Colorful Flowers for Summer Weddings
What could be more cheerful than a daisy? A brightly colored gerbera daisy! These happy flowers come in virtually every color a bride could ever want for her wedding, making them a terrific choice for an informal summer wedding. Combine fuchsia and orange gerberas for a spicy summer look, pale pink and lime for a preppy ceremony, or yellow, hot pink, and orange for a casual backyard wedding. Gerbera daisies usually look best as round bouquets, but for other decorations they can be displayed in all sorts of creative ways. Hang strings of daisies behind an outdoor ceremony altar, place single stems in test tubes down the middle of a table for a modern centerpiece, or plant them in boxes of wheat grass for a whimsical design.
Zinnias are a wedding flower whose stock is on the rise. They are not as widely used as traditional blossoms like roses or peonies, but maybe they should be. Zinnias have a lot going for them: they are inexpensive, full, and come in tons of vivid hues. They are generally regarded as an informal flower and would be fantastic for a country wedding. Pop mixed colors of zinnias into vintage tea tins, white hobnail pitchers, or Mason jars for a great look. Feel free to mix and match unexpected shades of zinnias like bright purple and crimson. You might just like the combination so much that you have custom bridesmaid jewelry made to coordinate.
If you really want to make a splash, opt for dinner plate dahlias. True to their name, a single blossom is as large as a plate! It won’t take many of those stunners to create a remarkable summer wedding centerpiece or bouquet. Dahlias can be found in a gorgeous array of vivid hues like yellow, red, pink, purple, and orange. Some of the most spectacular dahlias are variegated blossoms with more than one color per flower. Picture enormous flowers in orange and yellow, pink and white, or red and white and you get the idea. A single dinner plate dahlia tied with a satin ribbon would be a very chic bouquet for a bridesmaid. It would look marvelous with a polished cotton strapless bridesmaid dress and custom bridesmaid jewelry in a coordinating shade.
Colorful flowers will add a festive and cheerful flavor to your wedding. Whether you mix in a few with more classic white and pastel blossoms or go for an all out explosion of color, the bright flowers will look fabulous. The upbeat hues are just perfect for a summer wedding.
Filed under Bridesmaid Jewelry, Wedding Planning | Tags: Bridesmaid Jewelry, colorful wedding flowers, custom bridesmaid jewelry, summer wedding flowers, summer weddings, wedding flowers | Comment (0)Flower Girls for Summer Weddings
One of the cutest parts of any wedding is the flower girl. Choose an adorable outfit and special flowers for her to make your little one even more darling. These are some sweet ideas for flower girls for summer weddings.
The first thing to decide for your flower girl is what she will wear. A white Swiss dot cotton organdy dress with a Peter Pan collar and a self sash tied in a bow would be about the cutest thing imaginable. It would be perfect for a semi-formal church wedding on a summer afternoon. Add white Mary Jane shoes with little white cuff socks and a silver heart locket for the flower girl jewelry, and you will have a timeless look that is sure to delight all in attendance. Pair with either a traditional basket of rose petals or a very small posy of pink spray roses.
Pastel organza dresses are also very sweet for summer flower girls. They are great for garden weddings in soft shades such as lavender, pale green, rose pink, or light blue. Rows of tiny ribbon flowers around the waist or neck make organza flower girl dresses even more precious. Instead of a basket, flower pomanders on organza ribbons would be wonderful for the girls to carry. If you want to have some fun with your little ones, add sets of colorful organza fairy wings for them to wear down the aisle. It is especially adorable if you have several little girls in the wedding party.
Nautical themes are always popular for summer weddings, and this can be a great place to get inspiration for your flower girl dresses. Classic navy sailor dresses with white trim are perfect for a nautical wedding by the ocean or at a yacht club. This is a style that never goes out of fashion, and as a bonus, sailor dresses can be found in a wide range of prices, unlike official flower girl dresses which tend to be more pricey. White leather Mary Jane shoes will suit the traditional nature of the sailor dress. A natural colored basket with red flower petals would be the perfect thing for the little sailor girl to carry. Keep the summer season in mind when selecting the attire and flowers for your littlest attendants, and they will be one of the most delightful parts of the wedding!
Filed under Wedding Jewelry, Wedding Planning | Tags: flower girl attire, flower girl jewelry, flower girls, summer weddings | Comment (0)Have a Bug-Free Summer Wedding!
Summer is high season for outdoor weddings, but it also happens to be high season for pesky bugs. Don’t let mosquitos, bees, and other flying insects ruin your wedding! Take a look at these tips on how to have a bug-free summer wedding.
Any wedding location can be improved, even if it is fairly buggy to start out. To deter bees, choose your flowers wisely, avoiding those with fragrances that draw bees. A good tip for the bride is to select a jeweled hairpiece to match her wedding jewelry, instead of a fresh flower in the hair, which is known to attract insects. If you are concerned about bees coming around the food stations and dinner tables, there are a few things you can do. First, keep food covered as much as possible, and locate trash recepticles away from where your guests will be congregating. Another great tip is something which you frequently see at restaurants with outdoor seating: set up open cups of sugar water along the perimenter to draw the bees away from where your guests will be eating. It works like a charm!
Lakes make for beautifully scenic backdrops for weddings, but they also tend to have a lot of flying insects around them, epsecially mosquitos. For very buggy areas, try renting one of those propane powered mosquito traps which has a quiet fan and lures in the bugs by releasing carbon dioxide. There are similar devices which have electrical plugs and lure the mosquitos to their death with ultraviolet lights. People swear by these devices, and if the area you are trying to clear of bugs is your own backyard, you might even want to buy a couple. Ideally, they should be set out well before the start of the wedding, so that most of the mosquitos in the area will be cleared out before your wedding guests arrive.
