#stephanieallin Archives ⋆

Easy Wildflower Wedding at the Stadtflucht Bergmühle

Posted onSeptember 7, 2021October 20, 2021AuthorUlrike Monks

Simple vases with flowers from nearby fields and wild growing shrubs are perfect to create an easy relaxed atmosphere. The wildflower wedding at Stadtflucht Bergmühle also boasted glorious weather, divine food and love in the air. In these days, when we all crave togetherness and ease of flow, the gentle slope and lake are the real bonus of this place.

Flowers are an important factor of any sustainable wedding. Exotic flowers transported from relatively far away can result in a higher level of CO2 emissions. And the use of potentially harmful chemical fertilisers can pollute the soil. While that might come as a bit of a surprise, please don’t worry, because we got you covered!
Just follow our quick guide to seasonal flowers below.

Quick guide to seasonal flowers for your wedding decor at the Stadtflucht

The wedding season at the Stadtflucht starts from early spring. While it may be a little cold, still, Tulips are starting to show their beautifully coloured heads. Commonly seen in blue, Hyacinths have a lovely scent and are a beautiful addition for wedding florals. Evergreens, like Eucalyptus and Baby’s Breath all begin to appear now, too.

Download Quick Guide HERE

By March/April my personal favourites, Ranunculi, and Freesias broaden the palette of flowers available as well as the colours you can use. Some of the flowers couples can use for their wedding at Stadtflucht Bergmühle Floral Designs at this time of year are our Roses, Hydrangeas, Coneflowers and Chrysanthemums. For weddings around Easter, daffodils are often used and create a happy vibe here.

May and June see another favourite – not only of mine – come into bloom. The Peony Rose with her gentle, sweet smell, luscious blossoms and gorgeous colours is the star for our bridal arch and bridal bouquets. Magnificent Gladiolas and Hydrangea Shrubs brighten up the Stadtflucht Bergmühle from July.

Sunflower arrangements make stunning table centrepieces and are perfect for weddings in August/September. The greek word for ‘Star’ gave the Aster her name and this hardy flower with gorgeous blooms lends colour to a wedding design, when other flowers fade.

For October and November weddings the pretty Gerbera daisy and some types of Hydrangeas work well and create a warm autumny feel at your event. As do Chrysanthemums who are available in a wide variety of colours, shapes and sizes. We also love to use Goldenrods and Daisies that grow naturally at the location.

Download Quick Guide HERE

The ultimate list of wedding no-goes

Posted onAugust 31, 2021September 7, 2021AuthorUlrike Monks

As you attended weddings of friends and family, what has stayed most with you? What are the things that you would like to replicate at your own wedding. Or perhaps there are some things you will try and avoid?
One of the main reasons why I became a wedding stylist was those near misses, including some of course at my own wedding. And none of them saved me or my friends and family any money. In this blog article read about my Wedding-No-Goes.

Avoid to invest in a really good photographer

“Beauty can be seen in all things, seeing and composing the beauty is what separates the snapshot from the photograph.” – Matt Hardy

Very few things will matter to you more, in years to come, than the many wonderful memories of your wedding day. And beautiful wedding portraits will give you joy, for many years to come. So, it makes absolute sense to spend the money necessary to hire a professional wedding photographer. Better still, hire a team of two photographers. It allows you to have pictures of you and your fiancée on the wedding day as well as the set-up of the ceremony and party venues.

In order to capture the overall atmosphere, a good photographer will first want to get to know you. Come prepared, ask questions and don’t be afraid to discuss fees. You will be surprised at how different payment modalities for photographers can be. In most cases, photographers are willing to be reasonably flexible with their clients, if at all possible.

Bad light conditions – part of wedding-no-goes

Photographers often will rush in and turn off artificial lights while opening a window nearest to where you are getting ready. The orange tint of artificial light combined with the blue natural light is enough to make the resulting pictures a little off.

Before you hire a professional, there are already some things you can take care of yourself to get the best photos for your wedding day. Consider lighting conditions for your entire wedding day. Pay attention to both, the time of day and where you will be, i.e. indoors or out in the open.

For an understanding of how windows inside a ceremony venue can be utilized, there are several examples available. The carefully timed and scripted arrival of Meghan Markle at St. George’s Chapel is one of them.

For an outdoor event, the early afternoon is usually best, as the natural light becomes softer and warmer then, making it more flattering. It is also important to consider the venue light at the time of the ceremony. For example, blinding full sun, partial shade or completely shaded by the venue or a neighboring building or trees.

Design matters, too

Before taking your wedding portraits, photographers will always look out for other important things to ‘frame’ the subject – you. Existing structures, lines, patterns and repetition or symmetry are all taken into consideration. And this is why – as wedding stylists – we also will consider these things, when choosing and decorating your venue.

