Category Archives: Inspiration Boards

When it comes to where your guests sit their tushies on your wedding day, why should you bench your ideas? Believe it or not, the chairs you use in your reception can spice up your party or extend your style!

I absolutely adore this styled shoot from photographer, Gretchen Moore, that was styled by Eclectic Hive and Chairished Vintage Chair Rentals at Lazy J Ranch in Vail, Colorado.

The theme is clearly rustic, sticks to a smart and snappy color palette of turquoise and buttery gold, and is furnished with damask details and crystal accessories. It’s almost like we could all pack our bags and go glamping together. (Really, dear Yentas, is there any other kind of camping? Oy vey.) (Confession of the day: I’ve never been camping — surprise surprise. I don’t go anywhere where I can’t plug in my flat iron. Ya hear?).

OK, so back to the chairs. Here’s what I love: because there is a clear style, it’s completely okay — and flippin’ adorable! — to have mismatched chairs. Are they really mismatched? Well, they’re all different styles, so it appears that the answer would be yes, but upon further inspection, they all come from the same family. They are white. They are wooden. They are laced with ornate detail. So while they are each different, they are like cousins. And cousins are family. So consider the chairs at this styled shoot to be co-mingling at the 2012 Glamping Family Reunion.

Moral of the story: lace a theme throughout your mismatched chairs and overall wedding style. It’s okay to spice up the party with some texture and make the chairs fraternal instead of identical. If you’re planning this ever-popular-for-good-reason rustic/chic/vintage/glam wedding reception, then this is how you do it.

There’s nothing I swoon over more than a photo shoot of a tablescape. Sure, the subjects don’t pose and smile, but boy do they inspire! Absolutely loving this blush, cream, and champagne color palette that is both romantic and warm with just the right sprinkle of feminine. The textured and fluffy floral arrangements suggest playful elegance while details like ghost chairs and lucite labels for drinks and table numbers bring a modern and sophisticated vibe to the mix.

This tablescape could definitely work for any event location whether it’s a country club, urban space, or rustic venue. And it doesn’t only work for weddings! The style can be woven into showers for both baby and bridal, anniversary shin digs, and birthday festivities. Nothing is too wedding-ish that it can’t work for other celebrations that are worth showcasing beautiful and carefully designed details! So get party planning!

From Yasmin Khajavi Photography: When Hailey Bernstein and Astrid Mueller, both contemporary creatives with a shared love of fashion and modern design, put their heads together, amazing things were bound to happen. For this styled shoot, they envisioned a fashion-forward, style-savvy couple planning the ultimate modern loft celebration. The look is clean-chic but full of warmth with soft, feminine sparkle. Hailey and Astrid decided on a light, neutral palette — tans, champagnes and mixed metallics with hints of blush and ivory. The light, breezy colors soften and brighten the raw loft space, offering a neutral canvas for some fun, fashionable and uber-chic details.

Sequin linens added unexpected glamour and sparkle, emphasizing the clean table lines yet luxurious texture. We alternated between tan sequin linens for tables, and tan and white chevron sequin linens for standing bistros, which brought extra variety and interest to the space. We designed a laid-back, yet luxurious tablescape with an abundance of soft and fluttery peonies, mixed metallic mercury glass votive holders, mirrored vases and tons of floating candles for ambiance. For the menus, table number and design pieces, illustrator Astrid Mueller, normally known for her delicate, fashion-inspired illustrations, took an abstract design approach and worked with minimalistic, circular design elements, inspired by architecture and the round shape of peonies. She devised a new, unique idea for this celebration design by introducing personalized, laser-engraved, perspex drink disks for the seating and cocktails. She also chose to create cool, urban-inspired but lavishly-printed stationery, lush and soft to the touch. The menus were artisan-printed and hand-debossed by Digby & Rose, creating a beautiful architectural effect. All details and were beautifully captured by the contemporary, Portland-based photographer Yasmin Khajavi.

Photography: Yasmin Khajavi Photography
Photo Shoot Venue: Castaway Portland in Portland, Oregon
Styling, Tablescape, Floral + Event Design: Zest Floral and Event Design
Invitation Design + Engraved Perspex Design Details: Astrid Mueller
Stationery Printing: Digby & Rose
Linens: La Tavola
Ghost Chairs, Table Settings + Glassware Rentals: West Coast Event Production