Vendor Review: Lauren Brown Studio

photo by me

Lauren designed our save the dates, invitations, and wedding contract. What initially attracted us to Lauren was her beautiful designs, her willingness to be flexible, and the fact that she could accommodate our small wedding (a lot of the larger vendors have order minimums). I also thought  Lauren put a lot of thought into each of her designs as demonstrated by the fact that each piece has some unexpected surprise element that really sets it apart.

Lauren was very easy to work with it and very responsive. Most of our communication after our initial face to face consultation was via email which worked great for me. For each of our stationery elements she mocked up 3 full samples based on feedback we gave her in regards to our wants, likes, and dislikes. I thought seeing a fully completed piece was very helpful (to get a sense of how everything would come together and not just a digital proof) and the fact that there was a variety of samples also gave us flexibility in choosing elements from each to come to a final design.

I must say that on our invitation Lauren was extremely patient with us because we actually went through 2 design cycles. When we started our planning process my fiance and I were both convinced that we wanted pocketfold invites. And Lauren did three beautiful samples in this style, but something was just not resonating with us. (I think our tastes had changed since our initial meeting just through doing more wedding research.) I had seen pictures of accordion fold programs and fell in love with them, and was seriously thinking that it would be more cost effective to do them as an invite. I suggested this to Lauren and she loved the idea and was completely open to doing another round of designs. I got my sample of her version of the accordion invite and I LOVED IT. I got nothing but raves from my guests.

I was also pleased with our final wedding contract - it was clean, simple, elegant design that tied in perfectly to our invitations and save the date.

Lauren is definitely someone to go to if you want custom work that is sure to WOW.

Making Our Entrance

All images taken by Edmund Moon of Daily Thousand Words Photography

Lining up outside the reception

At the last minute my husband changed our entrance music after catching wind of an idea from my cousin. Our bridal party entrance music was "Flashing Lights" by Kanye West and the original plan was for us to come in to "Good Life" by Kanye as well. But in cohoots with my cousin my husband changed our entrance music to the Monday night NFL theme music. Which I didn't mind and I think our guests got a kick out of it ;)

Intermission from Recaps for DIY Project

I stole this idea shamelessly from Miss. Lightening over on Weddingbee.

I saw the wonderful bridesmaid information cards she made and I knew I wanted to do one as well. I scoured the internet for a vintage picture of an African American bridal party and was able to find the perfect pic.

I then did all my work in Mac Pages after modifying the pic from black and white to sepia tone in Iphoto. It was easy to add a pink border and a pink title (using Burgues font - color does not show well in photo). I then designed the back of the card giving my bridesmaids a timeline of the day with all relevant events for them and then adding at the bottom any pertinent information for day of and contact information for the wedding planners. The roses were done with a font I downloaded from dafont.com.

I printed the cards on shimmery 80lb cardstock which really enhanced the effect of the card.

Card measured 4" x 6"

Food Glorious Food!

Image by Edmund Moon of Daily Thousand Words

After having brunch at the Four Seasons before the wedding both my husband and I knew that we had made the right choice. They hands down have one of the best most elaborate brunch spreads in the city. Their food to put it simply is AWESOME.

Here is what we dined on at our brunch reception. NOM NOM NOM

Salads 

 Caprese Salad of Fresh Tomato & Mozzarella 

with Basil Dressing 

Classic Caesar Salad

Citrus Flavored Shrimp Salad with Arugula

Penne Pasta, Broccoli Rabe and Tomato 

with Garlic Remoulade

Appetizers

Crustless Spinach & Parmesan Pie

California Style Sushi Roll 

with Soy, Wasabi & Pickled Ginger

Spicy Tuna Roll with Chili Remoulade

Brunch Pairings

Imported Ham and Vermont Cheddar Quiche

Classic Vegetable Quiche

Classic Eggs Benedict 

with Canadian Bacon & Hollandaise Sauce 

French Toast of Raisin Challah Bread, Toasted Almond and Vanilla with Warm Vermont Syrup

Hickory Smoked Turkey Bacon

Country Turkey Sausage

Country Style Yukon Gold Potatoes with Scallions

Lunch Pairings

Carved Roast Tenderloin of Beef Wellington 

with Red Wine Reduction

Pan Seared Grouper Fillet 

with Asparagus Tips and Ginger Fumet

Dessert

 French Pastries

 Coconut Chocolate Chip Fudge Bar

 Chocolate Terrine with Ganache Glaze

Fruit Tartlets

Brown Sugar Lemon Cake

White Chocolate Macadamia Tart

Lemon Poppy Seed Crumb Cake

Dark Chocolate Mousse 

Tiramisu 

Coffee & Herbal Teas

It was so beautiful I cried

All photos by Edmund Moon of Daily Thousand Words unless otherwise noted

My reaction after seeing our reception room and expressing my gratitude to our awesome planner Kathy Bado. Yes I have the ugly cry face.

