“To one bride, romance is a grand ballroom with candles everywhere. To another bride, it’s a meadow filled with wildflowers. They’re both right,” says Tara Guérard, who works with couples in her event design firm Tara Guérard Soirée, based in Charleston and New York City. “It all comes down to, what’s your story?” says Robert Palomo, of New York-based Bardin-Palomo Event Planning Company. “When you focus on the little things that show your guests what’s important to you, your wedding is guaranteed to wow.” We asked Guérard, Palomo, and wedding pros from across the country to share their favorite ways to tailor three of the most common wedding locations to suit a couple’s personal style. Read on, and get ready to write your own definition of what a wedding should look like.
The Great Outdoors
Photo Credit: Trevor Holden
Any wedding style is well suited to the backdrop provided by the natural scenery of the seaside, a rustic farm or a dreamy garden. Two challenges posed by nature: bringing a sense of intimacy into the vast space, and ensuring guests’ comfort. Keep these tips in mind.
• Create your own borders. Designer Alexandra Wise of Southern California’s Blush Botanicals likes to use tents of different shapes, sizes, and colors to set up makeshift “rooms.” Other ways to defne different spaces for dining, dancing, and mingling are to arrange lighting as if walls were in place. You could use strings of bulb lights, lanterns, candles, or mix-and-match lighting sources. Within these areas, incorporate interior design elements, such as sofas and ottomans, chic bistro tables, even framed artwork, adds Amy Cagginello of Amy Champagne Events in Milford, Connecticut.
Photo courtesy of Tara Guerard Soiree
• Think about comfort. “You want people to be able to move gracefully and in a timely manner,” says Robert Palomo. That means if you’re working with a sandy beach, uneven grass, or dirt and gravel, you may want to budget for carpet runners, rugs, and/or portable floors.
Photo Credit: Trevor Holden
• Connect the elements. Erich and Tatiana Jones of New York City’s whimsy weddings recently helped a couple plan a wedding in Montauk, New York, which is on the easternmost tip of Long Island. “We needed to make the church, the tent, and a beach inn all feel connected, so we used their favorite color, a deep royal blue, everywhere — from the table runners to the directional signs to their hand-painted Just Married sign.”
Photo Credit: Trevor Holden
Photo Credit: Annie Nyborg Photography
Photo Credit: Annie Nyborg Photography
Photo Credit: Trevor Holden
Next: An Intimate Soirée ►
An Intimate Soirée
Photo Credit: Martin Diegelman
Celebrations that take place in favorite restaurants or private homes present unique decorative opportunities. “Think about why you chose to have your wedding at such a special place and incorporate that into your big day,” says Antonia Christianson, of Antonia Christianson Events in Virginia Beach, VA. Here, some guidelines.
• Bring in personal touches. For home weddings, Christianson encourages couples to use favorite pieces of furniture outside “to play up the hominess.” For example, a credenza can become the backdrop of your bar, or a great hand-me-down pie cabinet can serve as your cake and dessert display. Similar things can happen at a restaurant. Bring some of your favorite photos or artwork, mementoes, even your grandmother’s china to decorate tables.
Photo Credit: Alicia King
• Focus on small details. When one of Erich and Tatiana’s couples chose a small NYC restaurant that “screamed antique” for their wedding, the duo encouraged them to play off that vibe. They gathered milk-glass jars to hold the flowers and placed the centerpieces atop vintage mirrors.
Photo Credit: Alicia King
For place cards, they painted miniature pig figurines (a nod to the groom, a chef known for his pork dishes) brushed gold to ft the antique theme. Pillar candles filled an unused fireplace and small arrangements of classic books gave the room some added character.
Photo Credit: Alicia King
• Create ambience. Robert Palomo recalls helping a couple pull together a romantic celebration “in a restaurant that was anything but romantic looking!” He started by bringing in sheer curtains to both soften the harsh daylight streaming in from the windows and to redefine the space to better suit the mood the couple were after. His next oh-so-simple trick was to make good use of candlelight. He dimmed the restaurant’s own lighting and filled the tables with glass cylinders that housed floating candles. “They key to any wedding is to use the space creatively,” says Guérard. “Themes aren’t really necessary, but basing your decorating style on your own personality is. Do that and you’ll have a wedding guests will definitely remember.”
Photo Credit: Alicia King
Next: Belle of the Ballroom ►
Belle of the Ballroom
Photo Credit: Cavin Elizabeth Photography
Large indoor spaces present a world of creative opportunities for couples — if they’re willing to use their imaginations. “It’s all about the little details that let the couple’s style shine through,” says Cagginello. Use these ideas as your starting points.
• Hide the blah. “The first things we do when setting up in a ballroom are camouflage the carpet and hide the walls,” says Tara Guérard. “The goal is to draw attention to what you want your guests to see.” Putting down something as simple as a white rug gives you a clean base. And if the walls are a sore point, pale or white sheers are easy to hang (you’ll need to rent a piping system) and can help you with the next tip.
Photo Credit: Marissa DeCinque
• Redefine the space. Draping large spaces to create smaller, cozier areas is a relatively easy way to “make your ceremony and reception feel intimate and unique. Plus, it gives you more to work with in terms of decorating,” says Antonia Christianson. As with outdoor spaces, consider bringing in homey furniture, table lamps and area rugs to create a lounge area. Other ways to create instant gathering spaces: using backdrops like folding screen doors, large mirrors, grass or floral “walls” (you’ll need your florist’s help with this).
Photo Credit: SheWanders Photography
• Dim the lights. “Lighting is a huge factor when it comes to to ballroom weddings,” says Wise. The house lighting should be low to off (bonus: this also downplays the carpet) and specialty lighting should be brought in to create the romance. “Candlelight on the tables of a ballroom wedding is as important as the centerpiece itself,” she says. “It sets the tone and makes a huge impact when guests walk in.”
Photo courtesy of Tara Guerard Soiree
• Get creative with seating. Many catering halls automatically prep dozens of round tables for dining. But “why not change it up?” asks Guérard. Consider breaking the mold by using long, family-style tables, which are instantly dramatic.
Photo Credit Marissa DeCinque