A Literati wedding in Thomas Mann's mansion

Amy&Neal’s wedding story

A historic mansion in Pacific Palisades

As a writer myself I loved designing Amy and Neal’s wedding on September 5 in Pacific Palisades; I can still feel the impact the historic mansion left me with. Not only the couple, who had traveled to over 50 countries (not all together) was inspiring but the venue gave rise to our design ideas: It was the home of well known German writer Thomas Mann – the literati theme was on.

I worked in his study, which was exactly as he left it. I was in awe looking at the shelves with gold lettered first editions and to sit on his desk surely gave me the shivers. Buddenbrooks anybody?

Real Vintage

Vintage was still flying high this year and our vintage was even “real”. Family heirlooms hurrah. It took us a while to tie 135 travel tag escort cards on Amy’s mom’s vintage suitcases, in which we found her dolls from the fifties. Her mom used the suitcases last when she was a little girl. Guests enjoyed finding their names on the memorabilia, which referenced the adventurous couples past and upcoming travels.

The Monrose catering guys rolled their eyes watching us wrap eclectic gold strings and rustic ribbons around the jute napkin rings, which all looked slightly different. My lifelong love of juxtaposing things came in handy: rustic jute versus golden shiny candle sticks, Neal’s hand made table letters (for the literati theme) contrasting GD designers’ exotic center pieces, romantic bridal flowers with burlap wrapping…

Amy’s grand parents had allowed us to us props from the house like hand painted boxes, bronze candle sticks and artsy bowls and the menu was stuck to a vintage life size French style menu pig.

We used and re-appropriated lots of stuff: Neal brought one of his cigar boxes for the gift cards, friends and family carried copper candelabras and yesterday’s type writers: most of them with lively stories attached.

Amy and Neal toasted with an ancient family heirloom: hand blown flutes with wings from their grand grand parents.

We displayed one of Mann’s quotes in the decorative type writers, one of his happier quotes though to match the occasion of this gorgeous and heartfelt event.

Amy and Neal, who literally (swing) danced through college together in Berkeley made everybody ah and oh watching their perfectly harmonious and slightly wild first dance… It was choreographed by years of fun and practice.