Ally and Randall's Larz Anderson Auto Museum Wedding and Hei La Moon Banquet!

On Saturday, June 26, 2010, I was the coordinator for Ally and Randall's wedding. The day started out with hair and makeup for the bridal party at Salon Capri in Newton, then everyone traveled over to the Larz Anderson Auto Museum to get dressed. This gorgeous auto museum holds the most amazing vintage cars I have ever seen. I think there's even one car in the lower level that is one of the oldest cars in the United States.

The bride wore a stunning beaded Henry Roth gown and held a bouquet of lush pink peonies. The bridesmaids wore silk chiffon J.Crew dresses and carried bouquets of pink hydrangea. All of the ceremony and personal flowers were designed by Nicole Pirani of Blooms of Hope.

The ceremony for over 300 guests was held on the lawn of the Larz Anderson Auto Museum, with a chuppah handmade by the bride's family. Even the tree on the top of the chuppah was painted by the bride's grandmother. After the ceremony, guests enjoyed cocktails and appetizers at the museum, while exploring all of the different car displays, and posing with props for the photo guestbook.

Afterwards, everyone headed into the city to Hei La Moon, for a traditional Chinese banquet dinner. The tables were dressed in chocolate linens and silk turquoise runners, fluffy tissue pomanders adorned the walls, little monkey bags filled with goodies were lined up for the kids, and in the middle of the room was the CAKE. Ohhh, the cake!! All of the guests loved reading all of the messages on the five tier tiffany blue wedding cake from Montilio's, complete with a basketball shoe and high heel on the top.

The escort cards were placed in wine corks, which matched the wine bottle table numbers, and guests enjoyed more cocktails along with a "perfect pear martini" signature drink. After introductions and an adorable first dance (with a top hat & boa!), there was a special lion dance performance, and then a 10 course banquet dinner was served. At the end of the night, a brighly colored candy buffet was brought out with sweets like candy necklaces, ring pops, twizzlers, gummy bears, and swedish fish.

Erica from Erica Ferrone Photography captured the entire day beautifully, and I'm so happy to be able to share some of her photos! Also, a special thank you to my assistant, Rachel, for helping me with all of the setup!

Photos by Erica Ferrone Photography

Ally and Randall, I wish you both the best in your marriage together, and it was so much fun working with you!!

~Emilie

A Colorful Sweets Buffet at Finale

In July, Fiona and I were asked to help put together a sweets buffet for a reception held at Finale Desserterie & Bakery in Boston. A sweets buffet, also known as a dessert buffet, is very similar to a candy buffet, except it usually includes extra non-candy items like cookies, brownies, or cupcakes. The reception was for a baptism, and in addition to the sweets buffet, guests enjoyed a variety of sandwiches and desserts from Finale.

For favor boxes, I personalized 4" x 4" clear tuck top boxes with brown double faced satin ribbon, and a sticker label on the front. I designed little butterflies and a cross around the words "Jayden's Baptism", the date of the event, and "Thank you for coming!". For the jar labels, I created hanging tags using pearlescent white cardstock, a brown metallic cardstock backing, and brown double faced satin ribbon. I also created a sign for the front of the buffet that matched the jar labels, with the phrase "help yourselves to something sweet" under Jayden's Sweets Buffet.

On the morning of the event, I went over to Finale to setup the buffet, and I loved how colorful everything was! Cecilia, Jayden's mom, picked the following goodies: chocolate covered almonds, gummy bears, skittles, milk chocolate M&Ms, sour apple ring candy, jelly beans, chocolate chip cookies, butter shortbread cookies, vanilla & raspberry jam cookies, and oreos. It is always fun setting up dessert buffets because I get to open up bags and bags of candy! Here are some photos of the design elements and the event.

event photos by Andrew Chu and Ramson Gutierrez

Mmm... this display makes me really want some candy, especially more of those Starburst flavored jelly beans!! If you're interested in a candy or sweets buffet for your upcoming event, contact us at info@pinkorchidweddings.com.

