Saturday, May 29, 2010

Wedding Ambiance: Themes, Schematics, Design & Layout

How do you go about creating a wedding ambiance that embraces your personality, style and the vibe you want for your wedding day? The three factors that create your wedding ambiance is your wedding theme, color schematics and your wedding design and layout.

Without defining these three factors, it will be difficult for you to go into details when involving design and decoration.

THEMES:

Your wedding theme should be reflected in your wedding stationery, decorations, centerpieces, bridal entourage formal wear, favors, guest book, napkins, table clothes, etc. This will make your special day visually appealing and reflect your personal creativity. It's your special day! Match all pieces of your wedding day and create a truly unique and elegant wedding that symbolizes the bridal couple.

Black Flower Accents

One of the top wedding trends in 2009 was the black and white wedding dress, and black and white wedding cakes. In 2010, one of the leading trends is black flowers and accessories adorning red, white or blue tablecloths, black rosette embellishments on cakes and gowns, and black flower centerpieces.

Short Wedding Dresses

For the bride that wants a fashion-forward look for the 2010 wedding, the mini wedding dress is the way to go. These formal gowns end at or above the knee and give the bride a chance to show off her legs in a pair of ankle-tie heels or embroidered flats.

Locally Made Wedding Favors

Brides on a budget can turn to locally made wedding favors including small trinkets, personalized mementos, handmade crafts and other small gifts made by local artists and crafters. If the bride is a crafter herself, the 2010 wedding could be a good excuse to make a lineup of small gifts for her guests - and save a few dollars in the process.

Weekend Getaways

Couples that don't want to spend a lot of money for their 2010 wedding are planning weekend getaways for friends and family -- instead of multi-day affairs that require paying for extended hotel stays and other expenses. Weekend getaways are being booked closer to home to save even more on wedding expenses, which means destination wedding packages may be taking a backseat for the upcoming wedding seasons.

Green or eco-friendly

Weddings have risen in popularity since 2006 and are still going strong for the 2010 wedding. Wedding planners are coming up wit eco-friendly décor ideas and nature-centric themes to accommodate for the eco-conscious couple's tastes. Recycled paper wedding invitations, the use of solar energy for lighting, outdoor weddings in the garden and organic food served at the reception are among the top trends for the 2010 wedding.

Modern Romantic' Style

Martha Stewart's Wedding Show broadcast in August 2009 to spotlight some of the leading weeding hairstyles, bridal fashions and beauty trends. In addition to the romantic, flowy dresses introduced by designer Vera Wang, Martha highlighted the beauty trend of eyelash extensions for the brides and bridesmaids. This is the year for the 'modern romantic' look that combines traditional flowy gowns with glamorous makeup and the latest beauty trends.

COLOR SCHEMATICS:

All weddings have a color scheme that reflects the bridal couples’ personality and style. The bridal couple should make the decision to choose the colors together. It can be their favorite colors or the latest color scheme combinations to define who they are as a couple. Choose colors that allow you to use cloths that are readily available, to make personalize and especially use to make what is practical versus what is not. Colors should also enhance the beauty of the ceremony and reception venues if you are going for a more simple and elegant look.

If you haven’t chosen a reception venue yet, then you should first do a site visit of all possible venues fitting the perfect setting within your budget. At your site visit, you should make note of the venue color scheme and visualize integrating your wedding colors into the furniture and environment colors already present. Choose a venue closest to the ambiance and colors of your wedding so that you do not have to do much or alter the natural beauty and environment of the venue.

If you already chose a reception venue and the visible colors are not matching your wedding colors, than you have the option of renting specialty linen and chair covers with sashes to create and portray your wedding colors. If budget is not an issue and you have money at your disposal, than use your imagination and transform the venue allowing you to use your wedding colors to create the look you want.

When choosing colors, consider the type of beautiful flowers to accompany it or what type of flowers are available during that season. Flowers are a very important part of the decorations as well as part of the bridal entourages color scheme. Think about the colors of the bridal party’s bouquets that you will be carrying. You want it to contrast the colors of the bridesmaid gowns and groomsmen tuxedos. Flowers can be very expensive so the best you can do is to learn what colors work well with year round flowers versus seasonal flowers.

The hottest colors to look out for in 2010 are the following colors:

1) All blues – this year’s lucky color according to the Chinese predictions of the Chinese Zodiac. Example: Aqua, Turquoise, Navy, Cobalt Blue, Light Blue

2) Off White – another color would be Diamond White, not too white and not too ivory. Allows you to add white to the bridesmaids and entourage because the bridal couple is incorporating accents of the wedding colors into the gown and tuxedo.

3) Orange – Bright and colorful, the color orange is a fun experimental way to highlight your wedding this year.

4) Purple – Although it is not the color this year, it is a hit for this year’s wedding. Purple goes well with any color of blue especially Teal Blue.

