Snowy White Winter Wedding Cakes

If you are planning a winter wedding, this is the perfect time to design your wedding cake. Winter is a wonderful season in which to embrace a classic all-white cake which is reminiscent of a frosty winter day. Get inspired by these ideas for snowy white winter wedding cakes.

A fantastic way to make an all-white wedding cake interesting is with the use of texture. It will ensure that your confection, while understated, is not the least bit boring. One fantastic idea is to cover a streamlined fondant cake with little sugar “pearls” in a variety of sizes. Start with more petite edible pearls near the top of the cake, and scatter larger diameter pearls towards the base. Dust with an opalescent powder to make the decorations shimmer just like the genuine pearls in your pearl bridal jewelry. It is a very elegant cake for any winter wedding reception.

Snowflake motifs are always appropriate for wintertime. A beautiful approach to this classic theme is to have the baker use a stamp design to press a snowflake shape around the tiers of the cake. It will give your dessert a unique arts and crafts feeling, even while making use of a familiar motif. For a more contemporary snowflake cake, the baker can make silver snowflakes from sugar and scatter them down the sides of a white fondant cake. It will remind everyone of softly falling snow.

Winter is cold, but it can also be quite cozy. It would be fantastic to design a wedding cake based on the cozy side of the season. One incredible idea is a an all-white or ivory cake frosted in an intricate cable knit pattern. It will look like a warm fisherman’s sweater! How charming would that be for a wedding in a ski lodge or a New England country inn? Or take a simple cake and add a whimsical sweater inspired detail like a pair of edible pom poms. It would be adorable for an informal winter wedding.

Tips on Wedding Color Selection

These tips on wedding color selection will get you off to a great start…

The first thing to keep in mind is that people get tired of seeing the same old, same old. A great way to avoid this potential pitfall is to choose wedding colors which are unexpected. So perhaps instead of decorating a fall wedding entirely in the standard autumn leaf colors like orange, yellow, and red, you could decide to have an aubergine and sage green color palette. It would be just as appropriate for the season, but your wedding won’t look like every other fall wedding. The same idea can be used as a springboard to break away from the most predictable wedding color schemes.

Another excellent tip when selecting your wedding colors is to avoid palettes which are visually jarring. Very high contrast combinations like black and white can be hard to live with, and may not look the best in the wedding pictures. It is perfectly fine to choose a high contrast duo as your main design focus, just add in a third accent shade which falls somewhere in the middle. For instance, a black and white palette could be softened with the occasional hint of blush pink for a vintage romantic feeling, or accents in apple green for a fresh modern style.

Overly vibrant color palettes should also be approached with caution. While it is great to have festive and upbeat hues for the wedding flowers and decorations, too much of a good thing can be overwhelming. Always build in some visual places for the eye to rest. If your color scheme is hot pink, mango, and lime, temper it with plenty of crisp white. A yellow color scheme can be toned down with touches of gray or soft creamy shades.

Something else to keep in mind when choosing the colors for your wedding is that they should reflect who you are more than what the latest trends happen to be. Every couple of years, a color becomes so popular for weddings that it gets done to death, and it ends up feeling very unoriginal. The Tiffany blue wedding trend is a case in point. You are far better off designing a wedding color palette which is meaningful to you personally than slavishly following what you see in the bridal magazines. If you love the romantic vintage look of lace and pretty pearl bridal jewelry, choose a soft combination of apricot, cream, and dove gray.

2011 Wedding Trend Alert: Hats!

Hats are back in a big way for 2011 weddings! Perhaps it is a natural extension of the birdcage veil trend or maybe it is inspired by royal bride Kate Middleton’s passion for fabulous hats; whatever the case, one of the most avant-garde trends for brides today is a hat instead of a veil. Take a closer look at all the fabulous styles of hats and fascinators coming from the milliner’s shop these days.

One hot trend for bridal hats is a tiny top hat. The most chic top hats are not made out of satin like miniature mens’ hats, but rather from traditional womens’ millinery materials such as horsehair or a finely braided straw. The small top hats often feature a bit of tulle netting, silk flowers, or a cluster of feathers to add personality and whimsy. Such a statement-making hat would be wonderful with a simple wedding dress with a modern flair.

Vintage style has been very hot for weddings in recent years, and this includes wedding attire. Channel your inner Jacqueline Kennedy with a classic white pillbox hat. With a bow in the back and a small piece of wide mesh netting over the eyes, it is a very neat and chic hat for a bride who likes the look of the early 1960s. A bridal pillbox hat would be fantastic with a column wedding gown or a knee length sheath with three-quarter sleeves. Pearl bridal jewelry and classic pumps are the perfect complementary accessories to this vintage inspired hat design.

