Wedding Wednesday: Style

Welcome back to another installment of Wedding Wednesday!

Last week, I talked about our wedding theme which had to do with B's and Bee's. Today, let's talk about style.

There are lots of wedding styles to choose from such as: vintage, modern, beach, classic, rustic. Sometimes a bride has a clear cut idea of what she wants the overall look and feel to be. Other brides might struggle to commit to one particular style.

The vintage style (in weddings and photography) has been very popular. It is easy to see why that has such appeal because getting decorations from Grandma, the attic or garage sales can be fun and fairly inexpensive. It is an eclectic style that is very forgiving if using a random collection of things.

However, Janessa did not want vintage, not only to buck the trend, but also because it just simply doesn't reflect her own sense of style and taste. She wanted clean lines: a modern, contemporary look. Her criteria was..... simple, elegant and timeless. This guided all of our decisions from the type of candles and votive holders to the paper products to the invitations to the centerpieces to the clothing for the bridal party.

Here is one example of how we used style to guide us. Some of our decorations were giant 36" balloons, which are classic and simple with a touch of fun. Shown below are two ways to use the balloons. Both are darling. But to keep things clean, in keeping with the style, we used a single strand of fishing line without any fluff n' stuff (ribbons, tinsel, glitter, etc). By the way, we rented a helium tank and had it on-site for blowing up the balloons.

Image credit

Image Credit

Another element of style...

Although the wedding was in the fall, and her color was orange, Janessa wanted her reception to be a classy party that just happened to be in the Fall. She did not want it to look like Halloween or fall back (haha...pun intended) on using autumn as a decorating crutch. (So...no pumpkins, leaves, berries, branches, etc.)

There were two things that really helped us pull this off. The first is we scored some great furniture for a conversation pit. Janessa was trying out our brand new KRAVE yogurt store and they just happened to have orange leather couches as part of their decor. Amazeballs!!

Yes.

We really did.

We asked.

Lucky for us....the store owner had an extra ORANGE couch just hanging around in his garage (serious!) and he let us borrow it for the reception. So, so nice of him :)

We also purchased a simple, modern table from IKEA and borrowed two sleek white chairs from my cousin's sister to complete the look. I think these pieces really helped project a modern vibe.

The second thing that helped was to keep the decor scant and uncluttered.

Oh, and as few bows as possible.



Do you think having an overall style is important? What is your favorite style for a wedding?

What was the style of this great wedding?



Thanks for dropping by.

Lots of love,
Ms Fish

PS: Actual examples (photos) from the wedding will be posted as soon as we get them from our photographer. Coming soon.....

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Next week Wedding Wednesday: The Dress

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Resources:
Perfectly round giant balloons purchased here
Orange couch found here
White coffee table purchased here

Thanksgiving Menu 2012

I love Thanksgiving.

I love the chance to pause and be grateful and gather with family.

And I fancy the food.

It is nice to know that the Thanksgiving Day Feast is an opportunity to relish old traditional favorites with all the comfort and familiarity of a worn pair of jeans.

It is also a wonderful time to embrace new recipes and be grateful for variety.  Most years, our table is crowded with the traditional stars: turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes & gravy. But over the last several years, I've had fun introducing new dishes into our line-up. Sometimes, they don't catch hold and never make an appearance again. Others become fast friends.

 Like this, one of my new favorite fall desserts.

photo credit: mel's kitchen cafe

This year, we are going to my mom and dads, along with my brother's family. I have been assigned mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, and rolls.

Now, I love sweet potatoes, but I am toying with another option. What do you think? Should I stick with Vanilla Infused Sweet Potatoes or go bold with Spaghetti Squash with Jalapeno Cream?

My mashed potatoes this year will have a twist. For the traditionalists, I will make regular potatoes (with my secret ingredient....cream cheese). But I am also going to make a fancy batch with melted blue cheese, topped with caramelized onions and crispy bacon nubbins.

My sister-in-law is bringing a green salad and a vegetable. Can't wait to see what she does with those. She is a fun cook with beautiful ideas.