~Emilie

Featured on Style Me Pretty!

I am so excited to share that one of my FAVORITE wedding blogs ever, Style Me Pretty, just featured a gorgeous wedding that Fiona and I coordinated back at the end of June! I blogged about the amazing details here, but this is your first look at the stunning photos by Lexi Photography.

Photos by Lexi Photography

This is only a little peek into the SMP feature, so definitely check out the full article here!

~Emilie

Meghan & Matt's Omni Parker House Wedding!

On Saturday, July 10th, Fiona and I were the coordinators for Meghan and Matt's wedding. This was actually the Saturday where there was a crazy downpour in the afternoon, and flash flooding all over Massachusetts. Thankfully, everything was indoor for this wedding, and the only thing the rain affected were the outdoor portraits of the wedding party and family. Those were moved indoors to the Omni Parker House and to the Boston Public Library.

The day started out in a suite at the Omni Parker House, where the bridal party had their hair styled by Erik from the Will Charles Salon, and makeup by Krystal Treanor of I Do Faces. The bridesmaids wore coral colored dresses from Bari Jay, and the bride wore a gorgeous Paloma Blanca gown.

The wedding ceremony was held at the historic King's Chapel, and immediately after, guests walked next door to the Omni Parker House for a cocktail hour and dinner reception. The flowers for the centerpieces, along with the church gates and bouquets were all done by Orchids & Blooms. The low and tall centerpieces for the ballroom were a beautiful mix of bright flowers and curly willow branches.

One thing pretty unique about this wedding was the Red Sox and Yankees theme! The bride and her family are Yankees fans, and the groom and his family are Red Sox fans, so they thought that it would be a fun idea to incorporate that into wedding. Guests picked up escort card "tickets", complete with a photo of the bride and groom, a bar code, and the section where they would be sitting. The "sections" were silver framed photos of Red Sox and Yankees players, with a small autograph of each player. Some guests definitely had a lot of fun walking around to each table trying to spot players like Joe DiMaggio and Ted Williams. As favors, the most adorable Red Sox and Yankees jersey cookies from A Dozen Eggs Bake Shoppe were at each guest's place setting.

Guests enjoyed an incredible five course dinner: lobster martini appetizer, salad, raspberry sorbet intermezzo, entree of filet mignon or sea bass, and wedding cake with a chocolate covered strawberry for dessert. The four tiered wedding cake from Montilios was decorated with a gorgeous lace design, but the most special detail of the cake was definitely the cake topper. It had been used in four generations of weddings in the bride's family, starting with her great grandmother's wedding.

DJ Aaron Topfer kept guests on the dance floor all night, and also played the piano during cocktail hour earlier in the evening. Ben McElroy of McElroy Weddings was the wedding videographer, and Caty Morris of Catharine Morris Photography was the photographer for the day. Professional photos from Caty will be coming later, but for now, here are some of the details!

Meghan and Matt, I hope you enjoyed your honeymoon in Hawaii, and it was such a pleasure working with you both!!

~Emilie

Arielle and Steve's Wedding at Brooksby Farm

On Sunday, June 20th, I was the day-of coordinator for Arielle and Steve's wedding at Brooksby Farm in Peabody, MA. The bridal party had hair and makeup done by Pyara Spa & Salon, and carried beautiful bouquets from Bow Street Flowers. The wedding day started with a first look for the bride and groom in front of the gazebo at Brooksby Farm, followed a Ketubah signing ceremony. The forecast showed thunderstorms right in time for the outdoor ceremony, but even with dark skies and clouds, the rain didn't come down! Guests were able to enjoy a dry and beautiful Jewish ceremony under a traditional chuppah, and a cocktail hour outside the Smith Barn.

The details for this wedding were just amazing. The guestbook included little library cards and envelopes for guests to fill out. A gorgeous birdcage for cards was decorated by the bride with bits of moss and flowers. The escort cards had little skeleton keys tied to them, and were all placed in stoneware bowls that were handmade by the bride! Arielle has her own etsy shop where she makes and sells bowls, mugs, and other stoneware items. Guests absolutely loved being able to take these home with them.

