featured: Victoria + Shaan's day-of details

Victoria and Shaan were married in March 2020, just prior to the COVID-19 shutdown, at El Chorro in Arizona.

It was an absolute pleasure and honor to work with them for their day-of details for so many reasons (starting with how kind, caring, and thoughtful they are, how fun their details were, and as a personal bonus - part of my own wedding vendor dream team was theirs).

Photo by Daniel Kim Photography of Victoria + Shaan’s El Chorro Wedding

Something that stood out to me when dreaming up their details was Victoria telling me that they wanted their whole day to feel like love, that they wanted their guests to feel as loved and appreciated as they would feel having their favorite people surrounding them.

Victoria and Shaan didn’t shy away from a bold color palette, and kept it grounded with black and gold paper - and the most gorgeous black velvet chairs. Their wedding was elegant, modern, and fun- with a hint of drama.

Photo by Daniel Kim Photography of Victoria + Shaan’s El Chorro Wedding by Shannon Smith Events with florals by Sarah’s Garden Style, seating cards and menu by hello, bird.

One of the first details I designed was their custom wax seal with a monogram. This monogram featured the first initial of their last name, with a little extra “magic” around the letter. The extra “magic” or sparkle was a nod to their love of Disney and favorite passage from Peter Pan that mentions, “second star to the right, and straight on ‘til morning.”

This monogram was turned into a wax seal to be used on their place cards. Place cards were slightly oversized, with guest names written in gold calligraphy. The beauty was really in the details of the place cards: hand-torn, raw edges, and a layer of vellum held in place by the gold wax seal.

collection of wedding details including clear textured votive candle holder, champagne glass, long and narrow black dinner menu with gold foil writing on top of black napkin and charger with gold rim; gold forks crossed on top of seating card

photo by Daniel Kim Photography of Victoria and Shaan’s El Chorro Wedding with paper by hello, bird - including raw-edge vellum and wax-seal layered place cards with gold ink calligraphy, and gold foil dinner menus

Victoria and Shaan’s dinner menus were gold-foil printed on black paper. The contrast is beautiful, and tied in perfectly with all of the hints of gold sprinkled throughout their wedding details.

Photo by Daniel Kim Photography of black and gold wedding stationery by hello, bird at Victoria and Shaan’s El Chorro Wedding

The monogram used on the wax seals can be seen on the top of each guest’s place card, and menu - and was also brought into the top of the bar menus. The couple added their own frames to their bar menus, and they’re such a perfect fit for their wedding day.

Photo by Daniel Kim Photography of the cocktail menu by hello, bird and florals by Sarah’s Garden at Victoria + Shaan’s El Chorro Wedding

Thank you, Victoria + Shaan, for letting me be a part of your wedding day!

Victoria + Shaan’s wedding vendor dream team: 

venue and catering: El Chorro  // cake: Růže Cake House // calligraphy + signage, and wax seal: hello, bird. // planning: Shannon Smith Events // florals: Sarah's Garden // photographer:  Daniel Kim Photography // videography: Conway Captions // invitations: Minted // rentals: Prim Rentals; Glamour + Woods; Event Rents // ceremony music: Sweetwater Strings // gelato cart: Frost

hair: Mohawks and Messy Buns // makeup:  Court Espinoza // wedding dress: Maggie Sottero // bride’s shoes: Bella Belle // Groom’s Tux: Ted Baker // Groom’s Shoes: Christian Louboutin

All photos in this post courtesy of Daniel Kim Photography.
Victoria and Shaan’s wedding was featured on Martha Stewart Weddings.

2020 recap

As repeated everywhere, 2020 was filled with lots of unprecedented times.

COVID-19 brought the phrase social distancing and the word quarantine into regular use, made masks and hand sanitizers the new normal, and - for engaged couples planning a 2020 wedding - brought pivots or rescheduled weddings as we all tried to navigate these new waters together.

One of the silver linings? More intimate weddings make for even more personal details.

Hannah + Tom’s Microwedding Details by hello, bird. // photo by Love Me Do Photography

Hannah + Tom’s Microwedding Details by hello, bird. // photo by Love Me Do Photography

Hannah and Tom were married in the fall of 2020 at Fairmount Park Horticulture Center in Philadelphia. After rescheduling their May wedding, Hannah and Tom pivoted to trim their guest list of 160 down to 14 guests to both stay within local regulations and have a safe wedding. Some of their day-of details (pictured above) were a beautiful result of their pivot- and deserve their own blog post.

COMMON THREADS

All of the weddings I worked with in 2020 (including pre-COVID weddings) had a few common threads: incredibly thoughtful couples, bold colors, and some really cool details and paper shapes.

