The Kiss

This image, taken by former LIFE Magazine photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt in 1945, is said to be one of the most famous photographs in the world. The picture portrays a young U.S. Navy sailor and World War II nurse in the midst of a spontaneous kiss, which most signify as “the end of the war.” Many people have come forward to claim themselves as the sailor or nurse, but no one knows who these two people are for sure.  It is this kiss that INSPIRED...

...this gorgeous photograph taken just a few weeks ago of my (former) design assistant, Ashley Santana (now) Reid.  I had the pleasure of helping her with a few of the wedding details, and she was a gorgeous bride (peek at us together here).  Even more than that, she was beaming with pure joy on that Saturday the 17th day of March 2012.   I cried through (almost) the entire ceremony...tears of happiness as one of my very favorite young ladies married her sailor and her sweetheart.  

My very best to them both as they now chase their dreams...together.  xSB

Image 3 by "Crystal"

Head Over Heals for...

This week I have been searching for wedding tabletop inspiration (in preparation for this big event!) and happen to come across these beauties from Cote Pierre.  I love their lines and am a sucker for anything pink (as seen here and here).  They are simple and elegant, leaving lots of options for gorgeous linen and floral pairings. 

Want to see what else I am head over heals for at the moment?  Follow me on Pinterest here!

xo,

stephanie

* Plates by Cote Pierre available here

Baltimore BRIDE Spring/Summer 2012 - Concept to Reality

Last week I posted this with a peek inside the Spring/Summer 2012 issue of Baltimore Bride.  I am often asked, "How do you come up with a concept for an event or an interior?" or "Where do you find inspiration?" For that reason, I thought I would post the storyboard my team and I created to share with our vendor partners prior to the shoot.  This was the jumping off point for our discussions regarding the tablescape color palette as well as the overall look I was trying to create...a clean, modern gallery feel with layers of detail and florals that would stop you in your tracks. 

So much time and energy goes into a project like this. There are countless creative meetings and oodles of tiny details prepping for our onsite partnership with magazine editors and photographers alike. For this particular shoot, I got the crazy idea to hand paint a large piece of art (my first original piece by the way painted on drywall).  Inspired by Wearstler's wallpaper, I knew the marble backdrop at Baltimore's Tremont Plaza Hotel was going to need a pop of color to create the WOW factor I was looking for.  That being said, I headed to the hardware store for supplies and used Valspar's "Peach Kiss" (2002-2C) for the base color to give a little contrast to our crisp white linen.  I then went to town with large brush strokes of intense color with Valspar's "Autumn Gala" (2004-1A) to create movement.  One of my interns assisted (in the back parking lot of my design studio) with the final touches of gold glitter. The pavement still sparkles in the sunlight and always makes me smile...

* Image by Stacy Zarin

Many thanks again to each of our talented vendor partners including: 

Charm City Cakes, Carla David Design, Fleur de Lis Florist, Table Toppers, Gore Dean, 

The House Downtown, Macy's, Pier 1 Imports, and the Tremont Plaza Hotel.

Baltimore BRIDE - Eye Candy & CAKE!

 

                            Images by Stacy Zarin

For the past several years, we have partnered with the creative team at Baltimore Bride magazine to create delicious tablescapes and this year was certainly no exception.  Our design challenge...to create a tabletop display good enough to eat and with the help of our partners at Charm City Cakes that was not a difficult task.  The inspiration for this design started here with this color palette--bright tangerine ("Tangerine Tango" being the Pantone Color of the Year!), teal and crisp white.  I wanted to work in the ombre trend (which I am still loving) especially in florals, and create a modern gallery feel. So many brides are requesting a fresh twist on traditional design, incorporating plenty of special details for a very personalized event start to finish.  2012 is all about bold colors mixed with softer hues and taking risks to make each celebration one to remember.

I enlisted the help of the team at Fleur de Lis Florist to create (what I refer to as) "my ombre dream."  To have seen these florals in person was breathtaking.  The paper details including the framed sign (above), place cards and menus were crafted by the talented Carla David Design.  

Want to look behind the scenes at pulling all this together?  Peek here.

This is the sketch of the cake BEFORE the making of the masterpiece and we couldn't have been more delighted with the finished design.  We added a little sequin trim to our cake stand and it was just the embellishment we needed to make this cake sing, sing, sing.

Many thanks to each of our talented vendor partners including: 

Charm City Cakes, Carla David Design, Fleur de Lis Florist, Table Toppers, Gore Dean, 

The House Downtown, Macy's, Pier 1 Imports, and the Tremont Plaza Hotel & Grand Historic Venue.

AND DON'T FORGET...to pick up a copy of Baltimore Bride on newsstands now AND mark your calendar for one of two bridal events coming up this winter...Click HERE for tickets and more info!  

All images by Stacy Zarin

Magazine story by Janelle Erlichman Diamond

Sneak Peek - Baltimore BRIDE Photo Shoot

Yesterday was a very busy day at the Tremont Grand Hotel where we were putting the finishing touches on our "modern gallery-esk ombre inspired" (say that one five times fast) tablescape design for Baltimore BRIDE magazine!  In partnership with Cham City Cakes we created one delicious display that felt fresh and modern. We can't show you too much, but thought you'd enjoy just a taste...

Want to see the CAKE? Yes, you do! Then don't forget to pick up the 

Spring/Summer 2012 issue of Baltimore BRIDE on newsstands in January!  

Many thanks to BRIDE's creative team, our photographer Stacy Zarin, and 

ALL of our vendor partners including: 

Charm City Cakes, Carla David Design, Fleur de Lis Florist, 

Gore Dean, The House Downtown, and Table Toppers.