CHEERS TO THE GROOMS
I had the honor of curating the gift boxes and wedding decor for my dear friends Mike and Charles, and I had so much fun working with them to help execute their vision. When they got engaged, I really hope that they would ask me to help with the wedding arrangements and I was so thrilled when they did. Immediately they knew exactly what they wanted, which made my job a lot easier. We had one meeting, I walked away with my marching orders, and they gave me the creative freedom to do what I do.
GIFT BOXES FOR WEDDING GUESTS
One thing that was clear about this wedding is that the guest list was small yet very intentional. Every person on that list were very special to the grooms and they wanted this event to be a celebration not only of their love for one another, but to be a thank you for all of the love and support of their closest friends and family. As a gift to each guest, they wanted me to create a box that included all the ingridients and the recipe for the cocktail that brought them together - the margarita. You can read their story below:
Each box included their favorite tequila, homemade orange-infused simple syrup, hand-crafted lime sea salt (which the salt was brought back from a recent trip they went on to Croatia), a line and mandarin orange. Both the simple syrup and lime sea salt were made by Mike (one of the grooms) as I cannot take credit for his masterpiece. All of the ingridents were packaged in a clear 5x5x5 box, and a hand-written name tag was attached with a big white silk bow. Each box was then set on the table and was used tp guide the guests for where their seats were located.
THE FLOWERS
Sunflowers are the grooms’ favorite flower and they were firm on wanting them to be the center of attention at their wedding, and wanted me to be sure to add in a touch of blue (as they were both going to be wearing custom blue suits). They wanted all of the flowers to be local to Durham, and I really did try, but because sunflowers were not in season here in North Carolina, I had to order them from a small farm in California. The grooms felt good know that they came from a small private farm, vs. being shipped from somewhere overseas. They arrived perfectly in a chilled box with a hand-written note, which you know I loved. They were truly perfect. I will tag all resources below in the event you would like to use them.
Next I got to cutting and trimming the flowers, hoping and praying that I ordered enough for all of the centerpies that I needed for the event.
I absolutley loved how the arrangements turned out and I had to give myself a little pat on the back because “floral designer” was not on my resume…until that day, lol! Here’s how everything looked on the table. The wedding and reception dinner took place at the Durham Arts Council - it was truly the perfect location.
THE FOOD - SNAP PEA CATERING
The food. Ahhhhhh the food was exceptional. It was curated by Jacob Boehm and his team at Snap Pea Catering. For those that have been following for a while, you know that my friend Rosalyn and I attend their secret pop-up dinners all the time. We’re obsessed with them. So when Mike and Charles got engaged, Rosalyn immediately suggested going with Snap Pea.
Mike and Charles wanted the menu to be inspired by their travels and by stories of how some of their friends favorite memories of them. And let me tell you, Jacob hit it out of the park. There wasn’t an empty plate left out of the full 7-course meal. Here are a few pics:
I hope you have enjoyed the pictures. I really hope that you can feel the love and care that was put into making this event so special for my dear friends. It was one of my favorite events to date, and knowing that everyone had a great time and the grooms were beyond pleased makes me know that I am truly walking in my purpose. Such a fun evening - thank you Mike and Charles (and my sidekicks Rosalyn to my left and Kristi to my right) we had a blast!
