It all began with a dress. While wedding dress shopping at one of my favorite vintage stores in San Francisco, http://www.torsovintages.com, I stumbled upon this stunning peacock blue re-worked vintage dress, complete with tulle, lace and beading work. It was so fabulous that I created a "Moulin Rouge" wedding party - a girl needs an excuse to wear fabulous clothes!

The venue was perfect - we had already booked a renaissance style Chateau in the Loire Valley for our wedding at http://www.chateauchallain.com/. We simply needed to add some (lots of) feathers, candle light, jewel tones and velvety materials to set the cabaret mood. To complete the scene, we projected the movie Moulin Rouge onto the stone walls of the Chateau.

Flowers and Feathers Accessorized Lighting and Fixtures

Parasols with Feathers were Strung from Lights

Feathers Exploded from Architectural Features

Guests were asked to dress in cabaret attire - top hats, tails, corsets, feather boas and fishnet stockings.

For libations and provisions, we kept it rather simple (after all, we were hosting an elaborate wedding reception the next evening). A slider bar with all the accoutrements allowed guests to self-serve. And, a wine bar featuring a variety of wines from the region permitted guests to sample and indulge without the need of a bartender. Of course, no 'Moulin Rouge' party would be complete without Absinthe, so a few bottles were on hand for the select few who prefer the anise taste. Vintage French Menus found on Etsy accompanied each food table.

For entertainment, we created a photo booth in an alcove by lining it with red velvet drapes. Every photo booth requires props - we featured mustache sticks made from felt and attached to dowels, Venetian eye masks, vintage feather fans (found at flea markets and on Etsy), boas and wigs. Guests were provided a polaroid camera and asked to leave a photo for the hosts as a memento of the evening. Dancing was enabled by our iPhone travel speaker and a playlist we prerecorded on the iPhone.

C'est la vie! A special thank you to the Chateau proprietor, Cynthia Nicholson, who coordinated and implemented our design idea. Event Photos by Javon Longieliere