Wedding Design

Wheat Toned Wedding :: The Inspiration

0 · Oct 16, 2017 ·

Every wedding day begins with a plan. I make my plans visual, summing it up on one page in hopes to capture the full picture that is in my mind. I always start with this this summery or mood board. This sets the tone and gives us a grounded place keeping our planning on track, especially in this creative industry when our minds can begin to wonder.

For this wedding, we took cues from the scenery around us. There were fields of wheat and grasses, autumn was showing her true glory and the venue was overflowing with rustic charm. Shelby and Paul wanted a casual, outdoor autumn experience. The palette was to be kept very neutral with touches of oat grass, wheat, cotton, autumn foliage and fruit lining the tables’ cotton table runners.

I put this mood board together before ever having visited the venue. When I arrived for my first site visit, I was in complete awe of how special Misty Farms really was and couldn’t wait to dig deeper into the design plan. The barns were from the 19th century. If nothing else, that would make me week in the knees. Farmers have been living off of and loving this land for decades and it’s beauty is unscathed. Even better, when I got the album back from the Ashley, there were more scenery pictures than I’ve ever seen her present me with before, meaning I wasn’t the only one that saw that wonder of this autumn day and I hope many more eyes will appriciate the charm of this area for generartions to come.

I get butterflies in my stomach just looking at these landscape photos so please excuse me if you think these photos are in excess but I simply cannot help myself. I can practically hear the leaves crunching and the smell the fresh frangrance of earthy autumn. I will share their entire wedding later this week so you can see how our mood board translated into real life, and personal and one of a kind experience designed specifically for Shelby and Paul.

Photography: Ashley Slater Photography | Venue: Misty Farms in Ann Arbor | Wedding & Floral Design: The Day’s Design

More of their gorgeous autumn day coming soon!

Jarvie & Hank :: The Inspiration

0 · Jan 5, 2017 ·

Greenery, calligraphy, winery. The three key words that best describe the wedding day of Jarvie and Hank – which will be in my journal tomorrow. But before I share the wedding in its entirety, I’d like to give a little behind the scenes of what went into the planning and design of the day.

Lake Leelanau Wedding | The Day's Design | Ashley Slater Photography

Photography: Ashley Slater Photography

Jarvie is very clean and classic. She’s elegant and has a sophisticated yet fun air about her. The couple resides in Chicago, but have Michigan roots as far north as the U.P. Decorative elements that were really important we lots of fresh greenery (she loves garlands), beautiful and soft calligraphy and simplicity.

We wanted it to feel very classic and not too rustic, even though part of the day would take place near Aurora Cellar’s farm house. But the farmhouse itself has a very modern and almost minimalistic feel with amazing lighting inside, so it blended all of the various concepts we had in our head quite well. It gave accommodations for sleeping and getting ready, it was a perfect backdrop for cocktail hour and the entire day could be located on the same property without guests tiring of the same scenery.

Below you’ll find the mood board that we used to start pulling together some of the visuals of the design. You’ll notice when I publish the entire wedding tomorrow, that we didn’t copy any one of these details, but rather used them as a guide and inspiration. This gave us an anchor point and when we started to get a little overwhelmed by options, we could always fall back and see what best fit our original vision.

Working with what the venue already provided was a perfect starting point. Harvest tables, white lawn chairs and bistro lighting were all included in the rental. These are bonus items that made us love the space even more. But Jarvie really wasn’t a fan of extremely long tables in perfect little rows as it doesn’t encourage conversation. So we got creative and came up with a floorplan that ensured that no two tables would be pushed end to end and all of her guests could easily mingle. Simple white plates were topped with textured eggshell napkins to add contrast against the dark tabletops and very subtly layer in another shade of ivory and white.

The main tasting room has a Tuscan feel, and while it wasn’t a direct host of the wedding day, it did host the rehearsal dinner and guests would be passing by it. To tie in both this Tuscan and farmhouse setting, we added white ceramic and terra cotta pots for the centerpieces and cake table. And tried to pull in other touches that would feel like an authentic Italian vineyard with olive branches and grapevine used throughout the design.

And of course flowers are always my favorite part of the décor. June in Northern Michigan means local peony season and one simply can’t go wrong with a big, beautiful peony. But as we were focusing on that vineyard, Tuscan, and even slightly Napa vibe – I wanted to bring in some California grown garden roses. And they were so pretty, multiple heads on one branch, the slightest hints of butter and blush and then a few blossoms in the perfect shade of a ballet slipper. So many textures and ruffles. A few accents of olive branch and bay leaf were added and then we foraged local grapevine (not from the vineyard!) and the rest of our foliage was native to the area.

