As mentioned, I love to play with existing spaces to make them a bit more custom to our couple’s vision and working in Belmond El Encanto’s sweet ballroom was no exception. Below is a little before and after as well as some of the elements we curated to bring Katie and Christian’s dream of having an outdoor feel come true.

BEFORE

First up, here is the before. A charming space with understated chandeliers and lovely natural light. This image shows the space using the venue’s in house chairs, linens and table top elements.

AFTER

As mentioned, Katie and Christian had the dream of bringing the outdoors in. Not only did they want the room to feel lush and overgrown, but their event was in the evening so they weren’t able to take advantage of one of the room’s key features…the natural light. That said, we brought in draping, bookcases, a custom stage and dance floor, all table top and furniture rentals and covered the sweet day time appropriate chandeliers with something a bit more appropriate for the couple’s vision. Take a peek at a close up of each. Images captured by Steve Steinhardt.

DRAPING // Gray draping gave us a night time canvas to create from as well as gave the overall design a more balanced feel instead of feeling overly feminine.

BOOKCASES // So the room felt a bit more residential rather than a room covered in fabric, we brought in bookcases and filled them with flowers, candle light and sweet props that reflected the overall elements used on the tabletop and throughout the table design.

CHANDELIERS // Again the existing chandeliers felt a little bit feminine and daytime for this particular couple’s vision. Because of this and because they loved blue patterns, we created shades using one of John Robshaw’s beautiful textiles. The result was a whole lot of glow and refinement.

GREENERY // Once we had our base elements such as the draping, bookcases and chandelier shades, we added greenery to every standing element to give the space an indoor outdoor/overgrown feel.

RENTALS & LINENS // For Katie and Christian, they didn’t want the day to feel too girly. That said, we focused on a mix of wood tables and a very refined cream linen. We alternated tables between both options which felt a bit more interesting and softened what could’ve been a look that felt too heavy or masculine overall.

TABLETOP // It’s not secret, we love the level of detail and intention a well designed table top can offer a space. These are the elements which guests interact with and skimping wasn’t an option for this couple. We created a few different table scales and place setting designs which all felt refined, approachable and a bit more effortless overall.