Wedding Wisdom: Love It or Leave It

This season is full of cute and interesting trends – from dress styles and decorations, to themes in catering and venues.  Here are my thoughts about which trends to embrace, and which will be short-lived.

Love it:  Lace, lace, lace. 

Love, love, love!  Lace is timeless, elegant, and absolutely stunning.  A bride who wears a lace gown can look back at her pictures 20, 30, 70 years from now and her gown will still be in style.  Lace is feminine, flirty, sophisticated, and sure to amaze every guest from the conservative grandma to the trendy sorority sister.  Everyone looks amazing in lace!

Leave It:  Supersized centerpieces

We’ve all seen them.  And sure, they’re stunning in an empty room.  But when seating arrangements are carefully and strategically planned, how is your high school bff supposed to hit it off with your fiance’s former co-worker when all she can see to converse with is a gigantic hydrangea?  You can add height and depth to the room with slender candles of various heights and subtle ceiling treatments.  Plus once the guests are in the room, no one will notice the change in height of the centerpieces.  Keep centerpieces simple and sophisticated to encourage conversation among guests.

 

 

Love it: Lanterns

Lanterns are such a perfect decorative element to bring a rustic touch to an elegant setting.  They add light to the room and warmth to the ambience.  Lanterns are a great way to bring a sense of the outdoors to an indoor venue.

 

Leave it:  Birdcages

They’re whimsical, vintage, fun pieces.  But I don’t understand the hype.  Sure they make cute card boxes if that’s the style you’re going for, but let’s not go overboard here.  I also don’t feel that the symbolism of a cage really goes with the theme and purpose of matrimony.

Love It:  Chair covers

There’s no better way to kill an elegant theme than with hideous chairs.  Guests will hardly notice your decorative details if they feel like they’re sitting in a board meeting.  Adding a chair cover is a great way to turn an average room into a stunning venue.  Sure they’re overpriced, like many wedding details, but this one is worth splurging.  On a budget?  Put together a committee of friends to place the covers the morning of the wedding.  (Bridesmaids’ boyfriends have nothing better to do anyway, right?)

Leave It: Buffet Dinners.

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve attend a number of very classy wedding receptions with buffet meals.  The food was delicious every time, and this would be a great way to save money.  However, I personally find plated dinners to be more appropriate for a formal event.  I don’t like the idea of making guests stand in line to get their food, and a quick and easy way to ruin a wedding reception would be to run out of food before all the guests made their way through the line.  So spend a few extra dollars and provide plated meals.

And finally, a trend that I’m embarrassed to love….

Dog Flower Girls.  Bahahaha!  Adorable!  If my little Kua were about five years older and 75% more consistently well behaved, I think we’d have to incorporate her into our ceremony somehow.

 Stay tuned for more Wedding Wisdom next month! :-)