I was able to hold back the tears the whole day, even through my ceremony, but when I walked into my reception room I cried. The whole time the only thing Roosevelt and I could say was "OH WOW!" I felt like it was everything I wanted it to be and more. It was so intimate and romantic. Our florist Maire from Flower Sculpture did a fantastic job on the centerpieces and our planner Kathy and the Four Seasons were wonderful in coordinating everything and adding little touches here and there.

First this is what we feasted our eyes upon outside our reception room.

A good three weeks before the wedding we were still going back and forth as to what our escort table should like. The only thing that was definite is that it should be covered with moss but with what type of florals sitting upon it that was undecided. After a 20 minute conversation with Marie our florist where she outlined what types of florals she wanted to use, I pretty much left it up to her and she did not disappoint. It was different, it was grand and it definitely set the tone for the reception. There were two large glass containers and two smaller ones filled with pomander balls covered in green and white mums. Atop the glass containers were arrangements of hydregena and garden roses. White rose petals were sprinkled on the moss and arrangements of candles flowed out from the center. I did my escort cards myself and went with a simple cream shimmer cardstock with chocolate brown font and a little rhinestone embellishment on each.

Then we walked in and saw our room as they were putting the finishing touches.

I went back and forth about the table setup that I wanted. I originally wanted two long tables, but given the room and the fact that we were having a buffet this was not condusive to an ideal flow. I also hate round tables and from other functions I have attended I knew that they were immediately out. So I decided to rent square tables that sat 8 from Select Event Rentals. I was adamant about renting chivari chairs. I learned from wedding planning that few places have them as part of their standard package. Even the Four Seasons had somewhat unattractive chairs. And they really do make a difference in the look of the room. I had to convince my husband that the extra expense was worth it but he totally agreed once seeing the room. We also went with a taupe colored linen that had a gold undertone for our tablecloths from Total Table. Even though our colors were chocolate brown, pink, and cream I wanted to not be so matchy matchy and pull in our color theme in subtle ways.

We had food stations on 3 sides of the room and Marie and Kathy set up small florals (dahlias, roses, and moss) all around. Also I had purchased a ton of candles wholesale and they were on each table and scattered throughout the room.

We had two different cenerpieces for the four guest tables each made up of roses, hydrengenas, and dahlias. Each of the centerpieces were elevated on boxes covered in moss and pillar and votive candles scattered around the box. Here is a guest pick of one of the centerpieces that had an arrangement on top of a large glass container that held a huge garden rose floating in water.

Guest photo

For our table we had a large arrangement of two stacked moss boxes with a large floral coming out of the top box with rose petals and votives around the base.

For our table numbers I took vintage postcards of Philadelphia that I bought on ebay and applied a sepia tone before printing them out on 5x7 cardstock. I also designed our menu cards and had them tucked in each guest's napkin with spray roses.

On our desert table you could see the customized cupcake bags I made for our guests, the personalized napkins I made with our monogram, and the cupcake signs. We used cake stands from my own collection which were all white and pink to display our cupcakes.

We choose not to go with a large cutting cake but instead went with a 6" small red velvet cake covered in fondant for cutting and cupcakes for our guests. Which was a much more economical choice. Our cutting cake was topped with a clay peony I purchased on etsy from ccbycherie and sat a top a cake stand from my own collection. Our desert table was covered with a bed of moss and sprinkled with white rose petals.

I made chair signs from a tutorial I found on Elizabeht Anne Designs as a way to designate our seats and officially mark us a Mr & Mrs Peterson

In th corner near the door was a display of the boquets surronded by rose petals and candles.

Next up our menu!

We finally get to see the ROOM

All photos by Edmund Moon of Daily Thousand Words Photography

Stay tuned.

