Inspiration Board for Events!

Good morning readers! Today I wanted to write a quick post about design inspiration for events and a great online tool (that is free!) that will help you organize your ideas. When you start musing about all the creative elements you want to incorporate into an event, it is important to start big and then narrow down. Brainstorm all your craziest ideas- good or not so good- and jot them all down. You never know which ideas you will tweak, tone down (or up!) and utilize in your event. This is just as true for a small house party or shower as it is for a large wedding or party. Let the brainstorming begin!

This past Sunday I did a Sweet 16 party for a darling young girl at her family's cotton gin. Needless to say, a cotton gin is a bare canvas to work with. I took some notes and asked some questions about her favorite colors, what resources were available for me to use, and the theme she wanted. Then I set to work on the research phase of the event. I searched online, listed every crazy idea I could think of, and even looked up interior design/clothing trends that were on theme. The result: I had a whole folder of pictures I saved from various websites, and now I needed to make sense of them all.

So, I did what we usually do for inspiration board compilation and went to www.bighugelabs.com  to their mosaic maker. This is a free tool in which you can upload anywhere from 4 to 36 photos and arrange them in a mosaic grid. Check out the inspiration boad for this Country Couture Sweet 16:

Note how I sprinkled linen swatches of the color scheme to incorporate pops of color and texture. I narrowed all my ideas down to 12 photos. Some of these pictures were from past events of ours and some were found from simply googling ideas I had. Some showcased the actual rentals I ordered for the event and some served as simply ideas to offer the client. Either way, it is a great way to organize your ideas and see them come together.

So, if you are planning to incorporate a good bit of design in your next event and need ways to compile your ideas and creativity, use the Mosaic Maker at www.bighugelabs.com! And, if you want help designing and executing your next over the top, fab event, call the Buterflies! :) Stay tuned for pictures from the actual event!

Eventfully yours,
Addie

Spiral Ceremony

We absolutely ADORE clients who trust us to get creative! This was the case in a recent wedding we did at The Brooks Museum of Art. The client wanted something ethereal and unique for her ceremony in the front plaza. We had a lot of space and nothing structurally to play off of. She did not want a tent, but more of a light and airy frame with some fabric swagged to create a contained ceremony site. The result: a spiral ceremony!

We had the chairs arranged in one large spiral, with the altar in the center on a raised stage. The center aisle was the walkway created by the spiral, so the bride and her party got to wind their way through every single guest.  Everyone got a wonderful view of the bride and this made her moment walking down the isle that much more spectacular. Around the outside of the spiral we set up white columns and swagged fabric between them. This made the space more intimate and enclosed yet still light and airy. We created a chuppa-like structure around the raised altar and draped it with fabric and flowers.

Kevin Barre, owner of Kevin Barre Photography captured all of these wonderful images. He was great to work with on this day and adapted very impressively to our non-conventional ceremony set up! Check out more of his photos:

Above is a close up of the columns framing the spiral as guests began to arrive.

This is the altar area in the center of the spiral. The trees in the background made for a gorgeous backdrop! The altar was open from all sides so guests had a 360 view of the couple's vows. The spiral isle was drenched in rose petals to up the drama!

The ceremony area as guests began arriving. 

The bride and her father making their way into the spiral! They wound their way through each guest during this very gorgeous and intimate procession.

We had a great time creating this look! Special thanks to Classic Party Rentals, The Brooks Museum and Kevin Barre Photography!

Eventfully yours- Addie