Colors of Colleen

This weekend we hosted a spooky housewarming in our new place. We had so much fun decorating for Halloween and I had been planning different ideas since it turned fall. We looked forward to transitioning the space with some fall decor. Of course I always go a little over board with my obsession with Halloween, but so does Kevin so it works out ! We had spider webs, fake eye balls, bones, spiders, and so many yummy snacks and treats.

Kevin’s favorite part was turning our bathroom into a gory scene filling up the bathtub with some gross colored water. At first I thought his idea was crazy but once he showed me what he meant I went with it ! He even changes our our light bulbs to set the mood and we covered each of our doors from mummies to “do not enter tape” Kevin loves entertaining and organizing games that gets everyone mingling so that’s what he had worked on and it was a good laugh. We had a costume contest for best Halloween look and a scavenger hunt for some scary skulls throughout our building.

We loved catching up with everyone and seeing everyone’s creative costumes! I am tired from hosting and spent most of the weekend cleaning up and getting everything back in order but it was worth it! We are still itching to do this in a house one day but loved having a new space to play with.

This year I picked up some new pieces but a lot I save year after year since we host this one regularly. I’ve linked some of my favorite items for home in my shop my Instagram tab. I’ll be doing a post on furnishes in our new place comming soon!

Hope this inspires you for hosting your own Hallows eve gathering !

August 18, 2017 marked the start to a new beginning as newlyweds when I married my best friend after eight years of adventure, travel, and memories together. It was an incredible feeling to be in the presence of our closest friends and family and to see everything come together. After so many experiences together over the years we are thrilled to begin a new life together, happily married.

It's hard to believe we are already celebrating our first anniversary and this month also marked moving into year 7 of NYC living!

We were married at the Bourne Mansion on Long Island, New York. This venue was love at first sight for us and even the name was a perfect fit for our countless Bourne movie traditions. We knew this old fashioned mansion on the water was the perfect place for our nuptials and we looked forward to making it a weekend of everyone being together. Since we rehearsed on a Thursday with a Friday evening wedding we had all weekend to keep the celebrations going at the beach.

We both wanted our day to feel like an elegant and classic soirée (insert #siskarsoirée) with both traditional and antique style. Kevin loved the idea of our guests feeling like they were invited into an old home for an evening of dancing and never ending food. He has this strange obsession with gold and royalty (I guess living in London will do that to you) This naturally had to be an accent throughout the details. We also used a lot of mercury glass and mixed in some silver throughout too.

My favorite piece of decor was the customized monogram a close friend designed and surprised us with, along with our invitations. We used it throughout for a personal touch and now have it forever. For color schemes I wanted to keep it fresh and feminine with ivory, champagne, and blushes throughout. Greenery like silver dollar eucalyptus softened and added a great detail of contrast.

There were so many different rooms that came together with fresh florals, gold terrariums, and frames with LOTS of candle light for a romantic glow. Candle light to warm the space into evening was really important to bring a comfortable feel. I’ll be sharing those details in a separate post if interested. Everything truly came out so stunning and exceeded our expectations! My friend Sara, Beck and Forth Co. worked with me to help style the event with our vision and every room was just breathtaking!

We had spent months picking out each detail to decorate the venue and had the closest and most talented friends customize and personalize many of our details for the day to make it feel extra special. I can't thank them enough for their support throughout where I knew I could trust their aesthetic.

On the day of our wedding the morning rain had cleared just in time for our outdoor ceremony with the bay in the distance. Despite some fierce wind and humidity we were so happy to have it come together just in time for our first look and outdoor ceremony.

The staff at Bourne Mansion was just beyond! From keeping all of the planning very organized since day one from the back and forth emails, trips out to the venue for meetings, and day of changes they remained flexible with an eye on every detail. It truly felt like a production or something with how efficient everyone was! I couldn't recommend the venue enough. The food was unbelievable and my word was there so much food! From the cocktail hour to dinner and dessert we had a lot of options.

Our maître d, Steve and my bridal attendant, Feggy were a blessing and made us feel so special every minute! I can't thank their team enough. They have some amazing reviews on The Knot and anyone looking to plan a Long Island wedding should check them out. Miriam is phenomenal in her planning and supportive advice for all brides in the early stages.

To say planning a wedding wasn't stressful and frustrating at times would be an understatement, but I can truthfully admit that witnessing so many people from over the years come together to celebrate love is a humbling experience that we will forever remember and talk about for years to come. We loved how every part of our day went, even though it felt like it was over in the blink of an eye! We were happy to have celebrated throughout the whole weekend, concluding our festivities at the beach the following day. And my advice is to just to not sweat the small stuff, really! Everything is all how you approach it, enjoy the planning and don't go overboard.

All photography of our wedding day was captured by the talented and passionate photographer, Whitney Nichols. Her and her husband's partnership in their work is a true act of love and it was so endearing to work with them. We were in love with our engagement photos from their trip to Central Park and couldn't wait for them to capture our special day. All photos in this post is her talented work.

Our wedding videographer, Kristen Kiraly was another talent whose ability to story tell through her cinematography shows how passionate she is about her work. I even learned she was married at the same venue, so of course her eye for detail that day was impeccable. I can't recommend her enough so sweet and her video quality is ah- mazing! You can see our video here.

After our wedding we honeymooned in Bali for some ultimate relaxation. More to come in a travel post, It was an unforgettable experience with amazing culture and food ! Kevin and me always talk about it and can't wait to go back even though it was the longest flight of my life!

I hope you've made it this far through one of my longest posts yet, but hey better late than never to share some of the special day ! I'd love to hear your comments at the end of this post. I've linked all of my vendors & details below after the photos.

My cousin /MOH designed both pairs of my wedding shoes. I love them!

This was one of my favorite parts of the reception was tossing my bouquet off the balcony. My cousin who was my maid of honor caught it! And yes, she is now happily married!

Dancing with my nana and papa, I just love them!

We loved our vanilla with raspberry and vanilla mousse wedding cake. And of course tons of Italian cookies ! We worked with Rolling Pin Bakery, so yummy!