Swanky Museum Wedding Receptions

Most cities have at least one spectacular art museum. They are often designed to be very grand and impressive, with marble lined entrance halls, a stunning atrium, and incredible works of art everywhere you look. What better place to hold a formal wedding? Museum weddings are almost always held in the evening, since they are restricted to hours when the galleries are closed to the public. That gives you the perfect excuse to have a black tie affair. Just picture yourself dressed in a couture gown and custom bridal jewelry, sipping Champagne with your new husband while admiring a Monet or a Renoir – life doesn’t get any sweeter than that!

The one thing you will not need a lot of for a reception in a museum is decorations. When the space is full of original paintings and sculptures, not much else is called for. Pretty centerpieces and table linens will just about do it. That said, there are many special considerations to hosting a wedding in such a large space. For one thing, you may need to hire a lighting specialist to get the lighting just right for a museum after dark. Something else that may be necessary is a sound engineer, because the acoustics in a vast marble-clad room will be very challenging for the band to get right. And of course, you will need an insurance policy in case Uncle Fred has one too many and tips over a Ming vase or something.

When planning a museum wedding, you will probably need to bring in your own caterer. The events coordinator at the site will give you a list of pre-approved vendors, because not just anyone is going to be allowed to work there. The nice thing about working with someone who has prior experience at the museum is that they will know how to work around the venue’s strict rules about things like no beer bottles, no red beverages, and a ban on open flames. While a bit of a pain, the reason behind all of the restrictions is to protect the priceless artwork, so it is actually rather reasonable. The formal setting would make a very elegant dinner appropriate.

If you are thinking about having your wedding in a museum, remember that there are all kind of interesting ones beyond traditional art museums. You could have your reception under a giant fossil in the American Museum of National History in New York or the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. Or if you are a kid at heart, why not have your event at the Children’s Museum in Pittsburgh? That would be a really fun site for a wedding with a lot of kids in attendance. Choose a whimsical wedding gown with colorful custom bridal jewelry to set a playful tone. Whichever site suits your fancy, when your wedding is surrounded by one-of-a-kind works of art, it is sure to be spectacular!

New Wedding Trend: Wine and Cheese Reception

If you are not planning to have a formal seated wedding reception dinner, you need a great alternative. A wine and cheese reception could be just perfect. Everyone loves wine after all, and of course cheese (along with other foods) is always a hit. This is a fresh twist on the cocktail receptions which have been popular in recent years, and it is a terrific option for a late afternoon wedding. A wine and cheese reception is also relatively budget-friendly, as you will not need to serve a full meal, nor hire a big band.

A great space for this type of wedding reception would be a wine bar. Many have private rooms, or you may even be able to rent the whole space, particularly for an afternoon reception. No wine bar in your town? No problem; a chic restaurant, loft, or gallery space would make a terrific alternative venue. The seating should be comfortable and casual. Modern lounge spaces with low slung couches and coffee tables would be great. You can mix in a few tall cocktail tables with bar stools as well.

The style of a wine and cheese wedding celebration will tend to be chic in a low key way. The bride would be charming in a short white lace dress with pearl custom bridal jewelry for an afternoon reception. A long slender column gown worn with custom vintage inspired bridal jewelry would be fabulous for the bride who likes a bit more drama. In either case, a handsome suit will be ideal for the groom.

Set up stations with knowledgeable sommeliers who can inform guests about the wine selections being offered. Plan to serve a nice variety of red, white, sparkling, and dessert wines. It would be nice to set up food stations near the wine stations which feature the little bites which best complement the wine varieties. In addition to a broad selection of cheeses (soft, hard, goat, artisan, etc.), round out the food offerings with fresh fruit, bread, small hot bites like tartlets, and some tapas.

How Would You Like to Compete With a Royal Wedding?

Spring brides all over Britain have been thrown for a loop by the announcement of the royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton. Once the April 29, 2011 date was set, ordinary women who had already been planning their weddings for the last weekend of April suddenly realized that their wedding would definitely be playing second fiddle to the grand event. What’s an ordinary bride to do when she comes to find out that a royal wedding will be upstaging her big day?

While there is something kind of neat about sharing a wedding anniversary with a royal couple, there are also a lot of headaches associated with it. Brides who had previously selected the April 2011 wedding date which was chosen by Prince William and Kate Middleton are facing an uphill battle to keep their wedding in the forefront of anyone’s mind for that special date. The reality is that many of the wedding guests may be wishing that they were watching the royal wedding, when they are attending the one to which they were invited. For that matter, the bride herself may be interested in seeing the royal wedding on television!

