what I do

what I do

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Newland Barn Wedding!

I had the best job ever this summer. 






My daughter got married last month at the Newland Barn in Huntington Beach.  It was magical!  The venue was the perfect "clean slate" to start with ... a red barn, an old Victorian house with a white picket fence and a gazebo.




One thing I know from decorating is that there are always limitations.  It doesn't matter if your budget is large or small, there are always limitations.  We tried to stay within our limitations by doing everything we could ourselves and by keeping things SIMPLE.






We started with first things first.  


We found the bridesmaids dresses and that set our color scheme.  Easy.  Done.  
We waited until the week before the wedding and checked with the flower mart to see what was available.  White!  I LOVE white.  My favorite color!  That worked.  
Stock in all the colors of the dresses - perfect!  Done.  Check check.




We went to the L.A. flower mart and bought all the flowers and rose petals a couple of days before the big day - the weather cooperated and the flowers stayed cool outside.  We filled the refrigerator (every nook and cranny) with the petals.








White was the perfect choice!



We put mock packages on the gift table to identify it and used a lantern for cards.


The stock fit perfectly in the little Ikea vases and were very easy to assemble the night before.





We added lights and paper lanterns


We took the inside of the barn and covered the plain white walls with fabric and covered the ceiling with 36" white round balloons and three chandeliers from Ikea:



My daughter found this door in an alley the week before the wedding and we used it to display family wedding photos. It went great with our photo booth!



We made a couple of seating areas inside the barn with furniture we brought from our house and my sister's house. 




We served three kinds of cakes; red velvet, chocolate with buttercream frosting and coconut pineapple.  



Both Hayley and Emmanuel saved the slips of paper from the first time they exchanged numbers.  How sweet is that?



We spent days making the gifts, the coasters for the table numbers and the seat assignment tags 









A few great drink choices





Simple but delicious food












Wonderful entertainment




Wedding Details: 

The restrooms were not very impressive to start with and presented the biggest challenge; we could not put anything permanent on the walls and we could make no holes.  That meant we could not hang anything to cover the large span of plain dirty white walls.  We used removable stick-on chalkboard panels, a large leaning mirror (a vintage door) and a gorgeous rug to hide the flaws.  Burlap, twine and clothespins were essentials.  










We put photos of the bride and groom on the
women's and men's restroom doors



Organization was key to staying calm and enjoying the planning and the wedding day!



I would love to help you style your wedding. If you are interested in setting up an appointment to discuss your upcoming event, consulting appointments are $150 / hr and wedding planning / styling fees are determined individually for each event. I would love to help you with your wedding planning, details or decor. We also have photo booth & wedding photography services available. You can contact me, Sherri Cassara @ sherricassaradesigns@gmail.com or by phone @ 562.547.5247.  

We no longer charge for our rentals - they are included in our planning / styling fees. Here is just a sample of what we have as we add with each event we do. We have furniture, doors, and other props as well:

15 comments:

Prizler Photography said...

Great start!! Can't wait to see more!

Robbie said...

The wedding indeed was magical with all of your talent in the details and design.

Room to Inspire said...

What a fabulous wedding - I just loved scrolling through all of the lovely photos!

Chelsea

barb cabot said...

You are a miracle worker. Wow! What a gorgeous wedding. You pulled it off with such elegance and personality! Love every detail...but that's YOU! Organization is amazing. Bride and Groom priceless! Well done YOU.

SHERRY HART said...

That was a beautiful wedding full of creative ideas!!! Well done!

Kim@Chattafabulous said...

Oh my goodness - what a gorgeous wedding, and so personalized. You did an amazing job and the pictures are beautiful, too!

Mary Ann Pickett said...

How creative and special. Truly amazing. Great job.
Mary Ann

pve design said...

I have a big fat tear streaming down my cheek. What love and attention to detail. You deserve a "gold star!" Love to do a "guest post" with you. I am illustrating a wedding in Chicago with Birch Design Studio.
One never tires of love and all that it inspires at any age.
The photos of them show love and a bright future ahead.
pve

Gypsy Heart said...

I just saw this and am so happy I did! This was such a 'friendly' wedding & reception...the happiness is evident. Love the boots! :-) Your attention to detail is incredible and I adore everything about this wonderful occasion. You did a superb job! Congratulations to the lovely couple.
Pat

Unknown said...

I love it all! I just linked to your blog from my blog (birdsofafeatherdesign). Thank you for following me and most of all, thank you for your inspirational posts! I love the wedding ideas and photos and have enjoyed reading your blog. Great work!
Hooper Patterson

Lori Pepe-Lunche said...

What a fabulous wedding for your beautiful daughter and her husband! I love the photos of all the detail and especially like the movie quotes (they're great) on the restroom doors. You really had the details down! Also a wonderful and colorful blog Sherri.

Sheena said...

I love how you transformed the inside of the barn, how did you hang the fabric? PVC pipe?

Unknown said...

Hi Sheena, we rented the panels from Baker Party Rentals. You will need 9 panels and they around around $225. Tell them you need them for the Newland Barn and they have the panels to fit.

Brittany said...

I'm considering having my wedding at the Newland barn and I came across your post which I LOVE. I was just wondering how long it took for you to set up everything on the day of the wedding. Also, did you hire an outside company to take everything at the end of the night as well?

Unknown said...

Hi Brittany, we started at 7:30 AM and barely finished before the wedding started at 4:30. I hired a crew to install everything according to what I had planned. And that is who cleaned up afterwards.
I am now doing weddings (in addition to my interior design business). If you are interested in our services or would like to consult with me to help you do your own, you can email me:
sherricassaradesigns@gmail.com
The set-up varies from wedding to wedding but it always takes much longer than you think.
Sherri