Yellow Inspiration Shoot from Jessica Schmitt + Roey Mizrahi Events

Stephanie Weers
October 3, 2013
Categories: Photo Shoot, The Blog, Wedding Style

I think we can all agree the world would be a better place with a little more yellow. It’s the happiest hue around, bringing a fresh breath of life to any wedding it graces. So take that yellow loveliness and cross it with my favorite city…and what do you get? A WHOLE lot of pretty, that’s what! Gussied up by Roey Mizrahi Events and Karma Flowers, this styled shoot is one for the books. See every snap from Jessica Schmitt right here.

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From the Planner + Stylist… Styled shoots are a way for vendors to showcase the range of what they can provide to clients, to inspire other industry professionals and the newly engaged but they are also another outlet for creative expression; allowing vendors to execute something that is entirely their vision without any limitations. In this particular instance it was the venue that inspired the concept along with a shared vision between the wonderful photographer, Jessica Schmitt and myself. Caffe Storico is a chic, edgy, semi formal restaurant located in the NY Historical Society on the Upper West Side. White walls adorned with white porcelain plates, gold chandeliers, marble tables, wooden chairs and bright canary yellow bar stools and bench cushion. It already sounds amazing right? That’s because it is. The interior of the restaurant is so unique, bold and yet naturally refined so it became more of a challenge trying to create something that had a quality design concept but that didn’t out shine the venue instead rather enhance it. It was for this reason that the color palette remained with what was present in the venue, white, gold, green and yellow.

The background story I created to share with all the vendors that I was approaching to be part of the team, was that the bride’s family was Italian (this wedding of theirs would be a destination wedding for most of her family) and the groom and his family were born and raised New Yorkers. It was all about balancing the two worlds and cultures and creating an atmosphere that would feel like a destination to both families. I really wanted to utilize the bright yellow banquet seating and wanted to create a Tuscan inspired tablescape. Have it be romantic and reminiscent of an Italian Villa wedding.

Patricia of Karma Flowers completely executed rustic Italian countryside. These low, lush arrangements on the table that were purposefully chaotic in shape. Meghan of And Here We Are, created all custom stationery for this shoot even so much as to creating the crossword puzzle save-the-date (however don’t try and complete it because it doesn’t really work). My mom is fluent in Italian and I have some but minimal knowledge of the language so I knew I wanted the word “Mangia” to be written in an oversized manner on the menu. To incorporate the language in such a small way that would still make a design statement. It was apparent in the stationery that we were trying to fuse quintessential New York with Italian. The cake by Madison Lee Cakes was impeccable. Madison recreated the molding in Caffe Storico on the cake as well as incorporating fully edible sugar flowers that were chosen specifically because of their relation to Italy. I am so proud of the contributions provided by all the vendors and of course the exquisite images that so beautifully represent exactly what we were going for.

From the Floral Designer… Following Roey’s vision of creating a destination wedding within your city was such a unique challenge for us. We wanted the flowers and decor to present well in the cafe and therefore they needed to be that blend of sophisticated {New York} and natural and unfussy {Tuscany or Italian destination}. The best way to achieve both was to stick with a simple color palette and for us that meant using one main color, white, against lush greens. the cafe has that striking yellow infused in it’s decor so we wanted to bring in colors that would not compete with the existing infrastructure. We used lisanthius, garden roses, veronica, scabiosa, and lemon leaf, among other stems, to create the dinner centerpieces. The bridal bouquet, made of much of the same flowers, was a little more refined than a true garden hand-tied bouquet which was appropriate for the both New York City and the museum setting.

The marshmallows were one of Roey’s signature touches and she explained that she wanted to create a dessert beverage bar with teas. Having seen the space, we knew we had the perfect vintage China cups and saucers that would look as if they belonged on the shelves of the space. The decor around the cake needed to be simple because the flower work on the cake itself was magnificent. Small, delicate bud vases with simple stems was the perfect way to showcase the true jewel of the dessert table, the cake.