What will be your razzle dazzle this year? any new twists on old favorites? staying traditional? branching out? fancy? unusual? do you have a special stuffing recipe? cranberry sauce to die for?


I love to talk food. Please chime in...

Wedding Wednesday: Theme

Last week, I talked about the importance of organization to make things easier when planning a wedding. Of course, that really is a no-brainer.

But another crucial element, at least for me, is to nail down a specific STYLE and THEME. Both of these:

1. Make planning and execution easier
2. Help triage decisions. Narrow the field.
3. Gives an outlet / excuse for refusing ideas from outside sources you aren't really excited to embrace: "Yes, that bleeding armadillo groom's cake would be unique, but it just doesn't go with our theme...."

Most people have a certain style for their wedding or party, such as shabby chic, vintage, urban, romantic, etc. But people don't often have a theme.

What's the difference? Glad you asked. Let's do some parsing....because the theme and style are two very different components and serve two different purposes.

The STYLE:
1. Emotes a certain feeling. Affects how people react and respond (both consciously and subconsciously)
2. Reflects your personality
3. Answers the question HOW and WHAT do you want people to feel when they walk into the event

The THEME, on the other hand:
1. Showcases deliberation and purpose
2. Justifies the style
3. Creates a sense of cohesion, organization and well-thought out planning
4. Reflects priorities
5. Increases personalization of the event
5. Answers the question WHY do you want people to feel what they will at the event

Whenever I plan a big event, I think creating a theme is important. For me and my taste, I like the results it produces.

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For Jared and Janessa's wedding, we hashed around different ideas for a theme, taking into consideration their life as college students, their talents and hobbies, their interests, etc. Eventually, we settled on something that had great significance to both of them AND, importantly, provided lots of options for creativity.


It was all about the B.



We chose this for two reasons. The first one is obvious! Jared’s last name starts with a B.
The second reason is that Jared’s dad is a beekeeper and harvests his own honey. How's that for sweet?

(Embarrassing side note: at the wedding luncheon, I was explaining our theme and favor, and said that "the groom's father has hives." My kids just burst out laughing. Oops. No, he doesn't have a rash! (just a rash of beehives). Sorry about that faux pas, Don).

Anyway.......

The BEE theme gave us a great scaffolding to work with. There were lots of references to bees in our invitations, logo, signage, decorations, and even little finishing touch details. (Photos to come as we work through each element of the wedding every Wednesday.)

First of all, I designed a honeycomb pattern in Photoshop (below) which became the basis for everything. It showed up on the address labels, invitations, favor labels, and reception decor.

Band used around invitation suite

Ombre roses and ranunculus arranged by Ms Fish and Jen Jensen

honeycomb band around rose flower boxes

The hexagon shape showed up in the table easels / stands for our signage and a quilt. Even the honey jars were hexagon shaped.






The bee theme was so fun and meaningful. Bees are really amazing, industrious little guys that give us some of the most amazing food on earth. Did you know honey is the only food product that will never spoil? Except maybe Twinkies. (Sad to see Hostess spoil, though their Twinkies never will :)

The hard working bee is a great symbol for Jared and Janessa's new life together, which will be sweet. And even sticky sometimes. It will require the industry and hard work of a bee. But their goal is to make it B forever!

Don, the groom's father, generously donated honey, and we gifted each of our wedding guests with a jar of golden nectar as our way of saying THANKS for spending the day with us!

And for the kids who didn't want a jar of honey, we gave them these adorable honey pot lollipops.

 Well...that's about it for the THEME. Thanks for stopping by! And Happy Thanksgiving.

Lots of love, 
Ms Fish

Up next Wedding Wednesday: Color and Style

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Resources:
Hexagon Jars found here. 0.62 each
Custom labels printed here
Custom 3 x 3 square cards printed here
Honey Jar Lollipops found here
Square wooden flower box purchased here
Rectangle wooden flower box custom made by Mr. Fish
Honeycomb flower box bands printed here
Honey donated by Don Behunin. He has fresh, organic honey for sale. Contact me, if interested.
Read a wonderful talk about bees and good causes here.