Can Stylish Plans, Slumber Parties and Amusement Parks Really Coexist!?

Feature Article
by Tracey Baxter

At The Bridal Showcase, the biggest question I heard was “How do I choose a venue?” The best place to look first for a great venue is right in your own mind! No joke! Think about the style of your wedding.  Really imagine it – if you could be ‘on location’ in the perfect venue for your wedding, what do you see in your mind?  Are you in a ballroom or lakeside? If you are outdoors in your vision, you have effectively eliminated a lot of venues right off the bat! Or if you are in a mansion or historic site you’ve also effectively eliminated many! This is great! You’ve saved yourself time and energy and can avoid visiting places that you wouldn’t prefer to host your wedding ceremony, reception or both.






When choosing a venue, when you walk into the space, do you feel like it conveys your style? Keep in mind; I am using the word style – not the word theme! Eliminate theme from your wedding vocabulary and think style. Themes are for 2nd grade slumber parties and amusement parks. Both fun? Absolutely! But theme is not fun for at least 90% of weddings! Now, yes there is that 10% or less that want to do some sort of over the top “theme” but pulling that off without creating a hot mess needs cautious planning! In my experience theming is not what most brides are looking to achieve on their wedding day – it’s style!






Let’s talk for a minute about this because if not theme, what constitutes style? Style is not something that you beat your guests half to death with by making everything matchy-matchy like something out of "The Stepford Wives". It’s not the favor tags, seating cards or other details, although those elements can enhance the style if used properly! Style is like the big picture. Style is a ribbon of continuity throughout your wedding that creates a feeling or ambiance. Style starts with your save-the-date cards or invitations, ends with your thank you cards and includes everything in between, but it is not any of these elements individually. So now with style clarified, again picture your perfect wedding day. How does the venue make you feel? When you go on site to check out a venue if you don’t get that very same feeling you’re imagining at this moment, you’ve not found your venue yet.






The reason finding a venue that is suitable to your event style is critical is because to create that feeling of your style, in a space that doesn’t naturally convey it, can quickly become time consuming and costly. To a degree, it’s like reinventing the wheel! Yes, you can bring the outdoors in but if a ballroom is bright yellow and grey, it will be take more to mask that décor and create something natural and outdoorsy, than if you found a ballroom with a more neutral or green décor scheme that could easily blend into your style.






On the other hand, if you are not locked in to a specific color swatch yet, then the ballroom or other location you select can determine your scheme so you are easily coordinated with the style of the room.  And there is really nothing wrong with that approach as long as you walk in that space and feel “Ah” instead of “Blah”.



So that is the essence of venue selection!






Your Wedding Planning Homework:


Connect with a venue this week! Remember while visiting to really envision the style of your weeding and how it will appear.










copyright 2011 Aisle Do


Want to use this article in your e-Zine, blog or website? You may as long as you include this complete statement:

Wedding Solutions Specialist Tracey Baxter publishes the "Aisle Do" bi-weekly e-zine. Get your Free Report: "From Drab to Fab - The Five Secrets to a Show Stopping Favor Display” available  at http://www.aisledoweddings.com/

Whimsical Marriage Proposal

Thanks to Christine at BridalTweet for sharing this today!  This should be posted on a Whimsical Wednesday but I just can't wait to share it with you!



This proposal couldn't be any sweeter and creatively personalized ... LOVE IT!!!  Sid Ceaser arranged for his video to be played as a movie preview trailer at the Red River Theater on Dec. 12, 2010 when Sid took his sweatheart Sara to the movies.  If you would like to read their whole story, check out Sid's blog at Ceaser Photography  (it's well worth the read!)

Clearly Sid's a pro and put together a steller video for Sara. I love how personalized and detailed he made this.    I wonder how they'll incorporate their Whatnot's into their wedding? 

If you would like to create a Muppet of yourself, check out the Whatnot Workshop at FAO Schwarz    Here's how I Muppet Whatnot-ed myself:



So what do you think? She needs a little more flip in her hair but not bad for a first shot.  I may have to consider one of these!

Color Your Wedding Wonderful -Part 2

Feature Article
by Tracey Baxter

To complete our series on color combinations we’ll jump around that color wheel a little more to find complimentary colors for your wedding design scheme. If you missed the first part of this article, be sure to check out the Aisle Do Blog post on Thursday October 28, 2010 to catch up!