Our Guest Book

All photos by Edmund Moon of Daily Thousand Words Photography

For our guest book we were inspired by the tradition of the Quaker marriage certificate. We wanted something meaningful and not something that would be packed away to collect dust. Also since we had such a small intimate wedding we also wanted something that would be inclusive of our guests. We had Lauren Brown our stationery vendor design a poster sized certificate which she had mounted and we set it outside the reception room for display. On an easel beside the table we had a large fame of family photos of couples in our family with an explanation of the certificate.

After the wedding we had it professionally framed and it now hangs at the bottom of our stairwell and I see it every morning when I come downstairs. A constant reminder of the commitment Roe and I have made to  each other and the people who witnesses our declaration of love.

Later displayed on an easel in our reception room for the formal signing by Roosevelt and me.

Here is the wording of our marriage certificate/contract.

On September 12th, in the year of our Lord, 2009

Nicole XXXXX XXXXX and Roosevelt X XXXXXXX appeared together, 

and Roosevelt taking Nicole by the hand, did, on this solemn and joyous occasion, declare that he took Nicole to be his wife, promising with Divine assistance to be unto her a loving and faithful husband; and then Nicole, did in like manner declare that she took Roosevelt to be her husband, promising with Divine assistance, to be unto him a loving and faithful wife.

And moreover as a further confirmation and declaration of their love they do commit their hand to the following pledge in the presence of God, family, and friends.

To love each other earnestly, with passion and enthusiasm

To love with compassion and understanding and without reservation or judgement

To give the best of themselves and to ask of the other no more than they can give

To strive to achieve their potential as God’s creature and support and celebrate the other’s progress towards this goal

To be open and share with the other their innermost fears and feelings, secrets and dreams

To stay by each other’s side through times of illness, struggle, and poverty as well as times of health, happiness, and prosperity

To respect the other as their own person and to realize that their interests, desires, and needs are no less important than their own

To be patient with each others differences and to remember that they imbue their relationship with resilience, strength, and humor

To be the others rock of support and champion in the face of adversity, to be each other’s advisor and trusted confidant, and to always believe and trust in the others abilities and dreams

To grow together and be willing to face changes in order to keep their relationship alive and exciting

To do what they can to stay healthy and fit in body and mind so that they may age gracefully by each other’s side

To create a home that is welcoming, inclusive, spirited, and inspiring

To celebrate, cherish, and mark the blessing of their union each day

And we having been present at this marriage, hereby set our hands offering our love and support to this union

[AT THE BOTTOM]

 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 

1 Corinthians 13 4:7

Bridal Party Portraits

All photos by Edmund Moon of Daily Thousand Words Photography

So as I said in my last post, we did our bridal party portraits during our cocktail hour. We figured with a bridal party of six people they should not take more than 10 minutes, plus neither one of us were a fan of all the formal traditional shots with all the variations. The direction we gave our photographer was that we wanted them to be quick and also a little different. Our photographer has a very Vanity Fair-esque style which we loved and we wanted shots reminiscent of that.

I absolutely LOVE how they turned out.

Our Cocktail Hour - It was all such a whirlwind

All photos by Edmund Moon of Daily Thousand Words Photography

It seems like so much happened during our cocktail hour, that it is hard to believe that we fit so much in that looking back it seems like a whirlwind.

Immediately following the ceremony we were whisked away to the holding room for a private moment. The Four Seasons prepared a selection of hors d'oeuvres from our cocktail hour and glasses of champagne. We were concerned on missing all the yummy food we had selected but we did get a tasting. However, in all my excitement I did not eat much and I still missed out on the fab crab cakes everyone raved about.

Meanwhile our guests were circulating in the Jefferson room enjoying butler passes hors d'oeuvres, a non-alcoholic drink bar,  and butler passed mimosas & bloody marys. For the florals I went very simple and did only garden roses atop in a glass cylinder filled with moss. It was not worth the expense of huge floral arrangements for 1 hour of time. The Four Seasons did a lovely set up of the drink bar, but I don't think the picture does it justice.

I also surprised Roosevelt and had a harpist play at the cocktail hour.  (My husband is fascinated with harp music ever since we saw a harpist at tea at the Four Seasons during our engagement). I booked her the week before the wedding and I think it really added to the atmosphere of the wedding.

