Gracie's Event Company: Glorious Garden

This is the story of the gorgeous K and her fabulous fiance B. It's difficult to describe what a pleasure it was to plan this wedding. Admittedly, she is our great friend... but she is also a friend to all, the kindest of souls. This alone made the whole journey a treasure. When you add in the fact that she has incredible taste and style, well that's just the gravy!!! We started with a very clear challenge... the Bride wanted her reception to be held in the back garden area of a cute old church long since converted to a reception facility in her home town. To view it on our first visit in January, it certainly didn't seem like much... everything was dried up and looked like nothing more than a blank and very lumpy field. But K had such a clear picture of what she wanted. She knew what it could be and gave us the vision. And we ran with it!!!

So Miss K knew all along that she wanted the outdoor garden look for the reception but it quickly became obvious that using the garden was a necessity as the guest count outgrew the capacity of the quaint former chapel. We went with a large and long pole tent as he main reception space. So much for dried up and lumpy!! What a lush and gorgeous outdoor space... wedding perfection.

The main entrance to the tent consisted a fabulous three table display featuring some of the Brides favorite garden decorations and family keepsakes. Her gorgeous portrait added just the right greeting for guests....

To keep the guests well informed, a family friend and artist created this beautiful painting of the evening's events. What a fabulous keepsake for our wonderful couple.

Sweet K defined the vision even further... no glass, she says. She wanted the complete garden look... no tall vases or clear glass anywhere (with the exception of plates and drinking glasses!) Love a woman who knows what she wants!! We were teaming once again with the wonderful Jenna Lee of Splurge Events. Jenna designed a fabulous vase covering for the tall centerpieces under the tent. Pure beauty was the result...

It's hard to convey how much we love table linens. So often the linen design meeting becomes the defining moment of planning an event. Oh how many Brides have commented on the peaceful feeling of having this important detail nailed down!! In the case of K, she knew she loved the pale peachy pink and garden apple green colors, so we started with a selection of fabulous solid linens in these colors. Then as almost an after thought we decided to view a floral we had noticed in passing. The result... garden linen magic.

Next point of clear vision from our fantabulous Bride K.... Birdcages. Anytime a Bride or Groom has something they have spent years of their life collecting, it should be incorporated to this most important day if at all possible. Afterall, the goal is to celebrate these two people and show their personalities throughout the wedding. In the case of our Birdcagey Bride, we used her huge vintage birdcage as the centerpiece of the drink table.

Last of the 3 types of centerpieces: candles covered with delicate rice paper and vintage lace. As with every guest table the beautiful floral was free flowing that unformed. Gorgeous!!

The guests were welcomed to have a seat at one of the beautiful tables or grab one of our vintage quilts and lounge on the lawn.

K and B's first date happened as a double date with their beloved dogs at the dog park.... how appropriate that B would choose that location to propose to our sweet friend. These kind of details make K's choice of her custom made cake topper all the more fabulous!!!

And the food... did we mention the food?? After being treated to delicious passed hors d'oeuvres upon arrival, guests were then greated with a gorgeous spread of the couples favorite comfort foods. So appropriate for this gorgeous country garden wedding!!

Every wedding has to work around it's own set of logistics. One of ours happened to be the location of the tent. Since it was at the bottom of a long cobblestone staircase, we knew we needed to provide an easy way for guests who needed assistance to get to the bottom. Our solution: the golf cart.

Since our guest count exceeded the capacity of the small former chapel, we knew we would need extra bathrooms to accompany those in the facility. Even the bathrooms turned out adorable!!