Editorial Feature on Perfête

All photography by Elizabeth LaDuca

We have big news! Our recent editorial shoot at The Greenery at McKenzie’s Farm is featured on Perfête today! It’s our first Perfête publication and we’re excited to add it to our list of recent press!

This shoot was a passion project for us. We don’t have many opportunities to be creative these days, so bringing together a talented vendor team to make the magic happen was SO refreshing!

When I first saw The Greenery at McKenzie’s Farm, I knew I HAD to work there. It’s a brand new wedding venue in Milton, New Hampshire that is a planner’s dream. It’s a blank canvas - neutral white walls and an idyllic farm setting. The minimalist decor is modern, so this space is perfect for the couple that wants a barn wedding without the rustic feel. For this editorial, I wanted to really embrace the feel of The Greenery with a design that was modern, but still organic. Something that I love to do is to mix textures and mediums to create depth and a more interesting aesthetic overall. We chose terracotta vessels, wooden chargers, and natural fibers to reflect the earthy vibe.

At Brilliant Event Planning, diversity is important to us. As wedding and event planners you need to be thinking about people of all shapes, sizes, colors, and physical abilities in order to plan a successful event. The vendors we work with and the couples who trust us with planning their weddings and events reflect this. So, when choosing our models, we wanted to make sure they represented our values at Brilliant Event Planning. I also wanted the models to match the organic feel of the shoot. For that reason, we didn’t bring on a hairstylist and Makeovers by Ligia went for a natural, but slightly bronzed look for the ladies.

Like all good weddings, it started with the invitation. Hark Creative Co designed the prettiest suite with a hand-drawn images of the The Greenery printed on a vellum wrap that brought everything together. We also incorporated twine into the suite as a nod of the natural fibers to be included later on. Up next, the welcome bag! I took my inspiration for this from the farm itself and wanted this bag to feel like a picnic to-go for guests. McKenzie’s Farm has the sweetest little farm stand full of must-have goodies. I’ll be honest - I did A LOT of (socially distanced) eating in the middle of this shoot!

When I first saw The Greenery, all I could see was a ceremony right out front. Of course, you could do a beautiful ceremony inside, out on the lawn, or even in the covered area on the side of the building (SO. MANY. OPTIONS.), but for an intimate wedding, all I had eyes for was the front of the building. FORM Creative brought in the perfect petite chairs and coordinated rugs to make the ceremony feel welcoming and Shawna from The Wild Dahlia worked her magic by creating a standout modern arch. The goal was for the ceremony to feel like it was made for the couple’s family and closest friends - intimate, but chic.

“Cocktail hour” was out in the orchard. FORM Creative built us a custom cane bar and honestly, we’re still not over it. The peach trees were in full swing and it couldn’t have been a more perfect place for sipping summer spirits! We also brought the twine back to cocktail hour for the escort cards, which were on of my favorite parts of the day. There’s an ever-present light breeze at McKenzie’s Farm and it made the twine “dance” - so pretty!

Finally, it was time to shoot reception! Let me just skip ahead to the cake. Nancy from Silver Whisk Bake Shop (which just won Best of Boston!!), made us the perfect cake for a minimalist, earth-inspired fête. Unfortunately, you can’t taste photos, but it was delicious! FORM Creative also built us a custom, detail-filled lounge, which doubled as a getting ready spot. It was a fun place to play with patterns, textures, fabrics, layers, and height. We don’t always get the opportunity to get that detailed on a wedding day, so that was extra fun for us!

The centerpiece of the whole shoot was the ceiling installation. The Greenery has rigging points already built into the ceiling, which is a planner’s dream! Griffin and Griffin Lighting worked from that and built us an installation of various sized baskets and copper pendant lights - swoon! We actually kept the metallic copper throughout the shoot. Even the flatware, which we found at Borrowed Blu, was copper!

We’re so thrilled to see this wedding on Perfête today! A big thank you to their editor for featuring us and to the incredible team of talented vendors that helped make this day a reality:

Planning: Brilliant Event Planning, Venue: The Greenery at McKenzie’s Farm, Photography: Elizabeth LaDuca, Paper: Hark Creative Co, Floral: The Wild Dahlia, Lighting: Griffin and Griffin Lighting, Custom Lounge + Bar + Escort Display + Ceremony setup: FORM Creative Services, Bridal Stylist: La Jolie Bride, Beauty: Makeovers by Ligia, Rings: Hannah Florman, Flatware + Napkins: Borrowed Blu, Rentals: Peak Event Services, Linens: La Tavola and Peak Event Services, Cake: Silver Whisk Bake Shop, Models: Alexis Savage and Dora Mwangi, Gowns: Rue de Seine and Anna Campbell, and Accessories: Sara Gabriel, Hushed Commotion, a.b. Ellie, Twigs and Honey, and Alexandre Birman