Florida Destination Weddings

Brides and grooms have always loved warm weather destination weddings. Many couples today, though, are not interested in the expense or hassle of getting married in a far-flung exotic island. For a warm and sunny wedding destination that is close to home, why not think about Florida, the Sunshine State?

Couples who are looking for a beach town that is all about having a good time can consider Key West. This little paradise on the Southern tip of Florida is known for its laid back vibe, tolerant attitude, and fascinating locals. Oh yeah, and don’t forget the key lime pie – yum! For a Key West wedding, a simple chiffon or organza wedding gown with unique handcrafted bridal jewelry would be ideal. Plan your wedding to take place during one of the legendary Key West sunsets.

If an urban beat is more your style, then you will love the chic flavor of a Miami wedding. This is the perfect spot for couples who love the nightlife. Serve up local Cuban-inspired food at your wedding and hire a great dance band with a Latin flair to give your guests the full Miami experience. For your honeymoon, stay at one of the renowned Art Deco or modern boutique style hotels. You can spend your days sunning yourself on South Beach, and your nights dancing at fabulous clubs.

And finally, no discussion about Florida wedding destinations would be complete without mentioning Disneyworld. This is a popular wedding destination for brides and grooms from around the world. If it has always been your fantasy to feel like a princess on your wedding day, then Disney is for you. Choose a Cinderella-inspired ballgown and top it off with fabulous handmade crystal bridal jewelry for a fantasy look as you marry your Prince Charming. A Disneyworld wedding is sure to be a dream come true.

Find the Best Wedding Service

When you begin your wedding planning, keep customer service in the forefront of your mind. Ask around for recommendations from recently married friends. Did they have a vendor that they loved? One that drove them nuts? Remember that you deserve not only a beautiful finished product, but a pleasant experience as well. It doesn’t matter if someone is the biggest name in the business if they treat you like you are small potatoes!

Another good way to find good customer service in the bridal industry is by reading reviews online. Let’s say that you are shopping for a set of crystal bridal jewelry. Look for a website that is rated by Yahoo or another service, and take the time to read the reviews. If they are all good, you can feel comfortable that you are in good hands. You can also get a sense of the quality of the service by reading the fine print. Do they have a clear and fair return policy? Does the store offer to customize your bridal jewelry or send you a crystal sample for color matching? Above all, make sure that the store has their phone number prominently listed on their site, as it means that they are happy to take your calls.

These days brides do a lot of research on the big wedding websites. Most have local discussion boards, which can be another good resource for getting a feel for prospective vendors. An important thing to keep in mind is that when you are planning a wedding, it is inevitable that some things will go wrong. The thing that you really want to pay attention to is how the vendor handled the problem. Does the reviewer say that they left multiple messages without a return call? That is a very good reason to choose a different vendor. If, however, a bride says that her florist handled a mix-up promptly and graciously, then you have found a winner.

The time that it takes to check referrals and do research will be time well spent in the end. Having wedding vendors who are courteous, professional, and who actually love what they do will make your wedding a pleasure to plan instead of a chore. And that is the kind of customer service that every bride deserves.

Embellished Bridal Gown Backs

During your marriage ceremony, most brides and grooms will spend a lot of time with their backs to their guests. Also, imagine the pictures of you and your husband dancing and cutting the wedding cake; these photos are also going to be a time when the back of your wedding gown is front and center. This is why it is so important to find a gown that has a special back detail.

Some of the most spectacular styles feature an illusion (a sheer mesh or organza) top on the bodice of the gown. This sheer fabric usually comes up high on the back, and serves as a background for some truly stunning embroidery and beadwork. It is like wearing a little piece of art on your back. You can be sure that the photographs will be breathtaking.

One of the biggest trends in couture gowns this year is the one shoulder dress. Popular both on the red carpet and the church aisle, this fashion forward trend has been embraced by chic brides from coast to coast. Some of the most fabulous versions have big ruffly silk flowers that flow over the shoulder and down the back of the gown. With this type of neckline, you will want to wear a stand-out pair of earrings, since you can’t pair a necklace with a one shoulder gown. You can have your bridal jewelry custom made to complement the style of your gown.

