Carmen Rehearsal Dinner

My client, which ended up being the sweetest mother-in-law I have ever met (next to my own of course) hired me to decorate for her son and now daughter-in-law's Rehearsal Dinner. They booked with Melody Vaughn at the BoatHouse Restaurant in Winona Lake, IN. The bride's color choice was eggplant and with just a touch of silver.
I wanted the table to be really simple since the majority of the time spent at a rehearsal includes talking and catching up with loved ones. With that in mind I went with eggplant runners and an abundance of tiny tea lights down the center surrounded by small crystals.
But of course that was not going to be enough. My client really wanted this rehearsal to be upscale, elegant, and to set the tone for the whole wedding the following day. So I wanted to do something dramatic, which brought me to starting at the ceiling.
So I turned up the volume with a whole lot of fake flowers and jewels that I strung by hand, all hanging from purple branches.
Overall I was proud of what we at WCG did with the space. We always try to do something different and unique. Enjoy!
Photos are from my good friend and photographer Bekah Dreisbach, and a few from me as well.

Carnival Photo Cage

I recently had a client ask me to do her son's 1st birthday party. She wanted a children's carnival inside her inlaws raquet ball court.

I decided on three primary carnival colors and ran with it. The raquet ball court was filled with games and tents made out of cardboard and table cloth rolls and baloons, within the color scheme. When the place was finally all set up the colors pulled everything together and created this wonderful flow throughout the room.

The kids enjoyed fresh popcorn, cotton candy, and snow cones. They loved picking out of a goody bag after each game they played. They ran around in there for hours all while listening to circus music playing through the speakers. But one of the best ideas I had for the whole day was the photo cage. Not a photo booth, and not a cutout of a circus clown's face, but a photo cage. I wanted a photo op where the whole family could participate. I saw a similar one at Disney and thought it would be perfect for this carnival. I painted and cutout cardboard to make it look like a train cage, like something you would see a circus train pulling (like in the movie Dumbo). I painted the words "Wild Animals" above it and was not even expecting some of the reactions we got in the photos. Everyone LOVED it! The kids, parents, grandparents, and even great-grandparents, all got really into it. In the picture above are the birthday boy's grandparents taking time for their photo op. A perfect example of how much fun they had.

The whole thing ended up being the highlight of the day. The parents of the birthday boy even took photos of each family in the cage, had them printed into postcards, and sent them to the families as thank you cards.

Moral of the story: If you get them interacting, you'll keep them entertained!

The Importance of Lighting

Here I am (so gracefully) adjusting the track lighting for a suprise 40th birthday party last month. My client suggested the colors black and white with an accent of red. I ran with it and pulled together what I considered to be a very masculine feel to the room. Masculine without using cigars, beer, or leather lazyboys (top three items men think create a great party) since I don't think the wives and girlfriends attending would leave with the same impression the men might. haha. The hanging of the black fabric created this deep color on the walls that was lacking before. As for the "floating" white branches, they caused interest and caught your eye.
But the one thing that brought the whole room together was the lighting. I was able to point each light from the track light system onto each specific point that I desired. For instance, I made sure I had one or two lights pointed directly at the "floating" branches. This caused them to illuminate, making them even more brilliant and eye catching. The candles I placed on each table just added to the effect.
I continued the lighting theme in the entry way and the stairs up to the banquet room. I hid Par38 Can lights behind furniture and cast the spot light up and on topiaries as well as placing large, red votives on every other step that lead up to the banquet room. From the moment you entered the restaurant and each room guests had to cross to reach the banquet room, I created some sort of lighting effect in each space.
Moral of the story: As often as you can...turn OFF the overhead / florescent lights and bring in some other form of light. It only adds to the beauty of your original decor.