While we did get an opportunity to circulate we also took our formal bridal party shots during the cocktail hour as well. So stay tuned because we specifically told our photographer edmund that we wanted some non-traditional shots.

Our Wedding Video

Its been a while .....

Will I finish my recaps? Yes!

However, I am over the moon excited that we got our wedding video today! Courtesy of Well Spun Weddings.

Enjoy

And I will continue my recaps some time this week.

Ceremony Readings

Photo by Edmund Moon of Daily Thousand Words

I had about 10 ceremony readings that were potential candidates for our ceremony. In the end we went with a reading from The Prophet and the book of Ruth. They both resonated what our definition of love and marriage were.

Ruth 1 16:17

 16 But Ruth replied, "Don't urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God

17 Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD deal with me, be it ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me."

SPEAK TO US OF LOVE

From The Prophet

By Kahlil Gilbran 

Then said Almitra, Speak to us of Love.

And he raised his head and looked upon the people, and there fell a stillness upon them. And with a great voice he said: When love beckons to you, follow him, Though his ways are hard and steep. And when his wings enfold you yield to him, Though the sword hidden among his pinions may wound you. And when he speaks to you believe in him, Though his voice may shatter your dreams as the north wind lays waste the garden.

For even as love crowns you so shall he crucify you. Even as he is for your growth so is he for your pruning. Even as he ascends to your height and caresses your tenderest branches that quiver in the sun, So shall he descend to your roots and shake them in their clinging to the earth. Like sheaves of corn he gathers you unto himself. He threshes you to make you naked. He sifts you to free you from your husks. He grinds you to whiteness. He kneads you until you are pliant; And then he assigns you to his sacred fire, that you may become sacred bread for God's sacred feast.

All these things shall love do unto you that you may know the secrets of your heart, and in that knowledge become a fragment of Life's heart.

But if in your fear you would seek only love's peace and love's pleasure, Then it is better for you that you cover your nakedness and pass out of love's threshing-floor, Into the seasonless world where you shall laugh, but not all of your laughter, and weep, but not all of your tears.

Love gives naught but itself and takes naught but from itself. Love possesses not nor would it be possessed; For love is sufficient unto love.

When you love you should not say, "God is in my heart," but rather, "I am in the heart of God." And think not you can direct the course of love, for love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course.

Love has no other desire but to fulfill itself. But if you love and must needs have desires, let these be your desires:

To melt and be like a running brook that sings its melody to the night.

To know the pain of too much tenderness.

To be wounded by your own understanding of love;

And to bleed willingly and joyfully.

To wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of loving;

To rest at the noon hour and meditate love's ecstasy;

To return home at eventide with gratitude;

And then to sleep with a prayer for the beloved in your heart and a song of praise upon your lips.

Ceremony - The Best Part of the Day

All photos by Edmund Moon of Daily Thousand Words

By far the best part of the day was our wedding ceremony. I have never felt so connected to another person than when I stood before God, family, and friends and declared my love, devotion and commitment to my husband. I was on the verge of full out tears throughout the ceremony so I was so surprised at how many photos showed me smiling from ear to ear.

We discussed with our pastor the ceremony in our counseling sessions and we decided to go with the traditional vows without any alterations. The only thing we added were two readings a biblical and non-biblical reading. I can't wait to get our video back because our pastor did a beautiful job in  officiating the sermon. He said such beautiful words on his message of the meaning of marriage and what it truly means to join your lives together.

My friend from college (who I met in our first week of our freshman year) did a reading from The Prophet by Khalil Gibran. A friend of Roosevelt did our second reading from the book of Ruth. I put together a simple book for each reading made from bronze shimmer card stock and accentuated with a pink ribbon so our readers would not hold a plain piece of paper in front of everyone. A simple quick project.

Look how happy we both were. Aaaahhhhhhhh.

Before we exchanged rings our pastor quietly prayed over them with us. Only we heard the pastor's prayer and it was one of the most intimate moments of the ceremony.

Exchange of our rings.

Our pastor blessing us after our vows and ring exchange. One of my favorite shots from the wedding. Edmund did a gorgeous job.

THE KISS!

