Category Archives: The Lettered Olive

Dec 13, 2017

One of the most stunning winter weddings I can remember is this celebration from 2013 in Oklahoma City. 525 people for a sparkling silver and gold, glamorous, personalized over the top New Year’s party. There are so many details I want to share from this wedding it was hard to chose our favorites. Liz Banfield was there with us to capture all of the twinkling tidbits.

The bridesmaids sparkled in two piece silver sequined tops and ballgown skirt ensembles from Synderela. Our friend, Julie Sabatino with The Stylish Bride, worked with the bride and designer to develop the custom creations.

The Brides’ childhood church was the perfect ceremony backdrop. We added our own special touches to their already lovely Christmas decorations, which included lush eucalyptus garlands, spruce wreaths, and glowing candle cylinders covered in custom laser cut metallic paper.

One of the most stunning ceremonies I’ve seen, after the processional, the lights were dimmed and the rest of the ceremony was held by candlelight. Truly magical and you could feel the love in the room!

Wow, did Lettered Olive get to have fun and create some spectacular design for the wedding papers. Gold metallic foil printing, laser cut papers, velvet finishes, and a pop up skyline were just a few of the details. We love the way the bride wrote her name along with the grooms, so we used her signature as a detail throughout too just to personalize it even more.

These guest welcome bags truly showered the guests traveling from afar and celebrating with them over a holiday weekend. A custom candle with printed matches, custom letterpress coasters and Veuve Clicquot splits, waters, favorite snacks and candies from the couple, and an “emergency” kit left the guests with everything they could need for a comfy stay.

Guests were greeted with a glowing welcome to the reception, where the exterior of the private club was covered in the wintry candle cylinders.

The finest details were not spared for this event. White gloved servers donning aprons in the couples’ custom monogram (and custom bowties) received guests with an array of offerings including Manhattans (where the couple reside) and Champagne.

The cocktail lounge was a sight to behold. Suede covered loungers with orchid “chandeliers” offered guests a place to gather, and the escort cards were mini versions of the paper covered cylinders with the names caligraphied on them, and displayed together on shelves for a statement wall!

The dining room shone in silver and gold. Lamplight and candlelight came together to create the most perfect ambient dinner experience, and while there were over 500 guests, it still managed to feel somewhat intimate!

Tables alternated complimenting pewter sequined linens topped with oversized clear crystal candelsticks and ones topped with soft silver suede and crystal lamps. All of the menus were backed in a gold laser cut velvet and place cards were gold name plates affixed to the letterpressed menus.

Two of my favorite little dinner details were the bride and groom chairs- embroidered with the handwritten names; and the first course soup served in these stunning gold bowls- fabulous!

A spectacular 8 tier cake with handmade flowers by Fancy Cakes by Lauren out of Dallas, Texas.

The couple share their first dance as husband and wife on a dance floor covered with their custom “fireworks” design.

This uber glam reception lounge provided the perfect pad for ringing in the New Year. The copper topped bar we built on site, and I always find the glassware to be an awful site, but we built a display for it, and it became a lovely backdrop.

The going away favors were a lovely packaged snack mix that included roasted dried black eyed peas- a traditional food said to bring luck to those who eat it on New Year’s day.

If there was ever a perfect time for a sparkler send off and fireworks at a wedding, it’s on New Year’s. The couple drove off into the night as coordinated “sparklers” popped as they drove by in their vintage convertible. Happy New Year to all!

12.13.17 | TARA GUÉRARD
Bridal, Bridal Style, Cakes, Dresses, Event Design, Event Planning, Flowers, Food and Drink, Reception, Stationery, Invitations and Pretty Papers, The Lettered Olive, Travel, Uncategorized, Weddings | Comments >>

Dec 06, 2017

A Winter’s Wedding

This is one of my favorite weddings to share this time of year. It’s been 7 years since we traveled to Arkansas to do the December wedding for this couple. While the groom was running for public office, the bride was in her second year of law school and planning her wedding! She was graceful under pressure and both she and her family were a joy to work with. We planned this grand fete in under 6 months and with only one site visit. This dress still shines as a favorite. We were with her when she tried it on for the first time and you could just see how it was truly the one for her- a perfectly pleated silk faille Carolina Herrera masterpiece, paired with a vintage fur wrap for the chillier moments.

