The bride, the weather, the flowers; all classic beauties this evening. We have great weather today - for the 3rd weekend in a row - gotta love September! Cool breezes and 78 degrees set the stage for a gorgeous outdoor ceremony here on the patio at the Pavilion at the Visitor Center. My camera or my talents shooting do no justice to the beautiful flowers framing the couple.

Erin was so beautiful this evening, even with her tears shared with her dad right before she went down the aisle. The girls wore purple dresses that were so beautiful and they will certainly be able to wear those again. Meg from Sweet Peas of Jennersville did the flowers. Classic, elegant, simple - we love her sense of style.  Liz Marden has the cake this evening and tomorrow as well. We wish Mark and Erin all the best in the world!

Sweet sweetheart table

Erin made her guest book from shutterfly

Liz Marden Cake

Wow - what great weather we are having right now - a tad below 80 with a light breeze - thanks Hurricane Earl!

Tonight we had the pleasure of working with two great people who are so obviously entranced by each other - Sueyeun and Beckhyon. They opted for a traditional Korean ceremony at the reflecting pool. I think pictures may be better then words in this case:

Pretty Poses

Processional, Parents first, Bride and her family, followed by the groom

Traditional Korean Ceremony

Liz Marden wedding cake - how beautiful

We started the weekend off with a little bit of luck on our side, Hurricane Earl stayed far enough out on the ocean that we did not get any wind or a drop of rain last night for the first of 3 weddings this weekend. Last night we kicked off our holiday weekend with Kellie and Sal. Kellie and Sal had an intimate wedding ceremony at the pool then brought their guests back to the Pavilion at the Visitor Center for delicious hors d’oeuvres on the patio and dinner and dancing inside. Theresa Florals did the flowers which were all aglow. Eventions did the great plum lighting but I am afraid my camera with its flash does not do the room justice. Overall it was a very sweet night for one of the sweetest couples that I am lucky enough to get to work with this whole season.

Raining flower petals, arch enhanced by Thersa Florals

Coordinated bubble sticks and program holders are a great touch

David has the foundation for the watermelon, beet, and red onion salad started

Thersa Florals lights up the night

Wedding cake by Kimberly at Liberty Lane

Eventions customized Kellie and Sals monogram on the dance floor

A pop of purple behind the planters was perfect

The whole dance floor ceiling was lit up!

Sunflowers and puzzle pieces lenta sunny mysterious feel to this evenings festivities. When the puzzle pieces were put together it was Van Gogh’s sunflower pic. Sunflowers captured the feel of the estate and the amazing weather on this gorgeous summer evening. Curry and Bob held their ceremony at the pool with cocktail hour following and then back to the VC for stations and dancing. The food looked great and people rushed back to the VC to enjoy dinner and start to dance. It was a great evening and we wish all the best for Currie and Bob!

Ceremony at the Pool

Mango Rum Soup Shooters - Caribbean Station

Mexican Station

Black Bean Cakes, Avocado and Mango Salad

Hi everyone. First lest me say that I am sorry I have been remiss the past two weeks about posting. I got some much needed time away after the weddings on the 26 and 27th and I never got the chance to post pictures from Corey and Shawn or Maryann and Chad which is a shame as they were both gorgeous brides with some gorgeous touches. Maybe if the ladies send me some pics I can post late.

Last night - after the 2:00 pop up storm - we hosted the wedding of Emily and Phil. I want to show you even more then what I am posting now and I am waiting for Jim Grahamwho was the photographer last night, to send me some of his shots - you have to see the way these two had the Gallery lit - amazing! I always love the work that the Eventions team does.

Let me tell you what I do have though in the meantime. After the storm we had some much needed cool breezes for our ceremony and cocktail hour outside by the pool. Emily (And Phil?) thought of some great little touches - love the card holder. I was able to carry it around securely for them throughout the cocktail hour!