A final style of dress to consider is one that has the back interest a little lower. Many of these gowns have classic strapless necklines, but have beautiful details on the train. Some of the more popular embellishments include rows of ruffles, organza pleats, or even bows. With so many choices, you are sure to find the perfect bridal gown for your wedding.

Decorate Your Wedding With River Rocks

One of the hottest trends in weddings these days is to use elements that feel organic and natural. For a design element that can feel both earthy and Zen, check out river rocks. These smooth little stones can be used in a surprising number of ways to add a wonderfully natural feeling to your wedding.

The river rock unity ceremony is a perfect addition to an outdoor wedding. It will fit right in with the type of wedding where the bride is wearing a simple flowing gown and handmade jewelry. The naturally free-form style of handmade keishi pearl wedding jewelry is a wonderful complement to the earthy stones. You can also think about using a row of river rocks down each side of the aisle to define the walkway.

A very pleasing and easy idea for your escort cards is to use a metallic pen to write the name of each guest on a smooth stone. It is the ultimate DIY project; just be sure that whoever wields the pen has good handwriting. Give the escort card table more flair by arranging the river rocks over a bed of wheatgrass or a woven mat. It is a low-key and yet elegant way to display your escort cards.

The centerpieces will lend themselves to the river rock idea wonderfully. You can use a bunch of the smooth stones to anchor the floral arrangements in clear vases. Another idea is to let the river rocks themselves stand alone as a decorative element. Arrange a trio of low clear or white vessels in the center of each table. Fill one with river rocks and the other two with natural elements such as moss or sand. It is a very chic Zen centerpiece design. For any bride hoping to give her wedding a modern earthy feeling, smooth river rocks are the perfect addition.

A Sophisticated Wedding Color Palette

When you are designing your wedding, one of the best places to start is with your color palette. From traditional to modern to eclectic, the colors that you choose will have a major impact on the overall feeling of your wedding. When subtle sophistication is your goal, consider one of the newest colors for wedding, charcoal.

Charcoal may sound a bit drab for a wedding, but when used in combination with a bright color like kiwi or raspberry, it can be understated and yet still festive. It is a color that can be used at any time of the year, as well, making it quite versatile. Charcoal has the advantage of being less harsh than black for brides who like sophisticated colors and design.

There are several ways to use your color palette for your bridesmaids. Their dresses can definitely use your chosen hues in combination. If you can find an attractive print that has your featured colors, great; if not, it is certainly easy enough to select a solid color dress in charcoal and accent it with a sash in kiwi or raspberry. For a lighter more summery look, choose a bridesmaid dress in kiwi or raspberry, and have it trimmed with subtle charcoal piping along the neckline. The final accent is the bridesmaid jewelry. Grey freshwater pearl necklaces and earring would make perfect bridesmaid jewelry gifts to tie in with your color scheme.

The table linens and flowers are another great place to use your wedding colors. Rich charcoal would make an elegant tablecloth, especially when brightened up with centerpieces in shades of raspberry, hot pink, and burgundy. A wonderful flower choice would be orchids, some of which are available in a deep pink and green combination. They would work well with the wedding color palette while adding that extra touch of sophisticated elegance for which orchids are known.The subtle yet bright color combination will add an elegant flair to your wedding.

Lovely Yellow Wedding Flowers

In all of the hoopla over what wedding colors are super-trendy or the most daring, sometimes the pretty classics can be forgotten. Yellow is one of the sweetest color choices for wedding flowers, and it is available in virtually any type of blossom that you could ever desire. These are some ideas for the loveliest yellow wedding bouquets and centerpieces.

Your bridal bouquet is really like another accessory, just like your veil or pearl jewelry. The style of the bouquet should complement the design of your gown, as well as the theme of your wedding. With yellow as your color of choice, you will have flower options that can be sweet, romantic, cheerful, bright, romantic, tropical, modern, or old-fashioned. In other words, there are yellow flowers that would be perfect for any style of wedding.

