From the beading and lace appliques of the wedding dress to the colors of the flower bouquets, Julie Rieutort captures the most important day of her client’s lives in a painting during the wedding night. As a live wedding painter, she loves creating art in the environment where she's able to experience the event. She has painted weddings all over Palm Beach County and out of state as well.
“I feel very grateful to be the person that has that honor to do it. It’s truly a very special, unique honor to take part in not only capturing it in a painting, but I am taking part as entertainment at the wedding,” she said.
Some of her stand out spots are Sundy House in Delray Beach due to the tropical luscious gardens and the Breakers in Palm Beach because of its historical architecture.
"They seem like venues that are meant to be put into a painting. The amount of effort, detail and artistry that went into creating those venues. They’re very extraordinary weddings," she said.
Mother of the bride and Boca Raton resident, Marti Schnurr wanted Rieutort to capture her daughter's first dance with her husband at the EAU Palm Beach.
"We wanted to give the wedding guests something exciting to watch and progress throughout the evening. Most had never seen anything like it and absolutely loved it as much as we all did! She captured the moment so perfectly," Schnurr said.
Bride Ashley Rise and groom Luke Rise share first dance at EAU Palm Beach depicted by Julie Rieutort. / Instagram: @eventpaintingbyjulie.
Rieutort's style of painting is very detail oriented. She loves depicting the sparkle of a wedding dress or the color palette of the bride’s bouquet flowers. She enjoys capturing the likeness of the newlyweds in her portrait. Bride Jessica Palanjian was drawn to Julie's painting style due to her attention to detail. Her wedding was at the Pelican Club in Jupiter.
"You spend so much money on flowers and your dress that you want those types of details captured in a painting. Julie also captured a lot of detail in the background which makes one feel they are present in that moment," Palanjian said. "She does an amazing job painting people, which is a difficult skill to learn and understands people's bodies and facial details."
Rieutort's painting of bride Jessica Palanjian and groom George Palanjian's wedding at Pelican Club in Jupiter. / Instagram: @eventpaintingbyjulie.
Rieutort graduated from Johnson and Wales University in Rhode Island specializing in baking and pastry. Afterwards, she moved to West Palm Beach and decorated wedding cakes for high end clientele. Being involved in the wedding industry, she stumbled upon the profession of live event painting and was instantly inspired by it. Rieutort had always loved painting and missed creating traditional art. She launched her own business: Event Painting by Julie LLC and resides in Palm Beach Gardens.
“I loved creating cakes but they didn’t last forever. Knowing that my paintings will last forever and be passed down into future generations, they can show it to their kids and grandkids. It gives them an idea of the energy of the wedding day and the emotions that went into it. That’s really what I try to capture in the painting,” she said.
Photo courtesy of Julie Rieutort. Instagram: @eventpaintingbyjulie.
Her favorite aspect of the job is seeing her client’s reactions at the end of the night when they receive the painting. Live painting to her is an intimate art, customized for specific people and encapsulates a milestone in their lives and personal memories.
“I even get emotional just thinking about it because it’s such a fulfilling moment as an artist. They get to take that painting home knowing that every brushstroke was created throughout the day of the wedding,” she said.
For client Schnurr the finished piece brought her to tears. It took her back to her daughter's wedding day. She described it as magical so much so that she could almost hear their wedding song being played.
Palanjian found the painting breath-taking when she received it. Everything in the painting was above her expectations from the pelicans in the background to the designs on her wedding dress.
Rieutort books her own clients and holds design consultations with the couples to go over venue specifics, painting perspective, colors, size of portrait. As for the wedding day, she will arrive early to get at least seven hours of painting on the wedding day. Afterwards, she takes the painting back to the studio and adds details.
Bride Carly Eshack and groom Matthew Eshack's wedding painting at Sundy House, Delray Beach depicted by Julie Rieutort. / Instagram: @eventpaintingbyjulie.
For bride and Jupiter native, Carly Ryan Eshack not a day goes by where she does not look at the painting Rieutort created on their wedding day at Sundy House, Delray Beach.
"It hangs in our room and it’s the first thing we look at in the morning and the last thing we look at night. The painting Julie created of us, is our daily reminder of how we felt that day; on cloud nine, surrounded by our closest family and friends all in one room, and encompassed in love," Eshack said.