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You have started to plan the over-the-top, elegant wedding your have been envisioning since you were five. The only obstacle in your way—the budget. No worries. You can still wow your guests and not max out your credit cards.
Start with white. White is ultra traditional and has made a big come back in the last few years. The key to keeping it fresh—stick with white color palette with some black accents. It will be easier on your wallet and lead to simpler planning.
For your invitations stick with a basic design on white paper. Colored paper is often much more expensive. Have your stationer use a script font to convey over-the-top elegance. Think about adding a monogram or a script element that can be used throughout the day. Using print is an affordable way to bring all aspects of your day together. Outline your ceremony in a simple, coordinating two-sided program.
White flowers are easy to come by. Therefore you will have some flexibility in what type of flower your are using. Instead of having your florist search for the perfect shade of purple hydrangea (which also happens to be out of season) they can utilize a variety of in-season more affordable blooms.
Calla lilies are affordable and work great in different types of arrangements. Have your maids carry a single calla lily for a simple and elegant effect. Add a two large arrangements at the front of your ceremony space. Reuse your ceremony decor on your sign-in or cake table at the reception. Vary short and tall calla lily centerpieces throughout your reception venue to create drama. And added bonus—calla lilies are easy to arrange and display if you are thinking about creating your own arrangements. For an added touch wrap your vases in thick white ribbon with a thin black ribbon accent.
Candles are an inexpensive way to give a room a romantic, elegant feel. Various heights of white candles will add interest. Look for interesting clear candle holders like these from CB2.com. Then mix in smaller tea lights for a beautiful glow. Let a votive candle do triple duty by serving as an escort card, favor and part of your decor. You can use this rub-on technique to add each guest’s name and table assignment to the candles. Give a trusted friend or relative the job of periodically relighting the candles to keep the room glowing all night. Want to dress up your tables a little more? Many times event venues will include white linens at no extra charge. Add black table runners or chair ties to bring it up a notch. Efavormart.com has some amazing prices on chair ties and table runners. If you want to take it a step further have a custom stencil of your monogram created. Then use fabric paint to create custom table runners or unique bride and groom chair ties.
Use clothing to add in your black accents. Keep your maids simple in black dresses. Allowing them to pick the style ensures everyone will find something they like and definitely be able to wear again. You can add a sash or a fun piece of jewelry to tie them all together. The guys will look great in traditional tuxes.
By utilizing the basics and adding small details you can pull off the traditional style you crave without breaking the bank.
I am definitely not a girly-girl. However, there is something about an English Garden theme that I just love. Its crisp and classic and at the same time can have a funky vintage twist. Plus it isn’t so over the top that it must be confined to just weddings. You can use it for a bridal shower, birthday party or even a baby shower.
To start choose your main color palette. Going for girly? Pink is a must. If not, pick pale greens, blues or yellows and then accent with pink. For a dramatic twist throw in aubergine or peacock blue.
Keep your décor light and airy. I am loving paper right now. You can find instructions on how to craft just about anything out of paper online. A bird motif is always a nice touch. This paper bird project from MarthaStewart.com fits the garden party theme. Add some feathers to add a modern touch. If you are picturing flowers everywhere try crafting them out of coffee filters. Check out these on Craftster.com. You can easily get about 100 flowers out of a $2 pack of coffee filters. Very budget friendly! Scour garage sales and secondhand stores for milk glass vases in various colors to display your paper arrangements.
Collect vintage china to use at your place settings. Vary the styles among the settings to keep the tables from looking stuffy. Pitchers, bowls and even cups can be used as vases.
If you are having a hard time finding vintage china that goes with your motif or it doesn’t fit into your budget use paper printed with similar patterns under clear plates. Use white linens to keep your tables from being overwhelming.
