Marisa and Jon's Wedding

The Yale Club of New York City was the setting for this elegant fall wedding with a special place in my heart. I was so pleased to be able to work with this bride and groom... not only is Marisa my cousin, I met Jon at a family dinner only weeks after they began dating almost 6 years ago, so I felt like I was really part of the whole cycle of their courtship. Though playing double-duty of designer and guest was tricky at times, experiencing the enchantment of this day from every angle was well worth it.

I LOVE this color palette of dark red, burnt orange and moss green and it played so well in this ballroom. The centerpieces, composed of dahlias, hydrangea, cymbidiums and calla lilies, were beautifully constructed by Sara at Flowers of the World and the room was illuminated and filled with color by Aion Entertainment. Ah.... how a well-lit room makes all the difference...







I decorated this cake with two colors of satin ribbon and a single sugar flower... easy and gorgeous (if I do say so myself!).

Thanks to Sharon Schuster for these beautiful pictures.

Inspired by... Hotels

I think the majority of designers in the event industry trace a lot of their inspiration back to fashion... at least that is what I hear and read from my peers most often. While it is not to say that I am not inspired by fashion (I do love it), I am not moved by it in the same way that I think many designers are. I am so much more taken by environments - how unrelated things work together to define space or how textures and colors (or lack thereof) create context for life, movement and activity.

Some of the most inspiring environments for me are in hotels, and for good reason, as I actually see quite a few similarities between the design of a hotel and the design of an event. Like an event, a hotel must be designed to appeal to a large group of diverse individuals with different tastes, and still make them all feel comfortable as well as entertain them in a luxurious manner. Hotels, like events, are not solely created to be design environments - they are created for other purposes, so guests entering may not be looking for the nuance and intricacies of the design. As a result, often bolder or bigger elements must be introduced to capture the attention of the guests and give them a "wow." Finally (well, not really finally, but finally for this post!), both hotels and event environments have multiple related spaces which need to have a connected vision, but also an evolution of style for the guest to experience. Think: lobby, hallway, guestroom vs. ceremony, cocktails, dinner.

While there are so many hotels that I adore and that really move me, I can't stop pouring over the photos of the Crosby Street Hotel here in New York City. I was introduced to the parent company, Firmdale Hotels, on my trip to London last summer (I stayed in the Soho Hotel) and was OBSESSED with the decor in my room as well as the common spaces in the hotel. When I learned that Firmdale recently opened a property here, I was enthralled. Co-owner and designer Kit Kemp mixes colors, textures and even eras with ease and there are no two rooms in the seven hotel properties that are identical.


Hotel lobby: eclectic, but not intimidating

The personality of the designer shines through so you can see a connectivity between each property and each room, yet the individuality of the hotel based on location, size and client base is the guiding light of the design. It always has been and will be my goal to do the same... to use my client and the venue to give me the inspiration for the painting, but then to finish it off with my signature frame.


Common spaces: bold, but still inviting


Bedrooms: glamorous, but still comfortable

New York Media Dinner at The Glass Houses

It was a true pleasure to style an elegant dinner party at The Glass Houses for long-time industry friends from Peachtree and Ward catering who are introducing their new Atlantic City venue called One Atlantic to the New York media. Forty members of the press dined at long feast tables, enjoying a locally-focused "100 Mile" menu as well as a killer view of the City lights on a beautiful January night.



Guests found name tags arranged carefully in a lucite tray filled with coarse-ground sea salt.



The view of the tables and the cityscape was framed by a "wall" of suspended candles and orchids which divided the cocktail and dinner space.



Each guest found his seat labeled with a personalized menu created in-house at Lindsay Landman Events. Ivory cardstock was printed with brown ink and layered on metallic copper paper and accented with a hand calligraphed name tag.



A landscape of burnt orange candles in stemmed glasses filled with sea salt was integrated with a succession of glass vases filled with chocolate cymbidium orchids, brown and orange vanda orchids, orange tulips and roses.

Photos by Gustavo Campos

Inspired by... 1st Edition

One of the questions I am most often asked is: "how did you get the idea to do/make/create that?" Well, the truth of the matter is that I can't always trace the root of an idea back to a singular source because I am constantly on the lookout for anything and everything that I can translate into a design element for an event. But, whenever possible, I try to log the things that inspire me in my work and in my life.

So... here it goes... I am going to make a commitment to share at least one of my inspirations every week. I won't lie - promising a weekly blog feature scares me a bit - but I am going to give it a whirl in the hopes of opening the window into my mind just a little bit more each week.

And now... the first official edition....

During a recent trip to London, I had the opportunity to spend a few hours in the Tate Modern museum. As with any visit to a museum (especially because they are so few and far between for me) I was totally overwhelmed with the number of things to see and could only take in about half of the open exhibits. But the one that captured my attention the most was by the British artist Cornelia Parker called "30 Pieces of Silver." It is the sole exhibit in an offset, rectangular gallery with dramatically high ceilings and is comprised of hundreds of pieces of flattened silver (flatware, pitchers, platters) divided into 30 groups, all suspended from the ceiling with invisible fishline to float about 2 feet off the ground.

"30 Pieces of Silver" is categorized by the museum as sculpture, but one of the things I love about this piece is that I also see it as performance and process art... each piece needed to be carefully selected, thoughtfully flattened and precisely hung. It plays with our understanding of function, of space and of proportion. While positioned as unapproachable fine art, it begs for interaction as the objects are common and placed within arm's reach. The groupings are set in such a way that they feel like floating tabletops - maybe a child could sit at a table of this height - or maybe it would be set in a Japanese restaurant and you'd sit on tatami mats. When I stood in the gallery, I felt as if I were surrounded by hundreds of independent objects, but when I look at the photo of the exhibit I see a ballroom filled with 30 dining tables, each one slightly different than the one beside it.

