Last June Wendy and Danny walked into a ballroom we were decorating and POW,  instant connection!  We think actual sparks flew across the room!  As they so enthusiastically explained, after 12 glorious years together, they had finally decided it was time to officially exchange vows.  Their wedding was scheduled just a few months later at the beautiful Ritz-Carlton Philadelphia and we were thrilled when they asked us to bring their wedding vision to life.  Wendy just happened to have with her a photo of a bride and groom exchanging their vows in an elegant, candle lit room surrounded by their friends.  Ahhh, a dreamy vision was shared, more sparks flew and off we went!

The vision included beautiful details, glamorous elements and NOTHING ordinary!  Wendy wanted stylish furniture for her dinner; no hotel chairs and tables would do!  Since the ceremony would be held in the same Petite Ballroom where dinner would later occur, we needed to create a plan where all of the elements we brought in for dinner could be used first for the ceremony.  The gorgeous chairs, banquettes, sofas and loveseats for dinner became the seating for the ceremony.  Needless to say, their guests were blown away as they entered the Ballroom for Wendy and Danny’s ceremony.

 

What to do with the crystal-beaded mirrored bar during the ceremony?  It became a stunning backdrop holding phalaenopsis orchids, crystal hurricanes and mirror-beaded lampshades.

While the atmosphere in the room was incredibly romantic, nothing could compare to the adorable flower girl.  She knew how to melt the crowd!

There was an audible gasp as the double doors opened and Wendy glided into the room in her frothy Oscar de la Renta gown!  A magical, jaw-dropping moment for Danny!  Wendy’s personal shopper at Neiman Marcus in King of Prussia, the uber-fabulous Lorrin Mullins, jumped through hoops to get the perfect gown for Wendy.   His genius was evident as she stepped onto the aisle runner and made her way past the flowers and candles to Danny.  While it was the only dress Wendy tried on [could we all be that lucky?], it took five months to create and was absolutely worth the wait.  A simple, short veil and white flowers tucked low in her chignon were all the accessories needed to complete the picture.

The white satin and black velvet-edged aisle runner led to the glossy black dance floor for the ceremony-in-the-round.  We used extra gloss on the dance floor to enhance and reflect the shimmer of the candles and chandelier. 

Even though the non-denominational ceremony was relatively brief, Wendy and Danny wrote their own vows to each other.  A truly loving couple who really are the soulmates we all hope to find, you could hear a pin drop as Danny recited his emotional vows to Wendy.  She said that as she was standing there with Danny, “the one who provided ALL of this for me, my love and best friend, by my side, I could see and feel everyone I love right there around us.”  In addition to their personal vows, they also included powerfully romantic readings and passionate jazz standards to add moments of joy, celebration and levity.  An unbelievably intimate ceremony for a couple so obviously deep in love.

While everything in the room was colored in a sophisticated palette of black and white, the striking bridal bouquet of all raspberry Ranunculus and Peonies wrapped in silver-beaded ribbon was the perfect vibrant punctuation to capture Wendy’s exhuberant personality.  Danny looked pretty fab in his Prada tux but he made sure his bride held the spotlight all night!  A true gentleman.

Dave Ashby did such an amazing job with the photos for the wedding that we decided to post the dinner photos separately from these gorgeous ceremony photos.  Keep an eye out for the rest of the story as we share how we transformed the room (in an hour) from this exquisite ceremony into a fabulous dining room!