WEDDING & DESIGN SERVICES
A small wedding and event design studio in downtown Albany offering design, styling, and coordination for unique and offbeat couples. Specializing in custom and handmade designs inspired by your personalities I aim to give couples and their guests a fun, untraditional, and memorable event experience. I believe there are no rules and your event should be a reflection of you and what you love the most! I’ve always enjoyed creating since a young age and have found a platform for my creativity in fiber and installation art. I pursued an education in art with a BFA in sculpture from Pratt Institute and have exhibited my work in galleries in Brooklyn and Seattle. After planning and designing my own wedding (including hand embroidering 100 RSVP cards and brewing all the beer) I had the epiphany to use my sculptural skills and strong attention to detail to do the same for other couples. I now use the many skills I’ve gleaned as an artist (printmaking, woodworking, drawing, sewing, and color theory for instance) to design weddings and events. I’ve traveled all over the United States but I currently reside in upstate New York with my brilliant husband and thirteen year old hound dog. I am inspired by listening to warm toned records, vintage books and illustrations, old architecture, baking, and my Polish great grandmother.
HOW IT WORKS Initial consultation We meet and chat about you, what’s important to you, and how you want your wedding day to feel. Contract Signing Once we find we are a good fit for each other then we sign the contract and begin officially working! Custom proposal I break out the pencils and draw up your own unique wedding designs along with a contract and individual inspiration board with everything we discussed during our consultation. Budget, Research + Referrals I’ll create a design budget and help refer qualified vendors to fill out your wedding day team. I’ll also research materials for your design and test them out. Site visit We will walk through your chosen venue(s) as if it’s your wedding day and plan out the layout of the design and the general flow. Build Custom Designs Next I will focus on churning out all those one of a kind designs I sketched up. I’ll be toiling away in my studio building, sewing, cutting, and constructing while you get to relax and enjoy your engagement! Orchestrate Your Wedding Day Finally the day is here when the sketches will come to life. I’ll set up and style your décor while also coordinating with your vendors so your day goes smoothly.
FULL EVENT DESIGN & COORDINATION I create your unique event from start to finish. We will sit down and talk about the things you love, then I take all that info and create sketches of the vision for your day. This service includes: • • • • • • • • • • • •
Monthly check-in meetings to discuss planning Creation of budget, development of entire design and inspiration board Unlimited vendor recommendations and assistance in vendor meetings and booking 1 to 2 site visits and walk through of your venue(s) Creation of wedding itinerary for all vendors Design and construction of five custom decor elements (such as invitations, escort display, favors, ceremony backdrop, centerpieces, hanging installations) Month of wedding: confirm all vendors and details Rehearsal coordination 10 hours of coordination on wedding day Set up and styling of ceremony and reception sites Coordination of vendors on day of Break down of decor
Starting at $3800
DO IT TOGETHER DESIGN & COORDINATION This design service is perfect for the moderately DIY couple who would love to collaborate with a designer and have a coordinator there to orchestrate their day. It’s a combination of a month of coordination and event design. This service includes: • • • • • • • • • • • •
3 vendor recommendations in 3 different vendor categories 2 to 3 meetings to discuss design and coordination 1 to 2 site visits and walk through of your venue(s) Creation of wedding itinerary for all your vendors Develop design budget and inspiration board Design and construction of three custom decor elements (such as escort display, ceremony backdrop, centerpieces) Month of wedding: confirm all vendors and details Rehearsal coordination 10 hours of coordination on wedding day Set up and styling of ceremony and reception sites Coordination of vendors on day of Break down of decor
Starting at $2000
EVENT DESIGN ONLY
A LA CARTE DESIGN
Either you have the coordination covered yourself or already have a wedding planner, but need someone with an artist eye to design the look and decor for your event. I can work along with your planner to create distinctive design elements for your ceremony and reception. This includes development of color scheme and design, custom made decor, set-up, and take down.
