Friday, December 28, 2012

Event Design: Organic & Rustic Rehearsal Dinner

I had so much fun doing the event design and coordination for a lovely couple’s rehearsal dinner. The bride and groom both live in New York, but they decided to get married in San Francisco where the bride is originally from. Since there were going to be so many out of town guests (150 to be exact), we wanted to treat the night as more of a welcome to San Francisco. Instead of having a formal sit down dinner, we decided to do a cocktail party where people can enjoy drinks and light hors d’oeuvres while socializing with friends and family.

The event was held at Alexis Laurent Art Gallery, a hidden gem in the middle of a business district in San Francisco. We were greatly inspired by Alexis’ installation piece, which was a wall filled with succulents. It was almost too good to be true because this was exactly the look we were going for. The bride wanted the décor to have a very rustic, natural, organic feel with a cool vibe.  On to the details…

When guests arrived they were greeted by a large chalkboard asking them to leave a note for the bride and groom.  For the rentals, Instead of doing the typical tables with linens, I found these great rustic looking dining and cocktail tables that had wooden tops with metal legs. I fell in love with one version of the table that had a trough going down the center of the table, which I filled with succulents, branches, and moss. I also made wooden boxes filled with succulents to use on some of the other tables. At the center of the room, we created a lounge area with bolster furniture, wooden stools, and coffee tables. We also surrounded the room with wooden hurricane stands that held pillar candles that were wrapped in twine. The uplights and area washes were amber and ivory tones that added warmth to the room.

The dessert table was a fun treat for the guests - consisting of cake pop, brownies, mini pies, and caramel popcorn. I found this great wooden shelf to act as a backdrop and worked perfectly to hold some of the desserts. To keep with the chalkboard theme, I added mini chalkboard tags to label the desserts. At the end of the night, we handed out “Keep On Rockin’” flyers that I had designed to inform the young guests that they can continue the party at a nearby lounge.

My favorite part of the evening was seeing the bride and groom’s reaction when they walked into the room. They were amazed at how the venue had transformed. One guest even told me the bride’s first words when she walked in were “wow”. I was very fortunate to have had the chance to work with such a wonderful couple and their family. Thank you for allowing me to be part of such a special day. I wish you a lifetime of happiness!


Venue: Alexis Laurent Gallery
Event Design, Flowers, & Coordination: Simple Little Details
Rentals: Michael Hensley Party Rentals & Wine Country
Desserts: Sweet Tooth Confections
Lighting: Associated Entertainment Consultants