Lighting | Beautiful Days Wedding and Event Planning, Floral and Lighting Design

Archive for the ‘Lighting’ Category

A York Harbor Reading Room Wedding

Tuesday, January 17th, 2012

This York Harbor Reading Room wedding in York Harbor, Maine has to be one of my all time favorites! I do love all of my brides and the special celebrations Beautiful Days creates for them but there’s a little more sentiment in this one….I did my first Reading Room wedding over six years ago where our bride to be was working… Anneke wasn’t even 20 but already collecting thoughts and ideas for her wedding so she asked for my business card and held onto it till Mr. Right came along years later ! Collaborating with Anneke and Austin was so much fun and together we created a celebrations that was elegant, romantic and classic with preppy and nautical details.

Anneke and Austin were married at the architecturally perfect First Parish Congregational Church on York Harbor. The church was decorated with lush wreaths 0n the entrance doors, super cute galvanized buckets with blue and white grosgrain ribbon detail on the pew ends and full and beautiful arrangements at the altar.

Anneke’s bouquet was lush and lovely, made up of white and pink peonies and pale pink sweet peas. The perfect pink peonies were cut from my garden!

Fantastic photographer Eric Laurtis captured these happy moments following the ceremony at the historic John Hancock Wharf on the York River. And oh gosh Anneke’s dress from Madeleine’s Daughter was a stunner! She used to work at Madeleine’s Daughter so she knew how to shop for the perfect dress.

Anneke is one of four sisters and you can tell they are best of friends! The wedding party looked very sharp in navy accented with bouquets and boutonnieres of fuchsia pinks.

I created a custom monogrammed bridal bouquet wrap using a piece of Anneke’s grandmother’s wedding gown – love this type of detail and sentiment! And wow do I just have a crush on fuchsia…fabulous against the navy!

Pew end detail from the ceremony and the clean and classic cake from Beach Pea Bakery (on of my favorite bakeries!). I made a custom cake stand that was wrapped in nautical chart of the seacoast area and accented with white nautical rope. (or hmmm, I should say “I designed” the cake stand since Beautiful Days’ master craftsman and carpenter aka my husband actually made the stand!).

This escort card display is one of the highlights for me…Gus & Ruby Letterpress (who did all of the fabulous print pieces – more coming I promise!) created the nautical flags which we assembled on tall picks to display on the custom compass table topper along with a gorgeous arrangement of hydrangeas, peonies, sweet peas and ranunculus accented with a wrap of nautical chart, ribbon and nautical rope. The compass graphic was used as a select accent in the perfect print pieces from Gus & Ruby. When it was all set up I was head over heals! (The above two shots are by Wendy Freedman)

Oh so pretty cocktail hour and centerpiece flowers were so perfect for this start of the summer celebration. The table numbers of nautical flag symbols by Gus & Ruby were great graphic pops of color and interest. We had 100% linen runners custom made for all the dining tables – a really crisp and classic finishing touch.

More details… beautiful letterpress menus from Gus & Ruby tied on with more of our nautical rope – and yes I now know how to tie a simple sailor’s knot!

The escort card table top on display after the table was moved aside to make room for dancing. The head table had a special and dramatic floral arrangement

And more details!…Drink stirrers and signs and the amazing invitation suite from Gus & Ruby complete with a hand stitched sailcloth belly band and monogrammed pennant flags.

What’s a party with out sparklers!?

The Reading Room has a large, gorgeous fireplace that we made glow with candles, candles and more candles!

If you are dancing into the night under a golden canopy of twinkle lights why not do it in flip flops? (I’ll take pink in size 9 please). The lighting we put up the large hall of the Reading Room added that extra layer of romance and festivity.

Congratulations to you Anneke and Austin! It was truly a special day. Anneke, I am so pleased you held onto that card for so long and you knew I was “the one” before you met “THE ONE!”

This wedding celebration was not only inspired by Anneke’s vision, fabulous taste and attention to detail but was also a collaboration of fantastic wedding professionals who I was so honored to work and create with!

