Renaissance Gothic Themed Halloween Wedding for Melissa and Greg at Dayton Art Institute

Greg and Melissa had one of the most creative wedding days I've ever had the pleasure of doing yet! The couple wanted to have a wedding that reflected their passion for the renaissance period and "Lord of the Rings," with a twist of Gothic and black for their Halloween Day wedding. We put our heads together and the result was this classy, true-to-the-period wedding at the Dayton Art Institute that was enjoyed by all!

Greg wore a period jacket with buttons while the bride wore a custom made black velvet gown and custom made veil. The seamstress, Johnna Brough, has sewn and designed costumes for the Ohio Renaissance Festival for years.

The bridesmaids were no exception and also wore custom-made burgundy period dresses.
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All of the ladies carried red magic roses complemented with black feathers and tendrills, made by the talented Cady Vance. The ladies look like rock stars (or renaissance stars?) thanks to the talents of Nancy from Brideface.

Programs and guest invitations were in a Gothic font and sealed with a wax sealed crest emblem.
A hand ceremony was performed by Persephanie, a member of the Wicca community

The bridal ceremony was complemented by the talented music of Rose Trio.

Melissa's favorite pose of the day

The Gothic Cloister of the Dayton Art Institute was uplit with red lighting on the pillars and a red rose pattern on the dance floor by Party Pleasers.

Silver chargers, red napkins with silver holders complemented the black crinkled linens and black chair covers tied with silver sashes. Rentals were provided by Finch Rental and Prime Time Party Rental.The cake was the only white thing at this event. In true Melissa and Greg fashion, the Ele Cake Company wedding cake was cut to Billy Idol's "White Wedding."

Tables were adorned with white and black feather centerpieces, or immersed red magic roses, that were illuminated with internal vase lighting and candles. Each table was named after something from "Lord of the Rings" and in a Gothic-style frame and font.

Halloween would not have been complete without a candy bar. This was served during the same time as cocktail hour and the candy was gone before dinner. (Tip to brides to be -- serve your candy bar after dinner has been cleared!)

Photographer Daniel Michael could not resist getting in the electronic lift to get this ariel shot! It shows the dance floor, pinspot and column uplighting, done by Party Pleasers, who also DJ the reception. Elegant Fare catered the delicious food.

A great shot of the lighting detail on the dance floor and the shape of the Gothic cloister room

Congratulations to Greg and Melissa on an amazing wedding day! Here is to a lifetime of happiness and centuries thereafter!

Prime Time Party Rental Tabletop Competition

This week, Cady Vance from the Flowerman and I put together a table for the tabletop competition at Prime Time Party Rental. You can vote on Prime Time's facebook page by joining as a fan and liking our photos. I had a client that wanted to do something gardeny for her wedding and so we did this as a demonstration for her to get ideas.

The title and theme of this table is "spring on the horizon." Some of the highlights of this mock table include: Tulips poking out of the table number, which is affixed to the centerpiece that is lined with a flat twig fabric. The chargers are actually twig wreaths. The escort cards are rock candy (meant to by hyacinths) submerged in white sugar and hard chewy rock candy. The napkin is in a basket on the back and shaped like a rose. Surrounding the centerpiece is a base of stacked square votive holders with submurged rocks and floating candles.

Thank you to Prime Time for the opportunity to participate in this competition!

Shout Out to Prime Time Party Rental

Shout out to Prime Time Party Rental, who has featured Your Dream Day as a preferred affiliate on their website for wedding and event planning. They offer fabulous deals on chair, tent, linen and table rentals and we love working with them on Dayton weddings.

Fun stuff this week...

This week has been a week of networking. During the late fall, the number of weddings slows down so wedding vendors use it as a chance to catch up with each other, promote their new service offerings and talk about the upcoming year.



The Knot hosted a party for all its advertisers on Destiny Yacht on Tuesday night. I heard it was a lot of fun -- I was home sniffeling. I didn't think going out on a boat in the cold rain was a smart idea. On Wednesday, the Association of Bridal Consultants hosted a meeting at Poeme in Hyde Park with guest speakers Kristen Folzenlogen (Poeme) and Courtenay Lambert (Florist). We learned about the cost of designing wedding invitations and what a specific budget will buy you for invitation. Good rule of thumb -- if you see it in Martha Stewart, it's expensive!



As far as clients go, I have a 500 guest wedding being held on a private estate this July 4th. This week, we finally hammered down all of the rentals for this event with Prime Time Party Rental. The bride really wanted chivari chairs. However, in order to have chivaris outside, you need to install a complete floor (in this case 7200 feet!) so you don't damage the chairs. However, you don't have to do that for white woods. To save $5,000 (chivari chairs are more expensive to rent) we went with the white wood option instead.



In addition, Chateau Pomije is having a free paella tasting tonight. It's located in Oakley. Be sure to stop by! Also stay tuned ... I am putting together a contest with a few other vendors for brides whose weddings are in January and February 2009.