While all types of designers will take inspiration from all types of places, there’s one spot that continues to be a major influence on my own perspective on wedding design. Interior design is so closely intertwined with wedding design that people often confuse the two disciplines – assuming that a talented designer in one space would automatically thrive in the other. Of course this does happen where a wedding designer might also take on interior design projects and vice versa. But for my own design practice, I stay firmly in the wedding space when it comes to what I create for our clients.

Even though I don’t and won’t take on interior design in a professional sense, interiors continues to inform my wedding design because of a few factors. One is that we are often working at our clients’ personal homes and thus the interior design of that space is a main source of inspiration for the wedding we build around it. The story of a wedding being held at such a personal location is enhanced by the surroundings that grounded the couple and their families. That design makes up the memories they created together as they fell in love. It was the backdrop to family holidays and birthdays and graduations and maybe even the engagement itself. Interior design in that sense is a powerful force in the wedding story being told.

Even if we are not working at our clients’ home, interiors are still a major influence for how I approach a couple’s wedding design because of an overwhelming commonality we see in the families we work with: their desire to create a wedding experience that welcomes their friends and family as if they were hosting in their own home. Time spent with the closest people in their lives is of utmost value and having their wedding design support that instead of overshadowing and taking center stage is paramount.

As I am currently working on upcoming designs for our 2023 couples, I realized that I was referencing one specific inspiration photo constantly for one of our November weddings. While discussing design direction with the bride, she knew she wanted a neutral palette for her fall wedding because the tones are calming and comforting to her. Based on that, this space designed by Phoebe Howard for a home in Palmetto Bluff (coincidentally another favorite location of ours) was simply hitting all the right notes.

So what exactly about this image and this space makes me come back to it time and again for our November couple? First, everything about the colors working together here are exactly what I would want to see for a neutral palette. The warm tones paired with cool tones create balance. The multiple textures make for a deeper design. The wood used in this space corresponds to the lake setting that the wedding will be hosted at – the Ritz-Carlton Lake Oconee to be exact. And the drapery is a major piece for me as I consider the expansive windows that the reception space has to offer. Calming, welcoming, tailored and refined. It’s about the best jumping off point that I could imagine.

I’ll have to only tease you with this one inspiration photo as I don’t want to give away the full design until our couple gets to live it in their own lives first. But rest assured, good things await while we build a unique wedding space just for them to welcome their guests.

Until next time… XOXO, Julie