Brides who like the idea of a non-traditional headpiece but are not quite sure about a true hat can consider wearing a fascinator. A fascinator is a headpiece that is almost as large as a hat, but not quite. Many of them are quite quirky and unique, featuring details such as showy feathers, large silk flowers, and hints of sequin or beading. Fascinators tend to be asymmetrical, and are often worn perched jauntily on one side of the head. While striking, fascinators make less of a statement than a true hat, which makes them more versatile. A bride could wear a fascinator with anything from a formal beaded gown to a deconstructed tulle dress. A unique headpiece is a great way to really spice up your wedding day look.

Popular Types of Flowers for Weddings

Roses. Weddings and roses just seem to go together. With its status as one of the most romantic types of flowers, it is no wonder that so many brides choose roses for their bouquets and centerpieces. The rose is the traditional flower for the month of June, which makes it a natural choice for a June bride who likes wedding classics like pearl bridal jewelry. Because roses are so popular, they are grown year round, so the December bride will have almost as many options for colors and varieties of roses as the summer bride.

Hydrangeas. Loved for their enormous blossoms and unique colors (particularly the blue and green hues), hydrangeas are one of the top flower choices for late spring and summer brides. They have a strong appeal among preppy brides, perhaps because of their association with Nantucket, pearl bridal jewelry, and classic taste. The nice thing about hydrangeas is that they are easy to arrange in centerpieces that are formal, casual, or anything in between. Hydrangeas tend to be expensive, but their large size means that few stems are needed to get a great full look.

Carnations. The carnation has experienced a real Renaissance in recent years. It has largely shed its former reputation as a cheap filler flower, and has become very popular for contemporary wedding centerpieces and bouquets. There are several reasons why carnations have seen a resurgence: the wide range of colors available (they are also easy to dye, if desired), their hardiness, their full ruffly blossoms, and yes – their affordable cost. Because they are reasonably priced, carnations are a favorite choice for creating very full and round wedding decorations like pomanders and floral balls for centerpieces.

Orchids. The very word evokes luxury, style, and sophistication. Brides who wish to create bouquets or centerpieces with maximum drama often turn to this exotic blossom. Orchids come in a variety of shapes and sizes, as well as a remarkable range of vibrant hues. If you want wedding flowers which are striped or spotted, you will be able to find an orchid to suit your style. The primary drawback to orchids is that they are very costly. Because they have a more open and fluttery shape, it takes a large number of orchids to make an impressive display. There is one very chic and economical way to use orchids, which is the submerged floral centerpiece.  Orchids are available year round like roses.

Delightful Spring Wedding Themes

Flowering Branches: Some of the most iconic flowers of the spring season are the flowering branches like bright yellow forsythia and delicate pink cherry blossoms. This would be a marvelous inspiration for a spring wedding theme. Choose your favorite flowering branch, and plan the rest of the wedding decorations around it. Sunny yellow forsythia would pair beautifully with spring blossoms such as blue hyacinth and mini daffodils for centerpieces. Or choose the delicate cherry blossom, with its East-meets-West flavor, and pair it with pink peonies. Use your flowering branch motif on your wedding invitations, on the ceremony altar, and down the side of your wedding cake.

Bluebirds: Birds are another sure sign of spring, and they make a delightfully whimsical theme for a wedding. They also have a bit of a retro or vintage feeling, so bluebirds make an ideal motif for a bride who loves vintage style. If you love the look of a ’50s inspired wedding gown with pearl bridal jewelry, bluebirds would be a great fit for your celebration. Or course you will want to use your bluebirds in pairs to decorate the wedding stationery, as your cake topper, and more. Bluebirds in a nest would be so sweet as part of the centerpiece design. You can even perch heavy paper birds on the rims of wine glasses to use as the place cards at the reception. Simply charming.

Beach: After the long, dark days of winter, who isn’t ready to hit the beach? You can bring the warmth of sand and sun to your guests with a beach theme wedding, even if you live far from the ocean. Decorate your reception with magenta and orange flowers, hire a steel drum band, and wear a chiffon halter wedding gown with tropical keshi pearl bridal jewelry. Set the spirit for your spring beach theme wedding with a tiki bar serving tropical drinks like daiquiris, mai tais, and pina coladas.  Create your centerpieces from hurricane lanterns, seashells, and sand, along with the tropical flowers. Everyone will feel like they are on vacation while at your beachy spring wedding.

Baseball: For some people, the start of spring means only one thing: spring training and the return of the baseball season. If the bride and groom are sports enthusiasts, a baseball theme wedding would be a fun and casual alternative to some of the more feminine spring wedding motifs. Design your wedding invitations to look like tickets, your ceremony programs to resemble game programs, and have a groom’s cake in the shape of a baseball. Of course, stadium food like a hot dog station, cones of crisp fries, and bags of fresh roasted peanuts will have to be on the menu. Boxes of good old Cracker Jack would be fun (and affordable) wedding favors for your baseball theme wedding. This is one spring wedding theme which will be equally appealing to the men and women at the wedding.