So what is an ordinary bride to do when she realizes that her wedding will be in competition with the wedding of the year? One option is to change the wedding date. That is not as crazy as it sounds, especially for brides who were planning to get married anywhere remotely near Westminster Abbey or on any of the streets in the vicinity. Remember the legions of fans who lined the route which Lady Diana Spencer’s carriage traveled to take her to her wedding to Prince Charles? Surely that kind of scene will be repeated when Kate Middleton makes her approach to her wedding site in her custom bridal gown and royal jewelry, with all of the accompanying security and traffic snarls which you would expect. The ordinary bride who is getting married on April 29, 2011 may well find that just getting to her own wedding is a major struggle.

Brides who wish to keep the focus on their own weddings despite the shared date with the royal wedding would do well to plan an event in a very different style. Competing with any royal wedding head to head in terms of style is an impossibility for most regular folks, so don’t even try! So instead of attempting to put together a celebration with a grand style, go a different direction. Host an ultra-modern cocktail wedding in an art gallery or throw a picnic reception on a lawn out in the country. And of course, take heart that despite all the excitement of the royal wedding taking place on the same day as your own wedding, your family and friends will still be just as happy for you.

Wedding Theme Ideas for 2011

Whimsical Tea Party. Some of the top colors for spring 2011 weddings will be light and fun hues like spring green, flamingo pink, and lilac. Used in combination, these colors lend themselves to a whimsical tea party theme. For centerpieces, arrange flowers in polka dot teapots. Design a sweets table with cupcakes, pastries, and cookies all frosted in shades of lilac, flamingo, and green with fun details like polka dots, stripes, and flowers. Dress bridesmaids in an array of organza dresses, with each in a different signature color. A wonderful detail for the bride would be custom bridal jewelry made from Swarovski crystals in pink, lilac, and green.

Summer Forest. This theme would be beautiful with the soft natural hues coming into style for 2011 weddings, such as moss green and mushroom brown. Picture something from “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”, especially when it comes to the bridal gown and bridesmaid dresses. A pale tea-dyed color dress of chiffon or English net would be perfect for the bride, and the moss color will suit the bridesmaids. Add custom bridal jewelry made with Swarovski crystal leaves to complete the woodland fairy effect. The decorations for a summer forest theme wedding should be very natural: loosely arranged wildflowers in shades of purple and ivory, lots of moss, and garlands of flowers strung between the trees. For an indoor ceremony, bring in potted trees and use custom gobo lights to project a woodland scene onto the walls.

Retro 1950s. Bridal gowns inspired by classic 1950s dresses are a huge trend for 2011. Take your inspiration from this to design a fun ’50s theme wedding.  Use some of the favorite mid-Century wedding motifs such as lovebirds, wedding bells, and bride and groom cake toppers. The bride can choose a gown from among the many ’50s inspired strapless sweetheart designs available and wear it with pearl bridal jewelry and white gloves. You could bring in some fun ’50s things such as a retro soda fountain complete with a white-capped “soda jerk” mixing up cherry Cokes and root beer floats. Hire a band who can play all the classic music of the 1950s (can we say Elvis song for the first dance?!), and get ready to have a wonderful time at your wedding.

Formal Fall Wedding Colors

Did you know that September and October are among the most popular months for weddings? Fall weddings have a very different flavor than the bright summer weddings which precede them or the “Winter Wonderland” weddings of the holiday season. Many of the ideas for autumn weddings are rustic, but one can certainly have a more elegant wedding in the fall months. These are some ideas for formal fall wedding colors.

When trying to avoid the standard rustic fall colors, the key is to use something a bit more sophisticated with one of the rich seasonal hues. For instance, the rich red of burgundy is a fairly classic fall color, but when paired with a deep aubergine, the result is truly regal. It would be a fantastic color palette for an October evening wedding. Decorate with an abundance of roses in burgundy and aubergine, along with touches of amber crystal to lighten things up a touch. The bride can choose to wear a gown with golden tones instead of pure white, perhaps accented with custom bridal jewelry in amber crystals. It would be a perfect bridal ensemble for a ceremony in a Gothic stone church.

Brown is a popular color for autumn weddings. To make the look more elegant than rustic, steer clear of the standard brown with orange combination. Brown paired with a luxurious lilac color would be feminine and yet seasonal for a fall afternoon ceremony. Think about how pretty your bridesmaids would look in brown taffeta or shantung dresses with lilac sashes. For the bouquets, choose elegant flowers in shades of lilac and light purple, such as lisanthus, calla lilies, orchids, roses, and statice. To bring the fall season into the bouquets, create a ruffle of embossed velvet leaves in brown and deep purple around the blossoms.