Image Courtesy of House to Home
Most of the time ideas come from an unexpected place. One of my favorite ways to use inspiration is transfering it from one genre to another. I have created a lot of bachelorette and bridal shower invitations in the past few years. Recently, a friend requested a few design options for an event she is hosting. I was in definite need of some fresh bachelorette design ideas. The martini glass/trendy gal silhouette I have used as a fallback for so long was growing tired and over-done. Most recently my fixation has been with art deco-style furniture—bold patterns and finishes in classic styles. I stumbled upon this set-up from House to Home’s Room Inspiration page, while searching for a Louis XV chair.
While I love the the Louis XV chair (one of my favorites), the high gloss black bureau is even better. And there you have it. That little table led to a whole new era for bachelorette party and bridal shower invitations. Check out the one below, there are more to come!
After months of hearing about the fabulous graduation party being thrown for my soon-to-be step-daughter, I thought I knew all of the details—over a hundred people, enchiladas, Mexican dips, cocktails for the adults, and cake adorned with her favorite senior picture. Then, during the post graduation dinner, less than one week before the party I learned of one more small detail…I was in charge of décor! Fear set in, the internet is my best friend. It is where I spend hours researching the perfect theme and style for my events. Not to mention finding everything I need at the best price. With less than five days until the party I had no choice but to go local. Gulp!
I started at a local craft and party supply store. The chosen colors are maroon and gold, school colors. After digging through isles of not-so-hot “Class of 09” banners, plates, and napkins, I decide graduation theme is not the way to go. From the seasonal area I wander to the party supply area. After I discover all the great black, white and pink options they have, I debate over a color veto. Black white and pink are Erica’s favorite colors, after all. I find the gold and maroon selections. Gold table cloths, no maroon though. I go with gold and black plus some maroon napkins and confetti in the chosen colors. I decide to skip the predictable “Congrats Grad!” 3-D centerpieces. Instead, I decide to go with flowers for unexpected centerpieces.
Next stop Goodwill. After combing through isle of discarded coffee mugs and tarnished silver, I find what I am looking for tall cylindrical vases about 2 inches in diameter. They have two, one has the name of a local hospital etched in the side. Then I spot the jackpot, a pitcher set that has cups that happen to look like the vases. $11 for the set.
As for the flowers to put in the vases, I off to the local Sam’s Club store. Normally I would order flowers from 2G Roses or Sam’s Club website, but in a time crunch the Sam’s Club store would have to do. Once there I find a substantial selection. Not the maroon and yellow gerbera daises I was hoping for, however they do have a good selection of mums, lilies, carnations, alstroemeria, and roses. I decide on golden yellow spider mums, maroon carnations and red and white alstroemeria for filler.
Another request for the party was a banner. I had already designed these party announcement postcards.
A banner to match would be a great addition. Banner design, no problem. I fumbled through the elements I had from the postcard and put a 72×18 banner together. Printing the banner locally at an affordable price, big problem. Normally, for banners I like to use halfpricebanners.com. The have great customer service and turn out a quality product quickly. For my budget of under $20 they were not going to work on such short notice. Due to my time constraints, about sixteen hours until the banner needs to be at the party location, I head to Kinkos/FedEx office. I discover printing the banner in color on coated paper is going to run about $50…yikes! The black and white version would only run about $5. Then the manager suggested printing a couple of smaller, color versions for about $1 each in addition to the large black-and-white version. Very helpful!
The next morning I pick up the banners and head home to do some flower arranging. I used some river rock that I had on hand to weigh each vase down. Then I wrap each vases with a thick maroon band and a thinner gold ribbon. I split the flowers between the six Goodwill finds and two larger vases.
I head over to the party location to set up. Here is a shot of the finished product. I also added maroon to the tables by using maroon napkins as a make-shift runner. The smaller banners were mount to mat board to give them a presence.
On short notice the party looked great and everyone had a great time. I have to thank one helpful manager at Kinkos. The lesson I learned from this one…I need to spend more time researching and getting to know my local resources.
How do you utilize your local resources?
Emily Edson Design-Blog 