I mentioned Jarvie’s love of garlands and in a perfect world, she would have loved to see lush greenery lining the entire length of each 8 foot harvest table. However, they also wanted a family style meal. Meal service of this style means that lots of plates need to be placed on the table and your table scape needs to be able to accommodate this. So we opted for 3 smaller floral centerpieces that could easily be moved slightly when platters were placed on the table. We added her greens in other places, on her ceremony arbor, draping on the bars and into the rehearsal dinner décor.

Classic Greenery & Blush Mood Board | The Day's Design

Image Sources (top to bottom, left to right): unknown | Photography: Melanie Duerkopp Photography via Joy Proctor | Photography: Abby Jiu Photography, Cake: The Boutique Bakeshop via Weddings Unveiled Magazine | via Woman Getting Married | via ModWedding | Photography: Pasha Belman Photography, Floral Design: Blossom Events via Southern Weddings | Invitation: Meagan Tidwell

The entire day was very intentional and well thought out. It was beautiful and we could not have asked for dreamier weather. And Jarvie and Hank – they’re such a handsome couple who I wish much happiness for all the years to come.

Ribbon Selection

0 · Jun 24, 2015 ·

Photo: Ashley Slater Photography

I love ribbon. It’s actually really embarrassing how much ribbon I have stashed away in my basement. I could wrap Christmas presents for years before running out. But as with most things, my styles and preferences change and so I find myself favoring one particular type at a time, leaving the others behind.

Beyond wrapping presents, my obsession is really focused on bouquets and finding the most perfectly delicate spools to flow freely from your handful of gorgeous blooms. The right ribbon will complete everything, blow perfectly in the wind and continue the color story beyond where your eye naturally stops at that bottom petal.

As I’m designing with my clients I find that most either have a very strong preference on the type or color of ribbon used throughout their event or they really don’t care much at all, which leaves that detail up to my choosing (which puts a lot of pressure on me… but I love it!) So here’s a little more on that subject, the most common places that ribbons are used throughout designs and how to make the best selection for each of these areas.

The Bouquets

I’ll start with the most obvious. Regardless of what service my clients hire me for, the subject of ribbons for the bouquets always comes up. And the conversation runs much deeper than just popping into Hobby Lobby to pick up a 50% off spool. There’s so much to consider.

Do you want long, flowy ribbons or do you prefer nice, neatly trimmed and shorter tails? Would you prefer multiple layers? Do you want your bouquets tied with a bow? It is necessary for your ribbons to match your blooms or dresses? What other elements are including ribbon throughout the design?

My preferences lean towards long, flowy trailing ribbons on each and every bouquet with multiple layers. I like big bouquets so I think a large amount of ribbon seems appropriate to balance that. Most weddings I’m a part of have a least a portion of the day outside or plans to have portraits taken al fresco and the sight of ribbons freely blowing in the wind makes me weak in the knees, so I like lightweight options that will make that fantasy a reality.

A fairly common practice is to tie the bride’s bouquet with a big, beautiful bow. While I do occasionally accessorize the bouquet like this, more often, I just loop a couple of ribbons together which I will then pin on the front of the bouquets once on site, as not to get them too wet during transport. It’s a slightly more casual approach, but no less elegant and I don’t agonize over creating the most prefect bow (which I am way too picky about!) Whether I choose loops or a bow, I always tend to place them slightly to the left. I’m asymmetrical in nature, so bridesmaids always get the “how to carry a bouquet” speech from me as I’m handing them out. I don’t want them facing that main ribbon straight forward therefore showing off the side of their bouquets.

Color also needs to be considered. In a perfect world, the ribbons should accent the flowers, stand out from the dresses and still blend with the overall design of the day. Just because your colors are navy and white, does not mean you need to use navy ribbons, especially if your girls are wearing navy dresses – you’ll never even see the streamers hanging down. Select a color that will compliment – perhaps silver or gold or white, or another neutral. Then as the bride, you could choose to use navy ribbons if you want a bold, different look or you could also stick with the more neutral tone of the bridesmaids’ ribbons, just keeping in mind what they’ll look like in front of your white dress.

