photo by Liz Banfield

We always get a lot of feedback and have come somewhat to be known for our lounge designs. Back when I started getting into weddings, you mostly saw your traditional tables set around a dance floor and people would get up to dance in between courses. I don’t know if it was a bit of that Southern sensibility that made me start to think- we like to get comfortable, stay awhile, smush together and enjoy conversation, and so I started designing reception lounges for our guests.

photos by Corbin Gurkin

There are definitely some key ingredients to a fabulous lounge… After a nice dinner, get your guests up out of their seats, and get them into party mode… We love a big dance floor, great ambient lighting (so people will actually dance), little vignettes perfect for retreating for rest and conversation. Of course, you need little details there- we like to use an element seen the wedding design for things like custom printed pillows to adorn the seating.

photos by Corbin Gurkin

We like for it to feel like someone’s living room, they are hosting you and want you to be comfortable. But, also thoughtful, with floral and design touches.- like maybe a lifesize golden giraffe! And of course, a big bar with lots of bartenders so guests never have to wait in line. Sometimes we print custom fabric to cover the front of the bars. photos by Corbin Gurkin

Of course not all lounges are indoors… We love building porches or finding the perfect lawn for setting up a lovely al fresco seating area.  Custom umbrellas can help guard guests from too much sun.  When you can open the inside up to the outside, it’s ideal! photos by Corbin Gurkin

Here in a very large scale tent a clear top and greenery swags help give the inside an outdoor feel. We built tall installations to house oversized greenery pieces to compensate for the height. And with all of the white carpeting, a patterned dance floor in the wedding palette helped give a fantastic focal point.  With this being a winter wedding, sofas in luxurious fabrics like suede and velvet gave guests not only a glam space to sit, but cozy as well.  photos by Liz Banfield

For another tented affair, we wanted to give the lounge space some definition… Individual cabana tents housing small little seating spaces and covered in the custom printed wedding fabric offered an unexpected wow factor.

photos by Liz Banfieldphotos by Liz Banfield

I still love this riverside outdoor lounge we created a bit off of the path from the tent, complete with lamplight…I know there were a few couples that sat out here all evening!

photos by Corbin Gurkin and Liz Banfield

One last detail we always consider is how the stage and dance floor will look for photos… We’re seeing large scale background walls and installations like we have been doing becoming popular now, but I can’t stand seeing the front of those ugly stages and all of that band equipment in bride’s first dance photos! So, we have what we call our stage partitions, which are covered in a printed fabric, or fresh plants, or florals in order to hide all of those chords etc. Much prettier in photos, don’t you think?