Country Rustic Decor Meets Modern Lighting • Tented Rehearsal Dinner • Far Hills, New Jersey

One of our biggest projects thus far in 2015 is this fun, beautiful rehearsal dinner in the countryside of Far Hills, New Jersey.

Eggsotic provided centerpieces, linens, tent pole decor, lighting, foliage and more for this celebration for 225 guests.

Since the end of June is the week of the summer solstice, this party took place on one of the longest days of the year. This presents a fun design challenge: to create a look that works beautifully in both the daytime and nighttime. 

There were several design inspirations for this design. The bride and groom graduated from the University of Louisville, where the school colors are red, white and black. The groom's family's house has a classic countryside aesthetic. The client loved the idea of the tent canopy transitioning into an abstract night sky as the night progressed. We combined all of these concepts to create this dramatic look:

Here's a selection of daytime and nighttime decor photos:
(As a side note, these were all taken by Josh from our team using an iPhone, with no edits or touch-ups. Great job Josh!)

Rustic, garden box-inspired centerpieces with red roses, hypericum and live rooted floral accents

Tablescape with faux burlap linens, red frosted candle holders, and red chiavari chairs

Custom tent pole surrounds with metal and glass lanterns

Large floor lanterns, entryway urns with live flowers and foliage, and the long head table

The view from the tent to the house and cocktail area, lined with lanterns on shepherd's hooks

The view from the walkway to the tent entry at dusk, with amber uplighting in the tent

The beginning of the nighttime starry night effect

Programmed LED lighting allowed us to change the room color as the sky darkened for an ever-changing lighting effect

The Don Eaton Band on stage

It was an absolute pleasure collaborating with this Far Hills event planning dream team: Shelley Ryan of SBR Event Design and Coordination and Louis and team of Prestige Party Rental. Cheers to many more events together!

Location: Private residence, Far Hills NJ
Tent: 57' x 117' Stillwater Tent, Prestige Party Rental
Planner: Shelley Ryan, SBR Event Design and Coordination
Lighting, Floral Decor, and Room Decor: Eggsotic Events
Catering: Ross & Owren
 

Bold, Elegant Wedding Lighting and Draping at The Bernards Inn • Bernardsville, New Jersey

Here at Eggsotic, we love creating new designs for each event we do at The Bernards Inn. In the past, we've transformed the ballroom into a Central Park inspired setting with custom birch decor. 

For our most recent event, Chris and Robert's wedding, we provided elegant lighting and draping for the ceremony and reception. The ceremony and reception both took place in the ballroom, so we provided lighting that adapted to transform the ballroom from one look to another in very little time.

Floral decor provided by Somerset Hills Florist, Photography by Therese Marie Wagner Photography, and Lighting by Eggsotic Events

For the ceremony, we used warm amber uplighting and classic warm white chuppah lighting to give the ballroom a high-impact tasteful look. Our lush ivory drape helped define the ceremony area and gave a simple backdrop for the florist's lanterns.

For the reception, we changed the amber lighting to deep blue, and used our pin spots and monogram projection fixtures to transform the tabletops and dance floor. Pin spotting is essential for large centerpieces, as it highlights the gorgeous flowers and gives a subtle glow to each table. The monogram projected on the dance floor was also used in the wedding stationery and table numbers, reinforcing the cohesive custom look of the wedding.

Here are more photos of the ceremony and reception. Another huge thank you to Therese of Therese Marie Wagner Photography for sharing her beautiful photos of the day! For more of Therese's photography, see our blog post about our recent work at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey. We wish a lifetime of happiness to the bride and groom, Chris and Robert!

