May 11, 2010 | Inspired By, Party Planning

Inspired By | The Victorian Naturalist

This wedding photo shoot was inspired by the Victorian Naturalists, a movement from the 18th century which was obsessed with observing, cataloging and categorizing nature. Juliet Totten and Sierra Yaun of Poppies & Posies developed the original concept and sent a mood board to each of the participating vendors, including us at Stuart and Welch Catering and Events. The collaboration was planned to give a bunch of small, local vendors an opportunity to show off their individual talents while coming together to produce a complete wedding scene with décor, invitations, food, photography and more.

To achieve their “naturalist” tablescape, Poppies & Posies built terrariums out of vintage apothecary jars, some with their own original labels, and filled them with unexpected elements such as yellow oyster mushrooms and airplants. The terrariums rested on a delicate bed of moss, lily of the valley and maidenhair fern that were arranged to look like it was growing from the table itself. Tiny blue quail eggs were placed in miniature nests and tied with strips of blue silk ribbon for place settings. Candles covered in birch bark and vintage inspired plates finished the tabletop’s naturalist inspired aesthetic.

As the first course, Stuart & Welch decided to create a spring sweet pea risotto with yellow oyster mushrooms topped with sunny side up quail egg. It was a nice little twist to have risotto with a bright yellow yolk to match the yellow oyster mushrooms in the terrarium. A sweet pea puree was added to give the risotto a vibrant green hue which complemented the light gray plates from Anthropolgie and the dark wood table from Something Different Party Rental who provided the glassware, silverware and linens for the place settings.

Merci New York’s custom dessert and gift table introduced botanical illustrations, terrariums and other naturalist elements to a environment where food and sweets are normally the main focus. Vintage-inspired paper designs, moss and a decorated birdcage centerpiece were surrounded by a variety of neutrally colored gourmet food items such as pretzels dipped in white and milk chocolate, old fashioned swirl root beer flavored lollipops, almond biscotti with vanilla icing and caramel popcorn wrapped in faux bois paper cones. Chilled bottles of seltzer with vintage inspired labels and ribbon candies custom wrapped in cornflower blue ribbon echoed the color palette of the table settings.

Poppies & Posies also designed all of the personal flowers for the photo shoot. They used unusual botanical elements such as gloriosa, succulents, heleborus and mosses to create bouquets and boutonnieres that were in keeping with the naturalist inspiration. Maria Cerff of Lela New York carried the botanical motif through to the paper goods and created a custom print for the invitations and stationery.

Other wedding elements included a handmade ring pillow by Llubav and models, made up by Lauren Napier, wearing bridemaid dresses by 57Grand and Two Bird Bridesmaids. Shoe and handbag designer, Janelle Sing created an evening clutch with silk dupioni that she hand painted herself.

After all of the hard work that went into creating every detail of this wedding event, Whitney and Dustin, the husband and wife team of Oh Darling Photography, arrived at our transformed venue, The Xchange, to capture each beautiful moment. To celebrate our collaboration, we all settled in and treated ourselves to a cupcake from Tully’s Bakery which were gluten-free (her specialty) and delicious!

GUEST BLOG by Michael Steifman of Stuart & Welch

Stuart & Welch Catering & Events is a new venture focusing on local, seasonal products, fresh food, natural elements, and the highest quality service. For more information contact them via email or at 718-467-1010.

Poppies and Posies is a floral and event design company based in New York. For more information, contact 646-386-7247.

PHOTO CREDIT: Courtesy of Oh, Darling Photography