When kitsch meets classic
Disco balls, hanging chandeliers, red velvet curtains, and a tower of champagne glasses worthy of a Marilyn Monroe movie. In Proyectos Públicos , we conceptualized and executed a kitschy yet classic wedding at one of our main venues: General Prim.
From the outset, Hailey and Preston (the couple) were very clear about one thing: they wanted a celebration that felt as unique as their story. They weren't looking for a single style or a surefire formula. They wanted to tell a story, with humor and irony, but above all, with intention.
We wanted to break with convention right from the spot where the ceremony took place: the main staircase of General Prim. We decorated the space with an installation of suspended foliage that hung down from the first-floor railings. White fabrics fell like a theater curtain and intertwined, while white orchids subtly adorned the steps of the staircase. In this almost theatrical setting, the couple exchanged their vows in front of their closest friends and family. Looking at the photos of the ceremony, it seems as if everything happened naturally in black and white, as if the photographer had captured the scene as it was, without the need for editing.
While the guests went up to the cocktail party in the Pink Room, we transformed the ceremony space in record time. Where less than an hour ago there had been rows of chairs, we set up long tables decorated with white roses, antique candlesticks, and glasses adorned with bows. We wanted the dinner to retain the same classic and timeless spirit of the ceremony. During the after-dinner conversation, someone from the team overheard a guest say that this was how dinners must have looked in that house a hundred years ago.
After dinner, speeches, and the first dance, the guests moved to the back of the courtyard to begin the party.
This was the canvas for kitsch and daring to come to life: we decided to dress it up with red velvet curtains and rugs. We accompanied it with an ice swan, anthuriums, and red roses. Our intention was to give a nod to 70s glamour and the party halls of yesteryear. The disco balls and lighting did the rest.
Like the house (with its traces and scars left by time), the setting of the room did not seek perfection but authenticity.
Hayley and Preston reminded us that the classic and the ironic are not mutually exclusive: they can coexist, engage in dialogue, and, with intention, give rise to experiences that are as unique as they are personal. We loved exploring this point of convergence.
