Sara + Baker: Celebrating Texas Love Under the Savannah Skies | Part 1
If you’ve been following along on our socials, you’ve seen the sneak peeks: the swans, the green conservatory glowing at night, my son Baker mid-toast. You loved those posts so much that I have to tell you the whole story, and there’s too much of it for one post. So: three parts. Let’s start at the beginning.
Design brief of a lifetime: private rehearsal dinner and then welcome party with more than 250 people for Sara and Baker’s wedding in Savannah, GA. Ultimate client: me, ha!
It Started With a Pinterest Board
My daughter-in-law, Sara, is the coolest, most creative person, in a completely different way than I am. Where I’m exuberant and whimsical, she’s classical and elegant. When she started working with her wedding planner (the amazing Kiran + Leigh), the planner gave her some classic homework: build a Pinterest board of everything that inspires you, hotel lobbies and movie stills included. Sara later sent that board to Sam Crosby, the graphic designer the planner recommended. “It was crazy how well he captured my vision from that,” she told me, “not even papers.”
Proof that it really is a small world: Sara had already been quietly obsessed with Sam’s work for over a year, following his branding for small restaurants and businesses all over. So when his name came up for Sara’s wedding, she was beyond excited.
With a fine art background, Sam fell into weddings almost by accident, working with friends who were getting married. “I think that wedding paper should always feel personal to the couple and relevant to the venue or location,” he told me, “so those two details — the people and the place — typically serve as the biggest initial inspiration.” His process starts with a questionnaire, then a mood board, then, his favorite part, “lots and lots of doodles, my way of throwing things at the wall to see what sticks.”
The Adjectives That Ran the Whole Show
Sam sent Sara an in-depth questionnaire that went so far beyond color swatches … there were circle-the-adjectives exercises, wedding paper styles to react to, top three songs, even: if you and Baker did a couples costume, what would you be?
Sara’s adjectives: classic, elegant, romantic, whimsical, energetic, fun, eclectic, artistic.
One thing we all LOVED about Sam’s process: he kept that adjective list, and the color palette, at the bottom of every single draft, all the way through. It kept the whole vision top of mind for everyone at every step.
The other pillar was pure Savannah. Forsyth Park’s iconic fountain has these little sculptural creatures at the base (some call them the Forsyth Fountain Swans), and once I saw them, I was hooked. Swans mate for life. Is there a more perfect symbol for a wedding weekend?
When the Invitation Became the Whole Party
Sara and Sam had already designed her wedding invitations with nods to Savannah, including the swans. When she showed me the suite, I freaked out a little (excitedly!), and she graciously offered to let me “borrow” the swans for the rehearsal dinner. Naturally, I said, “I do.”
Their invite was on a flat card; I pushed for a die-cut for the rehearsal dinner invite, something that would feel different from everything else guests received that weekend. Sam took that and ran, so we went from one swan to two with their necks curved together in a heart! (Could it be more adorable and extra?!) And in the ribbon of a Dior-inspired bow, there was an open loop that read as a heart if you looked at it right! More is more, naturally.
Where the Story Actually Came From
None of this was as random as it may sound. Years ago, before I met my husband Mark, I went to a friend’s rehearsal dinner — Chris and Marion’s — in a tent in a private backyard, lined with portraits of the couple through their years of dating. I never forgot it. More on that later, though!
Around the same time, a museum exhibit introduced me to a Christian Dior perfume bottle with green glass and a velvet case, and I fell hard for its oval frame and bow. Dior actually brought that same silhouette back for a Paris show, well after I’d already built the whole concept around it. Peep the adorable framed photo of Sara and Baker at the end of the tables! Kismet!
So the brief I handed myself: swans, a Dior bow, and Chris and Marion’s wall of portraits. Add that to the stunning Hotel Bardo and their green conservatory that just screamed Creative Tonic, and I was off! I pulled details for the event from the invitation suite, gathered some input from Mr. Creative Tonic, worked with the bride’s floral designer, Madeline Read, and wedding photographer, Steph G. Bishop, and then just let the creativity flow.
Up next in Part 2: details, details, details! The green conservatory, the swan chandeliers, and the sentimental heirlooms I couldn’t wait to pass along!
Imagery on this page is by the incredibly talented Steph G. Bishop or Christiana Reckling!