For the Fine Feathered Affair…

 

A fabulously feathered event starts off with a bang of an invite making sure everyone sees where the party will be more than just “for the birds”.  These from Zazzle were great. I typed in peacock and honestly, the invite is a great place to help you lock in a color palette and feel of your wedding. Whether casual or fancy, more leaning towards blues or greens and even coppers.

Wedding flowers can be a bit tricky with a theme that is blue and green. Not a ton out there that really help complement outside of using some lime greens and cremes. Iris’ do help, but tend to be a very seasonal and very delicate flower, so if you’re on a budget, why not think peacock fans? Or with corsages, you can do the white roses or a simple flower with feathers incorporated? I found these great fans online on Ebay for less than 20 dollars, considering costs of bouquets – these are a steal. Plus, being a photographer, you could use these as props all day and not see any broken petals, or even use them in your wedding bridal portraits.

Now dressing your ladies is going to be a blast. You can mix and match til your hearts content here, I suggest two, maybe three colors, at most. But this is where individuality can really take over. Perhaps tie it all together with a pretty peacock hair embellishment. I’ve found tons at Forever 21 before, but you can also find millions just by searching on Google Shopping. They are definitely something I ‘d reuse after the wedding! Being in swing gives this feathery feeling a 1940s twist, your girls dresses could definitely emulate the time period. I found these at David’s Bridal, but the possibilities are endless!

I actually almost like the men’s choice here more than the ladies. I saw these on Zazzle and came unglued. I also considered making the guys have some sort of feather tie in, but there are limits. There were peacock shoes as well, you can definitely go all out with this print, but being bold, I thought a simple tie would communicate the theme effectively without being overblown. You can tuck this beneath the chosen vest and it looks a little less bold. For the groom himself, find white peacock feathers, Snapfish can take photographs and make them into ties, so if you need to find the perfect picture , then it’s there for you!

 

Reception wise, it’s good to keep this elegant. I continue to center on the name “Gatsby”, I think that peacock feathers in vases would look smashing. Or laid longways. If you have the crafty ability, what about layering cake plates with feathers to give your cake a field of royalty to sit on?  If you have table numbers, then using peacock feather eyes to dot them will make a good splash if you want to stick to simple candle centerpieces in your chosen colors. I’ve found several retailers with good napkins in peacock prints – again Zazzle is a good vendor for this.

You can leave your guests with a sweet ending as well if you lay out a deliciously sinful table to sweets in your chosen hues! Think tall and short and fat and thin vessels filled with candies. I’d avoid a lot of unwrapped unless you have small scoops, little fingers can make things sticky! Place out glassine bags for guests to help themselves with labels printed with your peacock feather icon and “thank you” for the day. I’ve found the lot of these in my own grocery store, but there are many online vendors.

So there you have it, a fabulous nest to start your love off in. Enjoy it, have fun – feathers make anything a little fancy into an affair that you can shake your tail feathers at!

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

When you can’t decide!

 

 

I’m a girl of many fashions if you’ve not figured that out already. I’ve also let on that I do a bit of swing dancing. and being Polish, if there’s a polka, I’m there. Plus being from Texas usually means 9 months out of the year…we’re hot. So all that said, if I’m dancing at my wedding, which is a dumb question, YES, I’ll be dancing, then I’ll most likely opt for a reception dress.

Until recently I thought I was the sneaky one with this idea. I mean what girl doesn’t want to sneak in a costume change on her biggest day! Sign ME up! But that aside, I think it may be practical to save the big dress for the ceremony and pictures and switch up later into something that makes you feel gorgeous AND comfortable.

That said, these aren’t my exact choices of dress. (Of course I’d not unveil that here) but these are like the one I have in mind. Something 1950’s inspired, no veil necessary, perhaps a hint of feather or flower tucked in for good effect. But that said, I want

something I can move in. I want to feel like a spinning and whirling dervish on the dance floor. I also plan on finding some old fashioned ruffle-y bloomers to allow me to….well, tone down the “floor show”. I’d love to add a pair of colored flats to compliment my bridesmaids.

If my bridesmaids all wore the same dress, this might be a great area to emulate or even mimic the dress they have on in a white version if the style suits, what a way to make cool pictures happen! I think there are many ways to keep yourself feeling just as special in this sort of dress for your reception – think vintage or even a little sexier than the traditional brides dress, this may be a way to keep grandma AND yourself happy on one day. Plus, who wants their mascara running because you enjoyed The Chicken Dance a little too much??

Enjoy the day! Look great! Feel even better!

A Little Laughter in the Dress Rehearsal

I think if you want to keep the wedding relatively traditional, a great place to interject your childish enthusiasm and personality is the rehearsal dinner. Have a favorite cartoon? a funny joke that makes you both laugh that you want to share with the family? Can you include that in your dinner theme? Absolutely!

What about eschewing the entire “dinner” completely? I don’t mean not to feed the people, I’m always up for that, but what about a crawfish boil? Or pizza night and a movie? Heck, what about a movie at a draft house?

I think this is the best time to let your hair down. The night before. Everything is ordered and ready. Why not enjoy the laughter and time with friends and family. This is probably even more intimate than the next day’s hustle and bustle. This is the time you can make the speeches about when you got gum stuck in your hair in 4th grade, or how she saw him with hat hair on their first date. This is the time that you can start shedding the tears of laughter and happiness that the next day will bring.

What about holding it in an offbeat location – the grooms grade school? a local park if the weather holds? What about playing bingo during the festivities? Keep people together – sometimes the two families haven’t had a chance to really meld together – this might be a great time for icebreakers, that way the next day has a much more together feel than ever.

Dance down the aisle during? Perhaps dress as the other (bride as groom, groom as bride) – shake it up a bit. Come as your favorite characters – Lucy and Schroeder, Kermit and Miss Piggy. Get everyone motivated to be a big part of your wedding day, get everyone smiling and laughing. Be realistic, weddings can be rather stressful as they approach, it helps to interject humor, it’s the best medicine!

Just One Cake? Pah.

Who needs the large bridal cake when you’re a couple of many tastes? Not I! I thought it would be great to celebrate a wedding with not one, but MANY, cakes. Depending on your guest list length, you may need to double up (or just get extra creative)…think 8-10 people per type, unless you’re thinking sheet cakes or larger sizes. If you can, this is a great way to get extra hands involved.

What was your first shared dessert? His Mom’s best pie? The first sweet you handmade for your sweetie? What about grandma’s recipe for her super moist chocolate? Or your favorite restaurant’s recipe? What means the most to you?

If time permits, perhaps give guests a run down on why that cake made the list with little cards before each cake….even if something made the list because you fought over it, perhaps it’s good to laugh about the silly tiff now, as a sign of the strength of your relationship that you’re celebrating.

Make it good. Make it sweet. Enjoy all the goodness life offers!