I often talk about creating weddings and events that are "Unique To You"...so I thought I'd give you a few pointers on how to fulfill the vision of your dream day. First, lets talk about "insert bride and groom weddings"...these are events where any bride or groom fit into the equation, while they might be beautiful they usually are not memorable to your loved ones. The ACE Team has clients with both types of events, some that are beautiful and classic with out many unique details and some that are super custom with great details. Neither style of event is wrong, it's all a matter of preference. The trend in today's weddings and events include tons of details and fun themes.
Our Tips for a Stylized Custom Wedding:
1. Plan for yourself (and your groom): Yes, you want your guests to enjoy your day, have enough to eat/drink and dance the night away...But this is also a day to celebrate your love. Whatever you envision is what you should have. Don't worry if you are making everyone happy, or if your wedding is "Traditional enough" for your grandparents. Do what makes you happy, that will make your family and friends happy in return.
2. Go Big or Go Home!: No, I don't mean spend your lives savings on your wedding, but I do mean if you come up with an idea or theme follow through completely. No one will understand your "Sweet as Honey" theme if you randomly place honey combs around the reception room and call it a day. Let your guests get a glimpse into your big day with your Save the Dates and Invitations and follow through until the last guest has left your reception. It will be memorable for you and your guests.
3. Communicate: Of course you need to communicate with all parties involved on your big day...but you really need to communicate with your vendors above all else! This doesn't mean to email, call or text multiple times a day but it does mean to be open and honest with your vision. If you love white flowers but hate roses, tell your florist. If you have always envisioned a letter press invitation, tell your stationer. If you have dreamed of amazing event lighting but don't want spinning lights above your dance floor, tell your lighting designer. You should hire all of your vendors because you trust them and love their style, so you should feel completely comfortable with them and trust that what you envision for your big day is what they are going to provide for you. There are literally hundreds of event vendors in Hampton Roads (some of the best in the nation!) but none of them are mind readers...paint a clear picture so they can create your day for you.
Below are 3 different events with 3 different themes...
The below inspiration board is from an engagement session that the ACE Team created with the help of
Trivium Studio. Together with our clients we had a great idea to design their engagement session around "time"... and the quote "You are Every Minute of My Everyday". Yes, I know this isn't a wedding, but I thought it was a great example of how you can take an idea and run with it...the use of props, fun details and amazing photography really pulled this shoot together. Here is the key, if you have an idea for your event or even engagement session, go big or go home. This session would not have been a cohesive idea if we stopped at just the sign, or just a pocket watch. For more images from this shoot and for more design inspiration you can see it featured on
Wedding Chicks.
Ashley and John, were married in Mexico the month before their "Stateside Nuptials" so when designing their event they wanted to make sure that they included details from their tropical wedding for the guests that weren't able to travel with them. Ashley had a clear vision of what she wanted, the colors she wanted to use (Turquoise and Fuchsia) and some very distinct details. I loved a lot of the details that we ended up using! The escort cards were placed inside adorable bottles that looked like something that would have washed up on the beach. Their table linens and flowers was reminiscent of the colors and style of their bride and grooms reception in Mexico. The Organza overlays and fabric used in the lounge was airy and beautiful. We displayed pictures from their destination wedding throughout the event, in the acrylic coffee tables that
Daevid provided, in vintage green glass canisters and even on a large wall of family wedding photos as well. I think my favorite peice of "Mexico" was Ashley's original wedding gown which we displayed near the ice art and bar for all to see.
The images below were shot for a well known bridal magazine "Bride and Bloom"...they gave us the color palette and we had to come up with the inspiration and the concept. It's a bit harder to come up with inspiration this way as we didn't have a client to tell us that we were going in the right direction or that they hated our ideas. I invited Daevid Reed of
Daevid's Flowers to help me come up with this "secret garden" theme and I absolutely loved the final product! As you can see, everything from the antique china to the shoes matched or coordinated with our Turquoise and Emerald color scheme. A lot of what made this event work was the backdrop venue, the Hermitage Foundation Museum. (This is something that all clients should think about, does your vision match your venue?) You can see more pictures and the actual article
here.
Posts