Beautifully photographing the day: Eric Laurtis
The perfect setting: The York Harbor Reading Room, York Harbor, Maine
Custom invitation suite and print pieces: Gus & Ruby Letterpress
Cake creation-classic on the outside, oh so decadent on the inside: Beach Pea Bakery
Filming the day as only the best can: Meg Simone Wedding Films. You can take a peek at Anneke and Austin’s day as told by Meg’s film here.
Gorgeous bridal gown and maids dresses: Madeleine’s Daughter

Flowers, design, lighting, select decor details and partial day of coordination: Beautiful Days.

Posted in Decorations, Flowers, Lighting, Past weddings, Pink & White | 2 Comments »

Picture perfect wedding inspiration in Kennebunk, Maine

Tuesday, March 29th, 2011

I love day dreaming about perfect wedding celebrations…when the setting, vibe, flowers, table settings, dress, food, and lighting all come together it is a flawless moment. I was so fortunate to create one of those moments at Snug Harbor Farm in Kennebunk, Maine. Balmy greenhouses filled with lush plants and trimmed to perfection topiaries, intriguing garden ornaments, exotic birds and captivating backdrops make Snug Harbor such a special and unique setting. I collaborated with some of the finest wedding and event professionals in Maine and New Hampshire who made this wedding inspiration shoot a dreamy reality! A reminder to anyone planning a celebration that you can dream all you want but to really make it come together you need to surround yourself with people who are true professionals, committed to making your inspiration come to life.

maine wedding flowers florist design

This shoot will be featured in Maine Magazine’s wedding issue coming out in April! Yey! Make sure to grab a copy! And check out Video Design Films fantastic video of the shoot here!

Flowers,Design & Styling: Beautiful Days

Photography: White Loft Studio

Location: Snug Harbor Farm

Event Rentals: Be Our Guest

Invitation Suite, Menus, Offering Cards & Place Cards: Gus & Ruby Letterpress

Calligraphy: LoveJenna

Dress: Madeleine’s Daughter

Cake: Wild Orchid Baking Company

Hair: Hair That Moves

Make Up: Joya Beauty

Culinary Concepts: Robyn Friedman

Chocolates: Byrne & Carlson

Video: Video Design Films

Lanterns & Candle Holders: Luna Bazaar

Special thanks to Wendy Freedman for styling assistance and Sarah, Randy & Olive for being the perfect (non) models!

Posted in Color Palettes, Decorations, Flowers, Inspiration, Lighting, White & green | 2 Comments »

Taste of the Nation, Portsmouth, NH

Thursday, December 2nd, 2010

This past June Beautiful Days once again took part in decorating the VIP tent for the annual Share Our Strength Seacoast‘s Taste of the Nation fundraising event in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. The goal of Share Our Strength is to end child hunger in our communities. During the holidays, a time of abundance and indulgence, warmth and love, it is easy to overlook the many children who will not celebrate around a table overflowing with food and whose daily basic nutritional needs are not met.

It is truly an honor to be part of such a crucial cause in our community. The theme for the VIP tent was local, seasonal food highlighted by foods framed in old windows, a farmer’s table highlighting the offerings of the season, greens potted up from my garden and a farmer’s porch. Enjoy and be inspired to do your part to end child hunger in your neighborhood.

Be sure to get your tickets for the 2011 event! It’s a great way to start off the summer and always a fantastic gathering!

Special thanks to Geneve Hoffman for the fabulous photos!

Posted in Decorations, Flowers, Inspiration, Lighting, Past events | 1 Comment »

My kind of party….