Loved these programs - remember 1 per couple is more then enough

Cute card holder

Pond Water - no refreshing cucumber water for guests

Sweet Peas simplicity

Beautiful Blue

Nervous Dad

Picture Perfect

Dinner and dancing were held in the Gallery. As always Meg from Sweet Peas of Jennersville did a great job and the music from Tom Barrett was fun and fit the couple great. Newest thing I have now seen - Phil actaully rented 2 identical tuxes and changed completely once he came in from outside. Now there is a guy who knows how he reacts to the heat!

Cake by Liz Marden

PS - Emily if you are reading this in Aruba Phil wanted me to tell you to turn off the computer and go be with your husband!

More pics from Jim Graham - thanks Jim -these are great!

Good evening everyone! We just had the best weekend - 3 weddings, 3 gorgeous couples, and 3 great ceremonies with no rain plans in site - whew!

Friday evening started the weekend with Leah and Raleigh. This cute couple dated all through high school and college and they look like they were literally made for each other. Yukie did her flowers and Leah was stunning in an ivory lace dress with a 40’s inspired hairstyle - she looked so coordinated with the estate. They started with ceremony and cocktail hour at the reflecting pool and then moved back to dinner and dancing at the Visitor Center

At the pool - getting married!

ready for guests

Cake by Liz Marden - brandy almond buttercream

Slide Show on, placecards in wheat grass

Lined up, but watching the slide show!

Saturday night had a very vivacious crowd attending. We started with the ceremony at the pool and then Kristin and Mike snuck some alone time in for pictures and the guests hopped on the shuttles and came back to the patio for cocktail hour. Their evening continued as they danced and had a ton of fun in the Visitor Center. I loved what Theresa Florals did with the centerpieces - 3 different table arrangements, and eventions lit the room wonderfully. I got to work with Kristin from all about events planning - she is so laid back and relaxed - a great person to work with!

Liberty Lane cake

Theresa Florals - different floral arrangements

Another floral arrangement - my favorite

Placecard table

Eventions lighting - the perfect finishing touch

Tonight wraps up a busy weekend - I actually just met the bride and the groom for the first time yesterday when we did the rehearsal! I actually worked with the mother of the bride and w planned the whole thing with her in California!! Ceremony on the patio, Steve Croce is playing the music (so I am totally relaxed cause I am working with the best tonight!), and the Winterthur Floral team did the flowers on this wedding. I love this cake that Kimberly designed - I think it might be my favorite (or maybe I am too biased as I know it is the sunshine cake!).

Ceremony on the patio

Winterthur Florals does the arbor

Liberty Lane Cake - this may be my favorite one I have seen in a long time!

Winterthur Florals

A lot of hard work went into making this weekend so successful including my bridal attendants Lauren and Jessica and my great team in the kitchen and running the events including Josh and Adip. I can not do all of this without these great people and they are the same ones that are going to be taking care of your weddings if you are lucky enough to be getting married here.

Hopefully you are finding the pictures inspiring. I look forward to bringing you more next weekend. Have a great night everyone!

Friday the 14th we worked with the grooms family for a change of pace with a great rehearsal dinner. 70 people in the Gallery with 3 food stations and some light stationary hors d’oeuvres. White Stripe linens from Special Occasions gave just the right amount of pop. I do hope we did not outshine the wedding the next day!

White Stripe Linens for the Rehearsal DinnerStationary display for the rehearsal

Saturday the 15thwas GORGEOUS - I mean that was a typical May day - the reason so many people choose this month to get married! We did something different - which of course I always love - and the mother of the bride had the idea to have the ceremony on the East Side of the Gallery. Now we have done that before but not where we had it. MOB asked us to place it in a different area and I thought it came out really well.

You know how we LOVE to change desks into bars!The Bride makes her entranceMe shooting Jim Graham shooting

Flowers by Yukie did the sweet and simple flowers - I love the height the orchids give to the Gallery!

Mary Jane finishing placecards

Different cake idea

We are in full wedding gear right now with 3 this weekend. You may have noticed my email and phone responses have slowed down a bit - I will get caught back up after this weekend!

