Evening everyone

Tonight at Winterthur Museum we have the fabulous wedding of Robin and Scott. I first toured Robin and Scott about 18 months ago and I remember thinking then how much I really wanted to work with them as they were so much fun and so relaxed. Now all of this time later they feel like close friends and family and I am so happy for them.

Ceremony at the pool as the sun sets - how romantic. Cocktails around the candlelit pool and then back to the Visitor Center for dinner and dancing.

Some nice special touches this evening: African Violets as favors

Placecards in a picture frame (a green idea for those of you who like that!) Picture Frame Seating Assignments

Some nice lanterns in the lobby Candle Lanterns

Flowers by Yukie did the beautiful arrangements and the hanging Asian lanterns Asian Lanterns, Asian Lanterns, flowers

And look at the great outside lighting Outside lighting, Candles on the Railing

Robin and her family also decided they wanted to honor their family and have a pasta course. I just walked through the kitchen and the penne a la vodka looks divine! Jason is also whipping up the vegetarian option for the night - samosas with sauteed fall vegetables, tofu, and chutney - yum!

Tomorrow brings another wedding - this one is at the Gallery and intimate - a perfect 50 people. Looks like they are going to get some great weather fall weather as well!

Evening all. Another magnificent wedding here at Winterthur tonight. Last weekend of summer and the weather here in Delaware is a great 74 degrees - no humidity - little bit of a breeze - just enough to stir the plants in the garden and the frogs and lilies in the pool!

Adam and Nicole were married this evening and it was a great ceremony. We started a few minutes late but caught back up. Photos were taken afterwards and their bridal attendant kept everyone well fed and drinks full. The bridal party loves to have a good time and they are such close friends. Guests were in awe of the beauty of both Winterthur and of Nicole! Boucher Pool, Boucher Arch

Nicole and her mom - Cathy, were in a few days ago to wrap everything up with me and they brought me an extra copy of their invitation. I instantly asked to show it to all of you as I think is so special - look at the antique post card they found on E-Bay and had re-produced for the invitation and reply card - she had a firm in Seattle do them for her that she saw in a national magazine. Boucher Postcard, Boucher Invitation, Boucher Invitation 2

Nicole and Cathy also wanted a different look for the seating tables. We have some round, some various sizes of square and some clusters of round. This is for about 150 people with stations and it works great. It would probably take up too much space if it were plated or with another 50 people. Boucher Tables - grouped, Boucher Square, Boucher Room

Something different for the place-cards - Boucher Placecards

They did menu cards for the tables - this works out great as guests can figure out which station they want to check out first - Boucher Menus

A nice simple cake this evening - Boucher Cake

We have an intimate wedding tomorrow with the ceremony at the pool and dinner inside the Gallery. I will be back on tomorrow evening. Have a great night!

Evening all. Another wedding here at Winterthur this evening. Temperature is about 88 degrees with 93% humidity and a 60% chance of rain -ugh. Scott and Jillian made a great call - working with Joan they opted to keep their ceremony outside at the pool and they moved their cocktail hour inside the Gallery - in the air conditioning

Mike Kehr is the photographer this evening and he does such a great job. He was picked as an industry favorite and was shooting The Knot party last Tuesday. You can see his work on our photo gallery - the first few pics are all his.

Yukie did the flowers and the lanterns- great look. Graeber Placecard Arrangement These centerpieces are amazing. Graeber Centerpieces

Tonight’s crowd is smaller so we rearranged the VC to make it look full and perfect. This is only 88 people and I think it looks really great. Graeber Room

Rachel and I are in love with the look of the cushions. It is so much more uniform then the chairs bows and they have a chic look we think. Graeber Cushions, Graeber Cushions 2

2 more next weekend, and Joan is out on vacation!Chat with you then!

Evening everyone. Well we had some rain for our outdoor wedding this evening here at Winterthur. We moved the ceremony inside in the front portion of the Visitor Center. It looked very nice and very intimate for their close family and friends. Ceremony, Arbor

Renee and Matt used a florist I have not worked with before. As guests started to arrive at 5:50pm, they were still setting up the arbor at the front for the bride and groom - ugh! But alas, the bride was a moment or so late so it all worked out.

After the ceremony guests moved further into the VC and to the waiting bar and DJ. They are dancing in the same area this evening.

