True Romance
When a Florida couple asked for a wedding so romantic it would make even Cinderella swoon, Cheryl Beitler and Dale Flam of the Zanadu Group in Hollywood, Florida, waved their fairy godmother wands.
In the Pink
What’s the perfect color scheme for a blushing bride? Why, blush pink, of course. For the reception, the planners dreamed up a delicate palette of white, ivory and a few shy hints of pale pink. But because romance shouldn’t be all sugar and no spice, they decided to pull in brighter colors for the cocktail hour: hot pink, fuchsia and even a few splashes of green.
Flam and Beitler transformed a hotel ballroom into a stunning bridal bower by draping the entire room in panels of floating white organza. “Nothing says romance better than candles,” Flam says. She used them in hanging glass balls, in clusters on tables, even on window ledges. “Candlelight creates a warm glow.” Cut crystal was everywhere: Garlands of crystal graced the escort table, they dripped from the ceiling and from the centerpieces. Each napkin was tied with a gold cord and a sparkling crystal.
At the cocktail party, the bride and groom treated guests to a truly opulent celebration of love. On hand was a staggering array of dishes served from stations: Peking duck, steak and smoked salmon, hand-rolled sushi and Asian appetizers served in to-go boxes with chopsticks. Guests also had a three-course dinner awaiting, with waiters in white gloves standing by. “That adds to the aura,” says Flam. “You turn around and someone is right there asking if you need anything.”
Hearts and Flowers
The flowers were an all-white mix of spray roses, peonies, hydrangeas, stock, cymbidium orchids and a few gardenias for their gorgeously sweet scent. Are these flowers more romantic than others? Yes, affirms Beitler, who loves the soft lushness of these blooms. To play up the sentiment, she entwined garlands on the candelabra and illuminated them with votives.
When it comes to romance, there’s nothing wrong with the tried-and-true, so a main design motif was hearts. Flam brought in carved-ice sculptures in the shape of—you guessed it!—interlocking hearts.
The couple had their new monograms stitched on each napkin, and even crowned their cake with a Swarovski monogram. “For the bride and groom, their monogram was a symbol of being together forever. It was everywhere!” laughs Flam.
True romantics believe that everything deserves a sweet ending—especially a wedding reception. Beside the super-romantic cake, the couple had a Viennese dessert table piled high with miniatures of all their favorite desserts, including mini crème brulée, pecan pies, tiramisu, cupcakes and lemon tarts. Each table had individual platters of biscotti, cookies and decadent chocolate-covered strawberries. Late in the evening romance was served with a side of whimsy: cotton candy that guests could eat from white paper cones—just an extra touch of sweetness to bring a smile to everyone’s face.
From left: All-white spray roses, orchids and peonies, soft candlelight and white organza panels create a lushly romantic ambience. Escort cards are arranged beneath tealights afloat in glass globes; pale-pink blooms add a hint of color. The dreamy cake is a swirling buttercream facsimile of the folds of the bride's sash; the couples entwined monogram announces their match. A place setting fit for a princess: monogrammed napkins and sparkly crystal.
Photography: Andrew Duany Photography. Decor: Richard Grille.
Modern Love
A modern wedding, black and white and fabulous all over: That was the task before Jung Lee of Fete, a design firm in New York City. For a venue that suited their contemporary taste, the couple Lee worked with chose a spacious loft with a to-die-for deck overlooking the Hudson River. “It’s easier to create a modern look when you have a space that’s a blank slate, like a loft. It’s harder to do in a ballroom with ornate draping and molding built in,” Lee says.
Elegant Contrast
The couple had already chosen a black-and-white color scheme, which extended to all the details. The save-the-date was a black-and-white photo of a taxi, with an advertisement on top announcing the wedding. The invitation had a black-and-white Mondrian pattern on the back, and the reception card was all black with lettering in silver for their signature cocktail party. So when it came time to tie the knot, their thoughts naturally gravitated to the same palette. Lee added bursts of shiny silver to give it all a kick, as well as a few unique touches: “We used black water goblets,” she says. “The shape of the glass was classic, but black was unexpected and contemporary. I liked the yin and yang of it.”