The tables were named after authors, and were topped with gray linens, burlap runners, a couple of handmade stoneware vases, pink peonies, sprigs of lavender, a few jars filled with a variety of items, a book by the author, a tree stump, and a sign in each tree stump with the author's name.

The food for the cocktail hour and reception by Green Olive Catering was probably the tastiest I've ever had at a wedding. There were three stations of food and an incredible range of hot and cold dishes, like hummus and homemade chips to salad and pasta. They also provided dessert, which were three different kinds of cupcakes. Instead of a traditional cake cutting, the bride and groom cut into a red-velvet cupcake together.

The groom, Steve, is actually part of a band, and they really rocked out during the reception and had guests dancing. Later on in the night, there was actually a group sing-a-long, where lyrics were passed out to everyone in the crowd, with the bride and groom leading on banjo and piano. Songs included classics like "Eight Days a Week" and "Sweet Baby James".

It was definitely one of the most unique weddings that I've been a part of, and loved how creative everything was! Professional photos from Emily Sterne of Emily Sterne Photography will be coming later on, but for now, here is a little sneak peek!

A special thanks to my assistant, Rachel, for helping me throughout the day! Arielle and Steve, thank you so much for allowing us to be part of your wedding day, and I hope that you enjoyed your honeymoon in Europe!!

~Emilie

Paisley Place Cards + Marriage Quotes

I can't believe it's been a few weeks since my last post! It's been crazy busy with non-stop weddings for Pink Orchid recently, and on top of it all, I had to squeeze in a trip out of the country because I was a bridesmaid in my friend Amy's wedding just this past Saturday! The wedding was held at the Four Seasons Resort in Whistler, Canada, and my goodness, that hotel is gorgeous. The spa, the rooms, the service, the food.. everything was phenomenal, and I really enjoyed my four days there, along with a few days in Vancouver beforehand.

Here are some photos of Vancouver, and the top of Whistler Mountain, where there was still lots of snow!

I designed a few pieces of wedding stationery for Amy, including her programs, place cards, and table numbers, and other than that, I tried to stick to the bridesmaid role as best I could. But, who am I kidding, right? The coordinator side of me kicked in throughout the rehearsal and wedding, but in a much smaller scale because of the help of the hotel staff and four other amazing bridesmaids. Thankfully, I was still able to enjoy the wedding!

Her stationery included a paisley design, and the colors matched all of the bridesmaids dresses perfectly. The place cards were attached on little Crate&Barrel memo clips, which guests were able to take home as a favor. Guest names were printed on the front, and a marriage quote was on the back. There were ten total quotes so every guest at each table had a different one. They weren't your typical lovey-dovey marriage quotes. Let me know if you have a favorite!

“What counts in making a happy marriage is not so much how compatible you are, but how you deal with incompatibility.” – Leo Tolstoy

“Many marriages would be better if the husband and wife clearly understood that they're on the same side.” – Anonymous

"Life has taught us that love does not consist in gazing at each other but in looking outward together in the same direction." - Antoine de Saint-Exupery

"To love someone deeply gives you strength. Being loved by someone deeply gives you courage." – Lao Tzu

"An archaeologist is the best husband any woman can have: the older she gets, the more interested he is in her." – Agatha Christie

"People stay in love because they’re intrigued, or because of chemistry, kindnesses, and even luck. But part of it has got to be forgiveness and gratefulness!" – Anonymous

“The secret of a happy marriage is finding the right person. You know they're right if you love to eat with them all of the time.” – Julia Child

“Marriage is a three ring circus: engagement ring, wedding ring, and suffering.” – Woody Allen

"You don't marry someone you can live with - you marry the person who you cannot live without." – Anonymous

“Men marry women with the hope they will never change. Women marry men with the hope they will change. Invariably they are both disappointed.” – Albert Einstein

Amy and Eugene, it was so fun to celebrate the weekend with you, and I wish you both the very best!!

~Emilie