Stationary Pieces

It really pains me when people put all this thought and care into choosing the ribbons for their personal flowers (or allow me to put all this time and effort into choosing) and then just make a willy nilly selection when it comes to choosing what will be accenting their invitations and/or menu cards. This is the ribbon that people are actually going to touch. One day someone came over and was poking through my goodies and found one of my silk ribbons “It feels like butter!” she exclaimed and she couldn’t stop touching it. What if all of your guests had that reaction? Wouldn’t that make your paper goodies seem that much more luxurious and special?

A couple other thoughts, watch what the ribbons will be placed up against – paper colors, napkins, etc. Then consider the texture of the ribbon and how it might tie. If you’re making bows, does it form one easily or do you really have to fuss with it? Do you want to fuss with 150 bows? Or is it really pretty just casually knotted? How will it look after it’s been crammed in an envelope for 3 days before your guests open it?

Styling Pieces

A great way to style details and add a little extra flair is use the same ribbons throughout. Having extra scraps for the photographer to style the invitations suite with, tie the chair back signs or simply have flowing across the cake table. These small details really do make a huge impact.

Obviously there are a 100 other places you can use ribbons and you have to consider the cost and amount of ribbons you need. Save the most special and luxurious pieces for the places it will be most noticed – highly photographed portions of the day and places where guests will touch it. Most importantly – focus on what details matter most to you.

Real Weddings :: Tim & Christina, the Video

0 · Jan 28, 2015 ·

It’s hard to imagine condensing an entire wedding day into just over 3 minutes and yet Coastline Studios has done it with a perfection that captures the absolute heart of Tim and Christina’s relationship. This video transcribes every reason why I’m so in love with my job. It perfectly captures the true essence of marriage and what the relationship of man and wife and a Christ centered bond is all about. This couple and their families were such a joy to be around and made me fall in love with the wedding industry all over again. Every word of this is so heartfelt and sincere – I simply could not imagine a more perfect wedding day if I tried.

Dear Tim & Christina – thank you for allowing me to be a part of such a momentous occasion and what is sure to be the most treasured day of your life.

Married in a Month :: The Inspiration

0 · Jan 15, 2015 ·

Winter is the season for dreaming. It’s cold, gloomy and I’m stuck in the house because I’m too much of a wimp to try and bare these subzero temperatures. So my imagination naturally takes over. I start dreaming of warmer times ahead, summer blooms and what’s next for The Day’s Design. I start creating inspiration boards and sketching out ideas – some which will happen and some which will never be brought to life. It’s a New Year and time to dream big.

But it’s also time to dream for my clients. I have met some really amazing couples the past couple months and I’ve got lots of goodies up my sleeves for their big days. I’ve been working on lots of proposals and design ideas for them as well and I get pretty impatient when it comes to waiting on making these happen, six months seems like such a long time!

As I’m making these, many people have asked what the process looks like and how I design and convey what’s in my head to these couples. I don’t have a 100% exact step-by-step process because each couple is different, sometimes I get a little ahead of myself and eager and sometimes my brain just doesn’t stay organized and the artist in me takes over – my pencil starts drawing and there’s no stopping it…. even if I’m not to that step in my process yet.

It’s fair to say, however, that almost all of my designs start with an inspiration board of some sort which allows my clients and I to visually describe how we want the day to feel, how colors will pair together and the overall formality levels.

If you’ve followed along my Married in a Month series, this is the inspiration that brought that impromptu celebration together. Casual, simple, natural and colorful were words that the bride (my sister) used to describe her day. Since the wedding took place in November, we wanted to add some fall touches, however the venue was scheduled to be decorated for the holidays the week before. So it took some careful planning to combine these elements and make sure that it didn’t feel like a “Christmas wedding” but rather a festive celebration focused on the couple, but also welcoming the holiday spirit. Here’s what we came up with:

We try to incorporate a little bit of inspiration for each piece of the wedding day – from flowers selections to wardrobe colors and ideas and all the little details in between that will really set your day apart. By making an inspiration board early in the planning process, you have a general direct of where your decor is headed so when it comes to choosing those very first glimpses the guest will see, such as save-the-dates or invites, they already have an idea of what the wedding day will be like and it keeps everything cohesive. It also help to share these boards with all the vendors, especially when it comes to exact color swatches – one person’s interpretation of purple might be a far cry from another’s – there’s plum, lilac, lavender, amethyst, violet, grape… I think you get the idea.

