8 Stylish Details to Make Your Event Pop!
Hanging arrangements
Lounge Furniture
Chair Decor
Draping
Menu Napkin Rings
Escort Cocktails
Lighting
Texture
Hanging arrangements
Lounge Furniture
Chair Decor
Draping
Menu Napkin Rings
Escort Cocktails
Lighting
Texture
I am a huge lover of BBJ Linen. I absolutely love their Design Center; it allows you to piece together the linens you like and see them set visually before you to get an idea as to how your vision will come to life. You can work with your primary linen, coordinating linen, napkins, chair covers and ties. Seeing complementing colors and textures will give you an idea of what your tables and/or chairs will look like. You can print out your results for your notes and try as many combinations as you like. With showrooms across the U.S., you can make an appointment and see the linens you’ve chosen on actual tables.
Don’t forget to use the Linen Workup Sheet in combination with this great site!
At times, it is far easier to think about your details and their place in the grand scheme of things, rather than to be overwhelmed with all of them at once. Instead of thinking of the entire reception, think of one table. This is the only table that needs your attention, the only table that will convey your event’s personality.
Close your eyes.
Tell me about it.
What colors are on the table? Are they deep and rich? Soft and light? Run your hand across the table—what textures do you feel? Soft satin? Crinkly bichon? How does the table make you feel? What about your place setting and glasses? Is it modern or traditional? Eclectic or romantic? Do you feel an ambient glow on your face? Is it coming from small votives? Thick pillars, or floating candles?
Take a whiff.
Which fragrant aromas are present? Open your eyes—what flowers are on your table? What do their containers look like? Glass or silver vases? Tall, square or cylinder? Low to the table? What shape is your table—oblong or round? What about your chairs—are they casual or elegant? Think about a quiet dinner with your love, and holding hands across this beautifully designed table. If the table was the only thing in the room, where would you feel that you were? The key is to create an experience at each table for all guests to enjoy, and duplicate it for the remaining tables. You could choose to create a slightly different experience, by using different linens or centerpieces.
Start small, scale up.
We’ve cracked open the vault to help you with your planning this wedding season!
Photo :: Wildflower Linen
This week’s download is a linen workup sheet that will help you keep track of the linens you are considering for your wedding. You can take note of the linens you like, its size, how many you will need and where at your wedding it will be used.
This workup sheet is great to use if you want to send them to linen providers to receive a quote or to check against when the delivery is received.
Happy Downloading!
You are going to see a lot of gold in 2009. It’s vintage elegance will be the new bling of the year. Gold can be a rich (pardon the pun) color, and when paired with texture, it can create quite a refined look. However, if overdone, it can look gaudy—and what was once your subdued elegant event is now the Mr. T of weddings.
Not fabulous.
How to Get It Right
Gold is powerful—its opulence should be used sparingly to get the full effect. You could opt for gold bridesmaid dresses to add color, like these from Impression Bridal (styles 16377 and 1642). They aren’t a brassy, overpowering gold. Instead, they are a soft gold. But if you did use these and went with gold laced decor, it would lose its meaning and appear overdone.
Linens
If you go gold, incorporate some texture, like BBJ’s Golden Shantung. It’s rich texture really does the color justice. You could also use gold sheer overlays to soften some colors or liven up a drab white or ivory standard linen, all the while, adding a hint of your “gilty” pleasure.
If you opt for a solid gold satin, bring out the color by using a patterned linen of another color. For example, BBJ’s Ivory Deauville would be amazing over a solid gold lamour. If you really want to “do it up”, you could also check out their Gold Deauville;with its hint of deep red, you can really luxe up your linens.
Decor
Depending on your color scheme, you could take full advantage of a gold base by adding regal colors such as reds or purples. All white flowers can also have a rich but subtle effect. Incorporating golden containers, candelabras, candlesticks, chargers, lined glassware, etc. are other ways to play up this opulent theme. Gold chiavaris are also a great way to add opulence to your decor. Even if you find yourself loving the idea of gold, but don’t want to fully commit your linens (or budget), look for gold runners which can be custom-made or rented to match your theme.