What a great night tonight. Sometimes I think the couples vibe just makes the night. Lindsay and Andrew are pretty laid back and relaxed, they are just so happy to be around each other and they have such a warm loving vibe when they are together, people can not help but to look and to smile. I have had a lot of fun as both Lindsay, Andrew, and both moms were very involved and oh so helpful.  And some sweeping azaleas in the background aren’t bad either!

Aptly named - look at that reflection!

Bridal attendant Jessica fluffing the trane

Making her grand entrance

Donna and the gang from Beautiful Blooms did the decor. Gorgeous orchid shimmer cloths were the backdrop for the mercury glass arrangements that varied from table to table. And let’s not forget the setting for the wedding with this great addition to the arch at the reflecting pool - I love the layers of crystals cascading from the top

Table arrangements

2nd Table Arrangement

Lovely cherry blossoms with more crystals on the placecard/frame table

Kimberly from Liberty Lane Bake Shop did the cake this evening and I think it is so pretty with the sweet floral touches supplied by Beautiful Blooms.

One of my favorite people - Steve Croce - is our DJ and master of ceremonies this evening. Steve is so great to work with, he just helps us make the night smooth and makes us look good. Gotta love that!

Winterthur Guest Book and Chocolate Truffle Favors - yum!

We are working with a new photography team tonight - Tony Baida and his son Sal. Really nice guys. I am hoping to catch a glimpse of some of his photos at some point this evening.

Cocktail hour on the VC patio

The past two weeks I have been so lucky to work with the great vendors on our list. I can not stress to all of you how much easier this makes my job pre-ceremony and how much more time I can spend on the bridal party and double and triple checking things for your wedding when I am not chasing new vendors throughout the 1000 acre estate!

More events next weekend and a big 3 in a row the weekend after - whew. Lets hope the weather continues to hold as it did today on this beautiful evening!

Evening all. Great weather again this evening. I love this time of year as it gets dark now for the dinner and dancing but you still have the sun and the sunset during the ceremonies and cocktail hour.

Ben and Sarah (yes - you made the Blog!!) just got married at the Pool and are now having a great time in the Visitor Center. We turned the ceremony and faced East today so that the beautiful white blooms would be the backdrop. Sarah was able to walk threw the arch with her dad - what a stunning picture.

White Flower Back Drop at the Pool

Sarah and Ben had a vision for the Visitor Center and it looks great!! Of course I think everyone knows we love the black and white in the Visitor Center. Eventions did the lighting and the draping for them, linens by Special Occasions set the tone for an upscale garden wedding.

Visitor Center Entranceway

Blue Lighting on White Drapes

Mood Lighting on the Seating Tables

White Cake, White Dance Floor

I hope you found some great inspirations with the pictures from this weekend. Looking forward to next week and more pictures and stories for you!

Hey everybody! I hope you are all reading this from the beach with this great weather!! I can not wait for a few more hours to pass and then I am going to open up all of the doors in the Visitor Center and let the cool night air blow in. All of these couples must have great karma for us to get this amazing weather for the whole weekend.

We have 2 weddings this evening, one more tomorrow as well. I will update again tomorrow to include Sarah and Ben and their cool lighting and draping they have happening. Tonight is Brian and Beth and over 200 of their closest friends at the Visitor Center with the ceremony on the patio and Jessica and Aaron in the Gallery with 50 of their friends and family.

Beth and Brian have been so much fun for me to work with. They travel a lot with their work so I really got to know her parents as well and I think I am going to miss all of the emails Michael Hunter took care of the ceremony music - strings for the ceremony and a great jazz trio playing during cocktail hour and dinner. Another week, another photo booth - again - nobody doesn’t love a photo booth - including the bride and groom when they get a copy of all of the ridiculous pictures! And did I mention the cake - I think this is so personal and so much fun.

They like scrabble

They REALLY like scrabble

Ceremony on the Patio

Arbor - florist decorated, bride and groom supplied

Photo Booth!

Michael Hunter with Jazz Trio

Okay - more tomorrow - enjoy the weather!!