This is just an inspiration board. That means we’re inspired by these images, many of which were created by other amazing artists. There might be certain elements that I pull from this board, however the goal in mind is not to copy each detail but rather the feeling and the theme that it sets forth. I’ll be sharing the exact results from the wedding in the upcoming weeks so you can compare the inspiration and the results – they really did turn out lovely!

*Disclaimer: Unfortunately when I created this design board I had no intention of blogging about it and am not sure where I sourced all of my images from. I deeply regret not being able to track these down and give each artist their proper due. Please accept my apologies as I will work to correct this in the future.

The Monday After

0 · Nov 24, 2014 ·

It’s often assumed that once the wedding is over, the role of a planner is finished. They’re married, everyone partied and now everyone has gone home. For me the day’s following an amazing celebration are a couple of the most dreaded. This is what your wedding planner does after the wedding.

Saturday night – CRASH!! The End.

Sunday – try to conquer the wedding hangover. The struggle is real, even if though this is a non-alcohol induced hangover. Every Sunday after a wedding I always feel like I’ve been hit with a Mack truck and am barely able to pull myself off the sofa. My feet are screaming, my head and body ache and my mind is a fuzzy cloud of blurry yet amazing details from the night before. So I patently wait for a couple of sneaks on social media from the night before and Instagram a few of my own, or at least get the posts ready for Monday since Sunday technically is the day of rest and I try to take the day off.

And then it’s Monday. Monday is definitely not a favorite day of the week for me, but the Monday after a wedding weekend is the absolute worse. First off, there’s the inbox to be tackled. Inevitably while I’m out Friday and Saturday in preparation and planning mode, I get more emails than ever before – new inquiries and networking request, some vendor love, etc. I’m so grateful for these, however the timing could just be a touch better. So scratch a couple hours out of my day for those. Then I need to write myself a to-do list, I’m bound to forget something and should probably have figured out my priorities before I started my day, but hey, late is better than never.

Then I should unpack. Ugh… I despise this part of my job. Without doubt, my Tahoe is always loaded to the brim with extra flowers, vases, dirty linens, an emergency kit and crates chucked full of wedding goodness and possibly a few rental items to be returned. I do not travel light. Once it’s hauled into my house, let the sorting, cleaning organizing and dragging to the basement begin.

Brew more coffee.

Determine what rentals need to be returned first thing. Stop my organizing because I totally missed something that must be returned by 5:00 and it’s probably nearing 3:30 at this point. Throw on some quick mascara and real pants (because I’ve not left my house yet and am still enjoying the comforts of my pj’s). Frantically rush out wondering what else I can do as long as I’m out in the world and dressed.

Upon my return I will be too exhausted to continue my organizing and forgo my project in favor of returning to my inbox and fixing Gretta a snack, since she will no-doubt be starving from our excursion, in which I had to drag her along. Stare at the rest of my non-sorted pile willing it to put itself away. Check social media for the 4^th time today making sure there isn’t a pro photo wondering around the web (or something else fabulous that I missed) from over the weekend.

Promise myself to accomplish more on Tuesday. Tomorrow is another day.

Speaking of things I missed over the weekend – my Modern Fairytale inspiration shoot (with Heather Cisler Photography, Bianka Bridal, Emilime Designs and A Piece O’Cake) was featured on Artfully Wed Friday. Go check it out, it was a double feature week – so exciting!

Happy Monday!!

Wedding Color Palettes

0 · Aug 7, 2014 ·

Photo by Eliza Jean Photography

There’s this old way of thinking that some brides still fall prey to when it comes to choosing wedding colors. Pick 2 colors that you like and that go together. 2 colors – that’s all you get. For everything. Flowers, linens, dresses, ties – everything!

I don’t know where this originated from the 80’s or 90’s or maybe sometime before – all I can say is it was long before I became a wedding planner and I remember thinking this rule was true when I was a little girl playing dress up. Friends, I think it’s time that we abolish this rule FOREVER!

Actually, I know this rule is on it’s way out the door, no doubt. But I still come across the occasional bride that tells me she’s having these two colors, end of story. So you’re dreaming of a blue and white wedding. That does not mean everything has to be blue and white. I will not dye flowers into an unnatural shade of blue for you. It’s just not meant to be. Consider adding some natural purple blooms, a pop of blue thistle and maybe a couple of white buds with some greenery. Create a color story. Consider not focusing exclusively on the colors themselves, but the overall feeling of the event.

