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Wedding Receptions | Candlelight and Centerpieces from Simple to Sublime

We’ve seen some amazing wedding reception photos over the years. It never fails to amaze us how candlelight transforms a large space into something romantic and intimate.

Below are examples from our StrictlyWeddings.com partners and others. These centerpieces are turned into statements and works of art – from over the top to simple elegance. Marvelous ideas for our fabulous brides.

Photography: www.insideweddings.com, Nancy Aidee Photography, Edmonson Weddings, DFW Events, Kehoe Designs

Favorite Wedding Reception Floral Designs

Here are some of our favorite examples of wedding reception floral designs from our featured weddings. These floral designs make such a statement as guests walk into the reception area. Love the color.

Florida’s Fisher Island – Memorable Destination Weddings

This lovely wedding was held at the famous Vanderbilt Mansion on Fisher Island in Florida, which is a wonderful choice for a destination wedding.

Fisher Island Club is the home of the elegant and historic Vanderbilt Mansion.  Because Fisher Island is a private members residence, the club hosts a select amount of catered events every year.  This makes hosting an event here at Fisher Island all the more special and unique.  In recent years, Fisher Island Club, due to its natural attributes, impeccable service and safe environment, has become a premier destination of choice for exclusive events. The Mediterranean style mansion, former estate of the Vanderbilt family, provides a unique and classic setting for weddings. In the center of the Mansion Courtyard is our famous Banyan Tree that is as historic as the Mansion itself and makes the most romantic setting for wedding ceremonies. The tropical gardens, marina and view of the Miami skyline also provide a picturesque backdrop for outdoor events.

Wedding Inspirations: Dramatic Color, Simple Design

This wedding under the direction of Kehoe Designs is clean and simplistic, with touches of Indian traditions. Kehoe transformed the room into a sumptuous getaway, using extensive white fabric treatment creating a bright glowing feel throughout the room. The ceremony hosted a towering ceremonial mandap which dramatically showcased hundreds of floating green orchids, all of which surrounded a suspended vintage-inspired chandelier. Bright pink floral balls were a unique twist for their aisle décor, while guests wore brightly colored sari’s, all the pieces tied together for a design that married elegance & tradition with lightness & modernity.

Featured Chicago Wedding: Together…from the first moment

When Jasmine planned for the trip to her best friend’s birthday, she didn’t have romance on her mind. Yet, that night she met Danny. Instant connection! The next day when she drove home, she called her friend to gossip about the weekend and Danny grabbed the phone and they ended up talking all night.

They were together over two years before Danny proposed. Danny thought the only appropriate way to propose to an angel was to take her up into the clouds. So he booked a helicopter tour of the Windy City. After the helicopter landed, Danny went around to help Jasmine out, and got onto one knee, pulled out the engagement ring and Jasmine said yes before he even uttered a word.

Jasmine wanted to create a romantic feminine style without being obvious. A cream palette kept everything soft and ethereal. She loved having the bridesmaids in cream with the contrasting purple flowers. The hints of purple added to the romantic feminine look.

The Elysian Hotel was the reception location. The bride fell in love at a glance! Every room was more beautiful than the next. And then she entered the ballroom and saw the chandeliers and the balcony – it was perfect. Jasmine mentioned to the manager that she wanted to get married outdoors in a park and she told her about Washington Square Park two blocks away. Mom and daughter walked over to the park with the fountain and the flowers and just fell in love again!

When asked what they thought was the best part of their wedding, they answered:

“…that moment we clasped hands and had the wreath of orchids around our shoulders, speaking our vows face to face holding back the tears…the best part of our wedding was being in our own world for that moment in time.”

Bride: Jasmine Alvarado-Paxson
Groom: Daniel Paxson
Date of Wedding: 9-18-10
Venue: Washington Square Park
Reception: The Elysian Hotel
Photographer: Lex Alexander
Planner: BCR Events
Floral/Décor Designer: Kehoe Designs
Bridal gown: Anne Barge

Featured Wedding in Milwaukee – Love on the Waterfront

“Daniel and I met at Camp Interlaken, in Eagle River Wisconsin.  After many years of going to camp and having numerous friends in common, our paths finally crossed.  I was immediately certain that I had found my match.  We became engaged 6+ years after we had met and we began planning our wedding,” said bride Abby.

