Fawn and Mark, August 23, 2008

Private home weddings are my favorite. There is nothing that can truly dictate what you can and cannot design...or is there? Fawn and Mark are your typical couple. When they were engaged, they came to me with binders, pictures and a checkbook that had a budget. Not a small budget, but fairly modest for a bride that works in the hospitality industry and has tons of style. They handed me the task of creating an event that reflected them as a couple with lots of details, an enchanted forest theme and a vivid color palate consisting of blush pink, raspberry pink, chartreuse green and deep midnight blue.

We had a few obstacles to overcome, like not staking the tennis court where the tent would be, getting power, water and restrooms close to the tent, without creating eye sores.

As with most of our full planning and design clients, I created an initial sketch to give my clients a glimpse of the final appearance of the tent, based on their parameters.

We make modifications, then put the plan to work. The day of the event, here is how everything starts:


Then the hard work begins. Every vendor hired is part of a team that works together to create an event that runs seamless. For this specific wedding, all the vendors worked long hours to make this happen, including my staff to create custom center pole covers for the tent and a bar made out of faux boxwood.





A Horse drawn carriage picked up the bride and the bridal party, then drove them through the town to the catholic church. A full mass ceremony, including a soloist and musical ensemble were part of the day.






















The bride and groom arrived at the reception site in the carriage, greeted their guests and joined the festivities. As guests made their way into the tent they crossed a candle lit bridge, "picked" their escort cards from a table draped with custom linens and covered in wheat grass. The tent was filled with raspberry, blush pink and watermelon crush custom linens. The tent was lit with hundreds of candles and soft chandeliers hanging from above. The dessert bar was draped with custom linens, moss tablecloths and other earthy elements to hold the scrumptious treats. At the end of the evening, guests departed the tent to find the entire property lit with candles on the ground and hanging from every tree branch available. The next morning everyone recovered with a traditional pig roast and plenty of mimosas!

Thank you to my staff and all the professionals who made this event possible. It was truly an enchanted evening!

Save the dates, programs, escort cards, welcome bags and place cards by Storied Events
Outside lighting and props by Storied Events.
Horse and Carriage: Deb Ravenell, Sterling Mountain Farm
Ceremony Location: Blessed Sacrament Church, Stowe, Vermont
Ceremony Musicians
Vocals: Victoria Drew, Soprano
Piano: Lilly Ramsey
Flute: Barbara Boutsikaris
Violin: Allison Pike
Hair and Make up: Holly Morgan, Hair Creations
Reception Location: Private residence, Stowe, Vermont
Photography: Stuart Thurlkill, Eyes 2 See Photography, Arizona www.eyes2see.com
Caterer: Let's Pretend, Burlington, VT www.letspretendcatering.com
Rentals: Rain or Shine www.rainorshinevt.com
Cake: Michelle Hines at The Cakery, www.thecakeryvt.com
Specialty Linens: Mosaic Linens, www.partymosaic.com
DJ: Top Hat Entertainment, www.tophatdj.com
Valet: Mountain Valet, www.mountainvalet.com
Traffic Control: Stowe Police Department
Portable restrooms: MS Services, Montpelier, T
Wedding Insurance: Hickock & Boardman, Burlington VT

And thank you to Dana Barrow of Fresh for doing all the florals. We are sorry to say she has closed shop and moved on to bigger adventures. She will be missed!