I love summer!  Business slows down for us just a bit as we catch our breath from a fast-paced spring wedding season, enabling us to prepare (and brace ourselves!) for the busy season that the fall and winter will bring.  The blazing Florida heat makes summer deliveries extra-intense.  We place so much love and care into our weddings, and it’s important we can execute everything to perfection so we purposefully downshift.  My husband and I deliver most weddings and put the finishing touches on them onsite.  It’s common to see us with paintbrushes and drills, perfecting each little detail.  AM+Co is a family business, so it’s pretty sweet to think that our little guy is accompanying us on deliveries even before he makes his grand entrance. 🙂 

Because we intentionally planned to take things a little slower this summer, we were able to take on a mega-wedding at The Alfond Inn in Winter Park, FL, with only six weeks’ notice.  This wedding,  coordinated by Zoe Thompson of Pavone Events, was indeed over the top!  While we didn’t have the honor of doing this couple’s invitations, we enjoyed the opportunity to create all of their day-of items and monogram.  

A Brief Lesson in Art History 

For this wedding, we used a blue and white Chinoiserie aesthetic.  Chinoiserie is a style of ceramics, art, architecture, and furniture developed in Europe based on themes from the Far East, especially China.  It became hugely popular in Italy in the 18th century, which is probably what most of us associate this style with.  The crisp blue designs on top of fresh white bring to mind Italian summers, which we did our best to recreate! 

   

One Custom Monogram, Many Uses

We started with their custom monogram, a strong serif M aside a calligraphed J, softened with flowers and fish (which you’ll see make a few more appearances).  The monogram was used all throughout the wedding, starting at the cigar station. This couple brought in a cigar roller to come and roll cigars live in a little coffee truck.  We created a sticker to go around each cigar that incorporated the monogram.  

We also added their monogram to their cocktail napkins.  

Dance Floor for Miles

We decked out the expansive round white dance floor with the custom monogram.  It’s hard to appreciate the size in the photos. Still, it was a massive centerpiece for the space, with the show-stopping, gorgeous floral chandelier suspended over the top by The Floral Way that brought it all together.  

 

Grab a ‘Cello

The seating chart incorporated mini bottles of limoncello that AM+Co personally packaged (and our office smelled of limoncello for days after!).  We made a small custom tag with each guest’s name and seating assignment and wrapped it in leather string.  I loved this touch because it brought in some earthy tones contrasting the blue, white, and bright yellow. We also added a white lattice to the bottom of the seating chart to give it depth, which I adore!  

Leave A Message

Pavone Events truly transformed the entire foyer where the cocktail hour was held – it was wild!  They brought in a fountain and live statues, and we added a custom structure for their audio guestbook.  We created a phone-booth wall with “I Just Called to Say I Love You” hand painted in the alcove.  It was staged with a chair and a phone, and people could leave a message on the phone with a recording for the newlyweds.  

The Signage

Their welcome sign also had some hand-painted elements, including a Bible verse from Song of Songs.  

For the bar, we created floating signs that hung over the edge of the bartop, giving a suspended appearance.  Their signs held their signature drinks in dark blue, “Maria’s Mojito” and “Jack’s Old Fashioned,” and their drink menu on the larger white central portion.  

For the reception, we created table numbers in dark blue to coordinate with the color palette.  Originally we were going to go with white, but I’m so glad we ended up using blue because they stood out!  

The Menus

The planner utilized lattice on the sweetheart table, and the menus we created echoed that theme with peephole square-style lattice on the top layer. Underneath, on the blue layer, the bride and groom included a bilingual thank you letter to their guests. 

The Sweetheart Background

We don’t usually produce backgrounds, but we had a little extra time in July so we decided to take this massive, 36-foot long, 8-foot tall beauty on!  During a busy season we would never usually be able to do a project like this, so it was fun to say yes to an undertaking like this. We also added the lattice to the front of the sweetheart table so that the bridal party’s legs wouldn’t be visible and detract from the overall aesthetic.  

 

No matter the season, whether summer or winter, busy or slow, we love working with couples and their planners to create environments that make lifelong memories for them and their guests.  Reach out today, and let’s dream and work together!