There are also some proven low-tech ways to help keep flying pests at bay. Set up tiki torches around the perimeter of your reception space, as the smoke helps (somewhat) to keep mosquitos away. The old standby citronella candles can also be used on tables and set out in areas where your guests will gather. Place them in attractive candleholders to make them a pretty addition to your wedding. (Keep in mind that some guests may not like the scent of citronella, so don’t overdo it.) For a tented wedding, you could even have net sides that are rolled down as dusk approaches to keep your guests comfy and happy inside.
Filed under Wedding Jewelry, Wedding Planning | Tags: bugs at weddings, summer weddings, Wedding Jewelry | Comment (0)Summer Wedding Checklist
Make sure that you have not overlooked anything with this handy summer wedding checklist…
Venues and Wedding Coordinator: This is certainly tops on the list. It is not too late to decide that you want to hire a coordinator just to make sure that the wedding day itself runs smoothly. Definitely be sure that all contracts are signed and delivered for both the ceremony and reception venues, if you have not already done so.
Musicians, Photographer, and Florist: By the early spring, your wedding vendors should be in place. However, you do still have some time to work on specific details. Your florist will certainly need to have your final bouquet and centerpiece selections made a few months in advance so that all the necessary blossoms and supplies can be ordered. However, as long as you have all song requests and a list of desired photographs in to the musicians and photographer a month before the wedding, that should be sufficient.
Caterer and Baker: Good caterers go fast, so hopefully you already have yours booked! Most caterers will want your final menu in a month or two before the event, and then the complete head count within one or two weeks before the reception date.
Transportation, Bridesmaid Gifts, Beauty Appointments: By early spring make sure to have your limos and beauty appointments scheduled. Bridesmaid gifts do not take as long, but why not get that important detail checked off your list now, rather than leave it until things are ultra-busy at the last minute?
Summer Extras: In the summer, especially for an outdoor wedding, be sure to plan for the things which will make the experience pleasant for everyone. That means things like suncreen wipes and possibly insect repellent (either to wear or environmental, like tiki torches and citronella candles), plenty of bottled water to offer guests as they arrive to the ceremony, pretty paper fans (great combo with the wedding programs), and a tent for shade.
With everything checked off of your list, it should be smooth sailing ahead to your summer wedding!
Filed under Bridesmaid Gifts, Wedding Planning | Tags: Bridesmaid Gifts, summer weddings, wedding checklist, Wedding Planning | Comment (0)Summer Wedding Invitations
Your wedding invitations do much more than convey the basic facts of your event; they also help to set a tone, establish a theme, and will be the first impression that your guests get of your wedding. Summer weddings are very special, and they deserve equally special invitations. From formal to casual to themed, here are some of the best ideas for summer wedding invitations.
Summer weddings are often less formal than winter affairs. If this is true for you, let your invitations be fun and relaxed too. For an outdoor wedding, a creamy cardstock with a letterpress parasol motif in shades of orange and hot pink would be pretty. Other motif ideas include Adirondack chairs, daisies, or paper lanterns. The casual motif is particularly nice when done in letterpress rather than a flat printing, as it keeps the stationery special enough for a wedding, and avoids looking like an invitation to a barbeque.
If you are having a formal summer evening wedding, you will want your invitations to be as elegant as your silk gown and Swarovski crystal earrings. One of the hottest colors for formal weddings this season is charcoal gray. Engraved wedding stationery with charcoal lettering would be chic enough for even the most grand affair. If you want to add some punch to formal invitations, opt for a tri-fold design, and wrap a deep red satin ribbon around them. The dramatic red is a nice contrast to the subdued gray tone.
For a modern twist, choose flat printed invitations on a square card. Don’t be afraid to experiment with asymmetrical designs, such as a stripe on one side of the stationery. The hippest invitations will use this season’s hot colors turquoise and coral. Utterly summery, bold and delightful, they make a terrific color palette for a modern wedding. Sans-serif lettering looks best with this style of invitation. Allow your wedding invitations to express your style and the tone of your wedding, and they are sure to be absolutely perfect.
Filed under Wedding Planning, crystal bridal jewelry | Tags: summer wedding invitations, summer weddings, Swarovski crystal earrings, wedding invitations | Comment (0)
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.
Filed under Bridal Jewelry, Wedding Planning, crystal bridal jewelry | Tags: crystal bridal jewelry, summer weddings, wedding centerpieces | Comment (0)Summer Bridal Accessories
One of the nice things about summer is that you don’t have to be so serious. It is the time of year when people relax and lighten up. When it comes to choosing your bridal ensemble, this is a great approach to take. Forget about being too serious or formal, and let yourself have fun picking accessories that are pretty and make you happy.
Your bridal jewelry will have a huge impact on your finished look. A simple gown can be radically transformed depending on which way you decide to go with your jewelry. Do you like the classic look of pearl bridal jewelry, or the sparkly effect of Swarovski crystals? The choice is yours. Whichever you choose, look for pieces that are light and airy for summer.
For summer veils, the idea should still be to lighten up. Wispy breezy veils are more in keeping with the season than very heavy lace veils. Sometimes there is nothing more elegant than a very long plain veil. Instead of wearing an elaborate tiara, look for hair jewelry like pretty hairpins that can be tucked into the loose hairstyles that are so popular for summer.
Once you have all of your accessories, you will be all set to be your most fabulous on your wedding day. For summer brides, choosing all of the perfect finishing touches should be a very fun task. And while you are at it, don’t forget to pick up a few pieces of sexy jewelry to bring on your honeymoon for those sultry summer evenings.
Filed under Bridal Jewelry, crystal bridal jewelry, pearl bridal jewelry | Tags: Bridal Jewelry, crystal bridal jewelry, pearl bridal jewelry, summer weddings | Comment (0)