Shedding some light

We are constantly looking for new media to introduce into our clients' decor schemes and one of the most fun and attainable elements we've been incorporating for the past year is lighting fixtures used in non-traditional ways.

At this fall wedding in Philadelphia, raspberry lampshades hung over alternating tables where low centerpieces were used. These shades did double-duty in bringing down the high ceiling and bringing the color palette up from the tabletops into the guests' sight lines. Furthermore, since The Pennsylvania Academy for Fine Arts doesn't allow candlelight in the building, lampshades offered a creative solution to a potentially problematic element.
Photo by Laura Novak

In Chicago, these giant damask patterned shades stood on 10 foot battery powered lampposts to frame the band and add visual interest to the front of the room (a place many people forget about when planning their decor!).
Photo by Rosalind Weddings, Lamps from Heffernan Morgan

At the same Chicago wedding, this 20 foot chandelier created a custom ceiling treatment over the Peninsula Hotel's dancefloor.
Photo by Rosalind Weddings, Chandelier from Heffernan Morgan

Finally, at one of our recent NYC weddings at Gotham Hall, we custom-built these black chandeliers to act as the vases for the funky flower domes and holders for the color-dipped pillar candles that adorned the tables.
Photo by Barnaby Draper

Wedding Planner In Training!

Hi everyone! Just a quick introduction about myself before I give you my wedding opinions. My name is Ashley and I am interning at Lindsay Landman Events this summer. I have learned so much in such a short period of time and I couldn’t love this internship experience more! I originally hail from Florida and am doing my best to take on all things New York City, mostly with Allison’s and Lindsay’s help. Thus far, my favorite things NYC include Crumbs, Shrek the Musical, the jewelry vendor located outside J.Crew on 19th and 5th, the 6 train (which is the only subway line I have mastered), and the fact that I can get any type of food I want delivered to my door from Seamlessweb.com. Really, my only complaint of NYC is the Post Office, and finding an efficient post office in my opinion is like finding a needle in a haystack… no matter where you live.

Now onto my bridal find:
Generally, I am obsessed with all things footwear…. to the extent that I searched for the perfect pair of rain boots to coordinate my outfits during rainy days. For me, finding the perfect pair of shoes at an affordable price will probably take precedence over many aspects of my wedding (excluding the dress hunt). Needless to say, I was thrilled when one of my favorite shoe shopping resources, Piperlime.com, added a “Wedding Chic” section to their site a few months back. Piperlime has styles for brides and bridesmaids from various designers, at all price points and colors! Being a frequent customer of their website I can testify the shoes always arrive on time, in their impeccably kept boxes, and their descriptions of the shoes are always spot on. Its really fashionable footwear made easy! Even better they have pulled adorable pumps, sandals, flats, and flip flops so if your wedding is in the city or out by the beach they have a shoe for you! I only wish I were getting married to wear either of these…..

I’ll keep dreaming.

Places, please!

One of my favorite decor tools is the use of the escort card table as the big opening "wow" for any event, particularly a wedding. This is the first thing that guests interact with when entering an event - they can see, touch and feel it and more importantly, they take a little piece of it with them when they leave. So, when given this opportunity to really reach out and hand your decor to your guests, why miss the opportunity and place a paper card on a standard table?

For this funky wedding at Gotham Hall, we filled a lucite table with water and flowers and then had black acrylic escort cards hand calligraphed with white writing. From the moment the guests grabbed their cards, they knew that this wouldn't be an ordinary wedding - and it wasn't!
photo by Barnaby Draper Studios

At this spectacular vinyard wedding, guests found their names etched on mini chalkboards embedded in a tiered plot of grass. When they arrived at their tables, the coordinating table numbers were also written on slightly larger chalkboards. This echoed the Raphael Vinyard's tasting room in which wine selections were written on large chalkboards. Design by Claire Bean.


For a winter wedding at Oheka Castle, we used cranberries to support escort cards on wooden sticks. A key element here was to create the cards so that they could be removed from the sticks easily so that guests wouldn't have to carry a skewer around all night!
Photos by Christian Oth Studios

Finally, vintage New York postcards were calligraphed with table numbers and inserted into calligraphed envelopes and placed over clear crystals covered with clear plexiglass in the glorious Rainbow Room. This table was one of our most well-received ever as the many out-of-town guests loved having a New York keepsake to take home.
Photo by Lina Jang

Eva and Kevin

Finally, finally, finally... I can post the amazing pictures of one of our most delightful couples, Eva and Kevin. Their wedding took place at the Convent of the Sacred Heart followed by the reception at the adjacent James Burden Mansion. These locations held such special significance to the bride as she attended school at Sacred Heart, so from the moment we met Eva, there was no doubt that the wedding festivities would take place in her childhood "home away from home." We were so lucky to get a beautiful day in May, allowing amazing photographer Lily Kesselman to work with the couple outside in Central Park for their formal shots. (All photos below from Lily Kesselman)



Eva's style is simple and classic, so we opted for a fresh palette of light pink and ivory with a pop of green. She was moved by a photo of an antique-inspired table setting early on in the planning, so we incorporated charming mix-and-match charger plates with a "grandma's china closet" feel to give the table settings some character. In keeping with this style, we sourced ivory textured wallpaper to cover the glass vases for the centerpieces (the plain glass vase was too modern!) and then sponge-painted the wallpaper with a light gold paint to tie it back to the chargers and chairs as well as the ballroom itself which is adorned with gold.