Thursday, October 8th, 2009

Here it is fall already and I am just now catching up on sharing the great events from the summer! I thought I’d start off with one of my favorites…My brother Peter has a company called Tidal Rock that sells excellent clothes with cool graphics representing The Cape, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket. Our family grew up on Nantucket and even though we don’t live there anymore we are deeply connected to that very special place. This summer Peter hosted his second annual BBQ,Bocce & Bluegrass party to benefit the Nantucket Conservation Foundation. The first year was a huge success and this year’s gathering was even better! Friends and family came together to make it all happen…putting up outdoor lighting, installing last minute bleacher seats which were a must have, creating court signs, prepping food, organizing the tournament, picking up locally brewed beer from Cisco Brewery , some of the first corn from the fields of Bartlett’s Farm and ice cream from The Juice Bar, setting up tables and chairs, laying out the courts and ALOT more! Thankfully it was a gorgeous day and all the hard work paid off. Island locals and visitors grooved to a bluegrass band, feasted on fantastic BBQ, drank excellent beer, and oh yeah played some bocce. My brother Jake and I paired up to hopefully redeem ourselves for placing second last year – we were close but had to sit on the side lines as the final players went head to head under the lights. This was my kind of party because it had all makings for the perfect gathering…family, dear friends, babies and kids, great simple food, local brews, live music that all ages enjoy and a clear summer sky that went from sun filled to a full moon with the smell of the ocean lingering in the background. Next year’s benefit is already on my calender and I can’t wait!

Posted in Just for fun, Lighting, Past events | 1 Comment »

Taste of the Nation

Tuesday, July 28th, 2009

This June Beautiful Days had the opportunity to decorate the VIP tent for Taste of the Nation benefit hosted by Share Our Strength Seacoast. The design direction was inspired by the gorgeous photography of Alexandra de Steiguer. We worked with black, white, and blues to capture the feeling of her dramatic shots of landscapes and weathered coast lines. The flower arrangements included lacquered black manzanita branches, white peonies and roses, silver dusty miller, blue sea holly and poppy pods. Mussel shells lined the flower vases - now every time I go to the beach with my son he thinks we are there to collect mussel shells! Edibles were also included in the taste table and the entry flowers – blackberries, artichokes, garlic scapes from the farmers market and kale, mizuna and blueberry bushes from my garden and yes I was picking these at ten pm, in the rain with a head lamp on! A sea of large paper lanterns in pale blue and white hovered over the guests who lounged in special adirondack chairs from Scott Masi of Chairman of the Board . The chairs were finished with custom silkscreened pillows that were designed and created with the talents and help of my neighbor Rachel of Schumacher Designs. Guests were treated to some fun with a great photo booth courtesy of Maine Photo Booth Company - I will admit that I did it four times – silly stuff! It was truly an honor to be part of such a fantastic fundraising and awareness effort for making sure no child in the United States is hungry. A very special thank you to Geneve Hoffman for as always creating beautiful photos and to all the volunteers who helped us out!

Tags: Chairman of the Board, Geneve Hoffman, Maine Photo Booth
Posted in Flowers, Lighting, Past events | No Comments »

Emily & Matt, Laudholm Farm

Monday, July 6th, 2009

I just can’t get away from pink and green and I love it! Growing up on the east coast I will admit that I had my brush with the classic preppy color combination and I wore my pink izod with the collar turned up with pride! But pink and green isn’t just for the preppy set – it is fresh, fun and classic! I have a wedding coming up in a few weeks where we are using a range of pinks and greens so I have the colors on my mind and am reflecting on the pink and green wedding I did last year.

Emily the bride knew just what she wanted – something sophisticated and contemporary while still being inviting and warm. Under the dining tent we created pink and green table arrangements running the length of the three long family style dining tables with creations of varying heights and scale with key lime and green apple accents and floating, pillar and votive candles. After dinner guests were led to the classic barn with the large entry framed by tulle draping lit by twinkle lights and the inside filled with pink and white paper lanterns. We added a few pink spot lights to the barn to get some more of the pink glow going. The results were stunning and a perfect place for cupcakes for dessert and dancing away the rest of the night.

Hosted by Laudholm Farm (one of favorite venues!), Emily and Matt’s celebration was beautifully captured by David Murray of David Murray Weddings and a fantastic feast was served by Kitchen Chicks Catering. All the details and day of coordination were handled with ease by the lovely Brooke Sheldon of Lilybrooke Events. Many thanks to David for providing the gorgeous photos!