New England Destination Wedding Ideas

Tropical beaches and islands are not the only option for destination wedding locations. There are many other beautiful and unique settings which also make for memorable weddings. A great region of the United States which is popular for destination weddings is New England. Let these ideas help you get started on planning a New England destination wedding of your own.

If you love all things classic and timeless, a great location for your New England destination wedding would be Connecticut. Known for its preppy good taste, Connecticut would be a terrific spot for a wedding with classic style. Picture yourself wearing a simple strapless gown with pearl bridal jewelry to exchange your vows in an old white clapboard church. Follow with a reception at a country club or in a tent. This would be an absolutely picturesque location for a wedding in the early summer. Decorate the wedding with pink peonies and garden roses for a beautiful classic effect.

For an autumn wedding, you would be hard-pressed to find a more beautiful location in the country than Vermont. The blazing foliage, crisp clear days, and cool nights make Vermont in the fall one of the best places to be. Be aware that peak foliage season does vary a little from one year to the next, and that the higher elevations will get their best colors earlier. So if you were having your wedding in the mountains of Stowe, a wedding at the very end of September or the first days of October would be ideal timing, whereas if you opt for a site like the quaint town of Woodstock at a lower elevation, early to mid-October would be better for foliage. Treat your guests to seasonal delights like fresh apple cider, local Vermont cheeses, and butternut squash soup. Just be sure to plan a minimum of a year ahead, because fall foliage season in New England is very busy!

The rocky shores of Maine would make another marvelous site for a New England destination wedding. This would be a perfect choice for a summer wedding, as the weather will be glorious – not too hot and not too cold. The beautiful town of Bar Harbor would be a great choice for a Maine wedding, as would any of the small coastal towns. A simple style of wedding would be best suited to the rough natural beauty of the Maine coast, so picture the men in khaki trousers and navy blazers instead of tuxedos, and the bride in a crisp organza wedding gown with delicate pearl bridal jewelry. Play up the unique features of Maine by choosing a lobster or a lighthouse motif for your wedding. Speaking of lobster, how could you serve anything else for a Maine wedding dinner?

New England has many other wonderful locations for a destination wedding. There is the scenic Mt. Washington Inn in New Hampshire, the shores of Martha’s Vineyard or Nantucket in Massachusetts, or any of the numerous ski resorts for a winter wedding.

Vintage Wedding Inspirations

Vintage inspired weddings are really popular these days. Take your favorite time period, absorb its unique style and flair, and use it as the basis to plan a really spectacular wedding. These are some ways to use your vintage inspirations to create a wedding that will be unforgettable.

Attire. If there is one thing that instantly evokes a specific era, it is its clothing. The entire bridal party should definitely dress in wedding attire which is inspired by the theme era. Having a 1950s style celebration? A strapless gown with a full tulle skirt and pearl bridal jewelry will conjure up the perfect style. For a Roaring ’20s wedding, beaded chiffon dresses would be perfect, or choose a silky bias cut dress for a 1930s Old Hollywood affair.

Flowers. It many not be as obvious as attire, but every time period definitely had its own signature flowers as well. If you love the romance of the Victorian era, pick your bouquet based on the Victorian language of flowers. The bride who loves the ’50s can carry orchids or roses, while sleek calla lilies will suit a 1930s glamor bride.

Cake. A great way to make your cake fit the era is to find a vintage cake topper. There are many available, dating back to around the 1920s. You can either choose to design your cake to look very much like one from the era (the classic white buttercream cake of the 1950s), or create a cake which is inspired by the style of the time period, but does not replicate an original, such as an ice blue and silver cake designed to look like an Art Deco skyscraper for a ’20s theme wedding.

Drinks. Every era had their own special style of entertaining, and this is a fantastic way to make your guests feel like they have been transported to your favorite time period. Serve Manhattans and Martinis for a 1950s wedding reception or Sidecars to evoke the feeling of a speakeasy. Signature drinks made with rum or brandy would be perfect for a 1940s inspired affair, or break out the vodka for popular drinks of the ’60s such as Screwdrivers and Vodka Gimlets. And of course, Champagne is always in style for a wedding in any era. Happy planning!

Beautiful Music: Picking the Perfect Band for Your Wedding

The music is one of the most important elements to set the tone for your wedding reception. A great band will create exactly the mood you desire, while a lame one will make the party a flop. These are some tips on how to pick the perfect band for your wedding.

