Intimate weds Rustic, Lawson style. [A PUNCH INSIDE Wedding Installation.]
I met Terrilyn and Brent a few months back on a home consult. I was immediately struck by two things: a) how easygoing they were,and b) how in love they were.
A few months later I got an email from Terrilyn saying that she and Brent were getting married and, while she knew that I didn’t ‘do’ weddings, she assured me that if I agreed to design their wedding she’d literally just ‘show up’. Too good to be true, I thought, but because I liked this couple so much and with the other ‘players’ involved (SJAH, photographer, florist), I agreed to take a stab at it.
Anyone who knows me knows I’ve resisted the wedding planner route. I pass all requests along to my colleague Haley Evans from Menus to Venues. When I married Robert, I wore jeans, high-cut sneakers and my hair in banana clip on a beach in Prince Edward Island. There was Macey, our Boston Terrier, and three other guests in attendance. Afterward we ate stale Co-op Birthday cake with someone else’s name on it (never got picked up apparently) from the only place to buy cake within a 15 mile radius of our rented house on the beach. My point is, I don’t do weddings, not even my own!
But I also love a challenge. And when Terrilyn said they wanted to have a very small gathering (less than 25 guests) and that she trusted us (they’d literally just ‘show up’) I agreed.
The Saint John Ale House (Keg Room) upstairs was a perfect setting: it had a long communal table for the family/close friends dinner, and there was also enough room to place, theatre style, a small area for Terrilyn and Brent to get married, complete with a backdrop.
Knowing Kelly Lawson, one of my best friends and close collaborators, was going to be photographing their special day, I decided to place Kelly’s photo 9′ white backdrop (along with the pre-set lighting) behind the bride and groom. We added our rental Gus* Modern Light Boxes for low intimate lighting, plus very simple rustic chair markers on the back of each seat.
Given all the rustic elements of the Saint John Ale House (the distressed floors, exposed brick walls, and high ceiling beams) I chose to go with a playful palette of coppers, silvers, creams, along with a flourish of disco balls to complement the restaurant’s elements.
The lanterns created a magical ceiling over the small wedding party.
We then carried the same lantern theme on the other side of the room to anchor the space above the communal table as featured below.
We chose simple white linens, stainless steel antlers, large chunky votive candles on each place setting, along with name tags and a printed menu, mixed in with two large simple magnolia floral centrepieces from Sandra Miller Floral Designs to welcome guests for the harvest / family style food served by Jesse Vergen and his team.
We took a magnolia leaf and placed it on each place setting to highlight each guest’s name tag.
The copper colours in the magnolia leaves are among my favourite elements in this design.
Sandra Miller Floral Designs created a beautiful hair piece for Terrilyn, which incorporated magnolia leaves.
The antlers were also carried into the bride’s bouquet.
“Terrilyn & Brent. In love.”
Parker is the other great love of Terrilyn’s life.
We wish Terrilyn, Brent and Parker, all the happiness they deserve. I wanted to say a tremendous thank you to my co-worker, Joshua Hayes, for installing and adding his own special elements to our collaborative design and to our newest team member, Christiana Myers, for all her assistance in setting up with Joshua. Kelly Lawson, your photos make everyone (and everything) magical. We of course enjoy collaborating with Sandra Miller Floral Designs as well, as they create stunning floral arrangements. And, last but not least, our client and our dear friends at the Saint John Ale House. You pulled this event together seamlessly!
Although we don’t typically do weddings as mentioned above, we happily will rent out all the elements you see here: Gus* Modern Light boxes, the various lanterns, the stainless steel antlers and large table votives. Contact us for more information. 506.642.9692.
