EVERYONE in my family will tell you that it’s really TOUGH for me to keep a secret! So you’ll understand why yesterday, when I went to finish up today’s feature for the Little Black Book Blog, I couldn’t help myself! I just had to give y’all a quick look at Lisa and Al’s book inspired wedding at Edith Wharton’s estate ~ The Mount. Sent to us by the dynamic team of wedding planners at Sixpence For Your Shoes, this wedding is such a super example of taking one of your well-loved passions, and running with it! The variety of literary elements that can be pulled into the decor from days gone by ~ well, you’ll see! All you Sunday surfers and early birds have probably already seen Lisa and Al’s sneak peek, and hopefully some of you even took the time to hop over to Carla Ten Eyck’s blog feature of the wedding. It is an amazing account of the entire wedding day, from start to finish!
But now, it’s time to reveal more of the pretty pics from Carla’s ever-talented Katie Slater & Erik Maziarz!
from Sixpence … Truth be told, the opportunity to work with clients Lisa and Albert was sweet serendipity. The minute the adorable couple sat in our studio, we were instantly captivated by the spark between the two of them. The moment they started speaking of the incredible reception venue they had chosen, we could not contain our glee. The venue was none other than author Edith Wharton’s private estate, The Mount in Lenox , Massachusetts. Just walking through that grand space and English gardens conjures up a sense of history expressed through the author’s famous novels “The Age of Innocence,” “House of Mirth,” and “Ethan Frome.”
With this sense of history in mind, we designed all facets of their wedding décor with eclectic and lighthearted bookish nods to the grand author. Early on, Lisa fell in love with a bright and colorful, yet feminine floral palette, perfect for the late Spring, as well as complimentary to the incredible architecture within the venue’s ballroom spaces. Lisa and her mother, along with exceptionally talented Marcy of Dragonfly Event and us, all antiqued in search of old books, ink wells and other creative touches in which to dress the tables. We also incorporated vintage milk glass from both the bride the groom’s families in many nooks and crannies of the venue. We love the way brides and grooms today take on their own vision and treasure hunts to even further personalize their wedding. The escort cards were in fact bookmarks with a typewriter font, placed around, none other than an antique typewriter and the sweetheart table was complimented with a vintage comptometer. Old style house address numbers were adorned to vintage books for table numbers. Lisa’s calla bouquet was accented by her wedding date with typewriter keys and the #1 key graced Albert’s calla bout. The wedding featured a variety of centerpieces, although the crystal candelabras really stole the show.
In Lisa’s words:
Al and I always had a clear vision of the kind of day we wanted our wedding to be- simple, elegant, filled with surprising details and above all else fun. When we first walked on the grounds of Edith Wharton’s The Mount in Lenox, MA we knew we had found the venue that would fulfill everything we had envisioned. We used the author and the time period in which she wrote as jumping off points for our literary themed wedding. We knew from the beginning that finding enough time to plan a wedding would be difficult for us- we were both working to graduate, to find and start new jobs, and pack up and move 500 miles all within a month of the wedding- so we wasted no time finding an amazing wedding planner who could make our vision a reality. Lindsay and Talia of Sixpence for Your Shoe understood us immediately and quickly got started creating our dream wedding- they helped make the day move seamlessly and beautifully.
I love that we were able to add so many personal touches- in our table arrangements we used books that reflected facets of our personalities and our relationship; we used milk glass from my grandmother’s collection; and our dinner music was comprised of the first dance songs of our married friends and family (it was beautiful to watch as a couple stood up and danced next to the table during their song). Our amazing florist, Marcy Green of Dragonfly Events, upped the ante with even more exquisite details- ink wells and pens, a typewriter, and typewriter keys on my bouquet and Al’s boutonniere.
When we talked about what was most important to us on our wedding day, it always came back to our guests- we wanted then to have as much fun at the wedding as we had planning it. We had a small wedding with less than 75 guests but you would never know it from the party on the dance floor! It was without a doubt the best- and most fun- day of our lives!
I seriously never know what to say except WOW! If you haven’t already seen the full feature on Carla’s blog, please, please, please do! You’ll be so glad you did! Our thanks to Sixpence For Your Shoe, Katie & Eric and Lisa and Albert for sharing such a lovely celebration!
See Lisa & Al’s SMP photo gallery here!
Photography: Erik Maziarz and Katie Slater for Carla Ten Eyck
Event Design, Planning, Coordination, and Wedding Day Stationery: Sixpence For Your Shoe
Floral Design: Dragonfly Event
Ceremony Location: Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament Church, Westfield, MA
Reception Location: Edith Wharton at The Mount
Catering: The Marketplace Catering
Shoes: Stuart Weitzman
Dress: Jim Hjelm
DJ: Standing Ovations