Sara + Baker: Celebrating Texas Love Under The Savannah Skies | Part 2

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.

Catch up on Part 1 here, where the swans, the Dior bow, and the invitation all came together. 

Now, we’re ready to chat about the room and the heirlooms!

Setting the Scene

We hosted the rehearsal dinner and welcome party at Hotel Bardo, which felt very Creative Tonic from the moment I saw it. From the stunning conservatory to the mid-century bar and pool area, the whole place was perfect! The wedding reception itself stayed at the Oglethorpe Club, all old-school Savannah grandeur, so it was fun to let this side of the weekend live somewhere unexpected.

We pulled so many details from the invitations Sara designed with Sam Crosby, which made for such fun conversation over the evening as guests discovered them. Sara had used a stripe on the inside of her wedding envelopes, and I pulled that thread straight through to the custom fabric I created for the tablecloths, pillows, and cushions. It wasn’t all custom, though, as I found the napkins from Amazon! (I absolutely had the lovely Mary Mack monogram them with metallic stars and the almost newlyweds’ initials, of course.)

We rented the garden chairs and these stunning plates with passion flowers, which eventually led to the pièce de résistance of the room – swans swimming and floating above everyone all night. When I found the plates, I realized that there was no way we could cover the beautiful floral motif, so Sam and I took the swan-shaped die-cut that Sara had created to make door hangers (more on that in a minute) to create a vertical menu/place-card of three interlocking pieces that together formed a swan standing between a lily pad and a whimsical flower. 

So, of course we had to have a little something overhead to highlight the bones of the stunning conservatory, and that’s how we got to the swans floating above! Working with Sam and Advanced AV, we brought actual swan chandeliers to life, and it is one of my favorite details!

Little Details, Everywhere

The door hangers I mentioned above were Sara’s idea in lieu of a welcome bag for out-of-town guests. So cute and creative! As their friends arrived at their hotel rooms, this swan with a details card insert, and decorated with a tassel, was waiting for them! The same swan die-cut appeared again (!!) to help guide guests to their seats!

The custom lampshades came out of a conversation with Suzanne Duin of Maison Maison, when I asked about custom shades for rechargeable lamps. She mentioned that she could print a bespoke design, so I worked with Sam to create the motif! We thought it was a great idea for brides—they pack flat and ship all over, and the paper just interlocks—so she named the concept “What a Bride Idea”—my own words, handed right back to me.

Ham made the cut. Speaking of the lampshades, Sam and I worked Sara + Baker’s King Charles Cavalier, Ham, into the motif we used for the shades and gelato cups — a surprise that turned out to be one of Sara’s favorites.

Hand-painted tambourines and the couple’s initials on the pool floats were a cute addition as we shifted from the rehearsal dinner to the welcome party.

The specialty drinks had little swan charms clipped on, alongside miniature prints from Sara and Baker’s engagement — a tiny timeline you could hold in your hand. Swoon!