INTERIOR DECORATING EXERTS A MASSIVE INFLUENCE ON WEDDING DESIGN
Las Vegas Wedding Planner Andrea Eppolito. Image by Nicole Hernandez Photography.
Interior decorating has become one of the leading influences in wedding planning and event design. The last two years saw us retreating into our homes, and our clients have made a tremendous investment in making their living areas more inviting, more comfortable, and increasingly more upscale. It is only natural that their newfound love of furniture and home design would impact wedding décor. Couples have a greater understanding of the value of furniture, and after investing so much into upgrading their personal residences, their eyes have been trained to look for furniture and décor pieces with more texture and substance.
When designing from a residential standpoint, begin by collecting photos of the couples’ home. It is important to understand what colors and finishes a bride and groom live with on a day-to-day basis. Also worth noting is the scale of the pieces that a couple likes to surround themselves with. Do they prefer large, overstuffed sofas, or do they lean towards clean lines and minimalistic accent pieces? Which stores do they frequent when it comes to furniture buying? Are their walls Which stores do they frequent when it comes to furniture buying? Are their walls barren or filled with art? How people live on a day-to-day basis is one of the greatest indicators of how they will want to celebrate a monumental moment in their history.
The next step in designing from a residential point of you would be to actually go home décor shopping with your couple. Whether you wander through the vignettes of a store, or you virtually visit sites and penned the photos for safekeeping, you will want to take note of the items and the spaces that bring your clients to life. If money were no object, and daily responsibilities didn’t prevent you from doing anything, how would your couple choose to live? Are they high-rise in the big city people? Or would they prefer to be tucked away in the mountains? Their ideal setting may be removed from how they actually live. When designing, seek to bring elements of both together in a way that feels harmonious.
Lastly, hotels and resorts are the midway point between how we live on a day-to-day basis and how we celebrate. We travel so that we can experience a new life for a short period of time. Ask you a couple about their favorite vacation resorts and places to stay. Certain hospitality brands are much more modern than others. A W Hotel or a Virgin property, for instance, is a very different type of luxury than a Four Seasons property. Once you understand the value proposition that your couple is drawn to when traveling, collect images from the resort’s rooms, suites, rooftop terraces, and grounds.
Once you have done in-depth research, lay out all of your photos and inspiration. A distinct pattern should emerge. Colors, textures, and statements will begin to appear as you look at the way your couple lives and travels. A wedding is a heightened celebration, and I encourage you to pull from the most aspirational photos that you collect. This is a once-in-a-lifetime moment, and you can afford to be over the top in your interpretation of the world.
There is no better case study for this type of wedding design process. Recently, I was honored to plan an event for a jet-setting couple with homes throughout the country. While my bride had not spent years obsessing over her wedding, she has spent countless hours designing her homes. Her Pinterest boards were overflowing with design and décor ideas, many with a luxurious mix of custom finishes and Restoration Hardware pieces. The couple’s main residence home was fitted with a large dining table made of heavy wood, surrounded by light-colored chairs. They favored stone and marble over acrylic and glass, and their accent pieces were sleek and nature-based, as opposed to glitz and glam. Instead of flowers and vases, I found many pots and trees. This space was one of the couple’s favorite rooms, and thus became the aesthetic baseline for our wedding design.
I began by sourcing tables topped with heavy wood, supported by modern metal bases. In place of the towering florals, I tend to favor, our design team dressed them with big stone pots filled with moss, rock, and orchids. Ivory leather chairs were placed around the tables, offsetting the smoked glassware and tiled bone charger plates. In the place of drapes, we installed temporary walls wrapped with an agate print intermixed with moss walls that tied in with our centerpieces. Towering trees climbed upwards of 14 feet high. The space was softened with glamorous chandeliers that hung from the sky. If you didn’t know better, one would guess that these pieces came directly from their home, which was very much the point! Guests were being invited into a milestone of the couple’s life, and we wanted them to feel very much at home and comfortable.
The gift of the pandemic was that it inspired us to retreat into our homes and reinforced our commitment to living beautifully. Now that our couples and clients have such a wonderful eye for design, expect this trend to continue well into the future.
Written by Andrea Eppolito for Inside Weddings Magazine
As Seen In Inside Weddings Magazine.
