At their core, weddings are about showing off the personality of the newly wedded couple. And in the modern iteration of this sacred ceremony, there are more ways to do that than just with the color of the bridesmaid dresses.
“What I’m always thinking about is how to make a wedding a more authentic representation of the couple,” says event designer Angela DiVincenti Babin of Angela Marie Events & Florals. “I want to make unexpected spaces more exciting because that’s what guests—and the couple—will remember.”
Keeping in mind the most popular place during a reception—the bar—Babin focused on making that space more inviting and a place women would want to be, rather than relegating the task of drink fetching to their husbands or dates. From flowers to lamps to custom vinyl, she says the impact of any small, personal detail can be big.
“People are used to just a plain white bar,” she explains. “You can get a lot of bang for your buck by going big on the bar. It can be a total moment.”
Babin put together three different bar scenes that represent different aesthetics. Read on to see them all.
SOMETHING BLUE
For Babin, making an investment in party décor means choosing items that you’ll use long past the wedding day. Here, she sourced blue and white chinoiserie vases to fill the shelves behind the bar—alongside blue glassware, of course.Peel-and-stick wallpaper made a big impact on this bar. Babin sourced this floral-patterned design by Rifle Paper from Target. “This is a great DIY option,” she explains.“This bar really shows the impact of using only one flower,” Babin says. Blue hydrangea blooms were used to create a bouquet that starts on top of the bar and flows down all the way to the floor.
BIRDS OF A FEATHER
This green bar is turned into an art piece thanks to gold vinyl depicting a scene of birds and flowers. “Everyone always does the monogram with vinyl,” Babin explains, “but there are so many ways to get creative. The sky is the limit.”A similar pattern to the one depicted on the bar in vinyl is also on the tablecloths in a complementary shade of green. “Green is such a popular color right now,” she says. “And I feel like it’s almost a neutral.”Since this scene focuses on the garden, arrangements with foraged details were key. Classic peaches, whites and pinks pull together the aesthetic.
TICKLED PINK
“Not every bride is a traditional bride,” Babin notes. For this scene, she wanted to do something a little different. Spray-painting baby’s breath allowed her to bring the pops of color everywhere—especially in the special floral fronts that she affixed to the bar itself to complete the look.“Baby’s breath is definitely trending,” Babin notes. In addition to the classic filler flower which has taken center stage in wedding arrangements lately, Babin incorporated different types of roses, as well as touches of sweet pea, to create interest.
An unexpected hue was brought to the tables in the form of hot pink Chiavari chairs. Black and white striped linens tie in the black of the bar and shelving. A pair of lamps on the bar—an Angela Marie Events signature detail—is both beautiful and functional. “They’re a great source of light,” Babin notes. “But they’re also great aesthetically. It’s just one more layer of design that makes the whole scene look complete.”
