A Home Wedding

Weddings at private residences are really difficult. And I love them. I always jump at the chance to work a wedding at a private residence as I learn something new to be on the lookout for in the future (this past weekend I learned that the rental order really needs to be checked in). Saturday I assisted Carol Rosen of Party Designs by Carol at a lovely home in Beverly Hills. The bride was sweet, the family was hospitable, the catering divine, the guests kind, the weather perfect, and the garden gorgeous. A recipe for a perfect day! I especially loved the wildflower, garden, homey feeling that the bride Heather wanted to convey. She wanted her 97 guests to feel relaxed, comfortable, and welcomed. She succeeded!

The food was served family style in that platters of food were served on the tables and the guests passed them around. The escort cards were made using stamps of different colored wildflower silhouettes. The centerpieces were groupings of flowers put in glass and crystal vases, bowls, and pitchers owned by the family or bought at flea markets. The lighting was a mixture of Italian style string lights over the entire back yard, colorful votive candles on the tables, and clusters of candles around the pool. Handmade linens and hand stitched napkins added to the details of the day.

I honestly feel that home weddings require almost twice the amount of work as an all inclusive venue such as a hotel. There are things that come up at home weddings such as: where do we put the ten 50 lb bags of ice? There is no way that stuff is going to fit in a residential freezer. Where will the caterer be able to do prep work? Where will the scullery be for dirty dishes to be bussed to? Garages are usually converted to prep/scullery areas, but if a garage is not available, the messy business might be happening in your house. Power is always an issue and if dedicated circuits are not available, a generator must be brought in.Then there is the wear and tear on the house and the strain of the plumbing. Yes, there were only 97 guests at this wedding sharing two bathrooms, but when you factor in all vendor staff, there was up to 125 people trodding on the grass, using the toilets, spilling drinks, etc. There is a lot of wear and tear that happens on a wedding day!

The wedding was gorgeous and came off without any problems. The bride and groom did an adorable first dance that culminated with confetti cannons firing gold and silver flutter confetti all over the yard. The confetti was a surprise from her father and it was awesome!

I had time to snap pictures throughout the day…

Carol checking in the bar order. The five boxes in front are JUST martini glasses. We also had crates of wine glasses, water glasses, champagne glasses, and coffee cups.