Before and After | Kurt + Brandi's Inspiration to Reality

As promised, we are starting a new little series we're calling Before and After- where we'll share some of the inspiration and behind-the-scenes ditties about the weddings we do. We're often asked how we start with designing a wedding and how the finished product comes to be, so hopefully this will give a little insight into everything. As always, we approach each wedding a little differently simply because each idea, bride, and starting point in the planning process is different. Therefore, each Before and After series will be focused on slightly different elements, depending on the nature of the wedding. Sound good? First in this series will be Brandi and Kurt, and their Cathedral of the Rockies ceremony and Boise Train Depot reception, originally featured last week.

To begin, let's take a look at their inspiration board:

Let me also start by saying this was the final and approved design as this was actually idea #3. We went through a few color changes and style shifts before we all swooned over this one, so that brings us to point number 1: The first try is not always the final try. And we're ok with that, because it actually lets us get to know our bride even better. By process of elimination Brandi found a style, color palette, and a feeling that she absolutely loved.

Once we had the colors and style of the wedding down, we began sourcing everything and making the inspiration board come alive...but with more of the Brandi and Kurt twist.

The flowers were one of the most important elements to this wedding. Brandi wanted them to be lush, romantic, with a slightly vintage appeal to them. We combined mercury glass, silver flute vases, moss, and even honeysuckle vine to give that sweet shabby look. Hydrangea, French tulips, garden roses, and stock were all some of the varieties we used.

We should also mention how we decided to design the Depot reception. While a gorgeous, historic venue with Spanish touches, it's also a pain to work with (sorry historians). Original train benches flanking the sides make for a slightly narrow event space and things like fire lanes make positioning tables and chairs a little hairy. So in Brandi and Kurt's case, with a larger guest count, we chose to maximize our space by creating a cocktail reception vibe. Smaller bistro tables were placed against the train benches, higher cocktail tables were used around the bars- we had two bars to eliminate extreme bottle necks and lines- and we used a few traditional round tables to accommodate bridal party and our elderly guests.

By deliberately setting the reception this way, we also made sure to design the menu specifically as well. One-bite style foods for the cocktail hour and a flowing buffet made it easy for guests to come and go as they wanted.

Finally, the cake. Gone are the days that your cake sits in a corner only to have attention when it's time to cut. We are all for making sure it's a statement piece and in a highly visual spot the entire evening. To us, the wedding cake is a piece of art and when done correctly, can be a beautiful summation of the entire event.

We used a Grecian style table with a glass top, underneath of which had rows of moss, hanging amaranthus, and other pretty flowers. The vintage glass door was a perfect backdrop for Brandi and Kurt to cut their cake; and guests couldn't stop talking about the cake all evening long.

So there you have it- a little behind the scenes look into inspiring a wedding day. What do you think? Do you like how the inspiration went to reality? Many thanks again to the lovely Tana Photography for the beautiful snapshots from the day.

~Happy Tuesday!

Xo,
Brandi