Month: January 2016

Non White Wedding Dresses

While many women will confess to having dreamt of walking down the aisle in a white dress at some point in their lives, not every bride wants to wear white on their big day. Indeed, today’s modern bride has a myriad of beautiful choices for what to wear on her wedding day and the traditional white gown is now only one choice in a varied field of options. Catwalks are now often full of alternative wedding dress colours, from pastels, to off whites, to blush, blues, canary yellows and much more. And even if you’ve never really considered anything but white or ivory, it’s nice to know that you’ll have the option of trying on something different in many bridal boutiques around the country.

Finally remember that your wedding day is a really special one and hopefully you’ll only be walking down the aisle once in your lifetime, so you need to make sure you are wearing the dress you want. Not the dress someone else wants you to wear. So if you’ve always wanted to have a blush pink, or champagne coloured dress then make sure you follow through and try to find the dress of your dreams.

If you’d like to chat about any aspect of your wedding planning or room décor, then please get in touch today.

 

Off White
Off white might not sound like a massive deviation from the traditional white wedding dress, although as you journey through your wedding dress search you’ll begin to realise that many dresses which appear white, are indeed ivory. That said there are a few off white colours to consider that will give a little inflection of colour difference. Think champagne, ivory, eggshell and true cream.

 

 

Blush and Pale Blue
Blush has seen a rise in popularity in recent years, Jessica Biel famously donned a blush pink gown for her big day and it’s a colour that’s certainly becoming a very real choice amongst brides. This year expect to see some pale blues making an appearance. The beauty of both of these colours, is that they are light injections of colour, rather than a deep, rich, bold colour, so that if you do fancy something different to white, but don’t want to stray too far, both of these pale inflections of colours are worth considering.

 

 

Watercolour Gowns
A big trend for this year is a move toward watercolour style dresses. Think elegant prints and florals with an almost painted feel to them either as a pattern on the dress or as the entire colour. What’s great about these dresses is that, again, they aren’t too overwhelming in terms of bright colours, yet are still feel individual and unique.

 

 

Daring colours
Choosing a red, yellow, green, purple or even black wedding dress may be far from the norm, there’s absolutely nothing to say you cannot choose to have a more vivid colour for your wedding dress. Indeed, if it’s always been your dream to walk down the aisle in red, then do it! Never feel under pressure to wear white because it is your special day and you want to make sure everything is as you want it to be.

Wedding Chill Out Zone

Having a dedicated lounge or chill out zone at your wedding reception is a wonderful idea. It does depend on your venue of course, but many offer the use of more than just the main reception room and if you have an area be it indoor or outdoor, that you can section off and transform into a super relaxing area for guests to enjoy, you really should consider it for a number of reasons.

First, it is a great place for guests of all ages to take some time away from the noise of the band and dancefloor and just have a chat over some nibbles and drinks. Second, it allows you to have a bit of fun in terms of décor and use some furniture and furnishings you may otherwise have not considered using. Finally, if you do have a very large space, such as a ballroom or large marquee, a lounge or chill out zone is the ideal way to break up the space and make the most of it.

If you’d like to discuss this or any aspect of your wedding day planning, then please don’t hesitate to get in touch with me.

 

Tie in With Your Theme
A lounge area is a great way to reinforce your chosen wedding theme. Be it vintage, modern, glam, rustic, etc. Try and source furniture and little décor touches that reflects your chosen theme and don’t be afraid to have some fun with it and use pieces you may not have otherwise considered using in your decor.

 

Outdoors
If you’re lucky enough to have an outdoor section available to you with your chosen venue, then don’t be afraid to use it for the lounge area and if it’s got some sort of partially roofed area, like a terrace, decking or tented section then you can feel totally at ease in terms of being covered for all weather situations. Don’t forget to think about leaving out nice rugs or blankets, as well as some gas heaters to keep guests snug as they chill out.

 

Mixed Furniture
There’s no rule to say you can’t mix and match the types of furniture in your lounge or chill our area and indeed a mixture can look fantastic. Think about mini couches, a chaise lounge, oversized cushions, even bales of hay for outdoors and don’t forget if you’ve got kids at the wedding try and have something with them in mind. The oversized cushions would be an ideal attraction for them.

Little Touches
Don’t forget to add some little touches as well as the furniture itself. Think about some carefully chosen lighting options, as well as lots of candles and lanterns. Draping is another must, as are cushions and nibbles and consider board games and if you’ve got access to an outdoor area what about a fire pit too?

