Design Inspiration: Vineyard venue, couples love of wine and food, winery setting

At the fundamental core of your wedding Design/Theme/Style is creating that "je ne sais quoi" that "indefinable quality" that is your unique vision of what is evocative of your own love story. Create a look, a feeling, and an experience that reflects who you both are as individuals and as a couple. Have you ever walked into a room that is perfect? Where all the elements go together seamlessly to achieve a strong emotional impact? Your wedding is much like that room - it's about finding a style that really represents your true personality in all its wonderful facets, and putting it into every part of your wedding celebration.

From entering and opening the door, the guests begin to see colors, personality and style. Style affects all the senses and that's why it is so powerful. Design isn't making everything match; it is coordinating elements that will touch all your senses. Matching tends to be aesthetically boring. There is a rule in design accessorizing - - use odd numbers. "No way do you have to have two matching candles on the fireplace mantle", nor in your wedding design elements. Whatever you do, don't make people want to fall asleep. And, don't forget to inject whimsy and fun to make the design uniquely your own.

Design inspiration: Lavender flowers, color lavender, outdoors, summer

The entryway into your wedding, your guests' first inkling and first impression, will be from your invitations, which is why they should embody your personal aesthetic. On your wedding day, your guests will get an initial impression when they first enter your wedding location. Will they be excited or bored, amused or awed. Your choice of colors, style and/or theme, music, florals etc. needs to be coordinated to achieve the overall feeling you want to convey. From the invites through to your ceremony and reception, food drink and style go together to help set the mood for your entire day's celebrations. Is it the gorgeous flowers, the fun music, the terrific food, your drunken Aunt Suzie dancing on the table during the reception? All of these elements, except Aunt Suzie perhaps, should be tied together in an overall design for the greatest emotional impact.

Design Inspiration: Hot bold color combination, outdoors, summer

As a Wedding Planner I am also a Designer. We think about color, images, tone, feeling, words. We focus on ceremonies, vows, invitations, digital media, cards, menus, signs and of course the occasional ring pillow. We also have lots of ideas about flowers, dresses, location and ways to bring the look of your wedding together. During our consultation it's about finding the fundamental core of your wedding design....themes, colors, concepts, tone, mood, central ideas. We help define an aesthetic that will act as a guide when you're pulling together all the pieces and parts. Of course some couples come in with their style all mapped out.

Recently one of my "Day Of" wedding clients came to me with their theme fully intact. This couple lives in an urban city environment but love the outdoors and get away to the country at every opportunity. With a true outdoors theme, they created a logo of two owls sitting on a branch. This logo wrapped itself through all aspects of their wedding, from their invitations to their cake design of a tree trunk with a hollowed out niche for two (he and she) owls in it, to their wedding favors that were custom created again from their logo. Girl owl cookies with an orange bow and boy owl cookies with an orange tie. Keeping to their outdoor theme they chose a non pretentious, comfortable outdoor farm/garden setting at Falcon Ridge Farms and are offering their guests Echinacea tea and homemade packaged,chocolate chip cookies after the ceremony. Again the reception venue chosen is a west coast glass and wood themed banquet room at the Harvest Golf Club. With lots of natural elements such as the massive river rock stone fireplace in the room. Views across the city and over the orchard/lawns of the golf course. Extraordinary gardens, man made pond and waterfall surrounded by nesting water fowl and grasses. This compliments further the brides natural look and feel bouquet and table top decor of mason jars with grasses and wheat, green lily grass, yellow crispidia, orange germinis, brown hypericum berries, green poppy pods, yellow daisies and natural raffia bows and binding. So what started as a couple who love the countryside and created an owl motif logo for themselves, had all the design elements to follow through into a style evocative of their personalities and interests. Fabulous!

Theme Inspiration: ORCHARD, outdoor, summer, relaxing, modern country

Theme Inspiration: A MIDSUMMER NIGHTS DREAM - outdoor summer whimsical party



Theme Inspiration: BACKYARD, outdoor summer, upscale modern home, family, friends


Theme Inspiration: VIBRANT COLORS OF PEACOCK - jewel tones, feathers

Theme Inspiration: VINTAGE GARDEN TEA PARTY

Theme Inspiration: COUNTRY BARN

Wedding Design is a flexible concept and starts by finding the central, core concepts on which to build your wedding theme/style upon. Think images, concepts, colors, and passions. Maybe your ideas will merely become inspiration but perhaps your vision will translate into a wedding ceremony and reception theme -- something that gives a tangible feel to your love.

Wedding design means finding the common threads that will run through your wedding, the essential elements of your personal aesthetic. Think of your special day as a two-act play of performing art, and design it thusly for maximum audience appeal then wait for those oohs and aahs. You've found that "je ne sais quoi" element to your wedding celebration and yours will be unique and unlike any other. It will be remembered with happiness, joy, magic and love. Savor the moments. This is your day, and you've made it your own.

Be inspired!

Agatha

Finding a good selection of wedding and event rentals in Kelowna can be difficult. Seeing a need for PEDESTALS, I am now happy to be able to provide good quality, light weight plain, white pedestals for use in wedding decor. Use 2 at the entrance of your aisle, or several down the length of your aisle, or a trio as a backdrop.

