decor, party decor, weddings

Wedding Backdrop with a Whole Lotta Heart

As I mentioned earlier this week, one of the three wedding projects I recently took on was for a backdrop for a wedding in NYC that consisted of more than 1,200 hand-cut hearts.  The very talented designer / illustrator Megan Flood had come to me with a request for her big day.  Megan and her soon-to-be husband had created a set of 6 amazing illustrations for their wedding, each one chronicling a point in their story from the time they started dating in high school up to their wedding day.  The illustrations were going to be printed on huge canvases and hung on the walls in the gallery space where they’d be having cocktails during the reception.

Here’s one of the illustrations on the gallery walls.  I loved the hand-written captions that were written by the couple – so personal and engaging.  The illustrations truly transformed the space into a celebration of their story, as a wedding venue should (but often fails to do)! meganflood6 In the space there was a mezzanine with a large blank wall that Megan was hoping to add some color to, so that’s where I came in!  Once Megan sent me the illustrations over email I knew I wanted to replicate the hearts in a backdrop just as she had them, each imperfect and super colorful.

For the backdrop, I sketched out a replica heart and then matched 6 hearts to colors used in her illustrations.  I printed the hearts on photo paper so the colors would be as close to the actual colors as they could be.  And I didn’t worry about cutting them into perfectly-symmetrical hearts, as I wanted them to all be a bit different and look hand-drawn, just as they are in Megan’s illustrations.  Printing, cutting, and assembling over 1,200 hearts definitely took a fair share of time, but it was worth it once the install was complete. meganflood_heart backdropmeganflood3meganflood12 The hearts definitely added that pop of color Megan was looking for and apparently also served as an impromptu photo booth backdrop, which I can’t wait to see pictures of! It was so refreshing getting to work with someone as creative as Megan.  The emphasis her and her husband placed on their story inspired me.  It’s so important to make your wedding about you – through everything – especially the decor. Because at the end of the day, that’s what people are going to think back on.