Private Estate Wedding
images/estate-wedding/hero.jpg
The brief
A private client wanted four large tents on their property transformed into finished, custom spaces for their wedding: fully clad, trimmed out, and furnished with pieces built specifically for the event. It was the largest-budget project in the company's history, with a year of development behind it.
My role
As Fabrication Manager, I led production from shop to site. Over five months of fabrication and a two-week install, I managed my core fabrication team alongside a large group of temporary staff with little construction experience, several subcontractors, and a full drywall crew, coordinating all of them with the design team and the tent vendor.
The challenge
The scope kept growing as the design developed, and changes often landed late in production. On site, several days of heavy rain turned the property to mud, making every lift, carry, and placement harder. Crews worked 12 to 14 hour days for most of the install, and another large wedding install was scheduled right in the middle of it, all against a date that couldn't move.
How we delivered
The property's long, narrow, winding driveway was too tight for the lumber distributor's delivery trucks, so I reorganized material supply with multiple box-truck lumber runs, guiding temporary crew members with little carpentry background to source the right material. On site, I kept the trades sequenced so drywall, cladding, and finish work moved forward with minimal stalling, and I split resources to deliver a second large wedding install mid-project. Through weeks of 12 to 14 hour days, I checked in frequently with everyone on site, crew and vendors alike, and when someone was running on empty, I held them back or sent them home to rest so the team stayed sharp through the finish.
The result
All four tents were finished on time for the wedding. The client later called the result “breathtaking.”
From sketch to install
- Photo: SketchUp model or shop drawing
images/estate-wedding/step1.jpgSketchUp model - Photo: Shop fabrication
images/estate-wedding/step2.jpgShop fabrication - Photo: Install in the mud
images/estate-wedding/step3.jpgInstall - Photo: Finished tents, day and night
images/estate-wedding/step4.jpgFinished chapel