Jewels & Scott – Kay Mae Designs

Jericho, Vermont

A wedding reflective of their love for the land with the intention of being the best day of their lives.

On Saturday, September 28th 2019 the wedding of Jewels and Scott took place on family property in Jericho, Vermont. Every detail of the ceremony and reception was symbolic. Set with giant sail masts, bouncy houses and even dinosaur costumes – read on to see how we crafted the best day of their lives.

The Couple

The groom, Scott, is a passionate mountain biker and outdoor enthusiast. Scott has the distinct joy of working within the mountain bike industry and travels all over the globe. Scott may traverse the worlds best mountain bike trails often, but he never forgets to pack his sense of humor. The bride, Julianne or Jewels as we fondly call her, is a lawyer working in the boroughs of New York City and Connecticut with a love for good wine, cheese, and her pup Murray. Together, Jewels and Scott shred fresh trails, are self proclaimed foodies and partake in silly shenanigans from time to time (or all the time).

Planning

I had the pleasure of working alongside Jewels closely for the last year to plan their wedding. Within that year, I met both sets of parents, heard countless stories, FaceTimed at all hours of the night, witnessed job changes and dreamed about the future with Jewels. Sometimes, I even swooped in to manage the little things (and always the most overwhelming). Once, I created, printed, and shipped all of the invitation address labels when the couple became bombarded by work. Another time, I drove for over an hour to meet the bride’s parents for breakfast and answer their questions. At one point, I wrangled a last minute ice cream truck. I was honored to be a listening ear as devastating family news occurred. Personally, I found solace in planning the details of this wedding. Chatting with Julie was something to look forward to, knowing there would be many tangents in between vendor discussions and timelines. In the end, Jewels and I decided we are long lost sisters. I came into this a wedding planner, and will leave as an adopted member of the family.

Ceremony

Jewels wanted a wedding that balanced her Italian family traditions and their passions, all while being simply fun. We wanted to strike the perfect combination of meaning and silliness that brings great joy. It was my mission to create a ceremony space that accomplished meaningful elegance and reflected the spunk these two brought to the table. Beginning with the significant details, we hung giant sailboat masts above the ceremony space. These masts belonged to the groom’s grandfather, who built his sailboat and took it around the world. Now we know where Scott’s travel bug comes from, it’s clearly genetic. These sails honored the grandfather who could not be with us at the ceremony and created an intimate space in the grand apple orchard the nuptials took place in. The bride, who practices yoga, found these incredibly colorful wool yoga blankets to cover the hay bale seating. Later, we will donate these wool blankets to animal shelters in need. The arch was handcrafted by groom, derived from fell white birch found on the family property.

Lorzenzosaur

Last but not least, is Lorenzo, the ring bearer. Jewels asked her sweet nephew if he would be dressing up for the wedding. Lorenzo said, “Yes I will be a dinosaur.” Thus, setting a theme of dinosaur dress up through the entire wedding day.

Reception

A clear top aztec tent was used to allow the stunning property views to shine until sundown.

Tables

The tablescapes were designed with the couple’s love for the family land in mind. Real reindeer moss was hand sorted to create these lush runners, paired with a variety of votives filled with water and floating candles. Set alongside these candles stood the bride’s father’s own wine bottle. Custom labels congratulating Scott and Jewels were created for the wine bottles. Each wine bottle hosted a pair of soft white roses. We chose marbled salad plates, pewter gray napkins and hammered copper cutlery. I chose to fold the napkins in a twisted tie. As a designer, I am looking for each detail to fully engage in the vision I’ve crafted with my clients. The twisted tie styled napkins was a fun way to break the plane, create a dynamic setting, and it perfectly embodied the less serious side the couple strived for. Jewels and I felt the combination represented her Italian roots well. The entire tablescape served as the elegant element of the reception.

Lights

Above, we strung cafe style solar lights. These beauties created a soft glow, automatically turning on as the sun set.

Custom Head Table

A custom designed backdrop was created for the couple by myself and my mother in law, Robina. We hand dyed the back drop material to match the reindeer moss table runners. I hand strung the dahlias, sun flowers and zinnias the groom’s father grew on the property to create the floral garlands. We then utilized the bulk order of organic locally grown flowers from Cedar Circle Farm to achieve the wild, natural and earthy drapery above. I decided to make the head, sweetheart table burst with color for Julie to suit her quirky and wonderful personality. Robina carefully put together each vase in front of the table. Without Julie’s inspiration, and Robina’s decades of theatre design, I am sure I could not have brought this vision to life alone.

Not pictured here, is the beautiful anti-pasta table Jewel’s father created for cocktail hour. The table boasted of hand rolled mozzerella, pancetta, and fresh bread. Outside the tent stood a giant inflatable obstacle course, jousting ring, photo booth, movie theatre popcorn and a cotton candy machine. Check out the Instagram highlights reel to see the groom battle it out in the jousting ring! Maid of Honor and Best Man even made their entrance to dinner hour faux battling. Our carnival style cocktail hour was exactly what the bride wanted to bring forth the “Best day of their lives” feeling.

Ending the Night

Dinner was served by the incredible Farmers & Foragers, who went above and beyond the call of duty. I highly recommend them! First dances were done, and speeches were made. An Ice Cream truck showed up. We lit up the dance floor. For the second time at this wedding, tyrannosaurus-rexes made their appearance. Guests donned costumes, including a pinata costume who flung candy all over the dance floor. It was the ultimate combination of simplistic elegance and downright real fun.

Special Thank You

I owe a special thank you to this group of volunteers. The night before the wedding, I spent an unexpected six hours in the Emergency Room. Once I was safely discharged from the ER, I went straight to wedding prep. Friends and Family of Scott and Julie worked tirelessly alongside us to make this wedding happen.

Tyler and Francesca, thank you for all of the work you did to set the tables and hang lights. I appreciate you immensely.

Alice, Scott’s sister, thank you for your assistance with the ceremony space and effort to ensure I had all the over the counter asprin a girl might need to get through the day was above and beyond the call of duty.

Robina, your unwavering support is everything a person could ever need. Thank you.