First of all, keep in mind that there are plenty of great wedding musicians out there, but not all of them are right for the style of wedding you prefer. The hot samba band that kept the crowd jumping on the dance floor at your cousin’s wedding might not be a hit with your husband’s conservative family or make sense for your venue. Personally, I have always thought that people in formal attire look odd dancing wildly to contemporary music, so for my wedding, I chose a band that specialized in standards like Frank Sinatra and Cole Porter. It fit well with the overall classic style of my wedding, which ran to lace, pearl bridal jewelry, and all white flowers.

Most wedding performers will have cds and other promotional materials they can send you to help you get a sense of their style. That is a great place to start, but try to avoid booking a band based on that alone. You should definitely speak directly with the bandleader to be sure that you mesh, since he will be the one directing the band during your reception. Whenever possible, it is very smart to go see your top band perform live at a wedding or other event.

When writing the contract with your favorite band, be sure to address the question of breaks: how many, when, and the duration of them. Will a few musicians stay to play background music, will they put on an ipod loaded with your favorite songs, or will there be silence during the breaks? Also put into writing your obligations regarding feeding the band, the number of musicians and which instruments are to be included, and overtime rates. Then make your deposit to reserve your wedding band, and rest easy knowing that when the big day rolls around, your guests will be treated to beautiful music.

Personalize Your Wedding With Embroidery

Every bride is looking for ways to make her wedding really special, down to the last detail. One of the most elegant ways to add character to your event is with custom embroidery. From the smallest accessories to the grandest elements, these are ideas on how to personalize your wedding with embroidery.

The other day, I was looking at pictures of Grace Kelly’s magnificent wedding. Now we can’t all be royal brides (well, maybe we can in spirit!), but any woman can take inspiration from how things are done at the most elegant weddings. For Grace Kelly’s ceremony, she carried a small white prayer book which had been embroidered with a white on white design around a cross motif. The embellishment was created in a mixture of thread and tiny pearls to coordinate with her pearl bridal jewelry. Many brides know people who have needle skills, and could definitely find someone to do the same for their religious wedding ceremony. Add a small cluster of flowers (orange blossoms or lily-of-the-valley would be ideal) to the embroidered prayer book, and you have a very traditional and beautiful alternative to a large bouquet.

Embroidered items make nice gifts as well. One bride I knew picked out a collection of pretty lace trimmed hankies and had them embroidered for her family members with their titles – mother of the bride, etc. This young woman came from a very emotional family, and she knew that the customized hankies would not only be thoughtful, but highly practical as well. This idea could be carried into monogrammed pocket squares for the groom and his father, too. It is an inexpensive way to make something basic into something special.

The wedding gown is definitely a great thing to consider personalizing with embroidery. It can be a little or a lot, depending on your taste and budget. For a simple country wedding, a white linen or shantung wedding gown can be embroidered around the neckline with tiny yellow and white daisies. Seed pearl centers look great with pearl bridal jewelry. If you love monograms, have an all white monogram created on the train of your gown featuring your first initial and your groom’s first initial in an elaborate interlocking script. Plan the the placement of the embellishment so that it will be featured when your gown is bustled for the reception. That will be a detail that all of your guests will want to admire up close.

Elegant Wedding Seating

The classic wedding reception chair is the gold chiavari chair. The graceful lines and gold paint of the chairs are ideal for traditional weddings where the bride wears a classic gown with pearl bridal jewelry. They are frequently used in ballroom wedding receptions. For an outdoor wedding, white chiavari chairs are graceful without appearing overly formal. If you want to add a splash of color, order seat cushions to be made that coordinate with your table linens. That is a great detail which will really tie your entire room together.

Slipcovered chairs are very popular for weddings, as they lend a room a very feminine and pretty look. White slipcovers are the most common, and are frequently dressed up with a sash in one of the wedding colors. Make the bride and groom’s chairs extra special by adding decorative elements to the back of the sash on the slipcover. Hang each of their initials made from flowers or fancy oversized tassels for a formal wedding. Another idea is to make tiny wreaths out of special materials.

As pretty as slipcovered chairs are, they would seem too busy and fussy at a wedding with a minimalist flair. The perfect seating for a hip, modern wedding? Clear lucite chairs. They are very crisp and clean, and will add an ultra-modern style to your reception. Lucite chairs are great for a wedding in a small space, as they will allow the room to remain visually uncluttered and spacious. No need for covers or decorations when the chairs are so unique.

Lounge areas have become increasingly popular at weddings, and they require very special seating. Groups of chairs and low sofas are the usual seats in wedding lounges, and they should be arranged to encourage conversation. Comfort is the key to this seating. Also think about the style you want your lounge area to convey. Many brides like to set the lounge apart with colors and styles which contrast with the rest of the wedding reception. One of the top trends in lounges is a South Beach inspired vibe. Your guests will not only have a comfortable place to sit, but you will have a reception which is perfect down to the last detail.