Confession time, math was…. rather IS not really my thing. Simply put, I do not have a head for numbers. When Geometry came round, I thought my battleship was sunk FOR.SURE. Thanks to a rather eccentric teacher who had a big time thing for crazy amounts of bonus, I skated with a B {trust me when I say it was undeserved!}. I did however pick up a healthy appreciation for all things geometrically shaped in funky ways and learned a few lessons along the way as to why they were so appealing. As it turns out, geometric inspired weddings are a thing too, and you know what, I can easily see the appeal. Just recently Green Wedding Shoes, along with Indie Wed, featured a truly lovely wedding heavily influenced by all kinds of terrific angles, structural triangles & wonderful avante geo shapes! There are some truly spectacular elements at work here {thats what geometry does right….work!} and I am eager to dive into why this styled session works so incredibly well!
Forgoing my normal one-two image breakdown, I am going to highlight a few areas of the design because in this case it truly is a complete package in design. No stone was left un-geo’d from the ceremony backdrop, table setting, cake, flowers {they kind of cheat and stick to being circles alone, but you get my point}, invitations, even the jewelry, so many elements are all about the geometry. The best part of this gorgeous setup is even though its a math nerds dream wedding from an angles stand point, you don’t feel assaulted by the shapes as they blend into a beautiful harmony everywhere they are placed. Color is also a huge factor in this particular styled session but not something I am going to focus in on for this post {I know its amazing as I harp on color every week!}. The truth is, this geometric fashion can easily slide between palettes so feel free to apply this to just about any color combo you see fit!
*All Photographs by Amanda Megan Miller Photography
Starting with a few basic elements, our guests are greeted right from the start with wonderfully designed wedding invitations that clue you in that some kind of geometric fun is at play. The beauty of the design here is that the shapes are not solid but instead light and airy line drawings. Keeping the shapes ‘void’ of solid color works as a subtle introduction to the theme, keeping things from getting heavy handed. As well it is worth noting that the color palette that Indie Wed was working with was that of springy drenched pastels. Spring is naturally associated with a lighter, bright more airy vibe, so full on solid geo shapes on the invites simply wouldn’t do!
Next up is the bridal party jewelry, perfection for this sort of thing right!? If I had to guess, I would even go so far as to believe that Indie Wed created this wonderfully matching necklace & bracelet! Again there is light and airiness to the necklace, mimicking that of the line drawn shapes on the invites. The necklace heavily plays with triangles, creating a real feel for stability and solidarity. The bracelet is more of a grounded and solid piece {wonderfully complimentary to our stable triangle structure necklace!}, our first introduction to fully filled in shapes. The result is a look that is both light & lovely yet fully set into its geo path with firm structural roots!
Last but not least is the original piece that caught my eye to start off with, a free form washi tape {you read that right!} ceremony backdrop that doesn’t just end where the wall meets the floor but carries the lines right on into the middle of the ceremony space! I feel like this is a ceremony setup that my geometry teacher would have loved especially with all those amazing lines! The big play here is on the angles naturally, working again in line drawing like representations of geo form, creating a real psychedelic vintage screen saver like effect. The overall look is powerful yet wonderfully simplistic and not attention stealing!
As you can see, now its really time for some full on geometric shape fun! When guests saunter into the reception they will be greeted by powerful and unmistakable gem shapes in the form of suspended giant paper decor hung just above the tables. If guests weren’t totally sure they were at a geometric wedding, they are now! With the exception of the plates, which we will get to in a minute, these solid forms are the first & true time that we are seeing completely filled in shapes. These wonderful gems do NOT feel heavy and oppressive however in their solid form, but why is that? There are two main reasons, the color, rather lack there of if you will and their installation, being suspended above the table. Creating them in simple white {as well as their being hung} allows them to take on a more cloud like feel, something we already associate with a light airiness. A terrific thing about white is that it also bounces light, allowing it to keep moving around the room. Our eyes see it less as a solid mass and more of simple detail within the room. We know they are there, we know they are big, but they don’t feel intrusive in the least!
Make no mistake, each and every element of this table setting is wisely chosen to continue on the geometric theme, everything from the oval ghost chairs, the heavy {again white to allow for a less oppressive feel} rectangle table to the long table runner {lines!}, square flower vases and the triangle on square place settings. Everything comes together in a beautiful geometric harmony to represent shape, line & strength. The beautiful thing about shape & geometry is that they can simultaneously provide direction, flow & movement, all the while offer strength, stability & foundation. The beauty of a geometric wedding is hidden in its ability to be a lot of things at one time. Offbeat, whimsical, playful, sincere, & elegant are certainly buzzwords one can associate with geometrically inspired weddings. Knowing when to use line representations vs solid masses is key. Likewise mixing shapes up is paramount. Squares, triangles, free form you name it, they all play nicely together as they all have the angle thing in common. Don’t pigeon hole yourself into just one shape, feel free to really play and mix things up. Dont be so worried about things getting away from you, as the other beauty in geometry is that they all serve as building blocks, ie foundation and strength!
Be sure to head to Green Wedding Shoes to check out the full feature as there are some truly wonderful things going on! Which elements are your favorites? Are you dying over that washi tape ceremony backdrop as I am?! Please be sure to send in your design breakdowns, I’d love to figure out why it works for you!
Vendor Love
concept, art direction, additional styling + decor: Indie Wed // photography: Amanda Megan Miller Photography // styling + decor: Jayne Weddings & Events // cake, mini-cakes + cookies: Elysia Root Cakes // chocolate bon-bons + dipped marshmallows: truffle truffle // florals: Pollen // dresses: Mignonette Bridal // jewelry: Glint & Gleam // hair: Debra Petrielli // make-up: Jennifer Brown // bow tie + neck tie: DIBI Ties // suits: Dessy // stationery, cut paper garland, cake topper + placecard holders: Paper Stories // rentals: Tablescapes // venue: room 1520 Chicago, Illinois