Events in the City: Beyond the Skyline

A Twist of Lemon

The color forecast today calls for bright sunshine with a twist of lemon.

 Picture #1: Bella Mumma Picture #2: Gordon Gossip Picture #3: Amy Atlas Picture #4: Dear Designer

Chalk It Up to Experience

Chalkboards are a simple way to keep things organized at an event or in the home. Easily customizable, they fit on just about any surface. Easily cleaned, you can repurpose and reuse them for different holidays and celebrations throughout the year.

Picture 1: Pinterest Picture 2: Chris Fairchild on Etsy Picture 3: Homemade Serenity Picture 4: Style Me Pretty Picture 5: Explore the Cabin

 

Tablescape Tuesday

Romantic red roses on white linen is clean, simple, and altogether lovely. 

 

Photo credit to Minnie Taylor

 

Tablescape Tuesday

Colored water makes a comeback!

Picture #1: Martha Stewart

In Love and War

 In August of 2011 Jenn and Bill were married at Good Shepherd in Alexandria and held their theme specific reception "In Love and War" at the Army/ Navy Club in Arlington. When I first met Jenn, I was immediately drawn to her attention for detail, clear vision for their wedding, and a warm and bubbly smile! With Bill out of the country for much of the planning it was up to us girls to knock her soldier's socks off! 

The cocktail hour room was a tribute to the honorable list of family members that have served our country. From the moment the guests walked through the door their eyes bounced from detail to detail. As guests approached our  "war room" table they found their escort cards disguised as Western Union telegrams. 

As the reception bell chimed we saluted our soldiers and pulled out the chair for the ladies! Words can barely describe the feeling that was created by the talented vendors who worked on this room. Each wall dripped in soft pink hues provided by Premier Dj Services. The aroma from incredibly lush florals were unmistakable. Jenn wanted an Old Hollywood feel with deep patterned linens, abundant arrangements, and the perfect amount of glam. It was a room that Grace Kelly herself would have enjoyed dining in!  Holly Chapple Flowers created groupings of crystal candle holders and perfectly placed cabbage roses. When Jenn saw the room for the first time she immediately burst into tears of joy.

To fit the detailing of each placesetting, Jenn worked with Fluffy Thoughts Bakery to create a flawless piece of art. All hand piped, the black scrolling begged to be looked at and studied. I can't tell you how many guests saw the sugar anemones and asked if they were real! With so many fabulous ingredients, we were fortunate to have the talented and hard working Jan Graves capturing their day. With barely any time to stop, she snapped away and froze some incredible moments in time.

It was such an honor to work with Jenn and Bill. So here's to our soldier and his bride!

 

Photos by Jan Michele Photography

The Couple that Play's Together.. Stays Together!

When you first meet a couple you are looking for signs of love, signs of companionship, signs of compromise.When I first saw Beth Goldberg and her fiance Adam Sears, it was clear I could put my detective gear away because they weren't hiding a thing! With robust laughter and silly smart remarks these two "played". I just loved watching the two of them swoon with possibilities for their wedding. In September 2011 they were married and partied down at International Country Club in Fairfax. With an infectious laugh, and truly charming love for each other; Beth and Adam set forth to create a reception that was unique and full of their personality, Sassy, Sexy, and Totally Unique! With the help of some incredible vendors; Brookhill Florsit, Ampa Events,DC Rentals and DJ D Mac; this event rocked the house! 

Pictures by Blink Photography

A-B-C is easy as 1-2-3

So this new phenomena called textorating (decorating with letters and words) is all over the home decor world right now. Forget monogramed towels - it's time to take letters to a whole new level, literally, by putting them on your table, mantle, wall, bookshelf...You get the idea!

Picture 1: Project Nursery. Picture 2: Urban Decal shop on Etsy. Picture 3: Real Simple. Picture 4: Comfort & Joy blog. Picture 5: Apartment Therapy.

Tablescape Tuesday

This table conveys a clean, classic look. It avoids over-crowding and instead begs you to look at each element individually. Turquoise vases pop out of the flowing floral table runner, while wine colored leaves compliment the soon-to-be-poured beverages. Sweet and simple. 

Photo courtesy of Martha Stewart Weddings

Behind the Design Curtain...Jen & Jon.

We really love the design of a wedding. Our backgrounds in fashion and film really lend us to 'keep our design eye on the prize' if you will. It's always a fun hunt for the details that make each wedding pop, that truly grasp the couple's personality and absolutely have the guests walk in and say WOW! It's why we do what we do, we love it and live for it.

So when Jennifer and Jon got married this past September after working with us for almost 18 months it was SO fun to see all of our hard work come to life. We specifically had kept all the design elements and most of the details a huge surprise from their families and friends. Why, you ask? We didn't want to be clouded by other people's opinions so that we could really let the couple's uniqueness shine through. Oh and it did.....

Check out some of Jon and Jennifer's thoughts on our design process and oogle over their gorgeous wedding that really had guests falling over each other as they entered the tent.

Jennifer & Jon said: "The first step in the process was selecting a theme and its corresponding colors. Laura set up a meeting with us at DC Rentals where we expected to select linens and place settings. From there, the theme almost came together on its own: black, white, apple green… and damask. The wedding would be in the evening at Breaux Vineyards and black and white would capture that formality while the bright green provided the pop of color accenting the fun-loving personality of the affair.

J&J: "We almost said yes to Laura’s next idea before she had a chance to finish her thought: three different tablescapes. White with black damask, black with pewter damask and apple green. Each would be fashioned with its own unique place setting to further differentiate our guest tables from any wedding we had ever attended. "

"We had a series of three florist meetings. Each florist brought different attributes to the table: value for the money all the way to upscale and chic. When we met with Janet Flowers, a centerpiece lamp with hundreds of crystals hanging off of the shade caught our eye. She brought us some ideas she had for arrangements along with the lamp and just like that, we had our florist." -J&J

"Each place setting represented a fun idea stemming from our theme and colors while it provided a funky vibe that we vowed not to show anyone until the actual wedding day. We even had different colored cushions on the chairs for the different themed tables. It was to be black, white and apple green bedlam… and we loved it." -J&J

"Interviewing with the right photographer was the next step. Laura stressed that with all of our hard work and planning, the only thing we’d be left with after our big day was the pictures. So choosing the right photographer was of the utmost importance. She referred us to Freed Photography who she said would most ably capture the “vibe” we were looking for and once again she nailed it. We went through the portfolios of each of Freed’s photographers, and any one of them would have been amazing."

Pictures courtesy of Freed Photography

Tablescape Tuesday

Remember in Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer when Yukon Cornelius sung about his obsession with silver and gold? Well we love it too! Especially paired with this blooming centerpiece, whose unique floral accents are sure to make your entire meal merry and bright. 

Photo credit to Martha Stewart.