Swoon-Worthy: Colleen & Craig's Wedding {part 2: the details}

On Wednesday, I blogged about Colleen and Craig's fabulous wedding at the Morris House Hotel back in September 2009.  Jamie and I coordinated the big day and also created a bunch of details for the event.  I was so proud of the work that we did - it was all very custom, very pretty and very, very affordable.

Colleen's color palette was sage green and soft cream with pops of navy blue and copper.  We had a ball putting together all the little touches that made her wedding day so infused with her personality and that made the guests feel that everything was incredibly special and personalized.  Here are some of the things we did:

* Petal Cones*

Colleen wanted her guests to toss flower petals as she and Craig recessed up the aisle.  So, we created these little DIY petal cones to hold dried ivory rose petals, baby blue hydrangea blossoms and light green shamrocks (the bride and groom are both Irish, so the shamrocks fit).  We ordered pretty patterned paper from Paper-Source, made a cone shaped holder, added a custom label with instructions to the guests and used an ivory satin ribbon to hang from each chair.  Cute, no?

* Free Form Crystal Chandelier *

Colleen really loved the look of crystal chandeliers hanging from wedding tents, but Jamie and I knew our limits, and hanging real live wired chandeliers was definitely beyond them.  So we created our own by using long strands of faux crystals and making them in a chandelier-swag type shape.  We had to use an 8 foot tall ladder to create this.  Well, Jamie used the ladder, while I held it steady.  The chandelier looked nice during the day but really stood out beautifully at night.

* Placecards*

We saved a bundle on placecards by doing them ourselves.  Rather than pay a calligrapher to do it, we used a pretty font (appropriately named, "Beautiful") for each guest's name.  We printed on ivory card stock and mounted on navy placecards from Paper-Source.  Colleen bought sweet silver cups and had the florist fill each cup with an ivory rosebud, while we propped the placecard on the top.  The end result was so elegant.

*  Photo Booth Sign*

Colleen and Craig hired Shutter Booth Philadelphia for their reception.  The photo strips from the booth served as their guest book and favors for the guests.  It is really fun (and funny) to see the progression of the photos as the night went on.  Ha.  Colleen wanted us to create a sign for the photo booth to let people know that one strip was their favor.  We jumped on it and made this little number and had Kinkos print it on foam board.

* Reception Tables*

Colleen had a vision of dining under the stars with lots of sparkle and candlelight, and we were happy to help make that happen.  We created custom menu cards for each person, wrapped a thick navy velvet ribbon around each menu and gently placed a leaf under the ribbon.  The full effect was just gorgeous.  We also created custom table numbers for each table, which were so simple by printing on ivory card stock and mounting on navy card stock.  Colleen chose sage pin-tucked silk tablecloths and stunning ivory florals to tie everything together.

* Bar Area*

The bar area (where cocktails and the after-party were held) was a challenge.  It was dark and kind of dull, and Colleen wanted it to feel as pretty as the tent area.  So we helped with that.  We hung clusters of white paper lanterns all over the room and suspended them from the ceiling with sage satin ribbon.  For the bar itself, we created custom drink stirrers for their signature cocktail (the mojito).  These sweet stirrers said "i do!" and "oh happy day!" on them and were made with card stock and some bamboo skewers.  We also created a bar menu entitled "Libations and Such" which listed out all the drink offerings at the bar.  Finally, Colleen saw lollipop trees in a wedding featured in Martha Stewart Weddings and wanted them at her reception.  These look tricky but are so easy to recreate.  We made custom signs for these that said, "Candy is dandy but liquor is quicker" and put them on the bar.  They were a huge hit.  An even huger hit was the Irish Car Bomb station that Colleen surprised her groom with.  Even that got a shot of pretty with the custom sign we created that said "Bombs Away! Irish Car Bombs".  Gotta love a wedding where even Irish Car Bombs get a little swoon-worthy attention.

And that about wraps it up!  Colleen's guest list of about 100 people made projects of the scale much more manageable, and we had a lot of fun putting it all together.  If you'd like some help making a party more swoon-worthy, give us a shout! We'd love to help.  And because I cannot close a wedding-related post without one last shot of the happy couple, here you go!

See you swoon,

{all photos courtesy of Eric Mencher Photography}