Since the couple met on Lake Finely and Abby grew up on Lake Michigan, being married at the Milwaukee Art Museum, which is on the lake, was an easy decision for them.  “We chose The Ken Arlen Band, because we feel strongly that a really good band can make or break the evening, and in our opinion, Ken Arlen helped to make our wedding a great success.  He was great to work with and very generous in sharing his stage, while Daniel played his guitar solo. We chose KingenSmith for photography, because they have a special eye in constructing each picture, as it tells its story.  They are easy to work with and have a very calming demeanor on the wedding day.  They seemed to catch every important aspect of our special event,” Abby noted.

“Kehoe Designs was our first and only choice for floral, lighting and décor.  After sitting down with Tom Kehoe & Jamey Harding, for a short, relaxed conversation they were able to translate our thoughts and provide an elegantly decorated venue on the night of our wedding.  Kehoe Designs sends in an “army” of set up people, who work discreetly, carefully and efficiently.

Even though we knew exactly what to expect that evening, when we entered the room (for our private viewing) it actually took my breath away. We also worked with Reva Nathan, as our wedding planner.  It couldn’t have worked out better for us both.  Reva is amazingly organized and kept us on track during our planning.  Reva and her staff were inconspicuous, but ever-present on the entire wedding day, beginning with setup, throughout the ceremony and into the evening.  We feel so lucky to have been able to work with all of these professionals.  They were our “Dream Team” and helped us create a special night, we’ll remember always,” said Abby

Couple: Abby Grossman & Daniel Bilsy
Wedding Date: September 11, 2010
Décor: Kehoe Designs
Consultant: Reva Nathan
Venue/Location: Milwaukee Art Museum
Photographer:  KingenSmith
Band: Ken Arlen

Wedding Dream Team for the Chicago Bride

We’ve pulled together a list of some of our Chicago wedding partners that could make a great wedding dream team for some happy bride.

Luxury wedding invitations – Hannah Handmade

A world-class design house recognized as creating the very best in luxury invitations, Hannah Handmade has been a leading innovator of couture stationery trends since 1991. Award-winning designer Andrea Liss‘ impeccable style, attention to detail, and gracious personal service make her the go-to designer when only the best will do. (more…)

Featured Wedding: Painting Chi-Town Red

“Shannon arrived in a stunning long red coat to our first meeting and just as the color suggests, I quickly learned that she was a beautifully strong and passionate person. Red is her favorite color and she wished for her wedding to read bold, saturated and inviting. Shannon also wanted to incorporate her playful personality into the design, so we made sure to include some thoughtful quirky accents, such as feathers and whimsical black and white patterns,” said Jamey Harding, Kehoe Designs Event Producer.

Incorporating Dean’s traditional Greek heritage was also important to the couple, so they were married in St. Andrew’s Greek Orthodox Church. Shannon’s delightful bouquet featured a collar of fuchsia gloriosa lilies, dahlias, a variety of orchids and roses in deep red and fuchsia tones, plus a touch of exhilarating black feathers. Deans boutonnière consisted of an orchid, fuchsia gloriosa lily, black feather and since his father was unable to attend the wedding, they attached a locket with a photo of his parents. This way, although not present in body, they were close to his heart throughout the entire day.

After the ceremony guests were whisked away to a dreamy red and fuchsia wonderland at the W Chicago Lakeshore. ”We chose the W because it is the only Chicago hotel that is both a part of the city and on the lake. We wanted out of town guests to enjoy some of what makes Chicago special: the city and the beautiful lake front, in the ’360 Room’ you can enjoy both at the same time,” said bride Shannon.

“I went with Kehoe Designs because Sarah at the W said they were the best,” noted Shannon. A fanciful illuminated red spandex place card table hosted a collection of intriguing black and white vases with a beautiful design of complementing red and fuchsia floral. A breathtaking ceiling treatment draped over the dining area for ultimate impact. Beautiful low centerpieces incorporated saturated tones of red and fuchsia seasonal floral, within a collection of various square glass vases.

All in all Shannon and Dean enjoyed a beautiful day filled with love, whimsy and glamour to embark upon their new lives together.

