Ellis Island

Months of planning and executing, days of designing and coordinating multiple deliveries and staffing schedules, equals one lovely evening on one magnificent island.  I slept for days thereafter and could barely walk or pick anything up with my hands, but I had a proud smile on my face with every "ouch."

This client wanted a vintage and country feel to her wedding celebration and we captured that with our endless hours of searching through vintage materials and props, linens and farm tables. It was the most fun I have ever had while sourcing materials for an event. 

Photos courtesy of Michael F. Gora

The simplest and most lovely affair...

...and I was so very thankful to be a part of it.  The wedding was held on the roof deck at the Mondrian Hotel in Soho with 60 of the bride and grooms closest friends and family.  The ceremony was conducted by a dear friend who became ordained just for their wedding and the love and support was pouring out of the seems of every person who attended.  It just flowed so lovely and the bride was one of the prettiest I have seen in my 12 years of producing weddings.  She wanted to bring vintage country to the city and I feel we did just that.  Here are a few shots taken by guests and I on the Instagram.

That's me on the right about to place her flower headpiece on.
My body language looks as if I'm telling her, "now this will only hurt a little."

Way Downtown

Wedding season kicked off for us back in March and it's been one busy season.  Hence the long blog entry hiatus.  Anyway, I'm back and I'm ready to share a whole lot of work, inspiration, and Allow Me (and Kerri!) happenings here today.  With more entires to follow!  I promise!  

First on the docket: a wedding at Bridgewaters in the South Street Seaport NYC.  I met Dan and Elizabeth well over a year ago.  It was a really sweet and calming experience creating the storyboard that we ultimately brought to fruition for this amazing couple.  It was really a special event...

It was such a pleasure meeting the photographer for the the wedding, Susannah Gill.  She was just so comfortable, confident and awesome to work with and be around.  She sent along a link to a lovely blog entry of hers a few days after the wedding, which included a sweet collection of her shots from that day.  You'll see them shortly, just keep reading.

In other news: I need a good, real, professional camera, folks.  Even though my addiction to instagram has allowed me look like I'm taking some amazing photos, I'm really not.  This will not be the last time you'll read me complaining about this so bare with me and enjoy below the few decent shots I was able to capture.

The Chuppah pictured was created using cherry blossoms.  The personal and event floral included jasmine sprays, speckled magenta phalanopsis, anenomies (I miss you so much, see you next year), parrot tulips and my all-time favorite...clematis.  

So there you go.  I'm back.  Take a glimpse and enjoy...

Photos by photographer, Susannah Gill 

                                                                                  

                                                                                        Below photos from yours truly...

Mi amiga, Taylor, working the bouquet shot.

An Evening with the Mandarin Hotel

Let's just say this wasn't a typical Allow Me Event Design wedding.  But it certainly was a stunning affair!  With a lovely concept of quince, phalanopsis orchids, an abundance of candlelight, all set in a beautiful venue, you simply cannot go wrong. 

The client asked me to do this wedding only a few months before their date.  That's normally something that makes me a tiny bit nervous, but their simple vision and contagious excitement sealed the deal for me - I was in!  The wedding was held at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel and experiencing that view and getting to work with The Mandarin's exceptional staff made the entire journey well worth it.  And it was a journey, to say the least.

As the planning process began to gain momentum, I started to realize that their simple vision was much more of a precise and detailed vision - with very little wiggle room - than I had originally thought.  And, although we executed their vision beautifully, it wasn't until midway through the planning that I found myself thinking, "Hey, I don't think I can do a wedding like this again." Don't get me wrong - it wasn't bad. But I found that I was missing our style. I was searching too hard to become passionate for their vision. I started to feel like an intern for a stylist as opposed to a confident and accomplished designer.  

I realize it's walking a fine line when you pride yourself on being able to execute a client's vision, but I do this with the hope that the client has researched our work and has resonated towards it for a particular reason.  It's cool though, it was a well learned lesson and I was able to work with some great and talented folks as well as collaborating again with LI SOUND DJ and Lighting.  They did an awesome job as per the usual.   Margo from Classic Party Rentals really pulled through for me with the gorgeous linens and chairs.  The client also insisted on a lounge area, which Classic Party Rentals supplied as well.  

I was able to sneak in quite a  few Allow Me Design touches by using sweeping pahalanopsis orchids, a ridiculous amount of candlelight and just creating an overall feel of romance, which of course is a vibe I aim to achieve with each of my events, regardless of the client's vision - it's just what we do organically.

My friend, Ivie Joy, who also freelanced for me, had her friend and event photographer Angelica Yabenez Criscuolo come over (on very short notice - thanks Angelica!) to snap a few shots of my work.  She did one lovely job.  Take a look for yourself.

http://www.markjosephcakes.com/

The end.