Cultural Beauty
Real Wedding by Chewing the Cud, IV
Here are the last photographs and details from the oh-so-talented Viola Sutanto…owner and creative force behind the incredible invitation design firm, Chewing the Cud!
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Tying back to our idea of “discovery”, linen journals were placed in hand-stained crates that were decoupaged with photos of vintage food labels we took during our travels together. Guests are engaged in the process of “discovering” their tables as they identify their names and table grades.
Instead of numbers, the tables were named after characters from the story, with corresponding letter grades. I made the table runner that adorned the head table as a gift for Phillip. I printed our vows and favourite poems we had read to each other during the ceremony. My crazy bird illustrations appeared again on the runner.
The concepts of discovery and childhood memories continued at the dinner tables where treasure boxes revealed childhood trinkets and candid photos of … wonderful conversation opener. Trivia questions on the menus kept guests entertained as they awaited their entree. The talented Rae Dunn (www.raedunn.com) created egg-shaped rocks and hand-stamped guests’ favourite words.
Scandalous!We managed to sneak in a moment to make out at the phone booth before heading up to the Hilltop to join our guests. Apparently they love the same brand of humor as us.
In lieu of feeding back to each other, we squished macaroons. To top off the night, guests were delighted to discover Taiwanese and Indonesian sweets at the end of the night.
Thank you for letting us share our story!
I looooooved this wedding. So chic, so thoughtfully planned, so insanely gorgeous. Tomorrow, Viola is walking us through a few of the DIY projects that she created for her big day. Can’t wait!!
Real Wedding by Chewing the Cud, II
Here are a few more amazing pictures and details from Viola at Chewing the Cud’s recent wedding!!
Best man’s boutonniere. Program in the form of a children’s book: each page started with an alphabet. e.g. P is for Parents. B is for Bridesmaids.
Our ceremony was held at the Apple Orchard. Since apples were not in season, the trees were bare. The same birds from our invitations hung from the trees and fluttered in the wind as we said our vows from one of my handmade books. Subsequently, guests wrote well wishes for us on the back of the bird hangers and dropped them into our wishes jar, in lieu of a guest book.
We are married!
We have SO much more eye candy on the way, so definitely check back in a bit!
Real Wedding by Chewing the Cud
I am sure many of you know that I am a HUGE fan of Viola, over at chewing the cud. She is an amazingly talented designer who never fails to completely inspire me with her brilliantly unique perspective. Needless to say, the pictures from her recent wedding were enough to send me over the edge. The wedding is actually being published in Brides of Northern California (hitting newsstands today!) so you absolutely have to check it out if get a chance!
Here is Viola to share a few beautiful details from her wedding…
We are Viola and Phillip. Viola loves books. Phillip loves movies. Our favourite story of all time is To Kill a Mockingbird, which became the inspiration for our wedding at the Carneros Inn on Oct 27, 2007. What we love most about the story is how it was told through the voice of Scout, the 8-year-old heroine and how she was discovering the world around her. We distilled what we loved best about the story into key words: discovery. simplicity. childhood memories.
Our save-the-date cards were bookmarks, a nod to the novel. The invitations included an ex-libris card invitation card, a meal ticket for the day-after brunch and a tongue-in-cheek book club poster, complete with “discussion questions” like “who’s the spa junkie, Phillip or Viola?” followed by information on nearby spas.
Following Chinese tradition, we held a private tea ceremony in the bridal suite. My mom had my gown custom-designed in Indonesia. It was a modern take on the traditional Chinese gown, infused with Indonesian beading. At the tea ceremony, we serve tea to our parents and relatives as a sign of respect and thanks. In turn the tea recipients present gifts to us, usually in the form of red packets or jewelry, along with their well wishes. My pin was designed by my dear friend, Kelly of k.autumn.
My maid-of-honor, Aya, is a book designer. My bridesmaid Kumi is a book collector and I am a book maker! I thought it perfectly fitting that they carried books I had made to walk down the aisle. I made a book sling for my nephew Matthew, while Nadia (my best friend’s daughter) carried an over-sized nest almost as big as her. Jennifer, her mom, told me she had been practiced scattering balled-up magazine pages for months now in preparation for this day!
So much more to come, so stay tuned!!
Words can’t describe just how much I love this wedding. Sent to me by Stephanie Land, the whole day just seems so dreamy! The couple, Jelsen and Bahareh, have some seriously great taste…throwing a party that anyone would be lucky to attend in Fort Tryon Park in Manhattan…
Some Details From Bahareh
*The theme was cherries and honey and we tried to carry that over the entire wedding. (Jelsen proposed to me in the Cherry garden at Brooklyn Botanic Garden).
*We got married by the Hudson in Fort Tryon Park. By the time the ceremony started at 7pm, the sun was setting and we got an amazing view. Since the ceremony was in a public park, we had a lot of “uninvited” guests that were casually strolling through the park, but it didn’t bother us at all!
*Guests were handed programs rolled and tied with pieces of my dress ( I had so much left over after altering my dress) and I walked up the aisle to “My Cherie Amour”, performed acoustic by our good friend and artist, Sarah White, accompanied on guitar by DJ Don Cuco.
*Jelsen’s sister and one of my sisters each read a poem for us (which made everyone pretty teary eyed) and we finished the ceremony by honoring our ancestors. First by doing the Persian honey tradition were the couple dips their pinkies in honey and feed each other to symbolize a sweet life together, secondly the african-american tradition of jumping the broom.
*Jelsen wore a three piece suit from Dunhill with shoes and shirt from Ted Baker. His green socks were purchased at Clark’s Register in Soho and his cufflinks from etsy.
*My dress is Norwegian Wedding Atelier, Agape. I altered it somewhat. I couldn’t find any shoes that fit the image I had in my head, so I decided to pull a Sandra Lee and semi-home make them. I purchased and had them dyed at Coloriffics.com and then made the pearl ornaments to go on the tip of my toes. My veil was from etsy and the lace bolero an Ebay purchase. All the jewelery I wore were gifts from Jelsen from previous occasions except my “something old”, a bracelet that has been passed through generations in my family.
*My Maids wore traditional Norwegian formal gowns (I was born in Iran, but grew up in Norway), which looked amazing in this setting and I suspect they got more attention than me - I didn’t mind at all because I loved it.
More to Come!!
**update…I just saw that this wedding was also featured on Brooklyn Bride, so I am hoping to get some new photos that haven’t already been posted!
Real Wedding by Lisa Lefkowitz - Part 3
Here are the last of the absolutely gorgeous images that Lisa Lefkowitz shot of today’s featured wedding, which took place in Mexico…
How much do you love the stationery? It was designed by MaybelleImasa-Stukuls…one of the most talented calligraphers out there. Thank you so much to Lisa Lefkowitz for sharing these gorgeous images. And of course, to the oh-so-talented Amy Nichols for introducing us to this beautiful affair!
Real Wedding by Lisa Lefkowitz - Part 2
Here are a few more images from the incredible wedding that Amy Nichols styled and Lisa Lefkowitz photographed…
I have one more set coming, so stay tuned!
Real Wedding by Lisa Lefkowitz - Part 1
Earlier today we featured a wedding that was ALL about the details…Amy Nichols designed the gorgeous touches and Lisa Lefkowitz photographed the entire affair. Although we have more wedding photos coming, Lisa just sent me some amazing images from the rehearsal dinner that I wanted to share with you, as they are sure to inspire…