From there it was into dinner. Look at the centerpieces for the kids table Kids Table -  and the centerpieces on the adult tables are soft and sweet - Centerpieces

Faith West is doing the photos tonight so of course we can not wait to see those. Mathew and Renee decided to share some photos of their ‘Children” on the placecard table Dog Pics - and they made donations to various animal charities, right after my own heart - Charity

Tonight’s dinner was mostly vegetarian, again, I can relate. Dinner this evening was our fantastic heirloom yellow tomato gazpacho with grilled shrimp and Jason made a great vegetarian entree that everyone enjoyed - black bean cakes with grilled pineapple & black rice with a watermelon and jicama slaw - yum!

I wish they could have gotten their wedding outside but once again, when the bride and groom are enjoying themselves this much then everyone else does as well!

85 degrees, High Humidity, 30 mph winds, and lots of rain here at Winterthur for our wedding this evening. And I think Brie still steels the show!

Brie Scida and Clark Stossel were married tonight. Their hope was to be married at the Reflecting Pool and needless to say we have been rained out - well maybe downpoured out is a better use of words. Rain Plan = Galleries Reception Area.

Guests arrived on shuttle buses from the hotels and were greeted with unsweetened iced tea with mint. After the ceremony our set-up crew stepped in to whisk the chairs away and add some cocktail tables. Signature cocktail this evening was Mojitos…noticing a common thread?

 Clark and Brie emailed me a week ago and asked for some advice on what items they could add to personalize the Visitor Center some. They decided on renting green tea lights for the tables that you can see in all of the pics, these great seat cushions - Scida Chair Cushions, chargers - Scida Chargers, and some linens to spice up under the tent - Scida under tent tables

Beautiful Blooms did the flowers and of course they are stunning. Three different table arrangements - Scida Flowers - Tall, Scida Flowers x 3, Scida Flowers

I think the placecard table looks really cool this evening - Placecard 1, Placecard 2, Placecard 3

And I love what Blooms did with the flowers on the cake - Scida Cake

Rachel and I got a little creative on the front desk which was only possible as Blooms had some extra centerpieces - Scida Desk 1, Scida Desk 2, Scida Desk 3

Dinner this evening was a dual entree of sirloin steak and mahi-mahi that Brie and her mom came up with at the tasting. Scida Dinner. They topped the night off with Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream as the final mint idea. Scida Ice Cream

 All in all it was a beautiful evening for a beautiful couple. Hey, Hanna Stossel does have a nice ring to it……..

Ann and Greg were married here at Winterthur this past Saturday right on our Visitors Center Patio, under a tent. Ann made the decision on Tuesday about getting a tent just in case the weather was bad. A bunch of people have made the tent decision and are overall happy they did. It lets them relax and not have to worry about the weather that for the big day!

Ann and Greg had about 120 people attend the wedding so we decided on the smaller tent. It is a 40×40 tent and was able to accommodate the ceremony nicely and the cocktail hour. Tented Ceremony Since we did not get any rain as we were supposed to, we were able to put cocktail tables outside the tent as well to give more space. I really like the tent option, and I know a lot of people think about it but cannot imagine it, so hopefully some of these pictures will help you out! Tent 1, Tent 2, Tent 3 We also have a larger tent that accommodate about 200 people or more for a ceremony and cocktail hour, and that tent takes up more of the Patio.

Ann and Greg had a really cute idea and she told me she found it right online. She had her ceremony programs on fans for her guests. I liked them a lot! Fan Programs, Fans .

And since we like to show as many pictures of the Visitors Center as we can, take a look at their room set up with a rented dance floor. Visitors Center

 I think Ann and Greg had a wonderful evening and it seemed to be a great night.

Sorry - maybe it is the Jimmy Buffet concert I am going to tomorrow that has me signing in the office.

On a serious note - can we talk abotu the weather? We have had fantstic, low humidity, clear skies for the past 3 weeks. I love it and the only people that might be more happy then Joan and I would be the brides, grooms, and their wedding guests. Winterthur is simply breathtaking right now!

Kelli and Dave were married in a church and then brought their wedding party onto the estate for pictures before the ceremony. Cocktail hour on the patio McCoy Cocktails, McCoy Cocktails 2- then inside for dinner and dancing.

