17 July 2010

A Simple Summer Backyard Wedding à la Chic Provence


The appeal of the backyard wedding is stronger than ever. Brides today want to have their weddings in unique, personalized and..yes, less expensive settings. So, rather than rent the magnificent hotel ballroom or the caves at the local winery, if the backyard has some nice features and lends itself to a little sprucing up and has enough elbowroom for guests, it’s the perfect solution!

Pear & Pepper Fine Events and Catering asked me to designed this small, intimate and very chic wedding setting for an upcoming bride to see an example of just how charming and effective a backyard wedding can be. She was enchanted, P&P was happy, and she booked us both for the wedding!


For an early evening wedding, nothing is more glamorous than
flickering tea lights casting a soft glow on crystal,
silver, shimmering table linens and beautiful flowers. Don't you agree?


The centerpiece is a simple and elegant arrangement of vintage bottles
on a footed silver tray with a different flower stem in each..
very effective, charming and doesn't cost the earth!



Pear and Pepper designed this pitch perfect menu of delicious
Provencal dishes for the small wedding. The amazing
Provencal wines they chose will accompany each course. Yum!



Because the wedding is small..24 guests..we used gorgeous
dishes, glassware and napkins from Anthropologie for the settings.
The bride is thrilled to keep these lovely items for
her new home. And with the money she saves by having
a backyard wedding, she can keep all 24 settings, or give as
gifts to her bridal party. Notice the plums from the tree?
It's a signature of Chic Provence event design to use things from
nature whenever the opportunity presents itself!



A richness is created by the textures and jewel tones of the
patterned champagne and small tumblers (here used for tea lights), the
Ikat patterned napkins, the rich tones of the flowers and
the plum color of the ..well, plums from the tree!



This version is a little different; the cloches are placed on each plate and
the ikat napkins are hanging to show off their lovely design. We tried this
version earlier in the afternoon and decided the look just didn't work.
That's the fun part of design..it's always a process!




Although I designed the center table only, we Photoshopped in two more
tables to give the bride a realistic view of
three 48" square tables, each seating eight people.

We think we like the
"Louis Ghost" chairs (not sure). Do you?
A sheer lavender layer over old French linen tablecloths
is the perfect color for anchoring our scheme.


***

inspiration pieces: the rich purple votives,
and the bottle arrangement centerpieces we are designing
for a large fundraiser in the fall


***

some photos by Kit and the better ones by

54 comments:

  1. Kit so absolutely beautiful. No wonder the bride chose to go with you. She'd be a fool not to. I love the ghost chairs because the focus of ones attentions is on the beauty of the table setting. Thank you for sharing your genius with us Kit. Lovely weekend to you xx

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  2. Kit-
    The whole setting is just exquisite. How fun to design the look for a truly intimate wedding. My hubbie is a special events decorator and when you are doing the 21st table setting, the special-ness is hard to come by anymore.
    Where will the tables be located- under cover? Or do you all in CA never have to worry about inclement weather like it seems? :)

    I love the ghost chairs and those purple votives- perfect!

    -Ann

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  3. HI KIT! What a lovely setting! The chair is actually the Victoria Chair...arms/Ghost..no arms/Victoria. I've been using the clear orange Ghost Chairs recently...really cool... Thanks for the post!

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  4. I LOVE the gold touches (not very common) and the lucite chairs. It's a great meld for a truly spectacular dining dream!

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  5. Hi Deb, thanks soo much for the very kind words..you really made my day!! hope all goes well for you and you are having a great weekend!

    xx

    Kit

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  6. Wow, everything looks wonderful!
    Thank you for sharing!
    Have a good night!
    Leticia
    www.msbinglesvintagechristmas.com

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  7. Everything looks dreamy and divine.

    Luv Lisa xx

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  8. I love love love the ghost chairs! I bought some for my house ($129 including shipping!) from this place

    http://www.interiorexpress.com/ghost-chairs.html

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  9. When I first saw the title of the blog post, I instantly loved it..i would love to have a simple summer backyard wedding, it would be such a dream to make it all work..lovely post as always and hopefully you'll have a fantastic remaining weekend- lots of love!

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  10. So pretty and I love the ghost chairs!

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  11. ohmygosh this is absolute perfection! the colors, the flowers..every detail is just delightful
    Thanks for sharing this and for the gorgeous inspiration!
    xxx

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  12. You did a wonderful job! The colors and textures are all perfect and I love the organic and elegant mixture.

    -Rene

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  13. Kit this is stunning... you have done a gorgeous job and I absolutely love the Louis ghost chairs. I think they should stay as they are so elegant, chic with a contemporary feel! Well done!

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  14. Absolutely fabulous!!! You have an amazing eye...I love to copy beautiful things but could never come up with something like this myself. You have talent!! I wouldn't change a thing. Well, maybe the menu cards since I first thought broiled goat was being served. :-))

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  15. HI Ann, thanks for visiting...yes the tables will be under a bit of shelter, an arbor with vines growing over it..but the weather is 99% sure to be no rain in our climate..summer months are very dry, which is great for planning outdoor weddings, we are more concerned about keeping the sun away!!

    Kit

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  16. Hi Digs, thanks for clearing that up!! those Ghosts/Victorias can be so stunning, I would love to see how you used the orange ones..a favorite color of mine!

