Event Design: Chic Black Chandelier Wedding | Casa Real, Pleasanton

My husband and I got married at the beautiful Casa Real at Ruby Hill Winery in Pleasanton, CA on 9/10/11. We had a large and festive 400 person Armenian wedding! The inspiration for the wedding design came from a 2009 Christian Dior fashion line where I immediately fell in love with the colors. I loved how black and nude had a very romantic and contemporary feel and thought it would be very unique for a wedding. I brought in elements of black lace and black chandeliers to add some sophistication and style. The lighting was a mix of ivory and champagne tones to give a candlelight illuminated look. The dining tables were covered in a champagne crinkled linen and paired with black chivari chairs, black glass chargers, and black champagne glasses to create a contrast against the linen. Linnae from Asiel Design was absolutely amazing to work with and helped me to create three different looks for the centerpieces. I wanted more structural pieces as opposed to large florals, so we incorporated items like black iron stands and black trees that had just touches of florals, candles, and champagne crystals. I continued the theme into the paper items that I custom designed.

Besides the decor, another thing that was important to us was having some fun activities for the guests. For our guestbook, we wanted to do something non-traditional. Since my husband is very much into computers, we decided to have a video guestbook where the guests could record messages for us using a big screen iMac. We also had a "strike a pose" photo booth where our guests could take some fun photos using props. At the end of the night our guests enjoyed mini grilled cheese triangles and French fries as a midnight snack.
 
All in all it was an incredible party. We danced the night away with our closest family and friends and it was a day that my husband and I will never forget. My advice to all the brides out there is to really enjoy every moment of this journey. Being engaged and getting married is one of the most special times in your life. Before walking down the aisle, pause...take a moment and look around...take it all in, because the day is going to fly by.

Event Design: www.simplelittledetails.com / Venue: Casa Real at Ruby Hill Winery, www.casarealevents.com / Gown: Vera Wang, www.verawang.com / Bracelet: Derco Jewelers, www.dercodiamonds.com / Earings: Azaara, www.azaara.com / Shoes: Christian Louboutin, www.christianlouboutin.com / Florals: Asiel Design, www.asieldesign.com / Rentals: Hartmann Studios, www.hartmannstudios.com / Lighting: Associated Entertainment Consultants, www.associatedentertainment.com / Linens: Wildflower Linens, www.wildflowerlinens.com / Cake: Jen’s Cakes, www.jenscakes.com / Dessert Table: Sweet Tooth Confections, sweettoothconfections.net / DJ: DJ Heartbeat, www.heartbeatdj.com / Videography: Kevin Chin, www.kevinchin.com / Photographer: Duke Images, www.dukeimages.com

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