Magic Details Distinguish a Designers Wedding

Magic Details Distinguish a Designer's Wedding

(ARA) - It all started when I took a job that would move me
to Chicago. I was about to embark on a new adventure with
a new position. I did not know that this would lead me to a
new romance, foreign lands I never traveled to before and
into a life filled with challenges, laughter, love and, yes,
more wallpaper. I was nicknamed the Queen of Wallpaper
by my peers. By now you have probably guessed I am a
designer, a designer of wallpaper and fabrics.

Planning a wedding is all about details. I wanted to create
surroundings that would make our wedding distinctly ours
and rich with references that we and family and friends
would recall with fondness for the rest of our lives.

Who knew that my passion for wallpaper would become a
focal point in planning my own wedding? Pattern became
my magic ingredient. Probably because of my English
heritage, I selected a beautiful rose floral wallpaper and
matching fabric I designed to be the central theme.

It became very important to me to include color and pattern
on my dress. I had the rose pattern custom-replicated in
beading on my waistband and train to make it truly unique.

With the rose pattern as a central focus, here are some of
the unique decorative elements I tied together around this
theme:

* The invitations were custom designed with the rose floral,
mixed with vellum and satin ribbons, tucked beautifully
inside sage translucent envelopes that allowed the pattern
to show through.

* Upon arrival, guests were greeted with custom tote bags,
made of the rose fabric and lined with a lattice fabric from
Sarong, a Jaima Brown Home signature collection. A
string of beads embellished each bag, and all of them
contained a sample of local goodies along with literature
about features of interest in beautiful Door County. A vase
of barely opening fresh roses was also set in each guest
room along with our note thanking friends for coming to
help us celebrate. For children, there was a special candy
bag made of clear cellophane lined with wallpaper that
coordinated with the rose. We mixed shredded wallpaper
in with the candies.

* For an evening dinner cruise the night before the
wedding, we banded straw bowler hats with the companion
rose wallpaper border. It set just the right tone for an
evening of fun and dancing to a local Dixieland band.

* Rice is outdated, and bubbles are messy. As our guests
left the church, each was given a cone, made of the now-
familiar coordinating mini rose wallpaper with a sheer
ribbon bow, filled with pink and white rose petals, which
they showered on us with joyful abandon.

* For the reception, a once-ordinary white tent was
transformed into a profusion of pattern and color. Abundant
swags of a lattice design fabric, the same one that lined
the custom tote bags, covered and disguised each tent
pole. It is from Sarong, the newest of my signature Jaima
Brown Home collection. Long folds of the floral rose fabric
stretched overhead, from the edges of the tent into the
center. The edge itself was surrounded in the coordinating
rose wallpaper border. These finishing details created a
beautifully decorated environment to rival any hotel
ballroom.

* To create a distinctive twist for showing guests where
they'd be seated, we covered an ordinary room screen with
a coordinating subtle damask wallpaper pattern. Sheer
sage ribbon was stretched horizontally across the screen
which held the custom rose place cards. To the surprise
and delight of many guests, we attached informal
snapshots interspersed with the name cards. These
snapshots turned out to be great conversation starters.

* A custom scrapbook was created from scraps of all the
wallpapers and ribbons we used throughout. It doubled as
a guest book --a great keepsake of memories and good
times shared.

* The tables themselves were layered in custom rose fabric
tablecloths topped with a coordinating wide-checked
fabric. Two lengths of the die-cut rose border ran back to
back along the center of the table. At each place setting
was a small, wallpaper-wrapped package containing a CD
of our favorite songs. Naturally, the original CD cover was
replaced with a square of the rose floral, printed with our
names and the date.

We re-used the tablecloths the following day on the deck of
our country house where everyone gathered for a long,
leisurely brunch. Later, we gave the tablecloths to
bridesmaids, ushers and other special guests -- another
thank you to them and a remembrance of the occasion we
all shared. It was our way of lavishing them with the same
good wishes

A wedding is the world's most joyous celebration of
romance. It is, at the same time, public and intimate.
Therefore, all the decorative objects that surround such an
occasion should reflect both the bride's and groom's own
taste and style. Be inspired. Browse through S.A.
Maxwell's wallpaper and fabric collections to create your
own signature wedding.

To locate a retailer/decorator in your area that carries S. A.
Maxwell or Jaima Brown Home collections, call (847) 932-
3700 or visit www.samaxwell.com on the Internet.

Courtesy of ARA Content