Gold is an excellent color for a formal fall wedding, as is its cousin, bronze. The rich warm metallics are ideal for an upscale autumn wedding and pair beautifully with any number of other colors. Dark colors such as forest green, cobalt (just a bit fresher than navy), russet, and deep orange are all gorgeous when combined with gold or bronze accents. Set the mood with invitations engraved in an exquisite gold font and line the envelopes with your other color. For the wedding decorations, use gold or bronze charger plates under the dinner china, layered over dupioni tablecloths in forest, cobalt, russet or deep orange. The gorgeous colors will bring your autumn wedding to life beautifully.

Unique Ideas for Wedding Entertainment

Sure, everyone has a band or a d.j. at their wedding, but why stop there? If you really want to wow your guests, think outside the box, and provide some fun and different entertainment which will set your wedding apart, play up your theme, or just plan make for a great party experience. To get you started, check out these unique ideas for wedding entertainment.

Certainly music is a wonderful way to set the mood at a wedding reception. If you or your fiance come from a cultural background which has a heritage of music, why not showcase it at your reception? A Mariachi band would be a fun addition to the dinner hour if the newlyweds have Mexican heritage. If you ancestors hailed from Italy, have several violinists wander through the cocktail hour or the dinner portion of the reception. Or honor your Scottish background with a bagpiper announcing your grand entrance to the party instead of just the bandleader. For a wedding with a Celtic theme, let a line of Riverdancers enchant your guests with their steps. In fact, any of these musical additions would be wonderful for a wedding even if the couple did not come from those cultural tradition.

Adding special details to a wedding is a fantastic way to give it a personality all its own. As every bride knows, the custom bridal jewelry or artisan designed invitations will make her wedding one-of-a-kind. The entertainment is no exception to this rule. Let’s say you were having a tropical theme wedding, with a flowy bridal gown and custom beach wedding jewelry. Firedancing with a Polynesian flair would be a dramatic addition to an outdoor evening wedding. Having a daytime tropical wedding? Why not incorporate some lovely hula dancers? Make it even more fun by having the dancers offer group lessons at the end of their performance so that your guests can give the hula a try.

There are many other inventive ideas for exciting wedding entertainment. You could have belly dancers or a traditional Chinese dragon performance. Hire a magician to entertain your youngest guests if you will have a lot of kids at your wedding. The possibilities are nearly limitless, and the best part is that you can tailor your special show to fit your own interests and wedding theme.

Dramatic Wedding Flowers

Flowers are one of the most popular wedding decorations, and they have more impact than almost anything else. Of course, flowers are pretty no matter how you use them, but there are some fabulous ways in which wedding flowers can be used beyond the standard centerpieces. Take a look at these ideas for dramatic wedding flowers which will take your wedding to a whole other level.

Chandeliers have become extremely popular for weddings over the last several years. The classic crystal chandelier is certainly beautiful, but flowers can be used to create one-of-a-kind chandeliers which will take your guests’ breath away. This is a great idea for brides who enjoy having things which are custom made for them, such as monograms, bridal jewelry, and wedding gowns.  A stunning design idea is to have a very large circle of roses made to suspend over each table. Have them lit, and they will make stunning chandeliers to illuminate your reception.

Repeated design elements can be a terrific way to make a huge impact on your reception space. One of the most spectacular ways to use wedding flowers is to have them made into pomanders, which are large globes of flowers suspended from ribbons. A mass of pomanders can be hung over any space which you would like to decorate. They also look incredible hung in a vertical row of three or more floral balls. One of the great things about pomanders is that they can be just as beautiful when made from less pricey blossoms like carnations or daisies as from more costly roses.

Floral streamers are another stunning way to decorate your wedding with flowers. For an exotic flair, take white orchid blossoms, and string them on clear monofiliment wire. Make a “curtain” of the floral strands behind the altar to define the space for an outdoor wedding or one in a loft space. A more casual effect can be created by substituting brightly colored gerbera daisies for the more sophisticated orchids. The floral streamers would also look fantastic behind a sweetheart table at the reception or when used to define the bar area. With so many unique ways to use flowers, why stick to the standard wedding flowers?

How to Accessorize Trendy 2010 Wedding Gowns

Use this handy guide to accessorizing a trendy 2010 wedding gown to get you down the aisle in high style…

The one shoulder trend remains tops for 2010. This can be one of the trickier styles to adorn, as the asymmetry makes jewelry selection a bit more challenging.  If it is is a simple style, say a twisted piece of silk charmeuse, then you can pair it with a single strand choker necklace and medium drop earrings. On the other hand, if the one shoulder is adorned with an abundance of shredded organza flowers as many are, rather than layering in a necklace with such a busy neckline, go with bold earrings as your feature jewelry, such as custom Swarovski bridal earrings in a swingy chandelier design.

