Alba and Debra 10.09.10

One of the most beautiful parts of my job is that I get to meet people who are in the midst of experiencing one of the happiest times of their lives together. Getting married to the person they love, their soul mate.   It’s the greatest  of celebrations. The celebration of true love. At least in Alba and Debra’s case for sure. Their family and friends joined in to help create one of the best wedding celebrations I have ever experienced. The Ceremony and Reception took place at the Orange Lawn Tennis Club in South Orange NJ. A very charming venue that has been a well kept secret for too long.  The Chef who prepared the food was none other then Bravo’s TV Show Top Chef contestant Ariane Duarte. Everything about the day was perfect and special. Please take a moment and view Alba and Debra’s Engagement Session.

I asked Alba to say a few words about her process creating and designing the “Flowers, the Place Cards, the Table Numbers, the Bouquets, Boutonnieres, and Flower Basket.

“Flowers:  These were made with remnants of fabric I had around the house from different projects.  As a crafty/DIY/vintage lover, fabric pieces are never scarce.  But the really fun part- the buttons come from an old tin of buttons that Deb’s grandmother used to play with!  (Sorry I didn’t show you the box for a photo- it’s an old chocolate tin that is rusty and dented and absolutely precious.)  This tin had been passed down to Deb’s mother to play with, and then Deb and her sisters also played with as children.  When Deb’s mother heard that I was making fabric flowers with button centers, she immediately gave me the tin- and I could not have been happier.  Deb’s parents also came over one day to help sew the nearly-100 flowers that were needed for all the bouquets, boutonnieres, and flower basket.

Table Numbers & (red/yellow) Vegan Cards:  These were made with colored manila folders from my job’s recycle bin, which I had raided.  My sister, who is queen of the exacto knife, cut the numbers and layered them with fabric remnants.  She also designed the red/yellow leaf cards for our vegan guests, so the waitstaff knew to bring them special meals.”

“Home is where your story begins.”

“Flowerbaby”

“I like Pie” was what Alba said to me as we sat at her kitchen table for our first meeting. OK, I thought, cool, cuz wedding cake isn’t good most of the time anyway. Not just any pie though, Alba was going to make all the pies herself and she and Debra would serve them to their family and friends.

“Pies:  I made (with assistance from my sister) 12 pies in 12 hours, not counting the crust.  The crusts had been made 2 weeks in advance one Friday night, while Deb was having a “bachelor night” with a buddy.  6 Maple Bourbon Pecan Pie and 6 Country Pumpkin (and a vegan Pumpkin Pie Crumble).  FYI, even the pie ingredients are significant to us- we’re bourbon drinkers, live in Maplewood, and are slightly obsessed with all things maple and gourd (and autumn).”

Debra told me that she wanted a photo booth, so with the help of a friend of mine, I put together an informal photo booth. There are a lot of really fun pictures. Here are just a few samples.