Inspiration to Celebration: Red, White & Blue Americana Seaside Inspiration
Red, White & Blue all Summer Long…
The 4th of July has come and gone but with it leaves the lingering pride and love for all things American and beachy. From popsicles, tan lines, ice cold coca colas and vintage Frankie and Annette movies, bringing a bit of classic beach into your summer fetes is always a good thing. Don’t want to go overboard on the red, white & blue? Mix in some yellow for a primary splash of color!
Here are a few tips to mix some Americana Seaside style into your summer soirees:
• Mix in a variety of seersucker pillows for your outdoor lounge
• Serve ice cold coca-cola bottles with red and white striped straws from a tray
• Bring out the Beach Blanket Bingo… for real! Toss some big patterned throws and pillows on the grass or sand for a casual lounge space
• In lieu of classic desserts, have an old-fashioned Popsicle cart come to your event
• On the sand? Don’t forget your paddleball, bocce ball and horseshoe sets! Why not make a tournament out of it?
Menu lunch bag and table number design by Alchemy Fine Events & Invitations, Photography by Cary Pennington, Engagement session photography by Tim Melideo.
Inspiration to Celebration: Red, White & Blue Americana Seaside Inspiration
Red, White & Blue all Summer Long…
The 4th of July has come and gone but with it leaves the lingering pride and love for all things American and beachy. From popsicles, tan lines, ice cold coca colas and vintage Frankie and Annette movies, bringing a bit of classic beach into your summer fetes is always a good thing. Don’t want to go overboard on the red, white & blue? Mix in some yellow for a primary splash of color!
Here are a few tips to mix some Americana Seaside style into your summer soirees:
• Mix in a variety of seersucker pillows for your outdoor lounge
• Serve ice cold coca-cola bottles with red and white striped straws from a tray
• Bring out the Beach Blanket Bingo… for real! Toss some big patterned throws and pillows on the grass or sand for a casual lounge space
• In lieu of classic desserts, have an old-fashioned Popsicle cart come to your event
• On the sand? Don’t forget your paddleball, bocce ball and horseshoe sets! Why not make a tournament out of it?
Menu lunch bag and table number design by Alchemy Fine Events & Invitations, Photography by Cary Pennington, Engagement session photography by Tim Melideo.
Inspiration to Illumination: Lighting Installations
Inspiration to Illumination: Bruce Munro’s dramatic installation art
When designing a statement piece for a dramatic entrance to a special event nothing is more spectacular than wonderful lighting installations. Today, again, I am awe inspired by Bruce Munro’s work of lighting and environment installations. He not only works with interiors creating interesting focal points and scultpures with his creations, but is a daring fine artist in the world of installation art.
Exploring scale and repetition (such as the Tara Donavon exhibit seen here) through lighting and light reflective elements such as cd’s and bottles of water (a must see!), Bruce creates wonderlands of illumination and shine that transport you into another world.
In the event design world, such installations such as these may seem like an impossible fete to accomplish for a single events, but don’t let that stop you from dreaming big!
Collaboration to Epicreation: Modern Rustic Wedding Inspiration
Cheese and Wine Filled Modern Rustic Wedding Inspiration
We recently collaborated on designing a modern rustic wedding inspiration shoot with Enchanted Dream Weddings and Isari Flower Studio and the results were delicious, literally! When Naomi of Enchanted Dream Weddings told me about wanting to bring cheese into the concept I immediately thought of Venissimo Cheese, one of my favorite cheese shops located in Del Mar. My passion for cheese runs deep and long and I couldn’t wait to see what kind of aromatic delights Venissimo could bring to the table, literally! From super aged goat cheese goudas to soft goats milk medallions, the smells of tart cheese mingled with honey and flowers in the air for truly an aromatic delight.
With a combination of rustic woods, simple white china and some raw silverware we layered elements of modern rustic charm together along with textures and smells to tempt the senses. Tam of Isari concocted crisp clean white and black anemones along with plush delphiniums and fresh herbs that were featured in over-sized terracotta pots.
To bring even more of a rustic modern edge and tie in the blacks of the anemones I hand dip dyed flax colored napkins in black die to be featured under fresh goat cheese medallions topped with honeycomb and fresh pomegranate seeds.
Modern fonts and bistro style typography was used to create these modern rustic wedding invitations that featured inky black envelope liners, thick textured cotton paper and a dip-dyed edge. To emphasize the culinary bistro aspect I created a dip-dyed belly band out of cheese cloth itself.
For a unique presentation of a place setting I created place cards that fit inside mini-glass domes featured at each plate.
Guest’s seating cards featured square cut outs and were hung on branches of herbs in mini terracotta pots.
The bridal bouquet was designed with fragrant white lilacs, nerine lilies intermingled with scabiosa pods, and fun viburnum clusters. The stems were tied with jute twine, to complement the groom’s elegant scabiosa pod boutonniere.
Design & Styling by Alchemy Fine Events & Enchanted Dream Weddings
Invitation, Stationery & Custom Dyed Linens by Alchemy Fine Events & Invitations
Venue, Floral Design & Model Styling by Isari Flower Studio
Photography by Christine Chang
Cheese by Vennissimo
Stools by Form Decor
