TEN31: LIVING ART STATUES create an unforgettable wedding experience.

by COLBY RADOMSKI

Imagine this: human cherry trees in blossom greet your wedding guests with ceremony programs; a bronze William Shakespeare reads a poetic verse during your cocktail hour; and to your and your guest's delight, golden goddess statues pour wine alongside the bartender. This unforgettable performance-art fusion is an experience masterminded by Providence-based entertainment company TEN31 Productions (ten31productions.com).

This “décortainment,” as founder Joe Pari calls it, dates back centuries. “When I learned that it had roots in royal weddings, it was quite eyeopening,” he says, explaining that living statues often lined the procession route from the abbey where a couple was married to the palace where a reception was held. With an ever-expanding repertoire and hundreds of actors on hand, TEN31 is able to curate their clients' wildest visions—from an enchanted “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” motif complete with human topiaries and fairies, to a gods and goddesses-themed installation featuring marble and patina deities.

For a recent wedding at Blithewold Mansion, Gardens and Aboretum, TEN31 created a “Legends of the Sea” installation for couple Logan and Sam, which included bronze pirates, Poseidon, a mermaid and a glowing jellyfish puppet. Actors even performed a custom- choreographed dance to one of the couple’s favorite songs. “Being that they were to be married at Blithewold and right on the water, they (the couple) loved this idea of a nautical theme, but one that was also sophisticated,” says Pari. “Both Sam and I have always been quite creative, and some would say, teeter off the beaten path,” says Logan, who notes that she and her now-husband, Sam, were inspired by the television series “Black Sails.” “I really wanted to incorporate a 1700s shipwreck style into the wedding without being hokey or over-the-top. We knew that the statues would provide the element of surprise we were looking for and everyone would leave talking about it,” she says. “Our guests were so enamored with them, they took so many pictures and they kept coming up to us saying ‘Wow, this wedding is so incredibly special, so fun and so you and Sam!’ Really, we just wanted everyone to have a fun time and Ten31 Productions really was the icing on the cake to an already magical day.”