Lesley & kevin
The Artist’s Meadow
Detroit Institute of Arts
Photographer: Laura Murray Photography
Filmmaker: Gooden Cinema
“There is nothing more truly artistic than to love people.”
Vincent Van Gogh
When K proposed to L standing in the middle of the famed Rivera Court at the Detroit Institute of Arts earlier in 2023, they already knew that the city of Detroit was going to be a central character to their wedding celebrations. After the surprise proposal, they decided to pop by a small restaurant nearby for dinner, Chartreuse Kitchen & Cocktails…which, a year later, turned out to be the perfect place to kick off their wedding weekend.
Taking over the restaurant for the evening, guests enjoyed a family style rehearsal dinner…toasting to the events ahead (while enjoying a few shots of French chartreuse, of course) before hopping over to the Monarch Club for a welcome reception overlooking the city.
Taking inspiration from the details of the DIA and design cues from impressionist artworks (mainly Van Gogh and Monet), L&K’s wedding was a joyous celebration of art and color…diving into bright and saturated shades of blues, greens, and pinks throughout the design.
Save the Date: For guests’ first impression of the celebrations (and floral explosion) to come, save the dates were sent in the form of miniature bright chartreuse cards designed to look like a chinoiserie porcelain pot bursting with line-drawn flowers. These flower pots were tucked into storm-blue envelopes lined with a custom impressionist floral pattern, designed and hand-painted by the talented Erin Braun Design.
Invitation: One of the most important artworks at the DIA happens to be part of the building itself. The Wisteria Gates, a sculpted wrought-iron pass-through completed by Thomas Hastings in 1915, separates Rivera Court (ceremony) from the Great Hall (dinner) and was the central focus for the invitation suite.
Beautiful white sculpted embossed birds and vines on a storm-blue card (giving a Wedgewood effect) were nestled in an oversized fold-out tonal letterpress envelope, with more birds and vines extending the design all the way to the edge of the inner flaps.
L&K spent their wedding morning getting ready at the Shinola Hotel with their parents and closest friends (and their sweet pooch, Pancake). After exchanging gifts and meeting for a first look, the couple hopped around the heart of the city for photographs with their wedding party.
Working as a designer in NYC, the Bride wanted to make fashion a central focus of the overall theme of the weekend, as well as extend the playful colors of the wedding design to the Wedding Party. For the Bride, a beautiful lace column gown from Emilia Wickstead complete with matching lace gloves and trailing lace cape. For the Groom, a custom tux created by Alan David, accessorized with a Tom Ford bow tie and vintage brass and pearl brooch. Groomsmen also sported beautiful classic black tuxes with vintage brass and pearl brooches, all individually chosen and gifted to each gent.
But for the cherry on top…as the Bride is an immensely talented designer herself, she decided that through the planning process, she would design and produce all of the Bridesmaid and Flower Girl dresses (and even her own Rehearsal Dinner and Late Night Party dresses as well). The custom hand-painted floral print developed by Erin Braun Design (seen previously in the envelope liner of the Save the Date) was a central inspiration for the colorway of the Bridesmaids’ fashion, and was also utilized as a custom print to bring all of the dresses together as one cohesive (and colorful) vision.
The famed Rivera Court at the DIA is a grand light-filled room at the heart of the building, depicting the Detroit Industry Murals, painted by Diego Rivera between the years 1932-1933. These murals showcase the great industrial, scientific, medical, and technological advances of the time...and are considered one of Rivera’s finest works.
Leaning into the grandeur and historical significance of the venue, L&K’s ceremony was purposely designed to be simple yet striking. Concentric circles of white and gold chairs were set facing a central platform for the Bride and Groom, while string musicians were stationed in each corner, filling the space (and surrounding the guests) with music.
Inspired by the museum itself, the seating chart for L&K’s wedding dinner was literally a work of art…or in this case, 80 works of art. Set up in one of the lower galleries for guests to enjoy during Cocktail Hour, a mock ‘visiting exhibition’ was set. The visiting ‘artist collective’ (our Bride and Groom) was branded as ‘Haus of Hung’ (a nod to the Groom’s last name) and completed with a custom ‘artist’s statement’.
80 individual hand-painted impressionist floral paintings (painted by Erin Braun Design) were displayed on large gallery walls, each artwork unique in its own way, and each sporting the guests’ names and table numbers in calligraphed pencil in lieu of an artist’s signature.
During dinner, the installation was broken down and each individual painting was put into custom ‘Haus of Hung’ museum tote bags and delivered to their specific guests tableside to keep as a gift from the couple.
The entire dinner design (and most important visual piece of L&K’s entire wedding) was inspired by the colors, textures, and florals found in impressionist artworks, mainly Van Gogh and Monet.
Together with the talented team at September Studio, we wanted to bring an unexpected element to the design, something different to what has come before in the DIA. After many iterations of the table layout, we settled on a large master table in the center of the room. This 26’ diameter table was custom built to accommodate 40+ guests dining around the outer edge…with an unprecedented 20’ diameter meadow growing out of the center.
Additional smaller (but still large at 8’ in diameter) round tables were clustered at each end of the room and played host to artful floral arrangements in black wire vases, nodding back to the giant floral installation at the center of the room. Complimented by candlelight in black cast iron holders as well as colorful linens and place settings, this dinner was joy brought to life.
For most F&F clients, menu and bar design are integral parts of their weddings and events…and therefore we treat food and beverage with as much care and consideration as other items, such as flowers and lighting.
Together with the culinary team at the DIA, L&K’s wedding dinner was designed around not only the foods they both love (and recipes they grew up with), but also to be cohesive with the overall event design…injecting whimsy, artistic inspiration, and color into each dish and beverage served.
Dancing in the meadow.
After dinner comes the party…and L&K’s reception was no exception. Continuing the earlier branding of ‘Haus of Hung’, Rivera Court was transformed into Club Hung, a pink paradise filled with light, music, pink martinis, and a disco ball or two.
