Thanksgiving week seemed like the perfect chance to highlight one of the most important – yet oft-overlooked – elements of any wedding or party: the food! Earlier this year, the talented team at RoomForty (“a restaurant without walls” as they call themselves) served up a ten-course tasting experience for some of LA’s wedding industry, to prove that there’s no reason wedding food has to be mediocre…
I just love how dramatic this “tray” is – as Steve Fortunato at RoomForty explained to me, serving an incredible meal isn’t just about preparing delicious food, but also about creating a memorable experience. What could be more important for your wedding?
Guests went home with the fixin’s for a “Salad for Two.”
Big thanks to Steve Fortunato and photographer Ryan Garvin for sharing this yummy event with us – learn more about this “Edible Audit” over on the RoomForty blog. Also, you can view the entire menu right here.
Cynthia Warren is an incredible artist, and she created the beautiful invitations for Brooke and Stephen’s rehearsal dinner and wedding. I thought it would be nice to highlight them in their own post…
Cynthia Warren
Rehearsal dinner invitation.
Cynthia Warren
Wedding invitation.
Cynthia Warren
Wedding invitation overlay.
Cynthia Warren
Cynthia collected 100 different sacred heart milagros that were originally meant to embellish each wedding suite. But, as Cynthia says, “Thankfully I did a test through the mail and the charms damaged the invitation. So in the end, Brooke tied them onto the handles of the fans at each seat at the ceremony.”
And here are a couple great shots from Brooke and Stephen’s rehearsal dinner – I just love the papeles picados!
Rick Scibelli
Rick Scibelli
Custom papeles picados decorated the rehearsal dinner. So festive!
Their favorite part of the day? “We chose to do a reveal before the ceremony where we met privately, just the two of us,” says Brooke. “We were so happy to have a few moments together to connect before we were whisked off to say our vows and celebrate with our guests. In fact our favorite wedding photo of the two of us was shot during those few minutes of total peace.”
Rick Scibelli
Guests found fans and programs on their seats at the ceremony. Each fan had a tiny milagro charm tied to it.
Rick Scibelli
Rick Scibelli
Rick Scibelli
Rick Scibelli
Rick Scibelli
Rick Scibelli
Though it rained all morning, the sky cleared in time for the outdoor ceremony.
Rick Scibelli
The aisle bouquets used during the ceremony were transformed into table decor at the reception.
Rick Scibelli
There were two flavors of wedding cake: almond vanilla cake with vanilla bean butter cream frosting and chocolate cake with Belgian chocolate ganache and raspberry preserves. The signature cocktail was perfect for a couple who calls New York home: Autumn in New York, made with Woodford Reserve bourbon, peach nectar and angostura bitters, served over rocks with a cinnamon stick and brandied cherry.
Rick Scibelli
Why did you choose this location for your wedding? We knew we wanted a destination location to reflect our love of travel and to give our friends and family a transformative experience. We searched for an interesting stateside location that would enable us to have an outdoor ceremony in Autumn, and where wedding logistics would not pose a problem. We visited Encantado, a renovated historic ranch nestled in the lush high mountain desert of Tesuque just north of Santa Fe, and fell in love with the starry night sky, the painterly sunsets, and the intoxicating scent of pinon-wood bonfire that lingered in the air.
What was the best advice you received as a bride? To pause and take it all in, to be intentional about observing your surroundings and happiness during the wedding day because it passes by so quickly. A close second is the practical advice I received to wear my hair up in a timeless style – I never worried about it falling or getting in the way.
What advice do you have for other brides? Find a wedding planner or third-party day-of execution person. Weddings are incredibly stressful, but the bride and groom should be not have to worry about directing, dealing with minutiae, or problem solving on that day. By delegating these tasks, we were able to relax and spend our time enjoying the company of our friends and family. I also highly recommend building in a workout or a few peaceful meditative minutes before the day is underway, especially if you can get a few key players to accompany you. We took a semi-private yoga class together which completely set the tone for the day.
Is there anything else that helps tell the story of the day? The first half of our wedding day was shrouded in gray and rain. I promised myself that I would surrender to whatever the day brought, and that it would be magical and joyful no matter how it played out, weather or otherwise (here is where the morning yoga really helped us – despite a misty overcast forecast we all kept calm). Just an hour before the ceremony the sun broke through the clouds. The rest of the day was bright and by evening we had a clear and brilliant night sky.
Check back in a couple hours for a post on some of the stationery details by Cynthia Warren!
Somehow I managed to publish this post without writing anything on it! Losing my mind… this weekend we’re getting the rain we were supposed to get last weekend, which is fine with me since it finally feels a little like fall here. We’re celebrating a friend’s birthday tomorrow, then Sunday we’re doing absolutely nothing. What about you? What are you up to this weekend?
