Happy Summer!! My Director of Sales and Design, Mark Rose, recently returned from Turkey and I asked him to share a bit of his trip with you. He is an amazing photographer and always in hot pursuit of all things beautiful and cultural. Here is what he has to share…..

Istanbul 

Istanbul is an ancient city steeped in history, a unique point where Europe, Asia and The Middle East converge. The religions, foods, architecture, art, languages and customs of the three continents are reflected throughout every aspect of the city.

My journey to Turkey was filled with artistic inspiration at every turn. In our design process for events, we often take a single element and use it in unexpected ways. Here I found an extraordinary use of geometry in every detail. What came to my surprise was the artistry and craftsmanship in unexpected places.

The following images reveal complicated geometric patterns, some on very grand scale, some more pedestrian.

The stone mosaic pathways were masterfully created with simple materials.

The domed ceiling in this public building was hand-painted utilizing a most complicated design, truly breath-taking!

Exotic spices were presented in a manner I had not seen before, again repeating geometric shapes.

The carved molding on this exceptional exterior roof was a mixture of carved wood moldings, hand painted and gilded ornaments and ancient painted tiles.

This fountain outside the Sultan’s Palace at Topkapi was with the pinnacle of my journey. It was a small building with such extraordinary detail, perfect symmetry; it was a masterpiece of architecture, but on a small scale.

The Harem Room at Topkapi reveals an unparallelled use of materials, craftsmanship, and beauty. Every surface has been considered, from the exquisite tiles, carved stonework and painted wooden moldings.

The roof and domes surrounding this mosque are unusual to the Western eye, both majestic and graceful. Pictured here is the Blue Mosque, perhaps the most famous for the intricate domes, minarets and hand painted tiles within.

A journey out of your comfort zone will always lead to the unexpected, and my journey to Turkey will undoubtedly inspire my own sense of color, geometry and scale. I encourage anyone who wants to push their boundaries to see

Mark Rose, Istanbul 2008

As I have mentioned in past posts-aspects of the wedding design are “destinations” for your guests and often serve double duty. We recently produced a wedding in the Hamptons and I want to share the seating card table concept with you.

We had our master builder, Wallace, craft this beautiful table-then white washed it. We also had Wallace build four removable trays and we filled them shells. To secure the cards we drilled holes and ran rope tightly across 4 sections.

Slipped the cards in…..

Added the shells and hung ribbons, candlelight and wind-chimes from the limbs of the tree.  

For the after-party we flipped the table into a sweet station. The father of the bride liked the design so much he asked us to leave it there so he and his family could enjoy it through-out the summer!

“These roses were the first time nature surprised me; for the first time she exceeded not only what I wanted but what I had imagined possible.”

In the photos below we surrounded peony centerpieces with single stems of roses.

Perfect.

Today I said goodbye to Lola. She has left an indelible paw-print on my heart. Hopefully she and my pop are snuggled up reading the New York Times together somewhere.

1992-2008

…..to the lush fern growing throughout the forest.   

 … to the lush fern growing throughout the forest.

The wedding was held in an outside chapel on the camp - The Chapel of the Little Chief. 

Such a gorgeous setting.

A drawing of the camp was reproduced on drawstring cloth gift bags. 

The contents included all the things you would need for an outdoor wedding: bug spray (I have never seen more mosquitos in my entire life!!) , Voss water (a nod to the bride’s Swedish heritage), a fan for the ceremony, two book marks (one from Minnesota representing the bride and one from New Jersey representing the groom), a squeezy flashlight, and the welcome letter.  

The family hosted an outdoor luncheon the day of the wedding for all of the guests. With a more casual setting a bit of whimsey is always in order. What could be more woodland than gnomes! These sweet centerpieces were a wonderful whimsical touch. Centerpieces were wrapped in birch and filled with ferns as well as a few mushrooms and of course gnomes.

The wedding reception was held under a tent on the golf course of Grand View Lodge. Of course we went with the color green. We used a local florist call Lime Greenery and they did a fantastic job. We love the owner Sarah…she is like a little fairy!!

The centerpieces for the dinner reception were made of supergreen roses, green carnations, mums, ferns, curly willow, and wax flower. As a finishing touch the tables were named after lakes in the region. 

Paper lanterns in shades of green and white draping were hung from the ceiling of the reception tent.