And we are officially the Petersons!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ceremony decor and details

All photos by Edmund Moon of Daily Thousand Words Photography

From the beginning I was set that our ceremony have lots of candles and rose petals lining the aisle. I went back and forth about having other flowers. My thought was unless the arrangements were going to be recycled later on for the reception there was no point in investing a huge amount from the budget on large ceremony arrangements. So we went with a very simple decor which was fine since the room at the Four Seasons had an elaborate chandelier and the rich wall treatments.

To save money I sourced all the candle and glass online and spent  a lot of time researching which vendor had the best price. Ultimately I sourced all the pillar candles from Dining by Candlelight and got the best deal on their chamber pillars, which are slightly thinner than regular pillars but give the same overall look at a lower price. The glass I sourced from HJK Imports a glass wholesaler based in California. Since the glass was so inexpensive there were inconsistencies in the quality and thickness so  I was lucky to have ordered more glass containers then we actually used. However, there prices was so unbelievable that I still realized a huge cost saving over renting the glass from my florist. For votives and tea lights I sourced them from IKEA , Michaels, and ebay. Ikea by far has the best price on votive and tea light glass holders. 

On the alter of candles we had a sheer runner and a cross that Roosevelt inherited from his grandmother. The cross was one more way we could incorporate something from our grandparents into the wedding.

My aisle runner as talked about in an earlier post was from Bell Creation.

In each chair we laid out the programs. I slaved for two weeks on the programs and I think I made them more overly complicated than they needed to be. In looking back I would have gone with a simpler, less time intensive program. But guests did tell me they loved them. I got inspiration from a picture on Project Wedding and when I could not find the enclosure I had in my mind I decided to make it. Cutting, scoring, and folding the enclosures was the longest part of the process.

I tied in our mantra of "Love is Simple, Love is kind" onto the belly band on the program.

Photo by me.

The pages which were printed on text weight shimmer paper were held in the enclosure with a pink ribbon. We had a simple program which had the wedding party, order of ceremony, words of gratitude, in remembrance, and an excerpt from the Velveteen Rabbit.

Here is our word of gratitude:

Your presence here adds greatly to our joy and happiness on this day.  We thank you for the many gestures and words of support and encouragement that you have extended to us over the course of our Engagement. We ask that God bless and enrich your lives with joy and love as much as you have enriched ours with your friendship and generosity.

Here is the excerpt from the Velveteen Rabbit we used :

"What is REAL?" asked the Rabbit one day, when they were lying side by side near the nursery fender, before Nana came to tidy the room. "Does it mean having things that buzz inside you and a stick-out handle?"

"Real isn't how you are made," said the Skin Horse. "It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real."

"Does it hurt?" asked the Rabbit.

"Sometimes," said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. "When you are Real you don't mind being hurt."

"Does it happen all at once, like being wound up," he asked, "or bit by bit?"

"It doesn't happen all at once," said the Skin Horse. "You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, Because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand."

The Processional

All photos by Edmund Moon of Daily Thousand Words Photography

Since our wedding was so small, the processional went fairly quickly.

I debated for months as to the music for the processional. I didn't know if given the size of the wedding party if there was truly enough time to have a different song for the wedding party and the entrance of the bride. Plus there were so many songs that we both loved and narrowing down the choice was so hard. We made our final decision on the music 3 weeks before the wedding. After hearing Lynette Washington's rendition of "When I Fall in Love" we both knew that this was the song. It summed up our relationship in a nutshell and her voice was just so moving and touching. For my entrance I choose "I Believe and You and Me" by the Four Tops. That song makes me cry every time I hear it. Plus it was the perfect message to Roosevelt of my love for him.

Our parents. Roosevelt escorted my mother.

Our groomsman. We choose to go with khaki suits for our groomsmen. We got their suits from K&G for $99, which was a great buy since they can easily wear their suits again.

Our bridesmaids. I was so surprised once the pictures came back how their dresses photographed an almost purple color instead of the chocolate brown that they were.

Once the doors closed behind them and I heard them switch music to the bridal procession, my eyes started to well up. My biggest concern in walking down the aisle was not to break out into full tears. My uncle squeezed my hand the whole way down the aisle. I didn't look at Roosevelt until I got to the alter.

Roosevelt was so excited to see me. And him knowing me so well knew that I was overwhelmed and he quietly whispered "Are you ok?". And I replied back "Yes, I'm crying because I am so happy."

Then it was time to become husband and wife.