1. Real Weddings

An Enchanted Fairy-Tale Wedding at the Cleveland Botanical Garden in Cleveland, Ohio

Lindsey Vandevier (30 and in theatrical and event design) and Robert Figueira (29 and a motion graphics artist) met at Carnegie Mellon University when

Lindsey Vandevier (30 and in theatrical and event design) and Robert Figueira (29 and a motion graphics artist) met at Carnegie Mellon University when they were getting MFAs in theatrical design (the bride in costume design; the groom in lighting design). Even though they live in New York, they got married in Ohio because it made sense in terms of cost and logistics (many guests live in Ohio). Lindsey drew on her event design experience to plan a “storybook enchanted garden” wedding at the Cleveland Botanical Garden in the University Circle neighborhood, with hotels, public transportation and other Cleveland attractions nearby. The botanical garden was the perfect choice, not only for its stunning outdoor space but because the indoor space (in case of inclement weather) was beautiful too. “ We didn’t want to have our reception in a tent just as a safeguard against bad weather,” she says. The fairy-tale theme came naturally. “I have always been obsessed with fairy tales, an obsession that—as an adult—has become more sophisticated,” Lindsey says. “Ultimately I wanted to create the feeling that you were in our real life fairy tale, taking place in an enchanted garden.”  She wore a princess-like gown with seven layers of netting (including white, beige and pink), her hair swept to the side (Rapunzel-esque), a delicate organic floral hairpiece, a bouquet of roses, peonies, astilbes and ranunculus, and sexy heels that she splurged on. “They were actually a pipe dream in the beginning” of the planning stages, she says of the four-inch Swarovski-crystal-encrusted Christian Louboutins. After much obsessing, she went for it. “If I were a shoe, this is the shoe I would be,” she says, adding, “This was my Cinderella moment.” She designed the satin bridesmaid dresses after finding the perfect fabric in New York. “In the sunlight of the ceremony, the ombre skirts looked almost like they were glowing,” she says. Lindsey walked down the aisle to “Song to the Moon” from the opera Rusalka, her grad school thesis project—an opera based on the mythical world of a water nymph and her love, the prince. A string quartet played during cocktail hour in the restorative garden, where guests enjoyed duck confit crostini and specialty cocktails: a traditional Sazerac for Robert; a rosemary peach Bellini for Lindsey (a salute to her love of Italy). The party then moved to long banquet tables, where guests dined on hors d’oeuvres and a four-course dinner. Lighting helped set the mood, from candles to lanterns to string lights and custom lighting design by the groom—colored LED lights changed throughout the evening (Robert controlled them with an app on his phone). The fairy-tale theme continued with the couple’s first dance to the waltz from Tchaikovsky’s ballet "The Sleeping Beauty," beginning with the first verse from “Once Upon a Dream” from the Disney movie version, then segueing into the classical orchestral version. Keeping in true to their prince and princess style, Lindsey and Robert performed a beautifully choreographed Viennese waltz. At the end of the evening, guests received homemade lemon liqueur favors with the label “Drink me.” Even the gift that Robert gave Lindsey was perfectly suited to this theme, a first edition In Powder and Crinoline (an anthology of fairy tales) from 1913. Planning the perfect wedding in Ohio—while living in New York—was a labor of love, Lindsey says. “If I wasn’t trained in production design or a type A personality, I don’t know that I could have pulled it off,” she says. Creating that whimsical, enchanted feeling took a lot of research and attention to detail. “My dad likes to joke, ‘It takes a family to raise a wedding.’ In our case, this was especially true,” Linsey says. Since many loved ones donated their time or talents, the couple were able to devote more of their budget to flowers, fashion, food, decor and lighting “to create an elegant wedding that looked like a million bucks.” And they lived happily ever after. —Chrissy Sorenson
 

