Wednesday, November 30, 2011

A few of My Favorite Things

Whiskers on kittens, blue satin sashes....snowflakes that stick to my nose and eyelashes...In the holiday season I am more aware of how thankful I am for what we have and the people and pretty things that I love. Looking around the house today, I realize a few of my favorite things are right here....
My ever growing fabric stash
Our vintage camera collection
Wine cork mushroom ornaments made with my 4 year old
Our collection of vintage post cards of places we love to visit, and an old map of Boston
Colorful books
stacks of books
Inspiration bulletin board ideas
woodland holiday terrarium
simple table decoration
friendly light up garden gnome, red owl with my husband's photography and vintage blue glass, leopard print lampshade and vintage metal picnic basket tin
fabric stash items
colorful unexpected everyday items collected over time
thrift store plates with fabric pennants and husband's original painting
colors and ideas that inspire my work
vintage blanket yarn, thread, honeymoon souvenir and more pretty books
And of course. My favorite, favorite: my daughter playing across the room
Now I don't feel so bad!

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Pets at Weddings-a Love and Lobster interview with Maine Seasons Events

(photo by emilie inc.) Recently I was interviewed by Love and Lobster blog about including pets at weddings. I have seen some things, I will say, and I was happy to shed (no pun intended, hee-hee!) some light on things many people don't consider in regard to the safety and comfort of animals at weddings. Having worked at a veterinary hospital in my past life, I have learned a few things about how animals can innocently get into trouble quickly.
Have a read, and I hope you find some interesting and helpful information there if you are planning on including your pet in your wedding!

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

A Maine Seasons Events Wedding on Gray Likes Weddings!

We just learned that Whitney and Rian's beautiful Maine wedding was featured on Grey Likes Weddings, in a feature about pre- owned wedding dresses!
Whitney's Vera Wang Eleanor dress was a confection on her, just the right cut for her fabulous figure. Now Whitney's dreamy dress is also for sale, on Pre Owned Wedding Dresses.com
I love all the layers on this dreamy dress, and her sparkly Ruby slipper TOMS?!? So cute!

Sunday, November 13, 2011

Smith Meetinghouse Wedding-A Maine Seasons Event

One of our dearest and smartest couples, Jessica and Dalen, reached out to Maine Seasons Events for design and planning for their wedding this past June. Jessica's father is very involved with the Smith Meetinghouse in Gilmanton, New Hampshire, and it proved to be the perfect location for this very special celebration.
We came up with this palette for the design, incorporating jade, pale blue, slate, oatmeal, sage, black and gray.
We had custom black ticking runners made and over champagne table cloths, our enamel ware collection was a fun and unique element on the tables. Flora Fauna created the lush and seasonally perfect arrangements and bouquets, and we delivered them all to NH and set up, it was a busy day, doing the floral installation job too, floral designers work so hard to make everything beautiful!
The bride had collected some enamel pails and Flora Fauna planted herbs and moss in them to accompany the flower arrangements that were in vintage enamelware teapots, pitchers and mugs. We used little pottery crocks with numbers on them for tables numbers, the bride and I collected them simultaneously until we had enough of the right numbers to make a set.
Jessica had great ideas and contributed to the design, sharing her inspirations and thoughts. She even designed the stationery, including a save the date with an illustration of the Meetinghouse and a delightful map and feather image.
Jessica even created the place cards/favors: mini jars of home made jam, each covered with black ticking and a hand typed little tag tied on with gray twine, noting each guests' name and table number. We arranged these on crates and vintage metal boxes they were so sweet all lined up in rows.
We mixed in some of our vintage medicine bottles and Flora Fauna added jade votives, a little pop of color on the mostly neutral tables. We used what has become our signature: mixing round and rectangle tables, so we had two different table looks.
Jessica's bouquet featured scabiosa seed pods, bachelor buttons, roses, Delphinium, dusty miller, peonies and veronica, tied with a band of black ticking fabric and a tail of satin ribbons in shades of blue.
This photo really illustrates Jessica's beautiful spirit, it just might be my fave! Her feather detailed dress is from Claire La Faye, and it was just perfect on her.
Dalen's boutonniere was made from a scabiosa seed pod, hypericum berry and greens, wrapped with black ticking and blue velvet ribbon, I love the blue against his gray suit!
Jessica's parents' house nearby has gorgeous fields surrounding it and after the ceremony, the couple and photographer Rebecca Hansen snuck away to the fields for some great photos.
After the ceremony in the Meetinghouse, with music from royal Bagpiper, Gordon Webster, cocktails were held on the lawn and then dinner in the tent from Lakes Region Tent. After dinner and pie, guests moved into the "horse shed", a structure that Jessica and I plotted how to decorate all winter! We hung garlands of hemlock that we made, with swags of muslin and draped string lights among it all, to create a twinkly, magical dance space.
The temperature turned cool in the evening, and a fire was built for guests to snuggle up to while watching the dancing in the horse shed. Jessica's father launched a custom fireworks display at the end of the night, over the hill, the sky was lit with light and the air with love.
Congratulations to you Jessica and Dalen, we loved working with you!