Kelli and Dave really wanted to be able to focus on their guests and opted for stations tonight (must be something with this weekend). McCoy Seating, McCoy Seating 2, McCoy Seating 3 Cocktail seating - no having to make out seating charts for this savvy couple!

Love the ribbon on her cake - McCoy Cake

Kelli and Dave look great on their dance - maybe a few dance lessons!

Great weather again for this one! I was moving a lot on this one so forgive me - no pics!!

Ashley and Tom were married on the Visitor Center Patio - under a tent, just in case. The weather was perfect - little bit of a breeze - and Ashley looked great in her custom made gown.

Saw something new - Ashley not only had her make-up done but they hired the gentlemen to stay with them beforehand and to touch up before and after photos. He was so nice and the ladies looked amazing.

The bridal party went to the pool to take pictures and I must thank their limo drivers - they were punctual and had them back to make their grand entrance on time - no making the guests wait which was really appreciated.

There was a little confusion for some of the bridal party and close family as far as time to arrive. I was so worried when I had to ask some of the older family members to please go sit under the tent so we could ready the VC. Luckily we had nice weather. For those of you getting married here please let us know if you are ever unsure of anything in regards to timing.

OK - time to get ready for this coming weekend!

Hi Everyone

Tonight is an overall wonderful eclectic surprise everywhere you look!

Camille and Chris Wilkinson were married tonight on a perfect August weather day - 84 degrees! Great Karma huh? Camille is an artist - Chris is a golf pro and the wedding was so representative of the two of them.

Flowers by Yukie did all of the arrangements - Camille and her mom purchased all of the vases for them to be used. Each flower arrangement was unique to the vase - Purdy Flowers, Purdy Flowers 2, Purdy Flowers 3, Purdy Flowers 4, Purdy Flowers 5, Purdy Flowers 6

Eventions is in for lighting -Purdy Lighting, Purdy Lighting 2

Favors this evening - Coffee! It smells so good in here - this would be great idea on a cold fall night or a winter wedding - the smell just envelopes the room! Purdy Coffee, Purdy Coffee 1

Cakes - one for the bride - and one for the groom - Purdy Wedding Cake, Purdy Grooms Cake

The tables of honor were a little different this evening - Purdy Head table

 And I don’t know what to call these things but I love them! -Purdy Spikes

Great ideas for all!

Friday night was absolutely gorgeous here at Winterthur. Man Yee and Samson could have not had better weather for their ceremony and reception here. With the sun shining and a nice breeze it didn’t even feel like August!!

 Man Yee and Samson had a beautiful wedding with some fun added extras. One thing that we have seen a couple people do is provide a sign in the parking lot for their wedding guests. It helps them know where the ceremony and receotion take place. Sign They were so put together and everything matched perfectly. They had everything from a photo booth for their guests to a traditional Lions Dance to an added dessert station of chocolate goodness. They had an Asian theme which works well inside the Visitors Center. Their place-cards were river rocks and fit in well. River Rocks They also has menu cards and tea fortes as their favors which all went together. Table Layout , Favors One of my favorite things was their cake topper. It was custom made and looks exactly like them!! Cake Topper

 It ended up being a really nice night and I think they were really happy with everything!

OK - I know - I am cheating. I was simply too tired on Saturday evening to update you all and write!

 Looking back at the wedding this weekend it was so very Sarah Savini. After working with the Savini family for over a year I feel that I really got to know Sarah really well and her touches were apparent everywhere.

 Beautiful Blooms did the flowers and they were so creative - as always! Savini Flowers, Savini Flowers 2, Savini Sweetheart Table

 The placecards were very zen - Savini Placecards, Savini Placecards 2

And everything was coordinated just so with the help of “Two Paper Dolls” - Savini Menu Cards, Savini Tablecards

 I know I have mentioned before how much I love the idea of using one of the Winterthur Books from the bookstore as a guests book that you can keep on your coffee table - Savini Sign In Book

 Linens are from Special Occasions and I think the room and the tables look great - Savini Set-up,

 We also worked with Sarah to create a lounge after 9pm in the lobby area, complete with a Bellini Bar - Savini Lounge set-up started, Savini Lounge

The cocktail tables on the patio added character - Savini Bug Jars

And how about this cake? - Savini Cake

 Marie Labbancz was their photographer and I am looking forward to sharing some more photos with you when I get a copy of some of the professional ones from Marie!!