It was a fantastic evening with a warm, upbeat mood that perfectly reflected this sweet couple. Allison and I enjoyed every minute of working with Eva and Kevin from our first consultation to our last goodbye!

Additional vendors included: Sterling Affair Catering, Lenox Hill Florist, Bud Maltin Metropolitan Orchestra, John Miller Videography, MJW Calligraphy, gown by Melissa Sweet.

Design on a Dime recap

Today's session of The New York Wedding Workshop was a hit. We had a lovely crowd of brides-to-be who were all in the throes of their decor planning and looking for the behind-the-scenes tips on high style for great value.

Sharon Schuster played host in her absolutely breathtaking photography studio and so graciously photographed every minute of our session. Thank you, Sharon, for all of the beautiful pictures to follow.


To illustrate some of my top decor tips, I designed two sample tabletops with some of the palettes of the moment... the first in silver/yellow/white and the second in navy/fuchsia/white. Both designs represent reasonably priced ways to make a huge impact with your tabletop design.


Yvonne Wong, the mastermind behind Double Happiness Creations, was on-hand to advise our "students" on how to incorporate their design ideas into their wedding stationery as well as how to find inspiration for their wedding design. Yvonne also contributed her beautiful menu and table number designs to accent our sample tables. My heartfelt thanks for your many invaluable contributions to this event!


Last, but certainly not least, a shout-out to my friend and videographer extraordinaire Seth David Cohen for joining us this morning to capture me in action. I look forward to seeing the footage and editing a great PR piece. I can't wait to work with Seth again soon on a fabulous wedding or party!


The New York Wedding Workshop is on haitus until "engagement season" is again underway in the fall, but pleae be in touch if you are interested in any of the events that we host so that I can get an idea of what sessions will be in demand going forward. See you then!

How to Design on a Dime

This weekend, I am hosting the second edition of the New York Wedding Workshop seminar entitled "How to Design on a Dime." We had a great response for our first session in January so I am thrilled to meet a new set of brides and talk about so many of the tricks of the trade I've mastered over the years to try to get big looks for less. Want a little preview?

1. An interesting vase can make small flowers look more impactful.

photo Barnaby Draper

2. Investing in event lighting provides 10 times more value per square inch than any other decor element.

photo Rob Lettieri

3. Use every element at your event as a decor element. This includes favors, menus, programs, napkins - even your water glass!

photo Brian Dorsey

Do you want more? Join me and wonderful contributing vendors Sharon Schuster, Double Happiness Creations and Seth David Cohen Video on Saturday for an in depth seminar on how to get the greatest value for your decor dollars and how to push the envelope of your creativity while you do it! Tickets are still available at www.nyweddingworkshop.com or by calling 212.206.9201. See you then!

Making Life Easier

I wanted to let everyone in on a few secrets we tell our clients to help make their planning a little easier after the big day.

Relax on Your Honeymoon
Jet Set World Travel is a fabulous travel agency and concierge service that a countless number of our clients have used to help send them on their dream vacation. After getting to know exactly what you’re looking for in your trip, Julia and her team put together customized travel itineraries, coordinating everything from the hotels and airfare, to private transportation, restaurants, tours, cooking classes, spa visits…you name it! About a week prior to your departure, they send you off with a bound book detailing every day of your trip. Their in-depth knowledge goes far beyond the pages of Conde Nast and it’s always a pleasure working with them.

EXTRA: Want to go to the moon? Julia is part of an elite group of travel consultants selected to book travel to space!

Your New Identity
We recently came across the site MissNowMrs.com, a name changing service for those brides that plan on taking their spouse’s name after the wedding. It almost seems too good to be true – they have all the forms for your state in one place and after filling out one personalized questionnaire, the information is filled out for you and all you need to do is press “Print!"

Dress: $6,000. Band: $12,000. Cake: $3,000. Not having to spend days of your new married life filling out paperwork to change your name on your social security card, passport, drivers license, bank accounts, mortgage, insurance cards and more: Priceless.

Cleaning Your Dress
Whether you plan on preserving your dress or selling your dress, you will first need to send your gown to someone who specializes in these types of garments. There are always a number of local options no matter where you are located, but we also like the Imperial Gown Restoration Company. Imperial Gown first arranges a pickup of your gown – free in all fifty states! After they have thoroughly examined every square inch of your dress for any possible stains, tears or snags, they present you with a quote of what it will cost to have your dress restored to the original condition. Should you choose not to go forward with the cleaning, Imperial Gown sends you back your dress right away, also free of charge! Visit Imperial Gown Restoration online at www.gown.com or call 1-800-WED-GOWN.

Photos courtesy of Jet Set World Travel, Guy Cali Associates, Sarah Merians Photography.