Inspired by Landmarks

I have recently fallen in love with the idea of doing a photo shoot in the dress and tux after the wedding. There are so many unique pictures that you can take that aren't limited by the venue. You can go to the place you met or a landmark of the city. I found this picture awhile back of a couple in front of a Milk Bottle. It's definitely a landmark and maybe even significant to this couple. I do still dislike the idea of trashing the dress completely but why not go around town in it at least? And I bet you'll get plenty of people offering to buy you drinks, maybe even a famous milkshake from the Milk Bottle.

Vintage, Vintage, Vintage

According to my friend and wedding planner in LA the trend this summer is vintage! That can be incorporated in so many different ways. It could be as simple as vintage wallpaper patterns on the programs, invites, or place cards (just google vintage wallpaper, there are plenty of options). I also love vintage china. Sometimes that's hard to get a hold of and depending on the guests it could be easily damaged. However if you're willing to risk it, the results are beautiful.

My mother also recommended a few of her own vintage ideas. She loved collecting vintage handkerchiefs for all the guests to take. Vintage typewriters are also a good decoration for weddings. A fun idea is to have a working typewriter with some paper for guests to type out notes to the bride and groom. It would be so much fun to scrapbook those. And typewriters aren't as hard to find as you might think. I drove past a yard sale with three just the other day.

Other touches like gloves, lace dresses, or short veils also give that vintage feeling.

Getaway cars

So it's not always an important part of the wedding but getaway cars are super fun! I love some of the quirky ideas that people create but I'm also a fan of the classic cars that I've seen. My favorite was a beautiful white car I saw in Italy with a mafioso standing next to it.

Alternative Bouquets

I've mentions before the brooch bouquets and even that pearl one. It appears that alternative bouquets have really been taking off. I read some other wedding blogs too and today La Lune Events and Be Inspired PR had new bouquet ideas.

La Lune talked about buttons. It looks similar to the brooches. I actually really like the corsage and the hair clip with buttons. Although I'd probably do the hair clip on a regular day not the wedding. It's cute and if that's your thing totally go for it but it is kind of a gimmick. Just make sure that years from now you'll still be as excited about your trendy buttons as you are now.

The other idea is a shell bouquet. Perfect for beach weddings. I do usually think flowers on the beach are just a little strange. I'd probably still opt for them but this is a good alternative.

Christmas

I always envision couples getting engaged around Christmas time and married that summer. That just seems like good timing. That's why I love these Christmas themed engagement pictures. Christmas is such a happy time and so cozy. Couples that plan to get married in December can also do Christmas themed engagement pictures. It will give guest the feel of the wedding. And usually that picture ends up on save the dates anyways so it will remind guest that the wedding comes up around Christmas time.

Things I Love: Flowers

A wedding without flower arrangements is like extreme couponing without the register crashing; you're obviously not doing it right. Flowers don't have to be stuck in the standard centerpieces anymore either. There are so many fun ideas for floral decoration. Here are a few of my favorite inspirational pieces.

Peaches and Raspberries

I am a fan of pink (can you tell from this blog?) but I know that some people gag a little to see an all pink wedding. That's why I think it's best to do pink in moderation (really any color for that matter). You don't want your wedding to look like a 6 year old girl's birthday party. And I get that the wedding tends to be all about the bride but most grooms would like to be included too. That's why accent colors are so great. Pink has so many different shades. I love light pinks with creams or gold even. Peachy pinks look fantastic with raspberry. Hot pink and green tend to also be wedding favorites (although I'm not a huge fan of it). Yellow and pink isn't done very much but gives an overall happy feeling. A purple based pink with purple will obviously look good as well. My favorite thing to do to find a good color scheme is to go shopping! Find a dress or a shirt with a pattern that includes the colors you like together. This will give you the shades of pink or yellow that look best together. Make sure you actually like the dress or shirt enough that you'd consider buying it. Sometimes even fashion gets the coloring wrong.

Disney's Fairy Tale Wedding

Some of my favorite love songs are from Disney movies. But when you're a grown woman, playing Alladin at your wedding is usually a little immature. Thankfully, there's a CD for this problem called Disney's Fairy Tale Wedding. They take some of the best Disney songs and do romantic instrumental versions fit for weddings. They're classy enough to not be cheesy and all of you guest will know the words. I think it's best to play this CD while people are finding their seats for the ceremony. If you really love one song it could even be used for your walk down the aisle.

YouTube is also a great resource for instrumental version of many different songs. It makes almost anything wedding appropriate. My personal favorite is the instrumental version of "Let me be your wings" from Thumbelina. It's a beautiful song but with the words it would be too childish.

Here's one song from Disney Fairy Tale Wedding. More songs can be found on YouTube or the entire album is available on Amazon.com

Brooch Bouquet continued

So I wrote before about brooch bouquets. They're wedding bouquets made completely out of vintage brooches. It's a fun idea for someone who doesn't want flowers and wants to keep their bouquet for life. Although be careful during the bouquet toss, you might poke someone's eye out. Maybe have a different bouquet for that.

But now the newest thing is a pearl bouquet. I see this bouquet at an evening wedding maybe in the winter or fall with the bridesmaids in little black dresses with pearl necklaces, the bride in lace, and the venue a classic landmark building. The pearl boutineer adds another classic touch to the black tie occasion.

Puppies!

My mother has two rules when it comes to weddings:

1. Never smash cake into your new husband/wife's face.

2. Never use any animals.

But puppies are just too cute! Especially my personal favorite, the highland westie aka the pup from those commercials. Even if you don't want them messing up the ceremony (animals are unpredictable) maybe you can try taking pictures with them at least! They're too adorable to ignore.

Rings on Display

A standard for the wedding photos is the picture of the rings. Couples can make this photo as unique or classic as they'd like. Here are a few fun ideas that can coordinate with the theme or just who the couple is.