I thought this would be a perfect wedding to share with you today as we are slowly transitioning from Summer weddings into fall ones. This wedding had the feel of a glorious spring time affair with pretty pastels and neutrals, but we made it feel more like fall with textures like suede, metallic accents, tons of candlelight, and floral elements like berries and leaves.  Gayle Brooker captured the day for us… The bride’s gown is by Vera Wang.

The wedding ceremony took place at the French Huguenot church which we softened with a white carpet aisle runner and dressed up the gates with flowers and greenery. The groom is a classic car collector, so he had one of his favorite ones sent down for them to use on their wedding day.. I love that they drove themselves from the ceremony to the reception to have that time alone together.

Once guests were received at Runnymede Plantation, a cocktail hour overlooking the riverbanks was in full swing. The couple and their friends enjoy drinking great wine together, so we brought in a few bottles they had been hanging onto, decanted them and set up a wine bar… Same with bourbon. Passed hors d’oeuvres allowed guests to stroll the grounds.

One of my favorite parts of this wedding was that at the end of cocktail hour, our bride changed her dress and look for the reception, and the couple did their first dance on a smaller dance floor before dinner. Guests loved this surprise element and getting to see their dance before, which also allowed the party to get started immediately after dinner.

Lettered Olive created wedding printing using lots of good design elements we could compliment throughout the wedding decor… Metallic papers and inks, a custom monogram, and a mix and match of patterns.

As guests made their way into the dinner tent, they grabbed their escort cards which were attached to varying individual vases of florals.

I loved how her dinner tables turned out… Simple florals, but with champagne suede linens, gold accented china and glassware and candlelight gave a simple but thoughtful feel.

After dinner, the couple cut the cakes, designed by Jim Smeal.

The main house at Runnymede no longer stands (only a few ruins remain), but we found an old photograph which we had screen printed to serve as the background to the band stage.

Because of the remarkable weather, we built an outdoor porch off of the main reception tent for guests to enjoy drinks, cigars, and late night treats if they needed a dance break.

With the couple living outside of Chicago, but the bride a Southern girl, favors were bags of local biscuit mix perfectly packaged with mini wooden spoons. And, because of their affinity for wine we got a bottle that would be a perfect addition to their collection and guests signed it.

Welcome bags for the hotel guests came with the perfect tag for the end of the night- Do Not Disturb…we had too much fun. Congrats to Katie and Paul!