Birthday Chris in Provence!

Since today is a really big birthday for my adorable, sweet, funny and crazy husband Chris, here are some photos of him on our recent trip to Provence. I took these using my iPhone, and tried to capture the essence of his energy and zest for life!

I owe him so much... it was with Chris at my side that I first discovered the incredible land called Provence over twenty years ago, and we have been back there countless times, including living there for a (too short!) time.

Together we have made a bid on an incredible bastide, hiked the treacherous Gorge du Verdun, sunbathed a la francaise (yes, really!) on the beaches, hosted a huge family Provençal Thanksgiving dinner, attended countless military memorial events of WWII with our friend the drap porteau, driven from here to there and back again, getting lost on little crooked streets and one time even managed to wedge our tiny European car between the walls enclosing a VERY narrow little street... until help arrived in the form of irate villagers, pompiers and les flics.

I cannot tell you just how many croissants, petits pains du chocolate, petits suisses, baguettes and yogurts we have consumed there, nor how many cafes au lait, Oranginas, pains bagnet, salades nicoise, socca, glasses of Bandol, & moules frites we've inhaled on our daily rambles in Provence.

This then is a quick tribute to Chris in Provence... all shot last month while there on the Chic Provence Design Tour! See what you missed? :)

Chris took this of me at dawn in the cocquelicots near Bonnieux!!

an amazing photo from an amazing photographer! (check out his website on my sidebar)
photo by Chris Golson

Chris is on the right, with me and our son in law Steven at Bistro Saumane,

one of the best meals we've ever had in Provence! I love this picture Cheri took of us!

Chris at the little Guinguette on la Sorgue..

check out that Nikon D900, and early birthday gift!

always shooting, Chris captured these adorable little

French boys playing ball in the equally picturesque street!

this is how I see Chris a LOT.. leaning against a wall,

shooting.. here we are in Vaison la Romain and

he was capturing a kitty sleeping in a doorway

Chris in charge of the group photo shoot at les coquelicots..

all business!

Chris chilling with Joel at the only cafe in Oppede le Vieux.

Chris testing the wine that Jon chose for dinner for

our second evening at the villa.. he approved!

Chris is quite amused at Jon's lesson in how to pick up your roasted chicken :)

Ursula looks a bit incredulous herself!

Chris mugging for the iPhone! That's Keek next to him.

Chris really liked Joel's glasses and gave them a

test drive at Cafe de la Place in St. Remy!

Chris right after our bicycle ride.....! ready for a little nap?

Back at ya, honey... this is YOU the morning you shot

the picture of me in the cocquelicots... !

Happy Birthday, Chris!

I love you a bushel & a peck!

***

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thanks for visiting!... Kit

A Simple Summer Backyard Wedding à la Chic Provence

The appeal of the backyard wedding is stronger than ever. Brides today want to have their weddings in unique, personalized and..yes, less expensive settings. So, rather than rent the magnificent hotel ballroom or the caves at the local winery, if the backyard has some nice features and lends itself to a little sprucing up and has enough elbowroom for guests, it’s the perfect solution!

Pear & Pepper Fine Events and Catering asked me to designed this small, intimate and very chic wedding setting for an upcoming bride to see an example of just how charming and effective a backyard wedding can be. She was enchanted, P&P was happy, and she booked us both for the wedding!

For an early evening wedding, nothing is more glamorous than

flickering tea lights casting a soft glow on crystal,

silver, shimmering table linens and beautiful flowers. Don't you agree?

The centerpiece is a simple and elegant arrangement of vintage bottles

on a footed silver tray with a different flower stem in each..

very effective, charming and doesn't cost the earth!

Pear and Pepper designed this pitch perfect menu of delicious

Provencal dishes for the small wedding. The amazing

Provencal wines they chose will accompany each course. Yum!

Because the wedding is small..24 guests..we used gorgeous

dishes, glassware and napkins from Anthropologie for the settings.

The bride is thrilled to keep these lovely items for

her new home. And with the money she saves by having

a backyard wedding, she can keep all 24 settings, or give as

gifts to her bridal party. Notice the plums from the tree?

It's a signature of Chic Provence event design to use things from

nature whenever the opportunity presents itself!

A richness is created by the textures and jewel tones of the

patterned champagne and small tumblers (here used for tea lights), the

Ikat patterned napkins, the rich tones of the flowers and

the plum color of the ..well, plums from the tree!

This version is a little different; the cloches are placed on each plate and

the ikat napkins are hanging to show off their lovely design. We tried this

version earlier in the afternoon and decided the look just didn't work.

That's the fun part of design..it's always a process!

Although I designed the center table only, we Photoshopped in two more

tables to give the bride a realistic view of

three 48" square tables, each seating eight people.

We think we like the

"Louis Ghost" chairs (not sure). Do you?

A sheer lavender layer over old French linen tablecloths

is the perfect color for anchoring our scheme.

***

inspiration pieces: the rich purple votives,

and the bottle arrangement centerpieces we are designing

for a large fundraiser in the fall

***

some photos by Kit and the better ones by

Chris Golson Photography!