When I found the wooden chicken coop, I knew I would set it up on a large wooden crate and have it be the altar. But that's all I knew. I had invited Helene and Sarah over to see what I was thinking. Neither were impressed, but politely so. Helene suggested turning it around (which was visually lovely) because there was chicken wire on that side and she had a great idea about how to dress it with flowers. I agreed, but at the same time it wasn't exactly what I was trying to portray.
I loved the prohibition idea and took it a step further by imagining the glamorous couple wanting alcohol, shenanigans and tomfoolery to abound. However the location had to be top secret to keep the police at bay.
Set it up on a hidden farm surrounded by orchards, with no choice but to tolerate the farm animals.
I was on the phone with Kari (hair and make up). We were discussing the ideas for the photo shoot when she mentioned that she has a State Fair 1st place prize winning chicken. She even got a call from California, and that darned chicken was featured in and online magazine. So funny. Hung up.
Huh.
Ten minutes later I called her back.... "hey, would you bring your chicken along?".
Rachael pops by one afternoon, and because she's so food oriented I told her my idea for guests finding their table numbers.
I have another large chicken coop and I wanted there to be some type of small bite on a small plate, with the table assignment attached.
Rachael, "A deviled egg!!!".
Done, and I can't wait to share those pics with you.
Okay, on with the day!
This is my mom, Dianne. I had some boiled eggs and told her to make some fake deviled eggs that looked picture perfect, which she did. (She's a good egg, that one. I can't tell you how many times she's just chipped in where needed). One of the most repeated phrases of the day was "As good as that looks you really don't want to eat that".
Kari is still working on Rachael.
What I'm not showing you was the constant stream of 5 to 10 people always being in my kitchen and the mess. And I mean mess. I don't think my kitchen has ever seen the likes of mess as this was!
In the midst of the mess, Jesse was dressed and ready to go... waiting on us. He noticed the large number of limes we had and asked John if we had some vodka. So while the female clucking and futzing was going on, he made cocktails... handing them out to whoever walked by.
Smooth and cool as a cucumber (Jesse, that is).
Here are my Mom and Dad. Dad is in the beginning of setting up the altar.
Time to start setting up the dining table. Here is Katie doing what we did five thousand times that day. Pack it up, set it up, pack it up. If I had a nickel for every time she ran back to the barn or house...
Helene and I were a team on the table setting. We mixed our props together to make a gorgeous set up. Now you know, I can't really show you the end results, but you get the idea!
Molly had arrived and went straight to work. Because this was a photo shoot, some things were over the top complete and some things were shot in snippets... hints of things. The gentleman in the cap is Mitch Wise. He catered Liz and Andy's wedding in Algoma last year, and I had the pleasure of getting to know him. I'm going to tell you right now, hands down, the best catering job I've ever seen. Not only is his food outstanding, his eye for presentation is spot on. He came up with an entire menu, with a nod to the decade, and it was so creative.
Again, hints of things... "you really don't want to eat that". It was beautiful to look at!
Working. Notice the mirror leaning against the cherry tree. Claire painted Mitch's menu on it. It was gorgeous. Claire did mention that it is a little weird painting on a mirror. Seeing herself, her hand, the back ground... discombobulating to say the least! She did a great job.
I love this girl in the sun glasses.
For the bride and groom, there was a bit of down time while they waited on us to set up.
In my mind, there would be great amounts of flowing fabric over the coop to keep it glamorous.... but the time was getting away from us and we just tossed it up there. The wind kept blowing it behind the coop.
Knowing Molly and the shots she would take, it would be fine. Helene called it Medieval and I just went with it.
It was supposed to storm that day. Winds were picking up, the temps dropped and the clouds turned dark. But nothing!
The altar is almost complete.... everyone is waiting....
And there it is.
I cannot wait to tell you the next and final chapter of this day... where the real magic came into full bloom. For all of us. My heart is smiling just thinking about it, still.
But not done just yet...
On to Fish Creek and the Robert Wahl homestead.
I decided we would use this as a back drop for the reception. Refer to chapter one if you don't know the history of this place.
While privately owned, it is not lived in and the look of it, matched up with prohibition really excited me.
Above is the groom's table. Can't let you see too much.
More reception... again, not too much.
And the infamous bar, but just a hint.
Spending the day creating with no real bride and mother, no limits, having the best people in the county (and state) working with and around you (Sarah, the cake designer is in the next post) was a dream. Rough spots and all.
Whatever we could imagine we tested.
However... the real magic began next.