These endless juxtapositions and possibilities remind me to push the limits of traditional media, to see common objects in uncommon ways, to put as much thought into the arranging of an object as to the selection of the object itself and to seeks ways to give old materials new life. Do I see a design for a wedding? No. But this fuels my fire for thoughtful creativity which builds upon itself over time.

The more you look at, the more you see... and that, my friends, is my constant inspiration.

Jackie's Baby Shower

Jackie and her family have been wonderful clients since her 2006 wedding at The Lighthouse at Chelsea Piers in New York City, so I jumped at the chance to design a sophisticated and stylish baby shower for her first little one on the way. I had the advantage of already knowing Jackie's style and taste, so we dove right into this project with ideas for vibrant colors and whimsical touches. The Empire Hotel was the perfect venue for this afternoon party as we could take advantage of the contemporary finishings and natural light in the perfectly petite ballroom.



When guests arrived, they found their table assignments on colorful clotheslines strung across white fabric.



Delicious "mocktails" were available for the mom-to-be and her friends during cocktail hour.



Centerpieces were comprised of green hydrangea and cymbidium orchids and accented with white branches adorned with aqua-jeweled dendrobium orchids for a little whimsy. A white square vase was wrapped with layered ribbons to further customize the look.



At each place setting, guests found a cute cookie in shapes of baby blocks, bears or booties wrapped with personalized ribbon. Coordinating menus tucked into the napkin completed the tabletop.



I love creating a "gift lounge" for showers so that all of the guests can see the gift-opening activities without leaving their seats or craning their necks. Three chairs for the guest of honor and her two helpers were set on a platform in the front of the room.



This cute cake was a "wow" to look at and to enjoy... a perfectly sweet finish to an amazing afternoon.

All photos by Gustavo Campos

Dalia's candy-themed Bat Mitzvah

When a long-time corporate client asked me to design his daughter's Bat Mitzvah celebration, I couldn't be more thrilled. Dalia wanted to have a candy theme for both her daytime luncheon for the adults and the evening party for her friends, so my challenge was to create decor that was true to the theme and that could translate appropriately to two different venues and two different crowds. This whimsical look totally worked at the New York Historical Society for a formal sit-down lunch for 120 and then was deconstructed and re-constructed for an adorable cocktail-style party for the kids at Helen Mills Event Space that same night. It was a tiring day (topped off with 18 inches of snow!) but both parties were amazing successes!

When guests arrived for lunch, they found their tables on giant Whirly Pops arranged in a bed of gumballs. Behind the table, photos of the Bat Mitzvah girl and her friends and family were suspended on coordinating ribbons.

top, Sofia Negron; bottom, David Wentworth

Guests were seated at long tables adorned with domes of brightly colored flowers to mimic the feel of a "field" of lollipops.

photos by Sofia Negron

The black polka dot runner was the key element in pulling this design together. The colors that the guest of honor selected (lime green, orange and hot pink) were feeling very summery for this December celebration, so when I spotted this fabric, I knew it was the perfect thing to ground the colors and make the look more seasonal.

photo by Sofia Negron

For the evening celebration for Dalia's friends, the flowers were re-arranged on illuminated cocktail tables and the ceiling above the dancefloor was adorned with paper lanterns wrapped in cellophane to mimic the look of hard candies.

photos by David Wentworth

Introducing... Design Consulting by Lindsay Landman Events

With the start of the new year, I am delighted to announce a new service offered by Lindsay Landman Events: Design Consulting. Now, no matter where you are in the world, you can work with me and my team to create a custom event style for your wedding or party. Integrating your vision with our signature approachably modern style, together we can build a one-of-a-kind look that your local team of vendors can easily produce to give you the "wow factor" that you have always wanted!

Here's how it works:

First, you provide us with information on your venues and any existing elements that are key to the essence of your event design along with your "wish list" for the aesthetics of your event.

Next, we will work through a series of questions with you online or on the phone to establish the design elements that you want to integrate including color, texture, materials and mood.

Then, we will develop a custom style story for you that will take you from invitation to parting gift and everything in between, showing you options for each element of your celebration.

Finally, after your style story feedback, we will deliver to you a completed style file so that you can work with your vendors to bring your event design to life.

For pricing information or to get started, please send an email with your name, phone number, event type and event date to lindsay{at}lindsaylandmanevents{dot)com with the subject "design consulting" and someone will be in touch right away.

Looking forward to styling your celebration! Happy 2010!
photo by Karen Wise

Ali and Gene's Vermont Wedding

Happy new year! Though fall seems like a distant memory amidst the ice and snow, it was just a few months ago that we had the honor of planning and designing a beautiful country wedding for Ali and Gene in Southern Vermont. They wanted to maintain an atmosphere that was true to the rustic landscape of the Inn at Weathersfield, but elevate the ambiance to add a refinement that was a reflection of their cosmopolitan tastes. After months of working long distance (bride and groom in Boston and me in NYC), I think we achieved a perfect balance that made for an outstanding wedding weekend. Thank you to Elizabeth Antunes for all of the photographs below.

The quaint Inn at Weathersfield

Guest found their table assignments on chalkboard markers arranged in moss

2009 was the year of the rain... but the couple was undeterred!

The Inn at Weathersfield has one of the most well recognized chefs in New England, so the family-style menu was a highlight of the event.

Before the sun set and the candles were lit...

The table landscape was comprised of birch wrapped pillar candles and vases with a mix of white, green and eggplant purple blooms.

Zinc tags sprayed with chalkboard paint and handwritten with chalk pens directed guests to their seats.