Good morning

Last night was an interesting one - don’t know where all of you were but we had a really bad thunderstorm come through Winterthur right about 6:40 - so you know what that means - a rainy ceremony, well sort of!

As luck would have it we got word that a bad storm was coming in about 15 minutes and the we let the guests know we need them to be seated right away. The Reverend led the gentlemen in, the ladies all walked quickly and to the same song, the Reverend asked them for their readings - Larry and JoAnn both looked at her and in unison said “Skip it” - and they were kissing and laughing as the rain drops started to fall. The recessional was more like a mass exodus from the pool and everyone made it into the Gallery with not a second to spare - whew! I can tell you that I heard so many great comments abut the wedding and I know it is one the bride, groom and their guests will not soon forget.

Since i had some other things happening I did not get to take too many pictures. I did get a good one of the cake -those are sugared blueberries which went with navy blue dresses the girls wore and the signature cocktail - a blueberry Bellini as guests entered the pool.

Sugared Blueberries

Also - the flowers at the pool are all in full bloom so this was the gorgeous backdrop -

Flowers, lower level reflecting pool, July

Meredith and Jeff tonight - stay tuned for more pictures and hopefully less of a story to tell!

I started my morning off looking at the weather and thinking we would not get in the ceremony of Emily and Tim here at Winterthur. I watched the weather all day and saw big chances of thunderstorms right around 6:00PM when we were supposed to start.

Emily’s one wish was that if she was not going to get married outside at the Reflecting Pool, that she would at least be able to take photos outside. She ended up getting the best of both worlds. Just to be safe we did the ceremony outside and cocktail inside. The rain held off until after the guests were inside for dinner.

Emily and Tim ended up with a really beautiful evening. The Azaleas at the Reflecting Pool are in full bloom and are absolutely perfect. Besides having a wonderful outside experience, the Visitors Center where the group was having dinner and dancing looked great too. Emily picked out some great toppers for her tables and of course the cake looked good too!

Overall it was a great evening, the Bride and Groom could not be happier and we truly beat out Mother Nature for the night!

Holt Ceremony

Beauty at Winterthur

Reflecting Pool

Flowers by Yukie did a great natural spring job and lovely huppa which frames out the gardens so nicely.

Ceremony

Something new we tested out this evening - our Phantom I Rolls Royce. We had it parked right off from the Visitor Center and guests were able to take a look, ask questions, and have their picture taken with it as well. Isn’t it beautful. It is such a great enhancement for only $500 for the evening - and th pictures in there are mesmerizing.

Rolls Royce

So we are off and running. May is very busy for us and we have some really different and unique weddings coming up that I can not wait to share with you. I won’t be posting next week as I am walking in a charity walk for my favorite charity, the Delaware Humane Association. But don’t worry - I will have plenty to share with you in just a few weeks.

Good afternoon everyone! There is some exciting news on the Winterthur estate today - the museum has received the amazing gift of this car from the Beals estate. This Rolls-Royce adds a new dimension to our visitor’s experience as we interpret this era of Winterthur as an American country estate. It truly represents the luxury vehicles that the guests of Henry Francis and Ruth Wales duPont traveled in when visiting Winterthur in the early 1930’s. Other owners of a Phantom I Rolls-Royce include such names as JP Morgan, Vanderbilt, Goodyear, Rockefeller, and of course, various duPonts!

Want to know why I am letting you know all of this information?

I am trying to find out from all of you how many of you would be interested in having the Rolls-Royce outside of your wedding venue here at Winterthur to enhance your day? Imagine your guests pulling up and seeing the Rolls-Royce in front of the Visitor Center or outside of the Reflecting Pool or Gallery. It is such the perfect addition to the ambiance of your wedding. And think about what the pictures next to it and inside of it could look like!

The car would be moved from its designated location by one of our specially trained drivers and would be positioned next to your ceremony or reception area before and after (weather and light dependant). We are thinking the charge would be approximately $500 for this service. What do you think ? Respond to me and let me know your thoughts and ideas and help me with this fantastic new feature we are so lucky to have!