When we received word that the mother of the groom was set on using The Adolphus Hotel in Dallas as the scene for the welcome dinner for guests of C & C’s late January wedding, we were beyond excited. We’ve been huge fans of the elegant, light-filled 19th Floor Ballroom (also known as The Governor’s Ballroom) for years, and the opportunity to bring classic style with a twist was a design challenge we were game for. Read on to hear more on our design approach and the beautiful gallery of images from Jose Villa and team.

The wedding the following day was going to be filled with warm wood tones, and deep red, orange, ochre, and sienna tones, so our color palette turned the page and offered an alternative that made sense in the space, and celebrated the late winter and early early spring scene.

We knew we wanted to play with a slight tone on tone approach for the 19th Floor Ballroom, so we gravitated to the soft and warm velvet linens in “Bone”. This linen a slightly darker warm white and is a favorite design trick of ours to contrast and layer with white tones. In our experience, whites are often hard to match with bright white often having a blue undertone. The Bone shade we selected is a beautiful way to ensure we complimented the walls and space, especially during the candlelit dinner that night.

With the Mother of the Groom involved in rental items, we headed to our favorite team at Posh Couture to see which pieces would provide the right mix of modern, elegant, yet timeless to the space. With our linens in hands, we swapped out the hotel’s standard chairs for ghost chairs, as they visually disappear into a space while also reflecting light. For the dinner table inspiration, we opted for a mix of metallics and used a metallic platinum charger, aged yet classically shaped flatware, and then a deep smoke wineglass. These selections, plus the gold and brass tones in the room itself allowed our floral palette in forest greens, whites, taupe, and faintest touches of blush to bring the whole palette together. Warm grey candles from our favorites Creative Candles in crystal candle holders and hurricane protectors (a standard in any kind of hotel to protect the space from any potential fires) finished out the details.

DESIGN TIP

We love to use glass, crystal and any other material that reflects light as a way to create an experience for your guests that feels like twinkling lights as they move through the spaces. It creates that “cozy, romantic” feeling that we’ve all experienced in the best kind of dinners or parties. It’s subtle, but it creates a rippling and dynamic experience for your guest’s eyes that they may not notice, but definitely feel.

In the end, rehearsal dinners are the perfect way to play with design directions that you may not want to commit to as fully as your wedding. We love to contrast and design against any space we use as a way to keep things fresh while also ensuring that it all feels timeless in the years, and decades to come. There’s a magic middle space where this is achieved, and we love working with our clients to make a weekend of memorable, inviting, and effortless experience for them and their guests.

VENDOR TEAM

Planning, design, florals, & papergoods: The Nouveau Romantics
Photography: Jose Villa
Venue & Catering: The Adolphus Hotel
Rentals: BBJ La Tavola, Posh Couture