Available in several heights -

1 @ 44inch H x 14inch W......Rent

5 @ 36inch H x 14inch W

1 @ 28inchH x 14 inch W

1 @ 36inchH x 16inch W - for especially heavy and wide floral arrangements

Mark and Geena have been in town for several days, enjoying the Okanagan relaxed lifestyle and taking care of just a few last minute wedding plans. Today they picked up all the linens, chair covers and rental items.

The florist has the flowers, and is prepping the vases to be filled for centerpieces. Glass vases filled with calla lilies and others with summery lemons.

Rehearsal is tomorrow. I have been working on finalizing last minute details of numbers of guests, who's eating what for their plated dinner, seating plans and Head Table layouts. It's all coming together nicely and Geena is so organized, she's been a pleasure to work with.

We left the transportation till close to the date. Most all the guests are staying on site at the Resort where the reception is to be held (Lake Okanagan Resort) except for a handful camping at close by Bear Creek Park. So Geena wanted to arrange for a shuttle service to take them back and forth to the celebrations. A little bit of research here, because as you know the later you leave these vendors, the more likely they are to be booked. But we did find a shuttle van that will do the pickups and drop offs, so no one need worry about driving.

The Photographers (Abby Photograpy) called today and we talked about where they will put their Photo booth setup. They have made a backdrop, identical to the black and white damask of Geena's color palette, to be used for the guest photos.

Only thing left to do tomorrow before the rehearsal is to work on the logistics of how Geena will arrive with her dad, in his boat, to shore. We'll have to come up with some way of doing this delicately, so her beautiful princess gown doesn't get ruined before she even walks down the aisle. It's been her dream to do this, so we'll make it work. After we walk through the ceremony logistics and who stands where, they will have a Rehearsal dinner at the Resort and then an early night for all.

We are keeping our fingers crossed for a beautiful, warm sunny day for this couple on Saturday. It's looking promising.

Congratulations Geena and Mark! Just 2 days to go.......

Agatha

Photo credit: Darren Hull Photography

Hi Everyone

I can do nothing but apologize over and over for my huge lapse in blogging. A multitude of last minute details over several weeks to get Michele and Wil's details straightened out, and of course now heavy into wedding season, weekly weddings, new inquiries and such have kept me more than busy. So again, I apologize for not keeping you all up to date with my ongoing planning. I will share some photos below of their wedding. Please understand that I am not a photographer, but I really wanted to share just a few glimpses into their day. So I'll share some of my own photos while we wait for the photographer to provide his professional shots later this season.

Michele and Wil's wedding day (July 2nd) came with a fervent storm of incoming guests flying in from all over the world. The weather cooperated by giving us a balmy, not too hot summer day, full of glorious sunshine. 3 days of preparations with vendors, setting up tents, decor aspects, walls of draping, chandeliers and such kept me busy. Even at 3:30am the morning before the big day, I was still folding cloth napkins that had arrived from Vancouver much later than planned.

What do they say about wedding events. Anything that can go wrong does go wrong. Hopefully unbeknown to the bridal couple. Yes that's where I come in to smooth any ruffles that may lurk within the day's logistics. The day started early with caterers and rentals arriving for the Tea Ceremony. Michele looked stunning in her full length Chinese traditional Fuschia gown, fully lined in coordinating satin. She was a vision. The Tea Ceremony itself is enveloped in tradition and emotion with parents and grandparents passing along their blessings to the couple. It brought tears to my eyes. Afterward everyone feasted sublimely on perfect bite sized hors d'oeuvres from Joy Road Catering.

The gardens at Elysium were transformed with a tent for the cake and beverage reception following the ceremony. Everything from the wine bottle they placed into their memory chest (time capsule) to the unity candle the mothers lit, made the rituals of the ceremony modern yet traditional and spiritually inspiring. With the harp playing gently in the background the guests enjoyed refreshing beverages and ate cake to their hearts content. Michele really was a vision in white, floating in her sumptuous Vera Wang "Eliza" gown with a sumptuous display of layers and layers of tulle skirting and beaded bodice. Wil just as handsome in his Armani grey suit.

Later for the tented reception Michele changed dresses, into an exquisite royal red satin Kenneth Poole gown.

Photo credit: Darren Hull Photography

The tent was transformed with a full ceiling liner, walls fully draped in voile fabric, 5 crystal chandeliers glowed above, while the tables were complimented with crystal chandeliers, rows upon rows of glasses, glass votives and florals standing on a pewter grey taffeta linen. Rich and lush, romantic and inspirational. See for yourself.

With a final flourish of fireworks and a grand Sparkler Sendoff, the couple departed. An incredibly full day filled with magic.

Here are just a few pictures from the photographer Darren Hull. We will wait patiently till hopefully he will share a full spread of this fabulous day with us later in the season. I personally can't wait to see his professional pics., so much better than mine.

Photo credits: Darren Hull Photography

Keep posted for more on this gorgeous couple!

Agatha