Because the one shoulder bridal gown has a chic modern elegance about it, a simple veil will tend to be best. A long single layer veil with a plain edge will not fight with the dramatic lines of the gown. A double headband in pearls and crystals is a stylish headpiece which will complement any wedding hairstyle. Strappy high heel silk sandals will ensure that your ensemble is stunning from head to toe.

Without a doubt, the best jewelry for a V-neck gown is a pendant necklace with drop earrings. They do a wonderful job of emphasizing the flattering shape created by the V-neck. You may wish to work with a jewelry store that can create custom bridal jewelry to make sure that your pendant is the perfect length. Elegant shoes like D’orsay pumps or slingbacks will suit the gown beautifully.

If one of the 1950s inspired bridal gowns is your fantasy, accessories will be a snap. Classic pumps with a pert bow on the front will be the ideal shoes. A fluffy waist length veil with a headband or feather flower in the hair (for a more contemporary accent) take care of the top. And in this case, your mother’s classic pearl bridal jewelry will be just right after all. Just add a pair of earrings with some crystals to freshen up the classic style of the necklace, and you will look perfect. Here comes the bride!

Modern Mixed Pattern Wedding Cakes

One of the hippest new trends right now is modern mixed pattern wedding cakes. The mixed pattern wedding cake is a simple enough concept. Rather than having each tier of the cake look the same, couples are opting to do a different design on each layer. The result is fresh, fun, and funky. It looks absolutely contemporary, yet can be used with very retro or classic patterns. The best part of a mixed pattern cake is sitting down with your baker to decide which designs you would like to combine.

A wedding cake with a few different patterns on the tiers will allow you to put your own personal stamp on your reception, much like custom bridal jewelry does for your wedding attire.  In fact, the bride’s attire can be a great inspiration for the cake design. If you were wearing a lace gown, the top and bottom cake tiers could be decorated with a fondant “lace” design to match your dress, and the middle layer could be a crisp stripe design.

Mixed pattern wedding cakes can also draw their inspiration from the wedding colors. Let’s say that you were having a wedding based on one of this year’s hottest colors, turquoise.  If you want to make your cake elegant, choose a turquoise and cherry red damask design mixed with medium width stripes. Or go with a summer tropical flavor, and make one tier a turquoise and fuchsia hibiscus print, one with lime and turquoise surfboards, and a third tier with a turquoise and white graphic wave pattern. The three designs are all funky and unique, yet will still have a nice flow based on one shared color and a common theme.

Preppy gals have long adored combining different patterns in similar color palettes, so a mixed pattern cake is a natural for the preppy bride. Picture a cake created all in pink and green. You can have an argyle tier, a striped tier, and a polka dot tier. Or have one of your favorite Lilly Pulitzer designs used as inspiration for the largest tier, and accent it with a striped middle layer, and a monogrammed top tier. Sheer bliss!

The mixed pattern cake trend is so much fun that it is destined to become a big hit. The possibilities for creativity and personal expression are truly limitless. Why not get in on the fun and design a mixed pattern cake for your wedding this year?

Romantic Wedding Gowns

Weddings are all about love, so why not express that sentiment with a romantic wedding gown? There are certain fabrics, styles, and features which can go a long way to enhance the romantic flavor of a bridal gown. These are some of the most romantic wedding dresses, which are sure to appeal to any bride.

Fabric has a lot to do with creating a romantic effect. Soft and sheer fabrics such as lace, tulle, organza, and chiffon are the essence of femininity. Any gown that appears to float when it moves is a great choice. Very shiny fabrics such as satin, though gorgeous, tend to be more princess like than romantic, so that is something to keep in mind when shopping. Light and airy embellishments will be more dreamy than heavy or bold details.

Some of the most enchanting adornments for bridal gowns include lace, flowers, and fabric petals. Floral details are always romantic and charming, and they can work well on many different styles of gowns. Classic brides will adore lace appliqués which cover the bodice of a gown and drip down gently onto a tulle or organza skirt. Flower petals are another detail which embody the spirit of romance on a tulle or organza gown. An updated version of these petals can be seen in the current collection by Oscar de la Renta, which pairs timeless 1950s silhouettes with unique handmade organza petals. Echo the details on the gown with custom bridal jewelry which is created from keshi pearls, which are also known as petal pearls.

Cascading ruffles are another very romantic accent for a bridal gown. They can also strike a nice balance between romanticism and drama. Look for gowns with an abundance of ruffles in sheer fabrics like organza. Frothy tulle skirts are also very dreamy. Many designers are offering these styles right now, so there are some wonderful options. Don’t overlook the fact that a pastel color can also add charm to a wedding dress. Pale pink, apricot, and champagne all have a timeless romantic effect. Indulge your feminine and romantic nature with one of these dreamy wedding gowns.