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Designing Your Wedding Out of the Little Blue BoxBy Dawn Strain
As a bride, you want your wedding to reflect your unique love story. So where do you start? First, allow yourself to have those Disney-esque thoughts of the horse-drawn carriage and enormous fairytale dress. Then, put them aside and think real. Sit down with your partner and list things that define each of you as an individual and both of you as a couple. Where did you meet and what are your favorite places and things, or most memorable experiences? Next, use your creativity to take these personal unique experiences and incorporate them into your wedding.
Let’s say you met at The Four Seasons Hotel. Your wedding theme could reflect the actual four seasons, with various parts of the wedding reflecting a different time of year. Your guests would walk from a summer ceremony of flower girls and yellow rose petals under arching tree branches to enjoy peach cobbler martinis in a room illuminated by miniature engraved jack-o-lanterns. Dinner would be a winter wonderland with crystals dripping like icicles from the table centerpieces. Dinner would be followed by a fresh spring after-party.
One of my favorite unique and personal events, a Paris-themed destination wedding. While on holiday, the bride’s fiancé proposed at the top of the Eiffel Tower (and who could say no to that?). The couple decided their perfect wedding would be in the tropics and chose Belize, a gorgeous, coastal country in Central America. The planner recalls, “The day I learned of their decision, I woke in the middle of the night (as event planners often do, even when our Blackberries are shut off), sat up in bed and thought ‘Of course! Paris in Paradise!’” The company flew down several Eiffel Tower replicas of different sizes. Two stood 7 feet tall and were covered in lights which cast a starry glow upon their twilight ceremony on the beach. Smaller towers were sprayed with sand-textured paint and adorned with orchids, creating centerpieces that sat on linen-covered table tops aside a glistening pool. To top it off, they had the couple’s initials engraved on Eiffel Tower goblets for the toast. Instead of trying to outdo the proposal, the designers incorporated it – honoring the couple’s future and the moment they decided to spend the rest of their lives together. The thing to remember is that this is your day. Embracing the places and things that you love as a couple isn’t self-involved, it’s self-knowledge. So don’t be afraid to be inventive, new and refreshing. When you look back on your photos years from now, you will see much more than the dream of a fairy tale dress; you’ll see a celebration of the day your dreams became a reality. Contact DJS Events at 516.719.7100 or visit www.DJSEvents.com for more information. The Language of Love How Understanding Floral Lingo Can Enhance Your Wedding Day Atmosphere
Creating the mood for your wedding can be done in a number of different ways. The time of day, the music, or even your color scheme can have an impact on the impression you leave with your guests.
One of the easiest and most beautiful ways to create the mood you’re going for is with flowers. For some brides, color is key. They choose blooms based on how they look, or the size and structure of the blossoms. Some brides are attached to a certain scent and want to infuse the room with a signature aroma. A unique way to create a mood for your wedding is to use the language of the flowers. By understanding the meaning of an arrangement – just as the Victorians used flowers as symbols to express their feelings – you, too, can add a personal touch and create an atmosphere of your own liking.
Floral affirmations:
Anemone: Unfading love
Baby’s Breath: Everlasting love
Bells of Ireland: Good luck
Calendula: Joy
Red Carnation: My heart aches for you
Daisy: Innocence
Fern: Sincerity
Forget-me-not: True love
Forsythia: Anticipation
Gladiolus: Love at first sight
A Garland of Roses: Reward of virtue
Hibiscus: Delicate beauty
Iris: Faith, hope, wisdom and valor
Ivy: Fidelity
Lavender: Devotion
Calla Lily: Beauty
Lily of the Valley: Sweetness and a return to happiness
Magnolia: Sweetness
Orange Blossoms: The bringing of wisdom
Orchid: Love, beauty and refinement
Pansy: Thoughtfulness and love
Primrose: I can’t live without you
Red Rose: Love
Red and White Roses: Togetherness and unity
Tea Rose: I’ll always remember
Sunflower: Loyalty, good wishes
Red Tulip: Believe me
Violet: Modesty
White Violet: Let’s take a chance on happiness
Magenta Zinnia: Lasting affection
Scarlet Zinnia: Constancy
White Zinnia: Goodness Color Your Wedding StunningBy Christopher Robbins of Robbins Wolfe Eventeurs
Color can play an important role in your overall wedding décor, be it subtle or bold. For Robbins Wolfe Eventeurs, the exclusive caterer at the Bridgehampton Tennis & Surf Club, bridal décor often includes light celedon, seafoam green or pale summery blue hues that enhance the overall look and reflect the beach and ocean views at this exquisite venue. While classic white is always beautiful, why not be creative and add a splash of color? It can make all the difference in the ambiance and in your photographs when you look back at your special day. Credit: Floral Décor by: Claire Bean
Venue: The Bridgehampton Tennis & Surf Club Spring Rustic Wedding
Kristine Quattrone, owner of Q Events LLC based in NYC, and head chef Matthew Eckelmann recommend using seasonal produce for this spring-inspired menu. For main entrees, Matthew prepares char-grilled Frenched chicken breast with herbs marinated in basil, rosemary, thyme and oregano with garlic. He also recommends New Zealand rack of lamb roasted with apricot and fig glaze.
If your guests prefer a fish option, try serving pan-seared halibut with chive oil and sautéed shitake mushrooms.
For sides dishes there are a few options: carrot mash with a hint of honey, citrus and julienne tarragon or Jerusalem artichokes grilled crispy with applewood smoked bacon.
There are many ways you can prepare a nice spring salad. Kristine and Matthew suggest a choice of spinach salad with blackberry vinaigrette, dried apricots and candied walnuts or frisée salad with Tuscan Italian dressing topped with fresh mozzarella, roasted red peppers and sliced grilled asparagus.
If you are serving desserts at your wedding in addition to a wedding cake, try a delicious vanilla panacotta with a drizzle of ruby sauce or perhaps the blueberry soufflé with a homemade lemon ice cream.
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