Couple: Shannon Roberts & Dean George

Wedding Date: July 17, 2010

Décor: Kehoe Designs, Jamey Harding

Ceremony: St. Andrew’s Greek Orthodox Church

Reception: W Lakeshore

Photographer: Studio This Is, Jeremy Bustos

Dress: Amsale

Shoes: Christian Louboutin

Source: Kehoe Designs

Featured Weddings – Jeff & Michele – The “Door Lady” Plays Cupid

This love story started when Michele asked the door lady at the downtown Chicago building in which Jeff and Michele both lived, one simple question… “Who’s that cute guy?” After answering, the door lady approached Jeff one day while he was enjoying the building’s fabulous rooftop deck. She told him there was a girl in the building who had asked about him. He thought that was pretty cool and asked for the secret admirer’s phone number. He called Michele the very next day. Their first telephone conversation lasted four hours (Michele was out of town when she received the call) and they met in person a few days later. And the rest, as they say, is history…

Fast forward 2 years. On a relatively boring Monday in late April, Michele was on a call with her favorite client. After she hung up the phone, she turned her chair around only to see Jeff standing by her desk. She thought this was strange, but Jeff quickly explained that a mutual friend had let him into the building to hand out passes for a special promotion being held at the restaurant Jeff manages. Michele said, “Okay,” grabbed the passes and began to walk Jeff toward the door. As he was being hurried out, Jeff asked Michele to slow down, pulled her off to the side and out of the office walkway. It was there that he got down on one knee and revealed the ring that he had on his pinkie finger. After asking Jeff several times if he was crazy, Michele promptly accepted the proposal. Jeff gave an overhead thumbs-up and Michele’s coworkers (who had been peaking over the cubicle walls) began to cheer.

Michele had a pretty clear idea of how she wanted the wedding to look. It was very much a celebration, and the color scheme of the wedding should reflect that. “We chose Kehoe Designs because the design they offered us literally took our breath away. My bridesmaid Claire and I went to see what Pavel Juricek from Kehoe had designed and we were literally speechless. The design was far superior to anything else we had seen. The designers took what we described and made it even better,” said bride Michele.

“Two centerpiece designs were created for the dinner tables, consisting of a lifted arrangement featuring a lively display of floral alternating with a low collection featuring coordinating floral in multiple vases.  Much like the hotel itself (Chicago’s The Blackstone), each centerpiece design was eclectic, contemporary and very unique hosting a wide array of colors and textures,” said Lauren Peterson, Event Producer.

“The wedding was absolutely gorgeous. Everything looked amazing and the guests couldn’t stop talking about the flowers and how beautiful the room looked. Michele and I said that it exceeded our expectations,” said Anna Silverman, mother of the bride.

“I would not have changed a thing about our wedding. I was so happy, it was so beautiful and meaningful in all the right ways. It was emotionally and aesthetically the wedding of our dreams. The best part about our wedding day was being surrounded by everyone we love and really celebrating. It was everything we wanted it to be and more,” said Michele.

Couple: Michele Silverman & Jeff Schramm
Date of Wedding: 5.8.10
Venue: Blackstone Hotel
Floral & Décor: Kehoe Designs, Event Producer: Lauren Peterson
Photographer: Jai Girard

Featured Wedding: Jenny & Jason – Indoor Drama / Outside Romance

Jason and I met through our mothers who were sorority sisters in college at Bradley University. During winter break in college, we were both home from school. One night, while waiting to be seated at a restaurant with my family, Jason happened to be there with his family. Our moms saw each other and immediately started catching up. They introduced Jason and I, and I thought that would be the end of it. Later that night, I was downtown with some girlfriends at a bar and Jason happened to be at the same bar. We talked that night but nothing came of it. That summer we started bumping into each other until finally we went out on a date. Nearly six years later, we were married!

Jason and I knew that we wanted to be married somewhere unique and not the standard hotel. At the same time, we wanted a place that was architectural and had an outdoor area. When we went to the Adler Planetarium, the gorgeous Chicago view, beautiful lines of the museum and window covered main room, immediately sold us.

The outdoor ceremony faced the lake and took place right before the sun set. The chuppah was earthy and the large floral aisle runners were enhanced with over-sized palm leaves. I wanted our reception room to look starry and lit from within. The exploding orchid centerpieces, blue beamed lighting and twinkle backdrop all were intended to give the feeling that we were on a boat or below a star-filled sky. The room is lined with square windows, which we replicated in the square patterned table linens. The fireworks outside made a spectacular view too! I liked the idea of incorporating the astrology elements with the decor of the room. Ryan was able to make the outdoor ceremony and inside room have two distinct looks that still blended together well. The outdoor scene was romantic and natural and the indoor reception was completely dramatic.

Couple: Jenny Wolin & Jason Muslin Wedding
Date: 9.6.09
Venue: Adler Planetarium
Floral & Décor: Kehoe Designs, Event Producer: Ryan Wille
Caterer: Food for Thought
Photographer: Gerber+Scarpelli
Gown: Vera Wang
Bridesmaid Dresses: Jenny Yoo
Cake: Take the Cake
Entertainment: The Bradley Young Orchestra
Written by: Jenny Wolin-Muslin