Here’s a few more of the highlights- with more to follow later.

black and gold floral and geometric acrylic table numbers by hello, bird. // florals by petal + paper // photo by MLE Pictures

black and gold floral and geometric acrylic table numbers by hello, bird. // florals by petal + paper // photo by MLE Pictures

I created black and gold acrylic table numbers for April and Bryan’s Congress Hall wedding in Cape May, New Jersey.

green and gold watercolor table numbers by hello, bird.

green and gold watercolor table numbers by hello, bird.

Lindsey and Bill were just ahead of the curve as they married in March with an intimate wedding at Barbuzzo Upstairs in Philadelphia. Some of their details included black tag place cards with their guests’ names in white ink, and some green and gold signage.

black and gold foil wedding menus and vellum and gold wax seal layered place cards by hello, bird. // florals by Sarah’s Garden // photo by Daniel Kim Photography

black and gold foil wedding menus and vellum and gold wax seal layered place cards by hello, bird. // florals by Sarah’s Garden // photo by Daniel Kim Photography

Victoria and Shaan’s Arizona wedding at El Chorro was filled with colorful florals, and black, gold, and vellum paper details.

It was a pleasure and honor to work with such thoughtful couples in a year filled with so many unprecedented twists and turns. Here’s looking ahead to a future of more thoughtful couples and celebrations!

day-of details: Laura + Maurice

Laura + Maurice’s Boston wedding was a complete stunner and full of thoughtful details that were just the right amount of modern classic romance.. I had so much fun working with them, and it was an honor to help bring their vision to life.

acrylic welcome sign by hello, bird. // florals by Wild Dahlia // photo courtesy of Carly Michelle Photography

acrylic welcome sign by hello, bird. // florals by Wild Dahlia // photo courtesy of Carly Michelle Photography

Laura + Maurice // florals by Wild Dahlia // photo courtesy of Carly Michelle Photography

Laura + Maurice // florals by Wild Dahlia // photo courtesy of Carly Michelle Photography

Laura + Maurice // florals by Wild Dahlia // photo courtesy of Carly Michelle Photography

Laura + Maurice // florals by Wild Dahlia // photo courtesy of Carly Michelle Photography

Not only are the Boston views from the State Room and the floral arch from The Wild Dahlia gorgeous.. but the joy on Laura and Maurice’s faces after their first kiss? The best.

The seating cards got to have their own ‘wow’ moment on a wall created by The Wild Dahlia. Kelsey from Back Bay Bride brought it all together in execution. I love that Laura and Maurice wanted a wax seal with their new monogram, and combined vellum with a blush paper for a modern and romantic look.

escort cards with white ink calligraphy on vellum and a wax seal by hello, bird. // photo courtesy of Carly Michelle Photography // florals by The Wild Dahlia // planning by Back Bay Bride

escort cards with white ink calligraphy on vellum and a wax seal by hello, bird. // photo courtesy of Carly Michelle Photography // florals by The Wild Dahlia // planning by Back Bay Bride

escort cards with white ink calligraphy on vellum and a wax seal by hello, bird. // photo courtesy of Carly Michelle Photography // florals by The Wild Dahlia // planning by Back Bay Bride

escort cards with white ink calligraphy on vellum and a wax seal by hello, bird. // photo courtesy of Carly Michelle Photography // florals by The Wild Dahlia // planning by Back Bay Bride

vellum menus with gold foil printing by hello, bird. // photo courtesy of Carly Michelle Photography // florals by The Wild Dahlia // planning by Back Bay Bride

vellum menus with gold foil printing by hello, bird. // photo courtesy of Carly Michelle Photography // florals by The Wild Dahlia // planning by Back Bay Bride

photo courtesy of Carly Michelle Photography // florals by The Wild Dahlia // planning by Back Bay Bride // menus by hello, bird.

photo courtesy of Carly Michelle Photography // florals by The Wild Dahlia // planning by Back Bay Bride // menus by hello, bird.

Thank you, Laura + Maurice, for letting me be a part of your wedding day!

Laura + Maurice’s wedding vendor dream team:  venue: The State Room  // catering: The State Room // cake: I Dream of Jeanne Cakes // calligraphy + signage: hello, bird. // planning: Back Bay Bride // florals: The Wild Dahlia // hair: Fisher Experience // makeup:  Sarah Elizabeth Artistry // invitations: Simply B // music/DJ:  Elevated Pulse Productions // photographer:  Carly Michelle Photography // videography: Kevin Greene Productions

All photos in this post courtesy of Carly Michelle Photography.

Laura + Maurice's wedding was featured online and in print by Boston Weddings.