The cheery nature of yellow makes it wonderful for a spring wedding. Some of the most beautiful spring blossoms are available in shades of yellow ranging from the palest cream to the most vibrant yellow. Choices include bridal classics like tulips and roses, as well as springtime favorites such as daffodils, crocus, and forsythia. These yellow beauties are ideal for designing bouquets that are traditional and sunny, as well as for centerpieces with a bit more height and drama (as when you mix in branches of forsythia).

Yellow centerpieces and bouquets can look especially cheery and lighthearted when they are created from shades of yellow accented with crisp white and fresh spring green. There is nothing more happy than a simple bouquet of yellow and white daisies tied with a green and white gingham ribbon. For a more modern edge, go with gerbera daisies in a bolder shade of yellow. Either style of daisy works wonderfully when arranged in a simple clear glass vase for centerpieces. To make your centerpieces more nostalgic, you can use white pitchers and fill them with the classic white and yellow daisies.

Festive Garnishes for Wedding Drinks

Almost any kind of drink, from the most humble to the most elegant can be made more special with the addition of a well-chosen garnish. Let’s say that your wedding reception will be a casual backyard barbeque. For your drinks, serve fresh-squeezed lemonade in large clear glass jugs with spouts. It is common to dress up lemonade with floating slices of fresh lemons; why not go a step further, and add frozen raspberries? The splash of color will look appealing, and the raspberries will make the lemonade even more delicious.

Martinis are popular at evening weddings, and there are some terrific ideas to garnish them. Instead of simply dropping in a few cocktail olives, have the bartender skewer the olives (or olives and pearl onions) on a tiny silver colored pick topped with a sparkling crystal. You can choose a red crystal for a touch of drama, or a clear crystal to tie in with your bridal jewelry. Another fantastic idea is to freeze olive juice into mini cubes, and drop a few into the glasses for your own take on a nicely chilled dirty martini.

Tropical drinks are very popular at weddings, whether they are alcoholic or not. These are some of the most fun types of drinks to garnish. You can use chunks of fresh fruit like pineapple, mango, or strawberries. Sliced kiwi fruit looks wonderful floating on a drink, and though decidedly not a fresh fruit, maraschino cherries are a guilty pleasure that will delight guests of all ages. The mini cocktail umbrellas can be a bit kitschy, but are also very festive and a lot of fun.

There are numerous other garnishes that can be used for a myriad of different wedding drinks. A sugared rim is a tasty treatment for many types of cocktails. Floating fresh flowers are beautiful and old-fashioned for a wedding reception or a bridal shower. You can also add ice cubes in a special shape to work with your wedding theme. And don’t forget about Champagne; though pretty darn fantastic on its own, Champagne also lends itself to some festive garnishes. A ripe strawberry can be dropped into a flute of dry Champagne. Or for a New Year’s Eve wedding, add some sparkle to the glasses by wrapping a silver wire with a few crystals on it around the stem of each flute. It will be like the Champagne wore a set of crystal bridal jewelry to your celebration!

Make Your Wedding Venue Feel Like Home

The standard decorations for a wedding venue include things like flowers and candles, but there is so much more that you can do to customize your space. When your wedding site is an historic mansion, one of the best ways to decorate it is with personal items that come from your own family, or at least look like they did. You can situate these personal touches around the reception venue in a way that looks very natural and not staged.

When you are looking for elements to enhance a graceful old home, think about the time period of the house, as well as the types of special things that you have in your family. Pay extra attention to the things that have the most sentimental meaning or nostalgic value to you. For instance, if your grandmother has a beautiful silver tea set that she always has on display in her home, perhaps you could borrow it to grace the mantel in the venue’s dining room. Add a few tapered candles in mis-matched silver holders, and you will have a beautiful vignette.

