours of music from Chris multifaceted collection from Fred Astaire to disco... Roger from "Angel City Entertainment" presented it and made announcements in his relaxed yet elegant style.

Claire's sister in her purple designer bridesmaid dress: bridesmaids were asked to wear purple but to chose a style matching their personality.

 

Claire has her hands full...

BBJ Linen delivered the silky "purple smoke" linens which we had unexpectedly decided on after a mock up session in their studio.  "Elm Concierge" added a vivid splash of purple for the cocktail and side tables.
Colors certainly popped at the pool where the bartenders served tasty cocktails made with Grey Goose liquors... the one with lavender sirup was just otherworldly.

 

 We passed an English signature drink to avoid waiting at the bars, which worked out great.  The "Kitchen" from Pasadena served delicious hors d'oeuvres which we had chosen together at a voluptuous tasting with Claire's mum and dad, everybody voting for their favorites at the end.

 

After the high spirited cocktail hour a beautiful reception area awaited everybody: the centerpieces by GD Designers, old world flower pots with blooming plants, again matched the mansion's feel. But first there was our art project: the reception table.

Lots of love and attention went into the escort cards: mini envelopes with a vintage tea cup sticker and  the guest's name in old typewriter font honoring all those writers in the crowd. Instead of ordering online we supported a local business and the crafty guys from Copy Central in Burbank paid us back by delivering a punctual and precise job.  The "looking glass" handmade in Merano, Italy, brought us to Alice's reception land and helped those with tired eyes: guests opened the envelope to find a key stamped on a handmade paper with a tiny number (those movies were they lead to murderous rooms came up also...)

The inviting box for envelopes...

A card somebody sent fit perfectly into the setting.

7 hours earlier:



 

Claire gets bustled up before guests enter.

Like clock work the sun set when guests arrived at the reception area nestled between big old trees. Even the heater lamps played nicely into the color palette. "Flowers on Mars" ambiance lighting supported the beauty of the mansion with some string - and subtle up-lighting effects.

Colors were chosen in reference to the mansion's tobacco colored walls and rustic brick tower and the owners amazing decor; lush sofas and curtains, countless chandeliers and huge fairy tale mirrors,  breathtaking paintings and antiques, and the general feeling of old world charm. As there weren't too many purple plants in bloom Giedra did a mix and match design with cut flowers when needed. The eco cool aspect was that pots and plants were chosen to fit into Claire and Chris garden, which just recently was started to be landscaped. Also greenish: we contracted mostly local vendors. Giedra from GD Designers is a neighbor of my own office in Silverlake, so is Lark, the bake shop and Jimmy, the artist, who manifested our ideas in labels and amazing table number booklets with love quotes (some with this tiny bit of dark humor) chosen by Claire.

The Taxidermy animals of the mansion were a thrill for most.

Claire and Chris childhood pics guarded by a white owl...

A magical evening with a sumptuous dinner a la French Country...
Of course then there was the party... more to come. (Did we see the ghost of Daisy?)

 

Saturday, 9/24 was declared "Butterfly Day" at the Inn in Topanga; both weddings of the day decided on the delicate (artificial) creatures to be their decorative companions. Re-usable yes, super green no. But then, the Inn is an organic restaurant and also providing all rentals so that the impact through chemicals in the foods, dizzying transport trails and buying new stuff is minimal. All flowers were re-used.
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Andrew and Courtney celebrated their wedding at the Inn in Topanga on September 4, 2011. Courtney created the delightful, whimsical table setting.

Favors, napkin rings and photo frames were matching but different on every table. Their child hood animals added the sweet and personal touch.