Tying in the Other Details
With edible gold leaf and powders, you can take your affinity for the precious metal to a new level with your signature drink and cake. Adding gold touches to your wedding cake is a sure fire way to go from bridal dessert to work of art. The same can be said for your signature drink. At last year’s Governor’s Ball, Patron served 4000 of their very own siggies—the Patron Red Carpet. What was this divinity in a glass? Red raspberry tequila drenched in gold (ok, just rimmed in gold—but “drenched” sounds so luxe.) You can find a video of the recipe at the above link.
Recap:
I think grown women should have grown women colors, don’t you? I’ve seen some demure things that are gorgeous, but I really do love it when a bride gets a little "risque" with color. It just says so much about her personality and where she is going with her event when she experiments with vibrant colors. Color just makes you feel sexy, alive, mysterious, daring, beautiful…. It can be kind of hard to feel that way when you are dressed up like a Disney Princess.
Ever since Michelle Obama wore her fist bumping purple dress, more people are falling in love with the shade. Some of us who closely follow the Pantone Color Trends saw it coming. Even though we’re seeing the standard influx of Tiffany Blue and Yellow, more bolder and richer colors are making their presence known. (FYI, this really makes you look like the rockstar bride when you choose a color that is hot an can be worn again successfully without looking like a young maiden that interacts with talking candlesticks and clocks, while being courted by a beast). On the fair side, Trends are fleeting– but guess what, so is your wedding. It’s not going to happen at the same time every year– it represents where you are at that particular moment. No, you shouldn’t pick a color just because it’s "trendy". "Trendy" will look dated in a few months or years. When it is reflective of who you are, that my friends, is what stands the test of time.
Bouquet, drink, and centerpiece photos {Brides.com}, boutonniere {The Knot}, Black linen tablescape {Shawna Herring :: Flickr}, Bridesmaid Dress {Jordan Fashions :: 536 in Raspberry}
I have always been in love with Pucci and his bold, sexy prints, which are perfect for the summer time. He makes great “airport clothes”….You know, the kind of clothes that you where when you travel that makes people say “OMG, is that ______________ (insert name here)?” J.Lo made him famous a few summers ago when she brought back the 50’s and 60’s patterned mania. Pucci has been called the “Prince of Prints” and “The King of Casual Couture”, by bringing the modern Florentine prints into the fashion world in a way that dares you to resist them. Just look at the Spring/Summer line that debuted last month
It’s really no wonder that when I have heard that patterns were going to be
cake by Martin Howard Cakes :: Photo by Gaby Zimmerman
cake by The Cake Girls :: Photo by Ngoc Minh Ngo
cake by Lovin Sullivan
Black and White Pucci :: BBJ Linens
Pink and Green Pucci :: Cloth Connection
Veuve Clicquot Wine dressed in Pucci (how cute!)
If you are really lucky, you might be able to score some really nice Pucci Inspired dresses from a retailer for your chic bridal party to don…or better yet, find some gorgeous fabric and take it to a seamstress!
No, I’m not practicing my baby talk. After the Soprano’s disappointing finale, my unborn child has already heard a few choice words. I’m singing the lyrics to the super sultry and suggestive, Lady Marmalade. It is also the inspiration for this week’s storyboard, Lady Marmalade. Painted in red in black and shrouded in mystery and romance, this is a great starting point for your Moulin Rouge themed wedding. Inspired by the movie and Cirque du Soleil , we bring a culmination of elements to appeal to the senses. Though there are some key things we would change to make this more dynamic for the client, we hope it inspires you! See you next week, when our new storyboard will be….(LOL you’ll have to come back to find out!)
Click for larger picture
Is your cake table design “blah”? Do you have everything figured out but your cake table decor? Have no fear, darlings! BBJ has new ideas in its bridal and cake table ideas gallery. For example, how absolutely cute (and different) is this skirted (literally) cake table? It adds texture and a cool, yet different design to the otherwise standard “white on white” fluffed cake table. BBJ did another rendition of this skirted table, which is equally gorgeous, with even more depth.