Tonight we are blessed with beautiful weather and 2 wonderful wedding couples. Both groups this evening opted for intimate weddings and have done the subtle touches that I think are very reflective of their personal style.

Sabrina and Jeff are in the Visitor Center, their ceremony was at a church preceding the reception. There is a steel drum playing on the patio and I can hear it throughout the area, perfect for the weather this evening with the cool breeze. Their cake was a big thing for them this evening so they sent some pics to us and this is what we did -  Sabrinas Cake More of an intimate group this evening so we have all of the tables on side of the room and the bar and some hi-tops on the other side for a lounge area - Sabrina Room Set-Up, Sabrina Bar Area. Sabrina also did something a little out of the box and got chargers in lieu of linens - she really liked the looks of crisp white!Chargers

 Lisa and Jeff are being married at the pool followed by dinner at the Gallery. The reflecting pool is so beautiful right now with the astilbe, crapemyrtle, and the water plants all in full bloom Poolside Aisle, Poolside Path, Poolside Smooch

Lisa and Jeff wanted to follow the theme set for them in the Winterthur Garden with ferns on their programs Fern Programs- on their cake Fern Cake 1, Fern Cake 2- and on their seating tables Fern Tables, Fern Tables 2- I think it fits in perfect here! They also rented a tent at the Gallery so their friends and family could dance the night away outside with the breeze keeping them moving - Gallery Tent

Tonight we had the wedding of Molly Painter and Christian  - and what a perfect evening. The pool looks great right now - the water plants are in full bloom and the frogs are serenading the guests!

I think the room looks great tonight - beautifully simple. I love the flowers - Sweet Pea did these again. Once again their team was punctual and professional and I think the flowers fit fabulously here at Winterthur. Painter Flowers, Painter Cake

Interesting placecards/favors - the chairs hold mints in them….Painter Placecards

Molly brought some pictures in that we set up on the front desk so guests may take a look Painter Photos. Have a great weekend everyone and I will post again next week!

Christine and Ryan ended up with a very nice night here at Winterthur. With a little fear of the weather, we ended up with Cocktail hour in the Galleries Reception Area instead of outside at the Reflecting Pool.

 The Visitor’s Center looked lovely as always. One of my favorite things was the cake-I think it looked beautiful and it was unique! Here take a look.  Cake 1 , Cake 2  Also, the linens on the tables looked really nice and tied in with the cake! Placecard 1 , Placecard 2 Here are a few shots of the room. Room 1,  Room 2 The night turned out great with no rain to wash us out!

Heather and Chris are so extremely happy right now. They ended up with a HOT but beautiful night for their wedding. The forecast at the beginning of the week looked a bit iffy, but it turned into a nice night. Heather did not want to worry about a thing on her wedding day so she decided to get a tent adjacent to the patio for her ceremony and cocktail hour just in case. Although there was no rain, I think the tent helped with the heat as well-it kept the sun out! Tent

They are such a happy couple and had some wonderful ideas! For example, Heather’s Grandfather has a 1931 Sedan that dropped Heather off right in front of the Visitor’s Center. They got some great pictures with the old car. Also, they had a wonderful idea for the lobby as well. They strung pictures from home made flower vases of themselves and family. Take a look and see. Strung Pictures ,  Pictures 2 , Picture 3 Theyhad a beautiful cake with ribbon to tie the whole color theme together. Cake

 It ended up being a wonderful night and another great wedding at Winterthur!

Kristin and Steve were married at St. Anthony’s this afternoon and are having their cocktail hour in the Gallery and dinner and dancing in the VC. We don’t get too many people that do this but it is a great way to show off Winterthur to all of your guests.

Kristin is surprising Steve with a cigar bar that has sentimental value on another front - her father, who has passed away, collected old cigar boxes so we have filled them with the cigars Kristin has provided as a treat to her new husband and the guests. Casey Cigars 1, Casey Cigars 2, Casey Cigars 3

There is a 40 x 60 tent on the patio tonight that Yukie and her team came in and added the wow factor to - check it out -  Casey Tent 1,  Casey Tent 2 And who does not love a sofa at the end of the night to kick back on; I guarantee you it will be packed all night! Casey Sofa 1, Casey Sofa 2

And since I have been remiss with the pics the past 2 weeks here are a few more for you Casey Flowers, Casey Room, Casey Cake

I will be posting again tomorrow night and I am crossing my fingers the rain moves in quickly this evening and out before the afternoon tomorrow evening!