5) Green – Mint greens, yellow green or lime green are in and can be in conjunction with eco friendly weddings.

6) All Pinks – Use different shades of pink for a fun and romantic play. Example: Hot Pink, Magenta, Pink, Mauve, Coral

7) Accent Colors: Gray, Silver, Yellow, and Beige

Hottest Color Combinations of 2010

Light Gray & Pink

Navy & Yellow

Gold, Beige, Coral, Blush & Pink

Gold, Gray, Champagne & Light Blue

Yellow, Green & Orange

Red, Black & White

Light Green & Beige

Gray, Violet, Light Blue & Beige

Teal & Coral

Vintage Purple & Sky Blue

Emerald & Cream

Mauve & White

Lilac & Sky Blue

Wine & Blush Pink

Sky Blue & Light Yellow

Mocha & Blush Pink

Gray, Pink, Coral, Blue & Purple

Olive & Mauve

Mint & Vintage Purple

Name those colors specifically

If you like purples try ~ Lilac, Lavender, Periwinkle, Purple, add Sky Blue as an accent.

If you love bright pink try ~ Hot pink, Fuchsia, Light pink, Red, add Lime or Tangerine as your accent color!

If you adore warm oranges try ~ Tangerine, Coral, Red, add soft Violet, Sky Blue or Fuchsia as your accent color.

If you like burgundy try ~ Dark Green, Gold, Champagne, Creams, add any of these as your accent.

If you love blues try ~ Deep Ocean Blue, Navy Blue, Sky Blue, Periwinkle, add Tangerine, Silver or Sandy Brown as your accent.

What colors go well during each season

Fall colors ~ Burgundy, Dark Green, Navy Blue, Silver, Gold, Creams, Burnt Orange, Taupe, Brown and Plum.

Winter colors ~ Red, Silver, White, Cream, Burgundy, Sky Blue, Navy Blue, Purple, Plum and Gold.

Spring colors ~ Pink, Tangerine, Lilac, Periwinkle, Hot Pink, Fuchsia, Lime, Yellow, Cream, Soft Violet and White.

Summer colors ~ Red, Yellow, Orange, Coral, Fuchsia, Blue, Sky Blue, Green, Lime, Lilac, and Lavender.

DESIGN & LAYOUTS:

It’s not your mother’s wedding, so be more creative and show a little splash of modern style. Your not limited to just plants and white lattices, they are a thing of the past. Now you can create a beautiful atmosphere using your theme and color scheme to create a special design like no other. With specialty linen, chair covers, sash, tents, chandeliers, lounges, customized gobo lighting, up-lighting and highlighting, ceiling swags, paper lanterns, and elaborate centerpieces, you can create unforgettable design layouts.

Bridal couples are opting more for sweetheart tables versus a bridal entourage head table. This allows the bridal entourage to sit with their guests and families. Sweetheart tables allow the couples to spend less on decoration since it will be a smaller table of flowers and decoration. The bridal entourage may be relieved to be out of the spotlight allowing the newlyweds to shine.

The sweetheart table and head table are no longer just on the stage or elevated in front of their guests. They are now opting to be apart of the guests in front facing the stage allowing them to watch the live band and/or performances on stage that was once hard for all of the guests to see.

Dance floors are no longer horizontal in front of the sweetheart table or head table, they are now vertical allowing more guests on both sides of the venue to watch or interact with the performers.

Instead of using just round tables in your layout, add 1 or 2 oval or long tables for the parents or VIP tables. These tables give parents and special guests recognition of their attendance and participation in the wedding. Rectangular tables are now being used to accommodate more guests and to show off new specialty linens and table runners. Rectangular tables allow you to showcase more than just one centerpiece with 2 to 3 more in a horizontal layout.

If your reception venue does not have special lighting capabilities, than opt for up-lighting and highlighting to accentuate certain areas of the room. Newer hotels and upscale venues have the capabilities to change the lighting in the room to a certain degree as well as pinpoint certain areas such as the head table, cake table and podium for certain lighting effects and ambiance.

Whatever your wedding theme, color scheme, and your design & layout may be, always have several options in mind to discuss with the wedding professionals. A wedding consultation will have a better idea and feel for the direction you want to go in as well as provide you with resources and information that may not be available yet or give you the insights on what is new and trendy for the new wedding season or year. Be yourself, be unique and have fun with your wedding ambiance planning. Themes and color schemes may come and go, but your personality and style should always show!

Mission Statement: We provide hassle and stress-free wedding planning and coordination through organizing details and time management.

For more information or ideas, contact Janice M. T. Bachiller of Wedding Planner 808 at (808) 688-4405 or email at marie@weddingplanner808.com to discuss your wedding day requirements and budget. Complimentary Initial Consultation at your convenience.