    Kit

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  17. Natalie, Style, Letectia, Lisa and Jim....thanks for visiting Chic Provence and your very lovely comments are MOST appreciated! I'll be checking in with you too soon....

    enjoy!

    Kit

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  18. Hi Joanne, I hope you do have a gorgeous outdoor wedding!

    Kit

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  19. Vanaessa, Flaviana and Rene, you all obviously have exquisite taste!! thanks for the super kind comments, and I am so glad you like the design.

    Kit

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  20. Hello MA the 2nd it is great to see you..now that your travels are settling down a bit! Sounded like a fabulous trip and I followed you every step of the way...thanks for making your way over to Chic Provence..

    bisous

    Kit

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  21. What a beautiful wedding...love the ikat napkins!

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  22. Wow! This is just gorgeous...and I too love those napkins! Great job!

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  23. Hello Susan/Zhush, thanks! fun project...ah! summertime!...the napkins played right into the slightly folkloric feeling of the painted glasses, plums, vintage bottles, and brought a touch of the handcrafted..

    happy summering!

    xx

    Kit

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  24. table setting is so pretty xxxx

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  25. Hello Kirstyb thanks for visiting and for your kind comments!

    Kit

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  26. Everything is so beautiful! Can I ask where you got that silver-footed tray? I've been looking for one and all I can find are cake plateaus on Ebay. I want an vintage pie or cake stand that looks just like this one in your picture! Thanks for the wonderful photos.

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  27. Bonjour Kit - I'm new to your blog, and I just spent two hours looking through your entire blog and your older posts. I've been looking for color inspiration and I got hooked when I saw this table setting you've created. I'm now your newest follower!
    -marie

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  28. A dream one, so beutiful! Hope you are having a great day, Kit. verbena cottage

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  29. HI Vicki

    Look in better booths at flea markets and some antique shops for these footed trays. I'm not sure about cake or pie stands in silver with rimmed edges, sounds lovely, but not sure I've seen one. Where do you live?

    Thanks for visiting and your comments..!

    Enjoy the day!

    Kit

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  30. this is beautiful! i looooove how the colors mesh well together! lovely!

    loueladaniele.com

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  31. Hello Louela Daniele! thanks so much for your very sweet comment!

    enjoy your day!

    Kit

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  32. Congratulations on the booking!

    I love the colours and textures you have used for the tables. It all looks perfect!

    Those serviettes are amazing - I am going to look for them at Anthro.

    I think the ghost chairs work well and like how they add a modern minimalist twist.
    The only thing I would suggest would be to perhaps use a coarse linen cloth instead. Same colour, just some texture to anchor the tables a little.

    Love it!
    xx C

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  33. I love every single thing ~ well done! The centerpiece of vintage bottles with a different flower stem in each is probably my favorite ~ extremely charming.

    Have a lovely day. :O)

    Marie @ Sally Lee by the Sea
    'celebrating the coastal lifestyle'
    http://nauticalcottageblog.com

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  34. This is beautiful and proof - if it was needed - that you don't need lots of money to have something tasteful and elegant. In fact, I rather think that very often a lot of money seems to get in the way of taste and elegance, maybe that's just me though. This setting is stunning. Love from London x

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  35. Absolutely gorgeous. I love this and the photos - this is how I would love to have my tables. Beautiful blog, will definately be back!
    x

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  36. Just wanted to let you know that I featured this today on FTF! Thanks for linking up and if you would like a featured button stop by and grab one!

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  37. I think this is perfection. I may just have to share it with my readers, with a link back to you of course. Great job!!!!!

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  38. Love it! It's not as grand as some in the banquet hall I've been to, but very clean and sweet, and more personal feel to it.

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  39. Bonjour Kit,
    You did such a marvelous look, what a lucky bride and groom. All the details are exquisite, I feel it is the details that make everything so special.
    Hope your summer is off to a fabulous start - but after seeing this I think it is!
    Bon week-end,
    Mimi

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  40. Bonjour Kit ~
    this is a absolutely stunning! You did a fabulous job putting together every detail, from the salt and pepper (where I can find them?), the linens and the delicous menu! I also love ghost chairs!
    xoxo, B

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  41. Kit, your table top design is beautiful... everything coordinates perfectly! My daughter is getting married next April and I want to keep it all simple and beautiful and make it look effortless... which will require a lot of effort! ~Terri

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  42. Congratulations for your space is really cool, know my blog www.menssagensespeciais.zip.net has translators for readability since ja grateful

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  43. How lovely. I love ginger icecrean. The polents cake I have never heard of. Beautiful setup
    and looks very successful

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  44. I hope your clients greatly appreciated your "simple backyard wedding". What a fairytale! Nobody in attendance is likely to forget this event anytime soon. Very nice, Kit. Kudos!
    XO
    Michael

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  45. Wow! If I was getting married I'd want you as my designer ;) I love how you used such bright, bold colors to really set a happy mood.

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  46. What a beautiful blog!
    Greetings from Italy!
    Ciao

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  47. oh so French! it's a little too detailed for my taste (I prefer simple, clean modern), but this does look like a lot of fun!

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  48. sooo charming... lovely... wow.... xoxo

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  49. my stars, Kit. that was no less than fantastic...

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  50. It's beautiful You are a wonderful wedding planner.

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  51. On my ....how very beautiful!

    xoxo lylah

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  52. Wow! Love, love this table! Where do you get these amazing champagne glasses?

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I would love to hear what you think! merci!

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