Choosing Colors

You’ve chosen your favorite color for your wedding and are looking for a great accent color. Complimentary colors come in a few basic regions on the color wheel. This is where I have to stop and say – there is such a thing as working with too many colors.


Unless you are working to specifically create an ubermodern multicolored event or your cultural traditions typically include multiple colors, working with no more than 3 colors, is going to keep your wedding planning and design life simplest! Brides purposefully working with multiple colors will need to focus on balancing each colors intensity.


Balancing Colors
Back in elementary school, you probably played on a see-saw and tried to make it so both you and your partner were suspended evenly. Like this see-saw trick, on the color wheel directly opposite of your primary color choice, you will find its instant balance! Here is a visual:

 This is the simplest form of complimentary color. If you ever wondered why shades of purple and green can go well together, that is why.


Multiple Color Combinations
If you want to work with 3 different colors, you have a couple options. Split complimentary colors are found on the color wheel on either side of your primary choice’s complimentary color. Waaa? OK, the see-saw analogy was helpful so let’s get a visual of this too. Think of a peace sign. Now think of that peace sign over a color wheel.

So you have your primary color choice, its complimentary color and on each side are its split complimentary colors! That was so easy. Split complimentary colors are great fun to use. They are exciting and unexpected combinations that work well together.


Triads create very bold color schemes. A triad, as the name suggests is created by making a triangle on the color wheel. Finally, an obvious one! But just in case, there is a visual aid for this also.

Your Wedding Planning Homework

 

It's time to get inspired and finalize your color schemes. If you are well into your planning process, you can start using these same color combining techniques when choosing home decor items for your registry or to compliment what you already have.









Want to use this article in your e-Zine, blog or website? You may as long as you include this complete statement:



Wedding Solutions Specialist Tracey Baxter publishes the "Aisle Do" bi-weekly e-zine. Get your Free Report: "5 Fun and Fabulous Reception Ideas for a Reluctant DIY Bride” at www.aisledoweddings.com

Feature Article

“Manage Your Motif So You Don't Make a Mess”


By Tracey Baxter

Managing your motif means prioritizing your spending. Never before has DIY wedding planning been so easy to do. The web has numerous wedding websites, blogs and professional design boards just a click away. With so many inspirations, it’s also easy to get carried away and attempt to pull too many elements into one wedding. I’ve heard it before, “I just want this one last thing to pull it together…” Meanwhile, this bride had to increase her budget to accomplish this. Prioritizing from the beginning, this bride would have kept the budget in check and clearly communicated her wedding style without needing a single thing to pull it together. And really, will that one last thing pull it together? Not likely!


So many elements, where to begin? Bengaline, damask and pin tuck – Oh My! A Candy Buffet or a dessert buffet ...or both – but why? Using a notebook to collect and file ideas is an easy way to remember what you like. But pulling it together should not be an afterthought. It really should be the very next thing you do after determining your total wedding budget and guest list. Does having both a candy buffet and a dessert buffet even make sense? Maybe, if your overall theme is inspired by a sweet shop. Do you need trinket favors and a candy buffet? Again, this depends on the overall style of your wedding. But rather than taking on all the latest trends, let your personal style influence your décor and menu choices. This is your day so begin by examining who you are and what you love.


My advice to brides is regularly examine what you have collected in your notebook. While you are in the early planning stages you should weed your notebook regularly. Some ideas might have been added in the impulse of the moment. And some are truly things you will want to include in your wedding décor. Invest in the areas that make you say “Oh yes, I need this” and minimize or eliminate everything else. Carefully choosing elements you want most and doing them exceptionally well will be more appreciated by your guests. More importantly, you and your fiancé will be happier with the polished end result!

Your Wedding Planning Homework:
Start your wedding planning by figuring out who you are.  How do you really want to celebrate your wedding?  What elements are the most important?  Let the answers to these questions be your guiding light.


Want to use this article in your E-zine, blog or website? You may as long as you include this complete statement:

Wedding Solutions Specialist Tracey Baxter publishes the "Aisle Do" bi-weekly e-zine. Get your Free Report: "5 Fun and Fabulous Reception Ideas for a Reluctant DIY Bride” at www.aisledoweddings.com