And then consider you’re space. Like it or not, the room, venue, or area you decide to get married in, take pictures in, and dance the night away in will have a HUGE impact on the overall color scheme and the mood that is set with your event. That hideous burgundy carpet – you will notice it. Find a way to make it work and blend with your scheme. Sometime ignoring it will make it stand out even more. It’s like those pictures where one of these things is not like the other…

Trust your designers to make everything flow together and be open to slightly “outside of the box ideas”. They know the touches that make the biggest impact and have an excellent eye for color – or at least I like to think I do! Colors just make me happy and I want you to be happy too!

Flowers are Coming to The Day’s Design!!

0 · Apr 30, 2014 ·

I am so grateful and beyond excited for the opportunity to follow my PASSION for flowers and offer romantic, garden style blooms to my design services. This May, my travels will take me to North Carolina to attend Philosophy Flowers’s workshop where I hope to hone some of my floral skills. Flowers make me feel alive and I want to be surrounded by them as often as possible.

Flowers and design go hand in hand, so this seems like a natural step for me to take. It’s becoming a rather requested service of me. And you’ve no doubt seen my floral work throughout my website, in inspirations shoots and even at my own wedding. In fact, you may have thought this was a service I already offered, which it is, but on a very small scale. Putting together a few blooms for a birthday party, brunch or simply brighten someone’s day is a little different than creating a design with hundreds of flowers, moving pieces, aisle décor and centerpieces for a wedding.

So when it comes down to it, fear has held me back and I’ve been scared to book a whole wedding’s worth of floral. There are so many more details to consider than just hand-tying a few blooms together. And what if I fail? This is someone’s dream day that I would be crushing!

In light of this, right now my basement is being reworked, plans are being plotted and floral recipes are being created. If all goes well, full on large scale floral services will be officially be added to The Day’s Designs offerings soon… like really soon, I’m talking to brides about blooms this summer and fall! Eeekk… I’m so excited to actually be typing those words!

What does it mean for you, my current and future bridal clients? It means that you will have yet another resource for beautiful blooms. It means that the person designing and coordinating logistics with also be hands-on with florals and ideas can easily come from one person and one place, without having to communicate your vision over and over again to countless vendors. It also means one less vendor to worry about on your wedding day. However, you by no means HAVE to use my floral services. I know there are so many amazing florists out there, and if one of them strikes your fancy, I highly encourage you to work with them. No hard feelings, I want your day to represent you and make your vision come to life. I will also be taking on a limited number of floral only clients, so bring on the flower love!

I can’t wait to share more about my adventures of adding blooms!

Valentine’s Bouquet Inspiration

0 · Feb 14, 2014 ·

Back in the snow and gloom of January I had an idea. Valentine’s Day would quickly be approaching and it’s a day that always calls for some gorgeous blooms. However, sometimes these mounds of perfectly placed, symmetrical and classic roses need a little extra love – ferns and baby’s breath can only do so much. The careless air of a wildflower bouquet has always been more my style and frankly, sometimes these typical rose arrangements are a bit sophisticated and stuffy for my taste.

So I thought, why not make bouquets out of these readily available Valentine’s flowers that were my style? You don’t have to have extremely high end blooms to make a pretty bouquet, they just need to be artfully arranged and displayed. My goal was to gather some of these grocery store blooms and create something gorgeous and over the top romantic. These are all flowers that are readily available and can be glamorous if just arranged and displayed correctly. So if your man stops at Speedway on his way home from work tonight, don’t lose heart… you can still have some beautiful flowers!

Bouquet Recipe 1:

3 stems pink spray roses
6 cream roses
3 pale pink roses
3 medium (colored) pink roses
4 cherry roses
3 bakers ferns
1 tree fern
1 sprig cedar (salvaged from my back yard – because I promised everything would be easy to source!)

And don’t underestimate the impact a glamorous ribbon can make… the velvet one here is amazing!

Bouquet #2 has a few more components and is a little fancier. But it still has lots of Valentine favorites including tulips – just to tease you with the thought of spring!

Bouquet Recipe 2:

5 pink tulips
4 stems burgundy mums
2 pink snap dragons
3 medium (colored) pink roses
3 stems pink spray roses
2 cherry roses
2 cream roses
2 light pink roses
3 stems eucalyptus
1 bakers fern

And I couldn’t resist putting together a little floral hairpiece with some of the leftover blooms, which is a certain way to make any girl feel like a princess! Then we added some glitter and sweet treats and then convinced Heather Cisler Photography to come play with me in the middle of a snow storm!