Vendors:

Photography: Rebecca Hansen

Event Design and Planning: Maine Seasons Events

Floral Design: Flora Fauna

Location: Smith Meeting House, Gilford, NH

Catering: Provincial Palate

Music: DJ Bob Wilson-e-mail: djbobwilson@yahoo.com

Ceremony Bagpipes: Gordon Webster http://www.nhssa.org/index.htm

Linen Rentals: One Stop Party Shop

Tent and Furniture rental: Lakes Region Tent

Stationery: Client designed and created

Favors: home made jam made and assembled by client and family

Hair & Makeup: Sunday Salon

Transportation: Feliciano Limousine

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

A Maine Seasons Halloween!

Well, another year has passed and our almost Christmas holiday of Old Hallows Eve has come and gone again, for us marking the start of winter here in Maine.
This year I admit I was, well, pressed for time and had to act quickly. I found a plastic disc sled in the garage and thought it just had to become a mushroom cap, with a little red fabric, hot glue and a welding mask head bracket attached...the "stem" is simply a tube of felt, sewn up with arm holes, and some fancy silk ferns attached-easy breezy!
Ava personally submitted her idea for a mummy, she said it had to be a "pretty mummy" not a scary one. Some left over wedding muslin, one set of boys' vanilla colored long johns and some coffee stained gauze, again the hot glue and a vanilla fleece cap, last minute cape to go over the whole ensemble and she was finished. (after we had 5 inches of snow the day before Halloween, an extra layer was necessary!)
Chris barely got out of work in time to walk with us in the annual downtown parade, so he sadly had to break his own rule and default to a previous years' costume...it might just become his signature and he can wear it every year. My own father always went as himself every Halloween, even though his birthday falls on that day and we begged him to dress up with us girls....
This was our niece and Ava's new cousin's debut at the Halloween parade and her parents didn't let us down with a custom baby pumpkin coach that the babe rode in, snug as a bug in a rug, being watched over by one of Chris' old creations, known in some circles as, "The Professor". Don't worry, he is a licensed child care provider. She caused quite a sensation with the townsfolk!
After pizza and refreshment, we headed out to do a little trick or treating, Ava and the baby in tow, and headed home to snuggle into bed with our bellies full of candy. Now I have to find a way to dole out the candy in dietary reasonable amounts for the next few weeks....Happy Halloween!

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Toy Camera Photography Feature

I am so behind in posting this, but I do owe my husband the mention!
My creative life long love had his photographic work featured on toycamera.com recently, go have a peek!
Anyone who knows Chris knows that he is a tinkerer...he makes things, all kinds of things. Things you have never seen, things you have never thought of and reinventing things you use all the time, everyday things. He is working on amassing a collection of his makings to have a show of sorts. An installation. An experience. It may take some time, but it will happen eventually.
Halfway taken with a Stellar (Diana clone)
Wonder Wheel taken with a Holga 120s
The Woods taken with a Stellar (Diana clone)
Congratulations Chris, it is exciting to see your photos out there in the world!