Katie & Sam
Family-focused Fall Fête
Private Estate
Photographer: James x Schulze
Filmmaker: Clayton Film Co.
A weekend of family, friends, and one really great party.
Inspired by neutral colorways, the Bride’s personal fashion aesthetic, and the Musée Rodin in Paris...K&S’s invitation and save the date were elegant and seemingly simplistic, all the while being a complex mixture of printing processes and textures.
The paper design for this October celebration was to be elegant but also tactile and welcoming, nodding to personal details of the Bride and Groom’s stories and the celebrations to come, hosted at the Bride’s childhood home.
K&S spent the morning of their wedding getting ready with the people closest to their hearts. Family and friends (that are family) gathered together in a place special to the Bride and Groom, to laugh and prepare for the day’s celebrations ahead.
Wanting a mixture of classic and modern styling, K chose a sweeping off-shoulder Vivienne Westwood gown for her main look, complete with elbow-length lace gloves, layered pearl and rhinestone choker necklaces, and chapel-length simple tulle veil.
For S and his gents, classic black peak lapel tuxedos with velvet loafers and black hand-tie satin bowties.
Held amongst the sweeping willows on the water, K&S tied the knot in front of their nearest and dearest at the Bride’s family home. Vintage trolleys shuttled guests up the winding road onto the property where rows of chairs curved around a central display of overflowing hydrangeas in antique garden urns.
When cocktail hour is underway and you live on a large pond…what else can you do but set up your own personal driving range?
Prior to the reception, K&S’s guests enjoyed cocktails, hors d’oeuvres, and a side of golf, complete with custom golf balls and chipping stations to honor the Groom’s love for the greatest game ever played.
The Conservatory
Inspired by Michelin-style white tablecloth restaurants, K&S’s dinner and reception was designed to offer guests a restaurant-quality experience in both food/beverage and environment.
Starting with an oversized black and glass arum-style conservatory tent from Blue Peak Tents, we filled the space with crystal chandeliers, soft oatmeal velvet booths, long rows of white-linen and blonde-wood tables, and copious amounts of modern sleek table settings, silver service, and crisp napkins folded ornately in towering swirls.
As the fall season in Michigan is famous for its hydrangeas (something that both the Bride and Groom love about their home state), a large hedge of antique colored hydrangea plants were placed centrally down the tent, leading to the oversized 360 degree bar decorated with more overflowing arrangements and cast-iron horses at each corner (a nod to the Bride’s love of riding).
Beyond the bar, a large black and white dance floor (inspired by the entry floor of the Musée Rodin in Paris) filled the space, with large velvet lounge pods either side and the band stage just at the head, central to the cream-colored focal drape filling the back arched wall.
Fine-dining dinner meets all-night party, this space was designed to be both.
When designing K&S’s fine-dining-style restaurant tablescape, maximalism and minimalism both played their part.
For our minimalist elements, we prioritized less color on the tables, sticking with a strictly white and silver color palette, which allowed the color of each course and the pastel floral arrangements to be the main focal point during dinner. Although minimal in color, we played ‘more is more’ with the amount of pieces on the table…setting each guest for the multi-course meal complete with wine pairings. Modern flatware, oversized white china, simple but beautiful restaurant-style crystal glassware, individual butter cloches, and our favorite detail…a towering spiral napkin, adding a sculptural element all the way down each table. Needless to say, setting a table has been and will always be our favorite design element at F&F…because the best memories are always made around the table.
This is the rhythm of the night.✨
Getting creative with food is one thing, but getting creative with the bar is a whole different animal.
For K&S’s wedding, we enlisted the help of our favorite bar team, Ghostwrttn , who crafted multiple cocktail, wine, and bar experiences throughout the day from pre-ceremony to the end of the night.
Hands down, the most spectacular cocktail of the night was the final hurrah. Rows of Irish coffee glasses filled with hot buttered rum were set on the bar and simultaneously lit on fire. It was spectacular to watch and was the perfect warm pick-me-up for guests before the final hour of dancing.
Proof that unique details are not just for decor.
