Autumn Wedding at Cranberry Park

An outdoor wedding in the late fall can be risky – and many a bride and groom have worried about rain or cold.  These days, thanks to heaters and well-seasoned caterers, even the nastiest weather need not spoil this special day.  A Greenwich couple found this out recently, as they made their way from Christ Church to the Gallaher Mansion at Cranberry Park in Norwalk in the pouring rain.  With Susan Scully, owner of Watson’s Catering at the helm, everyone knew this event would be spectacular.

For the décor, it was my job to find a colorful and modern way to distill autumn’s essence.  I had begun by injecting bursts of color in the Bridal and Bridesmaids’ Bouquets and in the Boutonnieres, turning to Coffee Break roses and hypericum berries.

Once inside the tent I set to work with rolls of natural burlap, transforming tent poles into trunks of trees that I topped with canopies of sweet gum leaves.

Table centerpieces picked up this theme, using many of the same ingredients… Pressed maple leaves scattered on each table and votive candles finished the look.

What fun! What a joyful celebration!


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Elegant Seaside Wedding at the Manursing Island Club

Image
What do palm, banana and monsters leaves, pine tips and pine cones have in common? For me at least, they bespoke of the favorite haunts of the two nature lovers who were about to tie the knot. It was my happy task to work these elements into large and elegant wedding at Manursing Island Club in Rye, NY, drawing upon a palette of white and green. And because the bride’s family splits its year between Rye and Bermuda, I had the mother of the bride’s white coral collection to draw upon as well. For the ceremony at the Church of the Resurrection, I had decorated the pews and altar with a variety of white flowers, lady’s mantle, seeded eucalyptus, grevillea and galax leaves. As the bridal party proceeded down the aisle, the bridesmaids’ deep navy dresses served as brilliant backdrops for the floral confections of white and green I’d made as bouquets. Shortly thereafter, as 285 guests gathered under a glistening tent, centerpieces of roses, lisianthus, freesia, hydrangeas, hyp...
Read more

Magical Wedding Reception at a Country Horse Farm

Image
I’ve always loved the spare simplicity of the Sherman Congregational Church, tucked away on a quiet spot that time appears to have passed by.  So I was thrilled to have a chance to do the floral design work there for a wedding at the summer’s end.  A 20-foot garland of thick seeded eucalyptus framed the entrance to the church and gently cascaded to the landing.  Inside, two abundant arrangements of roses, dahlias, zinnias, and Million Bells flanked the Altar.  (They would make star appearances later at the reception.)      The bride’s family had rolled up their collective sleeves on their nearby horse farm -- emptying out the major barn and readying its interiors for an inspired transformation.   From the antique pine farm tables to the cutlery, goblets, linens, and décor, this was a sophisticated, yet marvelously understated affair.   I knew the Bride’s choice of blush-colored roses and white dahlias on the table runn...
Read more

Garden Wedding, Roxbury, Connecticut

Image
The stage set was a landscape worthy of a Connecticut Impressionist painting. The ceremony took place in the spectacular gardens of the groom’s grandparents overlooking acres of treetops. The focal point was a simple arch of birch limbs decorated with tendrils of gerber daisies cascading from the structure. During the ceremony the couple exchanged custom leis which matched the bride’s stunning sari. This was a wedding of two families celebrating love and culture and beauty, seemingly all at once. After vows were exchanged, the 150 guests moved inside a pristine tent, where colorful orange, hot pink and spring green centerpieces of roses, dahlias and ladies mantle were featured. The flowers were tucked into birch containers which complimented the beauty of the wooded hills beyond. Connecticut in summer is a sea of greens and on the very best of days, gently rustling breezes. I suspect this elegantly understated wedding was one guests and family will remember.
Read more