Family photos are a very special way to dress up your reception space. This works particularly well in a rented mansion, as you can scatter photos around the space just like you would in your own home. It is especially meaningful to include wedding photos of the bride and groom’s parents and grandparents from their own weddings. Baby pictures of the bride and groom are also always a sweet thing to include.

When you are taking such care to make your reception venue include items from your family, don’t forget about including a few sentimental elements in your bridal ensemble. The most nostalgic idea of all is to wear your mother’s wedding gown, possibly re-cut in an updated style. If you have a beautiful brooch belonging to your grandmother, you can pin it on the waist of your wedding gown or on the ribbon that ties your bouquet.

Since weddings are all about the blending of the old and the new, feel free to have new pieces of custom bridal jewelry created to complement any older family pieces that you may be wearing. It is quite easy to blend newly made bridal jewelry with antiques when you have it custom made from the same types of gems, whether it is crystals or pearls.You will find that adding the personal touches to your wedding will make it feel even more meaningful to you.

Affordable Destination Weddings

The most important thing to decide when you are having a destination wedding is the location. This is where a lot of couples can run into budget problems. However, if you keep an open mind, you can find alternatives that will have some of the features you like about a pricier destination, while remaining more affordable. For instance, let’s say that you love the excitement and glamour of Las Vegas, but live on the East Coast. Instead of incurring the expense of flying out to Vegas (not only for the bride and groom, but for everyone attending the wedding), look into booking a fabulous resort in Atlantic City instead.

Another way to keep your destination wedding affordable is to look for an area that has a range of hotel prices. In some regions, all of the resorts are incredibly expensive, but in similarly beautiful places, you can find resorts that are nice but not outrageous. You can even plan to have your wedding and honeymoon suite at the more exclusive resort, and then move to a less pricey hotel for the rest of your honeymoon. Your guests will also appreciate having a few options for hotel rooms.

When you are getting married at the beach, nature is so beautiful that you do not need to go crazy with a fancy gown or over-the-top decorations. Stick with locally grown flowers for the best prices. Rather than choosing a bridal gown that is heavy with fancy adornments, select one that is pretty, but simple. It will not only save you money, it will suit your location better. You can also cut costs on your accessories for an outdoor wedding. Instead of splurging on diamonds, look into custom bridal Swarovski necklaces.

There are plenty of ways to have the destination wedding of your dreams while working within a budget. All it takes is a little creativity and flexibility. Before you know it, you will be saying your vows in a beautiful location, just as you have always imagined.

Vivid Centerpieces for Summer Weddings

Of course, when you are designing centerpieces for your reception, the place to begin is with the flowers. Don’t be afraid to combine a variety of bold colors. Think about how cheerful it would be to have simple centerpieces created from hot pink, orange, red, and yellow gerbera daisies. They could be arranged in basic clear glass vases, or even set into painted tin buckets for informal beach weddings.

Vivid does not have to mean casual. If your wedding is on the formal side, there are still some amazing effects that you can create for your centerpieces. Brides who are wearing crystal bridal jewelry will love the look of bright red Swarovski crystals filling the bottoms of the vases. They can be topped with bouquets of vibrant red and hot pink roses for centerpieces that will dazzle your guests.

Tropical flowers are terrific for summer, and they also come in the most amazing colors. One of the most versatile and hardy options are orchids. These exotic flowers look extremely elegant, and yet can be used in almost any setting. Best of all, they come in an endless array of vibrant colors, including varieties that are striped or dotted. Orchids can be used to design bright and bold centerpieces that run the gamut from modern to opulent.

You can also make your centerpieces more vivid by pairing colors that pop against one another. Try magenta and lime green or bright purple with safety orange. Unexpected color combinations also have the bonus of adding personality to your reception décor. Summer is the perfect time to explore some wild color choices.

Have fun when you are planning your wedding centerpieces. The summer months lend themselves to wedding decorations that are exuberant and bright. Vivid centerpieces are the perfect place to begin when you want to add some pizzazz to your wedding reception.