Alternative Table Setups

There’s no right or wrong way to set up your wedding venue’s tables on your big day. While the norm tends to be for round tables that seat approximately 10-12 guests and a long rectangular top table, there’s no reason why you have to go with this formation. Indeed, today many brides and grooms are choosing to set up their rooms differently to reflect their own personal style and taste and to better suit their individual wedding and its needs.

When thinking about the table formations, there’s lots of factors you should consider. First, take into account the size of your wedding and how you’d like to best make use of the space available in your venue. Also make sure to ask the wedding co-ordinator or your wedding planner if your venue offers an alternative to round tables or will you have to hire them in and the associated costs. Next consider who will be at the tables. If you’re likely to have lots of small groups of people who don’t know each other and want to encourage them to break the ice easily or you will have a wedding where almost everyone has already met, then this can have a bearing too. Finally, never underestimate how the table formations will make the room look and feel. You and your partner need to both be happy with the overall look the table arrangements will give the venue. Consider if you’re getting any photos from above, such as from a balcony in the room and how the tables will look.

Here’s a rundown of some of the more popular styles of table arrangements and formations to think about. In the meantime, if you’d like to discuss this or any aspect of your wedding day plans with me, please feel free to get in touch.

 

Dining Room Style Tables
There’s a reason most of us have tables like this in our houses, it’s because they work really well in terms of socialising and eating an enjoyable meal at. They can also make your reception feel really intimate, but bear in mind these tables may have to be hired in which will mean an extra costs, as well as the linens.

 

Single Long Rectangular Table or Tables
These tables have become really popular with barn style and rustic weddings in particular. They are also fantastic for larger numbers. Family style food or sharing plates tend to go really well with this style of seating too and where round tables can tend to take up a lot of space and lead to wasted space, long rectangular tables tend to make the most of the space.

 

U Shape
This is a more unusual style of seating and can look truly stunning. It’s almost akin to an old world banquet and will look superb in photos. It also means that no one will have their backs to the top table, which can be awkward when it comes to the speeches.

 

Mixed
There’s no rule to say you have to go with just one style of seating. In fact having a mix of square, rectangle or round tables can work incredibly well, both in terms of seating different cohorts of guests and with the aesthetics of the room. Just clarify with your venue where they stand in terms of the different table shapes they have available and hiring in tables before you go ahead and book with them.

Wedding Trends 2016

Happy new year one and all and if 2016 is the year you and your husband-or-wife-to-be, are set to walk down the aisle then congratulations, this year is going to be extra special for you both. Now is a great time to start thinking about your wedding décor in more detail. There’s lots of helpful wedding in fairs taking place around the country packed with fantastic ideas on how to make your wedding look and feel just the way you want it to. This year there’s lots of continuing and new trends to look out for in terms of almost every aspect of your day. A sense of mixing themes is set to be high on the agenda. Why have just retro chic, when you can have retro meets glam for example? From centrepieces, to colour themes, to cakes and general décor, there’s plenty to think about.

As an award-winning wedding planner, I’ve got the inside scoop on all the latest trends and how to make them work for your wedding day. If you’d like to get in touch to discuss how I can help plan any aspect of your wedding, please don’t hesitate to get in touch. In the meantime, here are some top 2016 wedding trends to get your creative juices flowing.

 

Colours
With Rose Quartz and Serenity being Pantone’s colours of the year, expect to see their influence in lots of nuptials in 2016. These are such pretty colours to have fun with and you can add plenty of accenting shades to them like greys, greens and pops of metallics. Speaking of metallics, expect to see them paired with pretty nudes for another must have colour palette this year. Twilight greens infused with woodland earth and tree tones are another sure hit for this year too.

 

Seating
There’s been a real shift in the way in which wedding venues are set up for seating. This year the trend has moved toward breaking the old worn routine of round tables and a long top table. Instead, couples are opting for a combination of long, rectangular tables or a mix of long tables surrounded by smaller square and round tables for a much more personable and intimate feeling. Lounge areas, complete with comfortable seating options are set to be bigger than ever this year too.

 

Flowers
Look for that wild, just-picked feeling for bouquets with lots of wildflowers, greenery, tone-on-tones, as well as edible herbs being included in bouquets and centrepieces.

 

Centrepieces
There’s a feeling of going back to basics on the centrepieces this year, with low potted mis-matched arrangements taking over from the more traditional, taller arrangements. Cloche or bell jars are also set to be big, with personal touches such as family photos inside each jar, as well as books, woodland moss and even desert-style blooms along with mini cacti.

 

Lighting
Lighting is so important to any wedding day, but expect it to be centre stage for 2016 with big bold lighting coming to the fore. Think a mix of vintage and modern style chandeliers, Edison bulbs and candelabras to create an incredible mixture of lighting effects.