I create one or two beautiful decor elements but you handle everything else. For instance if you just need a set of marquee lights or custom made ceremony back drop.
Starting at $1500
I can also assist you in styling and designing your photo shoot, window display, bridal shower, baby shower, holiday party or other event.
ELOPEMENT COORDINATION & STYLING Big weddings not your thing? Still want a killer small wedding or elopement? Look no further! I’ll cover it all so you just show up in your fancy clothes on the top of a gorgeous mountain to get hitched. This service covers officiant referral, location scouting, a bridal bouquet, petite cake for cutting, and me handling the logistics! Starting at $750
ENGAGEMENT/ANNIVERSARY SHOOT STYLING A special package in collaboration with Keira Lemonis photography. I’ll be there along with Keira throughout your shoot to make sure everything looks gorgeous! This package includes: • • • • •
Professional photography by Keira Lemonis 40 professional digital photos Styling and design by Mary Elise Rees Event Design Professional hair and make up Wardrobe selection assistance and location scouting
Starting at $735 (Includes fee for photographer, designer, and hair/make up stylist)
$25 per hour
OTHER SERVICES
BACKYARD VEGAN WEDDING Lauren and Kyle came to me for help in designing their mostly DIY backyard wedding. As part of their unique design, I sewed custom table runners out of a colorful feather fabric that referenced Lauren’s love of birds, illustrated seed packets with their silhouettes that acted as both favors and escort cards, and created a backdrop for their ceremony made of floating white paper flowers. I used my bookbinding skills to make their guest book with a hand embroidered cover. As you’ll see the word “Monalett” was used a lot in the design which is the combination of both their last names together. I hand painted a variety of signs including their vegan feast! CREDIT: HEIDI BENJAMIN PHOTOGRAPHY
MODERN + BRIGHT WEDDING I drew inspiration from the artist Dan Flavin’s work and neon light for the design of this urban wedding set at the NYS Museum. I spent hours cross stitching a geometric pattern onto peg board (yeah, that stuff in your garage you hang tools from!) with neon yarn for a ceremony backdrop. I sourced a colorful geometric fabric to create custom napkins and set it on top of a vintage chenille bedspread turned tablecloth. Out of blue acetate I hand cut guests names for their place setting and made them pop on some marble tile. To send this wedding over the top I found a local vintage blue convertible for the couple to make their getaway. CREDIT: KEIRA LEMONIS PHOTOGRAPHY
BLOOMING HILL FARM WEDDING Jess and Tristan had their gorgeous outdoor wedding at Blooming Hill Farm amongst the lush vegetation and barn cats. For their design I found inspiration from their backgrounds in cycling and doing triathlons to incorporate bicycle wheels into their wedding. I turned bicycle wheels gold and created their escort display from them. I also created over 100 feet of ivory and gold fabric garland which we hung with cafe lights over the reception tables. I hand painted several ceremony signs since the ceremony took place far off in a field. We wanted to make sure guests would easily be able to find their way around the farm. I thought seed packets would be a lovely favor for the couple to give to their guests since the wedding was on a working farm and so I illustrated seed packets with a drawing of the farm’s barn. CREDIT: ALICIA KING PHOTOGRAPHY
SCOUT INSPIRED WEDDING To create this girl scout/camping inspired wedding, I created hand painted wood arrows with paper feathers suspended in the lush arbor for the ceremony backdrop and collected old tennis rackets to create a backdrop to the table setting. Amongst the tablescape you’ll see topographic inspired napkins I hand painted along with a macrame table runner, a nod to those knot tying skills a girl scout learns. I sewed both silk sashes for the bridesmaids to go with their modern jumpsuits and fluffy geometric print pillows for the couple’s cozy tent fort. If that wasn’t enough, I baked the two tier carrot cake for dessert after the mobile woodfired pizza truck served a delicious dinner! CREDIT: LAURA HARRIS PHOTOGRAPHY
LET’S GET STARTED! maryelise.rees@gmail.com maryeliserees.com