Artist Patcharaphan Chanthep let Lindsey and Robert use her watercolor “Blooming in October” for the invitations, designed by Lindsey's mother, a professional graphic designer. “Having the luxury of your mother customizing every printed element of your wedding is pretty special,” Lindsey says of her coral, pink, peach and green invitations.
Lindsey describes Robert’s style as “all about skinny jeans.” The slim fit of Burberry, she says, was a natural suit choice. Robert selected a lightweight gray suit in a slim cut with a salmon-colored tie, a white collar shirt, and gray hand-colored wingtips by Bontoni, an Italian boutique designer.
Lindsey originally wanted a “princess dress but not like Belle or Cinderella, more like Rapunzel in the garden.” Since she is a costume designer, fabric and cut were important. “I didn’t want something I had seen all over magazines and the internet," Lindsey says. I wanted to be different.” She went to 10 shops before finding her gown. She knew it was her dress, she says, because when she tried it on, “I felt like a fairy princess.” It had seven layers of netting (including white, beige and pink), with a pink underskirt of silver glitter and a V-neck bodice beaded with rhinestones, opals, pearls and glass. “The dress was perfect for me and my romantic garden setting,” she says.
“The biggest thing for me when it came to the flowers was that they were everywhere,” Lindsey says. The bride’s main request was David Austin Juliet and Kahala roses. Her bouquet also included peonies, astilbes, ranunculus and greenery, in addition to a long peach satin ribbon.
After looking for dresses but finding nothing in the right cut or color, Lindsey (a costume designer) decided to design the dresses herself. She was inspired by a beautiful ombre satin at Silk House. She found the perfect satin material with a painted floral pattern at Mood Fabrics, featured on Project Runway. To soften the reflection of the fabric in the sun, she added a pale peach net as a skirt overlay. “I wanted all the girls to feel beautiful,” she says. One of her bridesmaids sewed the skirts and the bride’s former ballet teacher made the bodices. “The brighter colors and floral tops were definitely the right choice. In the sunlight of the ceremony, the ombre skirts looked almost like they were glowing," Lindsey says. "I wish I had one of these dresses for myself!”
The hand-painted sign created by Lindsey’s sister, a talented full-time tattoo artist, fit with the wedding's fairy-tale theme. “It was storybook wedding in an enchanted garden with abundant florals and watercolor accents,” Lindsey says.
With no special kids in their lives, the couple asked Lindsey's nearly 100-year-old grandmother (“the only grandparent I have left—she’s very dear to me”) to be their flower girl. Grandma wore a cute, funky blazer in a coral paint-splash motif (“she’s a spicy gal,” Lindsey says) and a small garland in her hair.
The gardens at the Cleveland Botanical Garden in Cleveland, Ohio, provided a lush, romantic atmosphere, from the colorful greenery and blooming florals to the lily pond.
Lindsey’s vision for the reception was an elegant dinner fit for royalty. Long banquet tables were decked out in different-size candles, peach flowers and lush table runners, then accented with fern fronds attached to individual place cards and gold sponge chargers. Peach napkins added a pop of color to the gray-on-gray damask tablecloths.
Self-described foodies Lindsey and Robert served small plates rather than one large meal. They started out with a tuna tartare appetizer, followed by a salad with long-stemmed artichokes, roasted red pepper ravioli stuffed with smoked mozzarella and finally the guests’ choice of Asian-braised beef short ribs, seared fillet of salmon or a vegetable timbale. “You’d think having hors d’oeuvres and four courses during dinner would have made it a nightmare to accommodate dietary restrictions, but the caterer was very helpful and managed to make it work with our gluten-free, dairy-free, vegetarian, and vegan guests,” Lindsey says.
The focus of the vanilla and Swiss meringue buttercream and raspberry cake was on the flowers as the faint watercolor painting on the fondant. For an unexpected touch, the inside of the cake was coral ombre. Their cake topper was two-inch ceramic cats in wedding attire (a way of including their love of cats and their Persian cat, Cleo). Lindsey made the tablecloth from fabric she found in New York City.
Lindsey and Robert's first dance was to the waltz from Tchaikovsky’s ballet "The Sleeping Beauty," beginning with the first verse from “Once Upon a Dream” from the Disney movie version, then segueing into the classical orchestral version. The couple performed a choreographed Viennese waltz.