So last night was the perfect weather and I think it has to be the reason so many people aim to get married in June here at Winterthur.

Melissa and Steve were married last night on the patio at the VC, surrounded by the lush green canopy, under a beautiful arbor, with family and friends. The night was magical and you all know I don’t throw that word around. The weather can make my job so easy on a night like that!

Sweet Pea did the flowers and they were great, very professional. Once again I was moving around and never got pics (I am going to get pics of tonight as soon as I am done this!) but the arbor was great and they had these metal baskets of hydrangeas with lush satin ribbon tying them to the aisle chairs - very nice in the garden.

We had one small hiccup - the bridal party and some family headed over to the pool during cocktail hour to take pics and they ran a bit over time. The guests got a little restless when the bar closed for a while but I think seeing how happy the bride and groom were when they were introduced meant all was forgiven. One idea I have seen working really well even for couples that don’t want to see each other before they get married is to get the some of the bride and bridesmaids shots done beforehand. With enough time add some family and then you won’t have quite so many shots to get in the short amount of time of cocktail hour.

This past Friday happened to be Friday the 13th. Brandi and John’s wedding did not suffer from the bad luck date. They ran into a couple problems earlier in the week, but the weather was wonderful and the wedding was beautiful.

Their theme was Vera Wang and Brandi had everything from candle holders to the cake knife and server, to picture frames and wine flutes. The flowers were done by Yuki and were beautiful colors. It was overall a very nice evening.

Just to prove that Friday the 13th is not a bad day for a wedding!

Sweet and Simple

This past weekend I had the pleasure of working with a well known wedding planner, Mark Kingsdorf from Queens of Hearts Wedding Consultants. Mark was very  helpful and worked with me to make the event run smoothly.

 We did a Rehearsal Dinner in the Visitors Center of Winterthur this past Friday night, that actually resembled a wedding. The guests count was 130 people of the 190 people that were invited to the wedding. It is not too often, we get a rehearsal dinner in of that size. John and Beth wanted an upscale BBQ dinner with food inside and out, and ending it all with a make your own ice cream bar. 

 Mark was their planner for both the rehearsal dinner as well as their wedding which took place on Saturday in Delaware. The couple was from New York and it made it a bit hard to get in contact with them at times. Mark was very helpful in this situation. He was always a step ahead and helped convey all the appropriate information to the family about the dinner.

 The day of the event, Mark was the first one there and worked with me through the evening. The family had very few concerns throughout the night, but if they needed anything, Mark and myself were there to help them.

 Even though wedding planners are not always needed to have a beautiful smooth wedding, they certainly can help with all the details and may make the night that much better. Mark was a big help and I hope to work with him again in the future.

Hi Everyone - Beautiful night, beautiful weather, beautiful bride, beautiful Winterthur last Saturday!

 So much I know you will want to take a peak at so let me get started…When I toured Marvin and Christina around the Pool she made this little laugh and Marvin turned to me and said - “she is happy”. Well she laughed a lot on Saturday night and it was all thanks to a top notch team of vendors working together to make her vision come to life. First lets start with the flowers - welcome Beautiful Blooms! What true professionals and great artists. An absolute pleasure to work with and the flowers were stunning - but see for yourself - Blooms 1, Blooms 2, Blooms 3, Blooms 4

 Draping - second week in a row! Christina did not like the folding wooden walls in the Visitor Center and so she worked with Eventions Lighting to light the place up and drape the walls, take a look - Drape 1, Drape 2, Drape 3, Outside view, Lighting, Lit Ceiling,  Drape Cake (didn’t Kimberly do a great job with this design Christina picked out?) Drape Sweetheart and we even rented cloths to drape the entire front desk - Draped Desk

 Christina and Marvin are really into wine and they had some great accents to go along with that theme - Advice 1, Table Names, Pictures/Advice, and they also worked in a cherry blossom motif - Cherry Blossom Cake, Favor, Favor Table

 And I knew I was in capable hands but I was psyched to find out the event planner was such a delight to work with - Beka Nave. Beka has a great disposition and kept everything flowing and everybody calm all night long. She was a delight and so on her toes. Beka is working on more weddings this summer as well as her own - we wish her all the luck and hope to see her more here!

As always if you would like more information please let me know by clicking here.