Real Life Wedding Planning

A recent episode of the WeTV show, “My Fair Wedding”, featured a couple who had planned to have a destination wedding in Mexico but canceled because of  the Swine Flu.  Celebrity wedding planner, David Tutera, saved the day by giving them a wedding in Staten Island, New York that captured the feeling of a beach in Mexico.

Steal his ideas to make a Mexican themed wedding of your own:

Venue

David chose a a venue on the beach in Staten Island, the Vanderbilt at South Beach.  The wedding ceremony was held on the beach.  He set up poles with ivory fabric to create a private space on a public beach.  The sand was covered with astroturf so the guests and the wedding party did not have to walk on sand and white carpet was set out as the aisle runner.  The reception was indoors.

If you select a beach wedding, whether you have a Mexican theme or not, you can set down astroturf and a white carpet with the help of your florist.

Food and Drink

David gave the bride a tasting from a chic Mexican restaurant.  She sampled guacamole, churros and sangria.  David later selected the Mexican menu for her.

If your theme is a country, like Mexico, or any location, try to incorporate food from the region.

Bridesmaid Dresses

The bride originally had the bridesmaids all in yellow but in different style dresses.  To give the women a more festive look, David selected pink strapless floral dresses and gave them all the same dress.

If you decide to use the same color but different dress styles for each of the attendants, be sure the fabric is the same weight and texture.  For example, don’t have one bridesmaid in chiffon and another in velvet.

Colors

David chose the shades of a sunset in Mexico and used it in the linens, table runners, chairbacks, flowers, and even the edible flowers on the cake.

Be sure you incorporate the theme and colors of your wedding in everything from your save-the-date-cards, invitations, attendant attire and decor.

Spectacular Ending

The night ended with fireworks. If you want to end in fireworks, work with a reputable pyrotechnic company that purchases the proper permits and insurance for your wedding.

You can see David Tutera’s video wedding tips on the WeTV website.

Wearing a custom Vera Wang wedding gown, actress Alyssa Milano married agent David Bugliari at his family’s New Jersey estate on August 15, 2009.

Here are the ideas you’ll want to steal:

• At the outdoor wedding, the aisle was scattered with cream-colored rose petals

• They wed under a wrought-iron gazebo decorated with calla lilies, roses and willow

• The bridal bouquet was made of  lily of the valley flowers

• The color theme was purple.  The bridesmaids wore long purple gowns and the flower girls wore long white dresses with purple sashes.

• In keeping with a “country-chic” theme, wooden signs directed guests to the reception area which was decorated rattan furniture.  Bales of hay were used as cocktail tables.  (You can get bales of hay at a feed store)

• The reception was in a tent with wooden flooring and wrought iron chandeliers (Flooring and chandeliers can be rented from a tent or party rental company)

• Dinner was served “family style” on rustic farmhouse tables (”family style” means platters of food were placed on the tables for guests to serve themselves – perfect for a casual country wedding)

The wedding was planned by event planner, lifestyle designer, and star of the Lifetime television show, Get Married, Colin Cowie.

Planning to have a wedding with a casual style?  Then you might want to have a Western themed wedding.  This theme is perfect if you are holding your wedding in a chapel, church, home, garden, park, community center, farmhouse, ranch or country inn.  But even if your wedding is in a big city hotel, you can carry out the theme with your choice of decorations and food.

Here are some ideas:

Decor-

• Use patchwork quilts, Navajo blankets, or red and white gingham as tablecloths.

• Use bandannas as napkins.

• Centerpieces can be arrangements of flowers in baskets, mason jars, vases of flowers inside cowboy boots, or small blooming cactus plants that can be used as favors.

• Flowers should look like they were hand-picked from a garden.  Choose wildflowers, daisies, sunflowers, zinnias, roses, and lilacs.

• Use bales of hay for decoration around the room or for seating.

• Keep drinks cold in buckets and washtubs filled with ice.

• Light the area with kerosene lamps or, for safety reasons,  battery-operated lamps that resemble vintage kerosene lamps.

• Hang a metal triangle and ring it when it’s time to cut the cake.

Cake and Desserts-

• You can simply top your cake with a cowgirl and cowboy.  Or work with your cake designer to create something unique such as the look of a hand-tooled leather belt wrapped around each tier or get cakes shaped like cowboy hats or boots.

• Apple pie or cobbler.

• Homemade (or homemade-like) ice cream.

Food-

• Buffalo wings with ranch dressing

• Barbecue  ribs and chicken

• Grilled steak

• Baked potatoes

• Corn on the cob

Favors-

• Bandannas personalized with your name and wedding date

• Program fans that look like Western “Most Wanted” posters

• Cowboy hats

Wedding attire-

• You can wear a vintage or vintage style wedding dress in antique white with lace but it isn’t necessary.  In fact, actress Sandra Bullock wore a designer (Angel Sanchez) white lace wedding dress and veil to her Western wedding to Jesse James in 2005.  She added white cowboy boots to give her look a Western flair.  If you love denim, there are stores online that sell blue denim wedding dresses.

