Features

Reception Style: Publik Party

By Tessa Woolf August 21, 2015 Published in the June 2015 issue of Park City Magazine

Photographs by Heather Nan Photography

1) URBAN GLAMPING

Channeling their inner John Muirs, Lauren Brady and Cathy Brady of Saucy & Kitsch felt the call of the mountains when they embarked on this table design at Publik Coffee Roasters’ cool warehouse-style venue, Publik Space. The inspiration for their nouveau-organic environment? A sophisticated twist on summer camp. “We wanted to bring the feeling of camping and the great outdoors inside,” says Lauren.

They started with a palette of fall tones with a 60s/70s vibe: “pops of coral, brown, and avocado-green with shades of purple reminiscent of Kodachrome forest scenes,” explains Lauren. To create the ambiance of an elegant evening picnic, they set up camp by pairing a custom-designed farm table—made from reclaimed Douglas fir from the department of defense in Ogden—with Harry Bertoia midcentury modern chairs topped with eggplant-hued pads. On the table, they rolled out a canvas runner and arranged hand-torn muslin napkins, vintage glassware, delicate copper flatware, creamy taper candles, and wildly beautiful blooms by Tinge Floral. A foliage-bedecked deer head (affectionately named Fred) keeps a friendly watch over the festive, woodsy spread.

HAVE IT HERE Publik’s urban-cool, warehouse-like venue, Publik Space, can accommodate up to 200 guests for dinners, cocktail receptions, dance parties, and more. The adjacent coffee shop and open mezzanine can also be rented for an additional fee.

FOXY LADY

“The florals were inspired by nature and the depths of texture that you find on the forest floor,” explains Ashley Beyer of Tinge Floral. Her arrangements and bouquet include ferns, foxglove, honeysuckle, ranunculus, garden roses, wild sweet pea, hellebores, and more. With national parks and retro camping themes in mind, Allison Cornu designed the letterpress invitation suite and dinner menu on 100% cotton paper. She hand-illustrated all the details, including the fox pattern for the envelope liner and the “camp badge” escort cards (see page 81) attached with arrow washi tape. For favors, Saucy & Kistch designed mini field guide notebooks featuring the original artwork of a 1932 Nature Magazine cover and a custom monogram by Cornu on the back.

SOMETHING BREWED

“Publik is the perfect addition to Salt Lake City venues,” says Lauren. “The space offers a lot of flexibility for a couple who wants to keep things simple or a couple who wants a blank slate for creativity so they can think outside the box. And having both the coffee shop and warehouse space allows an easy transition from ceremony to reception.” With the latter in mind, Lauren and Cathy set up a campfire-inspired coffee station complete with a pour-over bar featuring steaming vintage mugs of Publik’s java (freshly roasted on site) and a spread of nostalgic desserts: fresh fruit “pop tarts” and old-fashioned doughnuts rolled in cinnamon sugar by El Sillero by Fiana.

HOT STUFF “People like the show of pour-over,” says Matthew Bourgeois, who co-owns Publik with Missy Greis. And it not only looks cool: he says the brewing method also produces a better cup of joe.

DIY TATTOO STATION

“We encourage couples to have interactive stations throughout their event, whether a photo booth, games, dessert stations, or activity stations like this tattoo bar,” explains Lauren. She says on-trend tattoo bars are a huge hit and a guaranteed good time for guests. She sourced this spread of temporary ink from Tattly. “They have an incredible number of designs to choose from to fit specific themes.” (Eames chairs, anyone?) Wedding discounts for bulk Tattly orders are available.

RESOURCES

Overall Design, Table Runner, Napkins, Vintageware, and Favors: Saucy & Kitsch

Floral Design, Candles, and Table Number: Tinge Floral

Paper Goods: Allison Cornu

Vintage Postage Stamps: Verde Studio

Table Design: Don Brady Design

Table Carpentry and Rental: True Mills

Chairs: The Green Ant, Urban Vintage, and Tomorrow’s House

Wood Plates: Bohem

Flatware: Diamond Rental

Temporary Tattoos: Tattly

Dress: Katie Waltman

Venue, Desserts, and Pour-Over Coffee: Publik Coffee Roasters

2) URBAN GLAM

“I liked the idea of contrasting Publik’s raw, urban architecture with romantic, modern, and polished elements,” says Mara Marian of FUSE Weddings & Events, who designed this opulent tablescape with Amanda M. Hansen of Decoration Inc. “We wanted to create an ‘urban glam’ feel in the space to show that this environment can support an ultra-modern couple who loves luxe elements often seen in a ballroom or resort wedding but wants an out-of-the-box venue that’s more fresh and unexpected.”

Inspired by Decoration Inc’s mirrored table and modern ghost chairs, the ladies designed the posh spread using mixed gold and silver metallics, black accents, and pops of purple and fuchsia. To create the table’s lush floralscape, Hansen paired two hues of garden roses with deep purple parrot tulips and midnight purple sweet peas in a contemporary gold-cube centerpiece vessel. “We grouped the floral varieties for a modern, sleek vibe,” she explains.

Marian envisions this set-up for a couple who desires an exciting and upscale event in a cool, unique environment. For extra flourish, she suggests a gold-wrapped metallic dance floor with the couple’s monogram printed in black in the center, gold-tufted bars at each end of the room, and fuchsia and purple up-lighting around the perimeter.

IN LIVING COLOR

To make black bridesmaid dresses pop, Hansen designed saturated bouquets of sweet peas. She says cities like L.A. and New York are seeing the comeback of bold, unapologetic use of color in wedding décor. To get the look, and avoid a polka-dot effect, she recommends keeping hot hues to a mimimum, like this fuchsia and purple palette. Stationer Ann Elizabeth custom-designed the table’s polished paper goods; she chose a rich black background to accentuate mixed gold and silver foils. “Each foil color is hand-painted, making each menu a unique, one-of-a-kind piece of art,” she says. Inspired by the whimsical, stacked dessert in Wes Anderson’s film The Grand Budapest Hotel, pastry chef Romina Rasmussen of Les Madeleines made these decadent courtesan filled with rich cream and covered in dark chocolate with edible gold sprinkles.

WARMING TREND

As a festive finish to a party at Publik Space and a yummy guest favor, Marian designed to-go coffee cups with gold sleeves so guests can grab a freshly brewed latte, chai, or cup of joe on their way out the door after the celebration. Marian worked with the coffee crew at Publik to create a custom stencil for personalized latte art for the beverages. She chose the hashtag #AKWED for the stencil, imagining the nuptials of a couple named Anthony and Katrina. “With social media playing such a huge role in our celebrations today, more and more couples are opting to embrace it and are creating hashtags for their events so they can easily find and enjoy candid shots by their guests from their big day,” she explains.

HIP SIPS For a small fee, Publik can create custom latte stencils for your event featuring your initials, wedding date, or a symbol such as a heart or the coffee shop’s signature lightning bolt.