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Thursday, February 09, 2:16 am

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Paperwhite

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Crisp, clean, & contemporary design

Photographs by:

Peter Frank Edwards

Iverson Brownell of Iverson Catering topped miniature mercury-gilded glasses of butternut squash bisque with Parmesan crackers, lavender mascarpone, and Clemson blue cheese.

Tara rolled white cloth napkins and tied them with platinum ribbon and miniature paper flowers before planting forks in each roll. “Guests could grab a roll and go,” she says.

Vidalia onion waffles topped with seared beef tenderloin and sweet potato chips were served with mushroom duxelles and roasted tomatoes on silver striped and polka-dotted Deco-style china. For popular tapas, like beef, Tara advises to have at least two per guest.

Yellow and red beet salad with candied pistachios, goat cheese, and lemon zest was placed in recycled paper cones resting in a custom-made Lucite tray punctuated with paper poppies.

Tara created a bouquet of paper flowers to accent the Oscar de la Renta gown that inspired the wedding’s innovative design.

Soirée wrapped the stems of tiny paper flowers with platinum ribbon so any guest could enjoy a boutonniere.

The Lettered Olive, a division of Soirée, had these recycled paper invitations printed in a charcoal-hued, soy-based ink on a press powered by wind energy.

“Who doesn’t want paperwhites in their house at wintertime?” asks Tara, who packaged paperwhite bulbs in individual recycled cardboard boxes as favors.

Jim Smeal of Wedding Cakes by Jim Smeal covered four decadent layers—white chocolate and pistachio, almond and ginger, pecan praline, and coconut chiffon—with understated buttercream icing. To top it off, Tara crafted one giant paper flower and encased the cake table in sheer fabric. Debi Zeinert of the Blooming Quill in Wisconsin penned the flavors on a card, which Tara nestled in a sterling silver cup and finished with a bouquet of smaller blooms.

Fifty natural beeswax candles covered the ceremony table while paper blooms were fastened to the fabric backdrop. Streamlining the layout of the ceremony and  reception is essential when they are side-by-side, as they were here. “Make sure to organize the logistics well ahead of time,” advises Tara.