Edge of Night
Tabletops were made of shiny black Plexiglas, and chairs were also ultramodern, black and high gloss. The centerpieces were distinctly nontraditional. “The first impression was sexy and edgy,” says Lee. “But the orchids added that softness you want at a wedding reception.” Instead of an escort card table, Lee hooked up plasma-screen televisions, and created a scrolling list of names and tables.
For the meal, guests were served steak frites in a red reduction sauce, with the fries nestled in little cones. Miso-glazed cod was the more modern take on the traditional fish entrée, as well as a nice complement to the ceviche served during the cocktail hour. Although Lee didn’t specify the waiters’ attire at this event, she recommends that you do so for a contemporary wedding. “The waiters might wear crisp white shirts, black ties and white, ankle-length bistro aprons. Sometimes I have the waiters dress completely in black for a sort of Calvin Klein minimalist look,” she reports.
Even a black-and-white party needs some color. On a white wall next to the dance floor, Jung projected art photos of flowers—a very chic take on the usual three-dimensional floral arrangements!
Finally, Lee said, “we needed an after-party.” She saturated the loft’s deck in cool blue lights, and as a late-night surprise, guests nibbled on pizza from the famous Lombardi’s in Soho.
In Lee’s opinion, a modern wedding is all about “being confident enough to go outside the box because that’s what feels right to you. That’s the modern way.”
From top left: Succulents, rocks and tealights adorned the tables; orchids added a softening contrast. The couple’s taste in wedding cakes included a bit of irony. The menu card, with white lettering on a black background. Cutting-edge guest book: photos and messages in white pencil on black paper.
Photography: Jeremy Saladyga of Gruber Photographers.
Totally Traditional
A Southern bride with a yen for a traditional spring wedding approached Tara Guérard, the author of Southern Weddings and the planner behind Soirée Charleston in South Carolina. “There are still brides who’ve been dreaming of their weddings and reading wedding magazines since they were twelve,” says Guérard. The color scheme for them? All-white, of course. For this wedding, Guérard chose white, cream and a few touches of gleaming champagne. The formal invitation was gold calligraphy engraved on old French ivory paper.
The bride found the perfect venue: a historic home in Charleston that came complete with a glorious old grand piano. On the big day Guérard seated herself there and provided the only musical accompaniment to the elegant cocktail hour. After that, guests made their way into the garden for the rest of the evening. There, to capture a ballroom feeling, Guérard had draped the tent with lustrous swags of taffeta in champagne and white. Sparkling chandeliers hung both inside and outside the tent, and a black-and-white-checkered dance floor had been added for a crisp, tailored touch.
Old-School Polish
The soirée of choice in this area is a cocktail party with scrumptious hors d’oeuvres, Guérard says. This wedding’s stations included shrimp and grits, asparagus with a lemon dill sauce, imported cheeses with apples and raspberries and beef tenderloin and baby lamb chops—all done in finger-food sizes. Each station was sheltered beneath a flower-filled white umbrella and illuminated by a chandelier.
Cocktail tables were dressed with silver candelabra, flutes and bud vases, and Guérard made a strikingly elegant statement with a silver filigree cake stand. “It’s so old- school,” she says. “It felt as though we were bringing out the family silver.”
Amazing Grace
Flowers play an important role in a traditional wedding. Guérard filled silver mint-julep cups and mini vases with fragrant white blooms, such as peonies, Casablanca lilies and roses. Doors got fluttery wreaths of Vendela roses, and the garden statuary was adorned with flowers in creamy white.
So what should you do if you have a taste for the traditional? Guérard says: “In the South, we’re known for hospitality. A party may look spectacular, but if you have to wait 20 minutes for a drink, you’ll always remember that. Be sure to take care of your guests—that’s being traditional.”
From left: Heartfelt messages for the bride and groom. A fairy-tale cake in champagne, cream and white replicates the lace pattern of the bride’s dress. A chandelier and dance floor transform a tent into a ballroom. White lilies in a silver vase and white roses for bouquets express a deeply felt love for tradition.
Photography: Liz Banfield Photography.