Katie and Mike's May Renault Winery Wedding
Katie and Mike had their May 8th wedding at the beautiful Renault Winery in Egg Harbor City, New Jersey. I’m so lucky to have worked on not only their invitations, but also many of their day-of items - including something I had been wanting to work on for the longest time!
Starting with their invitations, Katie and Mike knew they wanted to incorporate the watercolor venue painting I had created of Renault Winery, so I built the design around that. For the fonts, I wanted something that was romantic but classic with a little pop of the champagne color added in to break up the fonts. Font and color choice is really important because they will be carried throughout the suite as well as day-of items!
Since the couple was doing online RSVPs, we made it easy for their guests with a QR code to scan that went right to their website (as well as listed out the full website for guests who aren’t fans of QR codes) on the front of the Details card. We also created the look of an arch with an arch outline and watercolor eucalyptus leaves behind it. We continued the eucalyptus leaves onto the back of the Details card with one of my favorite additions - a timeline. Timelines are great because they not only look beautiful, but they’re an easy way to inform guests what will be happening that day/night as well as the times of those events.
Everything was then tied together with champagne colored chiffon ribbon that matched the color of the text perfectly and placed into metallic pearl envelope for just that right amount of shimmer!
One of the first things guests see at a wedding is the welcome sign so we wanted to create something really special for Katie and Mike’s guests to start the wedding off right. I made the background of the sign a soft pink color to soften that bright white color the board comes as and I pulled the colors of her florals for the text and arch shape colors. I added the monogram I had used on her invites for a pretty touch at the top of the sign. A last minute decision was to add two champagne colored decorative wood appliqués to the top corners that were also on the mirror seating chart and I’m so glad we added them! The florals by Savannah’s Garden were absolutely beautiful and truly elevated the welcome sign. The couple loved their sign so much they’re hanging it up in their home which I think is such a great way to re-use signage after the wedding!
I have been wanting to create a mirror seating chart and I finally got my wish! Katie loved the idea of getting an Anthro-inspired mirror but those can cost $600+. So, I instead went to seven different stores (I will do whatever it takes to get the best of the best for my clients!) but wasn’t really seeing anything that fit the vibe we were going for until I found a very plain mirror at the last store I went to that was the right size. I ordered some decorative wood appliqués, champagne colored paint, and wood glue and got to work! I painted the entire mirror and then the wood pieces separately. I then created the top and bottom text, cut out the vinyl, and applied it to the mirror. The couple upgraded the card edges to be deckled edge, so I printed the table numbers and guest names and then hand-ripped every edge for a more romantic feel. I carefully measured and laid out everything and attached the paper to the mirror, and finally added the white wax seals with hand applied flecks of gold foil. The last step of creating this mirror was to glue on the wood appliqués. I was a little nervous about this part because I wanted to make sure everything was perfectly straight and centered because the goal was for nobody to realize it was all pieced together. So a seamless application was pivotal. After everything was dry and firmly attached I drove from Maryland to the venue in New Jersey the day before the wedding because there was no way I was trusting this mirror or the welcome sign with anyone else!
Another great little touch Katie and Mike added was a last minute add but something very sentimental to the couple. They actually met at a Kentucky Derby party and their rehearsal dinner was on the day of the Kentucky Derby (I mean how cool is that?!). Originally we were going to go with acrylic disks, but we decided to proceed with paper drink disks that were placed by the bartenders on the guests’ drinks. They each have a little slit already cut in each one to make it easy for the bartenders to add to the rim of each drink. The little horseshoe graphic was a subtle nod to their How We Met story and of course the text was great because they are lucky in love for so many reasons!
Katie and Mike’s wedding was the definition of stunning and I’m beyond grateful to have been part of it. They had some pretty incredible vendors who made the wedding so perfect including:
Photography: Denise Marie Photography
Venue: Renault Winery
Glad Squad: Dev Esthetics, Marissa Grace Artistry, and Baked Tanning
Florist: Savannah's Garden
Stationery and Decor: Slate + Brush Design Studio
Dress: Justin Alexander and Silk Bridal Easton
Suit: Morroni Custom Clothing
Tailor: Irina Sigal Dressmaker
Cake: The Bake Works
Bridesmaid Dresses and Groom’s Tie: Revelry
Jewelry: Steven Singer Jewelers
Cheers to the newlyweds, Mr. and Mrs. Barile! Wishing you a lifetime of happiness and endless celebrations like this one!
