Dunya & Pete
Let's F#%king Party!
Shinola Hotel
Photographer: Niki Marie Photography
Published by PartySlate
D&P's wedding was and forever-will-be one of our favorite weddings of all time. This statement-making wedding was an unconventional experience from start to finish, and it was completely and utterly them.
Held at the Shinola Hotel, layers upon layers of details in black, white, gold, and silver, created an incredible immersive world for their 110 guests. From day-time cocktails, shifting to a moody and dark reception, and finally creating a club-like atmosphere for their after party...no guest in attendance felt like they were attending a wedding. Instead, they were out at the trendiest restaurant meets nightclub created just for them.
Throw in a side of strategically placed expletives, a ceiling made of balloons, and a room full of disco balls just for fun, and you start to get an idea of what it was like to be a guest at this exclusive downtown party.
It was a mood, it was a moment, it was a mantra…and it was the perfect statement-making invitation that could encapsulate the experience that awaited guests for D&P's wedding bash.
Taking inspiration from L'Opera in St. Tropez, a private club and celebrity hot spot where guests are invited to 'Enjoy your fucking dinner'...our Bride and Groom wanted to create an unconventional yet fun immersive experience for their guests.
As guests arrived at the Shinola Hotel, fun signage was put into place to invite everyone upstairs and set the tone for the evening.
Embracing the mid-century modern interior of the venue, the overall black and white design of the reception fit beautifully with the warm wood-tones and metallic detailing of the event space's design.
Even the restrooms got a little attitude of their own.
When your couple loves things that are luxe but unexpected…you give them luxe and unexpected.
For D&P’s formal dinner, the entire ballroom was darkened as much as possible to drown out the walls and give a moody but cozy vibe to the room. Pin-spotting was put in place to bring focus and warmth to each of the guest tables and the 7 large-scale stand-alone floral arrangements dotted around the room on black acrylic pedestals.
The tables and chairs themselves were modern-style black titanium, with the tabletops made out of black reflective mirrors and the chairs pads and napkins lush black velvet.
For the tabletop items…black flatware, white china, clear classic glassware, and gold-rimmed glass charger plates were set around simple but striking candle centerpieces contained in reflective smoke-grey glass holders.
And for the finishing touches…black acrylic table numbers etched in silver, etched mirror place cards at the head of each place setting, and 15” black recycled leather menus letterpressed in both silver and black ink.
For the dancing portion of the evening, we wanted to make the Birdy Room feel like an exclusive club. With a bouncer set at the door to stamp guests' hands with the Bride and Groom's custom logo, each guest gained entry to the black and white room we aptly named, Club Birdy.
But what stole the show was the ceiling. With the help of our friends from Detroit Balloon Bar, we filled the entire center of the Birdy Room ceiling with over 2,000+ white balloons, all ranging from 15”-5’ in diameter. The entire installation took approximately 10 hours over 2 days and was accented beautifully by lighting tubes hidden amongst the clouds of white, which were able to be controlled through the night to change color and flash with the music.