• Your bridesmaids can wear square dance dresses or dress like Western saloon girls.  If you prefer something more traditional, find vintage-style dresses that are similar to your own.

• The groom and groomsmen can wear black suits, vests, white shirts with bolo ties (decorative strings with a clasps of silver), and cowboy hats.

• Ask guests to dress casually in Western wear.

The Summer 2009 issue of Destination Weddings & Honeymoons magazine has a two page spread showing decorations and acessories you can use at your Western wedding.  There are also many wedding vendors who sell Western and Cowboy related wedding accessories and favors on the Internet.

Trying to decide on a color theme for your wedding?  Think about using black and white, it’s classic, elegant and can also be a little bit edgy.   Both Fergie and Josh Duhamel and former reality show bachelorette, Jen Schefft, used these colors for their weddings this year.

Here are some ways you can use black and white in your wedding:

Reception Decor-

• Centerpieces of white roses, calla lilies, carnations, or white dendrobium orchids.  Use black vases to keep with the theme.

• Black flowers, whether tulips, roses, or calla lilies, will give the wedding a real edgy look.

• Black and white checkered dance floor (which you can get from a party rental company).

• Black linens, both tablecloths and napkins, with white china, white linens and black china, or mix it up with white tablecloths, black napkins and black china.

• White chairs or chair covers with black sashes.

• You can also incorporate an accent color of pink, lavender, or, for a very dramatic look, red, in your centerpieces or chair sashes.

Cake and Desserts-

• Wedding cake iced in white, piped with black scrolls, lace-like designs or banded with black ribbons.

• Large strawberries decorated to look like they are wearing a black tuxedos.

Favors-

• Black and white favor bags, you can even find ones that look like mini bride’s dresses and tuxedos.

Wedding attire-

• Jen Schefft wore a white Carolina Herrera wedding dress with a black bow and black peep-toe pumps.

• The train of Fergie’s white mermaid wedding dress was held with vintage black and white crystal floral brooches.

• Bridesmaids can wear black dresses with white sashes and carry white bouquets.

I found a set of interchangeable black and white simulated pearl earrings from the Jacqueline Kennedy jewelry collection at www.QVC.com.  Wear the pearl color that will stand out the most with your hair color or have some fun and wear one of each color!

2006 Movie "Marie Antoinette"

Find inspiration for your wedding theme from the movies.  Marie Antoinette, the 2006 movie starring Kirsten Dunst, has giving many brides ideas for their colors, decor and floral design.  In fact, Golden Chic Events and Consulting in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is holding a bridal exposition, Marie Antoinette: Let Them Eat Cake, February 28, 2009, based on this theme.  The event will feature wedding vendors, photographers, florists, among others, a bridal fashion show and a meal.  Find out more about it at their website http://goldenchicevents.com/innerindex.php?link=marie_antoinette_event

If you can’t make it to the expo in Milwaukee, here are some ideas on how to incorporate the Marie Antoinette theme into you wedding:

Colors - soft pinks, peaches, pearl, raspberry with touches of metallic gold

Flowers – roses in a variety of pink tones, peonies and hydrangeas

Textures – extravagant-looking table linens in fabrics are or look like silk, taffeta and brocade, add velvet if your wedding is in the cooler months

Music – if you follow the music from the movie, everything from classical music by Antonio Vivaldi to 1980s new wave

Favors – fans, boxes of petit fours, small candies in fancy boxes, or masquerade masks

Drinks – use champagne fountains to serve champagne, sparkling cider or punch

Food – multiple courses served on elegant china, multiple desserts

Attire – big ball gowns worn with large, sparkling earrings and necklaces for the bride and her attendants, men in informal suits or tails

Venue – ballroom with chandeliers, patterns on the wallpaper, drapes of silk or velvet

You don’t have to follow the theme exactly, just take some of these ideas and incorporate them with your ideas to design your dream wedding.

2006 Movie "Marie Antoinette"

Wedding of Fergie and Josh Duhamel

Top wedding planner Mindy Weiss coordinated the celebrity wedding of singer Fergie and actor Josh Duhamel.  The new, January 26, 2009, issue of Us Weekly magazine has the details and photos that will give you ideas for your wedding.  Here are some of them:

• Black and White color theme.  This was seen on the invitations and attire.  The train of the bride’s white mermaid dress was held with vintage black and white crystal floral brooches and the bridesmaids wore black while carrying bouquets of gardenias and white roses.

• Outdoor lakeside location with a fishing theme, one of the groom’s favorite activities.  The lake was filled with fish and guests were given fishing poles.

• An enchanted forest theme in three tents, for the ceremony, reception and after party.

• First dance song was “Sweethearts Together” by the Rolling Stones.

• Wedding cake was shaped like a castle and was half banana and half chocolate.

• Wedding favors were rubber bracelets inscribed with the words “perfect pair”.

• Gifts to the bridesmaids were cashmere wraps to wear at the event.

• Cell phones were banned!