Usually, we achieve our signature classic, clean wedding look by carefully considering available light sources, and combining carefully draped luxury fabrics with key design pieces. Random styling items, messy tablescapes or fussy flower arrangements are wedding-no-goes we know how to avoid. And our own stock of wedding props is so large, there will always be that one special piece just waiting to be discovered.

Request our wedding props catalogue

5 Apps that will transform your Wedding style

Posted onAugust 24, 2021August 23, 2021AuthorUlrike Monks

Sure, you can pick a royal wedding out of a style line up and could tell your friends if traditional, vintage or industrial/rustic would be their dream wedding style. But do you know the apps wedding event designers use to inspire them? These five apps are or are pegged to be the most influential apps out there / and they are the tools every lover of wedding design should know.

Wolkenkuckuck

Known as ‘Gen-Z’, the young professionals of today boast a lifestyle as modern and international as their attitude. For almost a year we have poured our heart and soul, knowledge and skill into creating an app that will allow couples to make design decisions on the go. Homing in on these young professional international couples’ time and budget constraints, the Wolkenkuckuck app will support them in planning, shopping and styling their wedding. And it will do so easily and reliably in one powerful platform.

Expected launch date: 4th Quarter 2021.

Notability

While originally designed as a pure note-taking app, Notability is so powerful, it will literally transform the way you work. It makes sketching ideas, create a visually attractive presentation, jot down notes and much more ridiculously easy.

Notability uses gorgeous retina ink, giving life to your ideas and improves your notes filing, memory and organization. I use this app mainly to take notes, find important thoughts amongst my ‘scribbles’ and sketch important design elements, again, and again, and again …

Download it from the Notability app website.

Canva

Canva is a nifty online graphic design tool. It runs in your browser and is also available as an app version, although with slightly less functionality. Wedding stylists and couples alike use this app to design flyers, posters, invitations, placecards, table plans and a social media campaign for their wedding. The complaint that it is no Adobe illustrator is mute, that is to say, of course not. Canva’s templates are brilliant though for anyone, from beginners with a minimum of graphic design experience to professionals. Particularly when in need of a helpful tool under time pressure.

You can sign up for Canva via their website.

We love and take Pinterest for what it is: a platform to share visual ideas in an easy and, well, visual way. A shared Pinterest board gives couples the room to share their ideas with their wedding designer/stylist and help him/her understand the vision in the couples’ heads. This is always helpful and important to avoid disappointment. Particularly where international couples are concerned who often have to negotiate ideas and make decisions remotely.

Access Pinterest or download the app here.

Houzz

Wedding event stylists inevitably take inspiration from the world around them. And it’s hard to imagine an easier app than Houzz. Here, everyone can find the most curated interior design ideas and layouts on the market. The projects are often decorated with modern and classic paintings hanging on the walls. Users include everyone from professional interior designers to couples decorating their first home, boutique hotel owners to wedding event stylists.

Visit the website for more info about the Houzz Interior Design apps.

Pocket Guide for the Legendary Garden Wedding You always wanted

Posted onAugust 3, 2021August 8, 2021AuthorUlrike Monks

Leopoldskron Castle, in Salzburg, is one the best known Austrian wedding locations, internationally. I recently checked out its outdoor area for a couple who are planning a sophisticated garden wedding. Find here some essential information as well as inspiration for your garden wedding guide.

The Castle

Contrary to some of Austria’s other famous landmarks, Schloss Leopoldskron has a distinctly relaxed and quiet air about it. While it shot to international fame as the legendary Van-Trapp home in the 1960’s candy-sweet blockbuster ‘The Sound of Music’, Austrian’s revere it as the former home of the famous theater producer and founder of the Salzburger Feststpiele, Max Reinhardt.

Reinhardt had bought the castle built in the style of Rokoko, together with the Meierhof, located on its grounds, just after the end of World War I. Following his vision for a place where he, his wife and their artist friends can meet, talk, discuss and create freely and peacefully, he invested a lot of time and money in the restoration of the castle.

The Park and a Hidden Theater for your garden wedding

While the castle is truly enigmatic, it is the park that we came for and why we chose this location for our garden wedding guide. The festival founder Max Reinhardt brought the park of the property to life with statues from the Lower Austrian Thuerntal Castle. In order to be able to indulge his theatrical passion in an intimate circle, he built his own garden theater in the rear part of the park, from which, however, only the foundations are still discernible today.

The South Terrace and the Lake Shores

The terrace at the back of the house boasts a beautiful gate leading directly to the lake. Boats can moore here, a most charming idea for a bridal arrival. Such an entrance is bound to make your guests gasp. Utilize the whole terrace for a diverse range of ceremony set-ups.