Venue and Catering: The Bernards Inn • Bernardsville, New Jersey

Photography: Therese Marie Wagner Photography • NJ, NYC, and Philadelphia

Florist: Somerset Hills Florist • Basking Ridge, New Jersey

Lighting and Draping: Eggsotic Events • New Jersey and New York City Area

Summer Solstice Wedding Lighting at Trump National Golf Club Bedminster • Bedminster & Far Hills Area, New Jersey

We recently shared photos of a beautiful engagement party last fall at a family's residence in Far Hills, New Jersey. This year, on the first day of summer, we provided lighting for the couple's wedding day at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey.

The bride and groom loved the warm lavender LED uplighting at their engagement party, so they requested it for their wedding reception as well.

Therese Wagner of Therese Marie Wagner Photography was so kind to share these beautiful photos of the reception. Therese is a joy to interact with and we highly recommend her.

Mike and his team from Jardiniere in Far Hills created beautiful floral tablescapes that tied in perfectly with the lavender lighting. They also provided the hydrangea floral arrangements at the engagement party last fall.

Venue: Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, NJ

Planner: Bonnie Schleimer, Bernards Inn in Bernardsville, NJ

Photographer: Therese Marie Wagner Photography in NJ, NYC, and Philadelphia

Florist: Jardiniere Fine Flowers in Far Hills, NJ

Lighting: Eggsotic Events in Hampton, NJ

Birch Wedding at The Bernards Inn • Bernardsville, New Jersey

For many events, we collaborate with several other companies to create the completed design. Sometimes, we provide centerpieces while an AV company sets up lights. Other times, we provide lighting and room decor while a florist does centerpieces. We love working with others, but sometimes an event comes along where we are chosen as the full service event design company from start to finish. We act as the lighting, floral, installation and fabrication company for all of the event's decor needs.

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When we book these projects, we spend months planning, designing, building and preparing a complete decor and lighting package. There are few things more satisfying than seeing countless hours of hard work come together in one beautiful room.

For this wedding, we were chosen by Diane Carr and Jeffrey Haines of the Bernards Inn. We have worked with them in past years with excellent results, and they knew that we were the right team to bring their concept to life on time and on budget.

After the design phase was complete, we set to work on finding resources for each element. We went to floral markets to find out what would be in season in October. We found the best local resource for live trees that are over 10' tall. We found a man in Michigan who collects birch bark from naturally downed trees in the woods near his home.

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We built, painted and applied birch bark to an 8' x 8' freestanding wall. We found just the right lengths of birch trunks to create a chuppah entirely out of wood. We sewed fabric, made birch candle holders, and chose new lighting fixtures to get just the right amount of light throughout the room.  We also built four birch arches, customized planters, and selected floral accents.

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Our floral centerpieces featured hydrangea, orchids, roses, lilies, cabbage, and several other accent flowers. Our staff florist even waxed leaves individually by hand to make perfect decorative accents for each place setting. 

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When the big day came, the room was absolutely spectacular. It had a feeling of warmth and romance to it that can't be fully captured in photographs. It delighted us, the venue staff, and of course the bride and groom. 

Here is a full list of the items and services we provided:

Design sketches and CAD drawings
Custom wrinkle-free drape
Custom birch wall backdrop
Custom birch arches with grapevine and floral accents
Live birch and ficus trees
Floral centerpieces
Birch candle holders with eco-friendly soy tea lights
Bridal and bridesmaids' bouquets
Boutonnieres
Perimeter uplighting
Pin spotting
 

This wedding was recently featured in New Jersey Bride magazine, and on their website. Click here to read the story. Our favorite quote comes from the bride, who said, "At the last arch, I had that moment of realizing, ‘Wow, I’m getting married. The next chapter is beginning.'"

Our deepest thanks to Andres Valenzuela Photography for sharing his beautiful photos of the day.

Venue: The Bernards Inn, Bernardsville, New Jersey

Event Design Manager: Jeffrey Haines, Butler's of Far Hills

Lighting, Floral Design, Chuppah, Custom Decor: Eggsotic Events

Event Photography: Andres Valenzuela Photography

Additional Photography: Eggsotic Events and Frank Peluso