Influenced by classic blue and white china, complimentary patterns were paired together throughout the printed pieces. Lettered Olive designed a custom monogram featuring a lion head door knocker, that the bride wanted to incorporate throughout. We had custom velvet shoe bags made to use as the guest welcome bags. Full of champagne, local sparkling water, and snacks, guests had everything they would need for a pre wedding celebration.

Pieces of the perfect blue and white fabric we found to use throughout the wedding decor, made the perfect bouquet wrap. The bride’s dress had a row of covered buttons, so we added that little detail for her on her flowers. Simple all white flowers (peonies and roses) were just the thing for this winter wedding.

The reception took place at Marlsgate Plantation just outside of Little Rock. The couple did do a “first sight” at the plantation house before the ceremony. This worked so well for this event, since the sun sets a bit earlier this time of year. Liz Banfield was also able to steal the couple away to capture some amazing private moments before the sunset.

We scored a vintage lion’s head door knocker while out sourcing that we knew we had to snag to use somewhere- like the fabric covered escort card and “sign in” board.

Shades of blue in the ceiling upped the look of the all white dining room. Antique wrought iron chandeliers with pillar candles became amazing statement pieces.

Special little touches like golden pillar candles, white velvet linens lined with thick blue piping, and lush white carpeting made for a warm, glowing, and breathtaking dining room. the letterpressed menus by Lettered Olive mimicked the fold out cards from the save the dates. Noted with the lions head monogram and calligraphied with each guest’s name at the place setting, the pull out menu pieces had guests keeping them all as take homes!

The 5 tier cake was hand painted with each different pattern used throughout the wedding printing and decor and was the centerpiece of the dining room.

A 40 foot bar covered in the blue and white damask fabric anchored the lounge tent with shelving to create a focal point for the blue votives.

To give guests a different feel for dancing, we darkened up the lounge with navy blue and gold tones.

Rice produced by the bride’s family’s business was packaged in custom stamped muslin pouches to toss during the couple’s getaway…Wishing our bride and groom the happiest of anniversaries.

12.06.17 | TARA GUÉRARD
Bridal, Bridal Style, Event Design, Event Planning, Fashion, Flowers, Photographers, Reception, Stationery, Invitations and Pretty Papers, The Lettered Olive, Travel, Weddings | Comments >>

Nov 07, 2017

Totally Into Table Numbers

Photo by Corbin Gurkin

In honor of our recent appearance in the Martha Stewart Weddings feature on creative table numbers, we wanted to share a few ideas from our weddings that were a bit hit. Because, you know we can’t resist every little detail. For a fall wedding in Aspen, Colorado, die cut wooden cards were perfect for our sophisticated rustic wedding. Lettered Olive does all of our printing (and can do yours as well), but you can also find many of these on Etsy.

Photo by Liz Banfield

Many years ago (before you were readily able to find agate slices) we found this green agate at the gift market show in NYC. So, we scooped up enough to have our caligrapher hand paint the table numbers on them.

Photo by Liz Banfield

One thing we always have to think about when designing our tabletops is how crowded they may end up- for example, if we do offer bread service we incorporate it into the meal because there is never room for the b&b plates! To eliminate crowd on these tables, we ordered metal house numbers to hang from the overhead chandeliers…

Photo by Liz Banfield

For a beachfront wedding in September that was high on style and metallic accent colors, we had sheets of metal cut and our calligrapher painted the table numbers on them. These marble card holders in a neutral color we found have proven to be so useful and versatile.

For a golf themed wedding hole flags printed with the table numbers were a thoughtful addition to the tables and offered a bit of height in the tent…So cute, right?

Photo by Liz Banfield

For those that prefer something a bit more along the traditional route, cards that were painted with the numbers were draped by ribbon from the chairs.. We just hot glued button mums to the ends of the ribbon to hide the cut ends and jazz them up a bit. You could use many different flowers or other decorative items here.

11.07.17 | TARA GUÉRARD
Entertaining, Event Design, Reception, Stationery, Invitations and Pretty Papers, The Lettered Olive, Uncategorized, Weddings | Comments >>