The Party goes on – In the Great Hall

Almost all Austrian outdoor locations have a 10pm cut-off time for music and loud noise in general. for that reason suitable indoor rooms are essential. Leopoldskron Castle’s Great Hall is for sure one of the most significant indoor party locations. It easily accommodates up to 100 guests and live band and sound equipment are available.

The Library, The Venetian and The Chinese Room

The rooms of the castle are magnificent and proof of Max Reinhardt’s dedication to its restoration. He had the Berlin architect Professor Alfred Breslauer and the set designer Ernst Schütte built a splendid library on the first floor of the magnificent building, which is the heart of the palace to this day.

Max Reinhard photographed by Nicola Perscheid, 1911

Off the library lies a small room, almost hidden from view. It is the office of the intendant Reinhardt, still kept in its original state. Wooden paneling on the walls and his famous typewriter are witnesses of a different era.

He expressed his love for artistic engravings in the specially set up copper engraving cabinet. Reinhardt’s cosmopolitanism manifested itself in the Venetian and Chinese rooms, which are true to the original.

Guest Rooms and Catering

The castle has room for up to 40 guests. For bigger parties the Meierhof next to the Castle offers plenty of nicely styled accommodation. Enough for your family and friends to stay on site. Castle Leopoldskron offers its own catering adapting it to the most varied requirements and needs. You can take your meal in most of the castle’s grand rooms, such as the library, Chinese and Venetian rooms or the Marble Hall.

Prices and Exclusivity

Castle Leopoldskron offers two wedding packages at 244 EUR and 279 EUR respectively. The difference lies in the number of guests. In the main wedding season, from May to October, the venue charges for 100 guests, even if you bring less. Castle Leopoldskron and Meierhof can be rented together exclusively for 24 h for the price of 43.000EUR. Catering will be an additional 30EUR per Person, on average.

5 Tips for Creating Your own Stunning Wedding Floral Design

Posted onJuly 27, 2021July 25, 2021AuthorUlrike Monks

You want your guests to take a look at your wedding floral design and wonder: How did they get it so right? Despite the less than perfect light conditions in most event spaces, you can manage to find ways to add color and texture with your floral design. The premise of this article and our business is beautifying event spaces all over Austria with our signature brand of eclectic yet lush wedding themes. Here are some of our top wedding floral tips:

Considering the setting

Style & location of venue
Size of room(s)
Indoor vs. Outdoor
Existing colors & textures
Existing lighting

Four very different locations (left to right): Villa Bergzauber, Leopoldskron Castle, Refugium Bergmuehle and VIENNABallhaus

Composing with flowers

If you, like us, have a thing for music, it will be easy to relate why we use the term ‘composing’ when referring to creating a floral design. Let’s go a step further and Imagine each individual flower, its particular color, shape and scent, as a note. Following that idea, spiky thistles may have a high, screechy sound, roses a clear soprano and green filler plants may resonate a mumbling base.

Are you up for a quick game? What sound do you feel any of the below floral arrangements make? Think about it and write your answer in the comments below or join our FB group to join others that are on the same journey and see what they thought about!

This idea of looking at flowers from a musical point of view, while maybe a little ‘out there’, is by no means new. And vice versa flowers inspired plenty of musical works. One of the all-time favourite flower-inspired classical pieces, is the beautiful Flower duet from Delibes‘ opera Lakmé.

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Building a floral design

Now just like you would build a chord from the bottom up, you should start with the “greens” as the base when creating your floral wedding design. Spend time on deciding the type of color range and shape you want to introduce here. It’s creating that incredible green base layer, that will set your design apart. When you are happy with how this part looks, it’s time to apply the “Thriller, Filler, Spiller” concept to your design.

THRILLING
To add excitement and a ‘wow-factor’ to the design use a tall – loud – specimen. Some of my favorite plants for that part are Sunflowers and Delphiniums. Tall grasses also work really well to add some height and are very much on trend.

FILLING
Optically, Filler plants occupy the middle region of your design – between the tall “thrillers” and the green base. They are also the flowers that reflect the main color in your overall color-scheme. Small, strong shaped blooms like roses work so well for this layer and have the added benefit of coming in virtually every shade and size. Another favorite of mine for that all-important “Filler” level are Hydrangeas for their sheer size and elegant colors.

SPILLING
Having covered height and color concepts it is now time to add some depth to your overall floral design. My personal favorite bloom to help my designs literally “spill over” and create that lush feel, is the peony rose.
She adds the most subtle shades to an overall design and are similar in shape to English roses, another great option to use.

TIP
Flowers suitable as “Spillers” are
all plants who have a slight,, bowing”
tendency, because of the weight of
the blossom vs. the strength of the
stem, such as peonies and gerbera.

Enjoying

Like anything to do with creativity it is very important to remember: Enjoy the process. Take the time, if you can, and wallow in colors, textures, smells & tastes, until you are satisfied with the end result.