An often irreverent look at weddings from an industry insider
Last week I posted about DIY Centerpieces 
and I found some great ideas for candlescapes that really show what I was talking about. Great candle centerpieces are a cinch to pull off if you think outside the box and think quantity over quality. Bet you never thought you would here me say that, did you?
I found these on the Better Homes and Gardens Website. Just another example of looking outside the box for unique wedding ideas.
I have talked before about creating a storyboard to help you design your wedding. Well, no one does it better than Abby Jean over at Style Me Pretty.
Abby calls them inspiration boards and does them on her computer. This week she is showcasing some of the best of the best entries in an Inspiration Board Contest among her readers.
Wow! What an embarrassment of riches. I could spend all day just ooohing and ahhhing over the beautiful ideas. All perfectly pulled together by Abby’s deft touch.
She has been generous enough to post a list of how-to hints and tips on how to put your own inspiration board together.
Thanks Abby, you always inspire me.
How is that for different. The table cloth is orange Bengaline and the chair is dressed and bound in moss and persimmon lamour.
I just thought this was as clever as could be. What are you going to do to dress up those little folding chairs that so many people are using? Why give them a tie, of course. That always adds a well dressed edge.
All images: David Wright
All Linen and design: BBJ Linen
I’ll post the gorgeous cake table tomorrow.
I loved this overlay. It is called Monte Carlo and the colors are too die for. MaryMac paired it with a black under base and chair color and then accented her creation with Cerise Lamor napkins and chair tie. You have got to love the creativit
y of the staff at BBJ.
The centerpiece is from Ed Vance over at the local Flower Express. What a hidden treasure he is. Whoops! I guess he’s not so hidden any more.
I had the best time today. I went over to the BBJ Linens showroom to see some of their new offerings. It seems that once a year the company runs a friendly little in house competition to see who can design the loveliest tables. WOW with their selection of gorgeous linens how can you go wrong.
In the true tradition of southern hospitality the showroom here in Nashville threw open their doors, stocked the bar and loaded down the buffet with tasty morsels. The guest list included the who’s who in the local event industry. Always fun to see old friends and meet new ones.
BBJ Linens was started 25 years ago by three women upset by the terrible selection of linens available. Working from home they began to create their own linen using beautiful fabrics. Today BBJ has 15 showrooms spread across the country and a huge team of fine professionals to help you plan your décor needs.
Their website is not only some of the prettiest eyecandy around but also has a great interactive tool to help with making decisions. For more personal service just call 1-800-405-6944 and they will hook you up with your nearest showroom. Then one of their reps like MaryMac here in Nashville will talk you through the process; send you swatches or even a whole table cloth until you are happy with your choices. In some cases, you can even hire their production crew to come and tie all of those beautiful but tedious chair ties.
Dear friend David Wright took a ton of pictures for me today. So many wonderful shots in fact that I’m going to break them up into a couple of posts with full details on fabrics. Keep reading.
If you ever wondered how your beautiful wedding gown get to the salon… it comes in an itty bitty box.
Inside out. So if you don’t think much about the fact that your salon steams your gown for you before you see it for the first time, you might want to zoom in on that next to the last photo. Just thought you should know. Special thanks to Ann Miller at Glitz Bridal.
Those of you that are frequent followers of the Dish know that I am not a huge fan of DIY weddings. Having said that, I also know that there are a ton of brides that are ready to take the hand-made plunge. Centerpieces seem to be a favorite. So here goes…
First my rant. If I see one more lonely little bowl filled with water and one or two floating candle I may just scream. The same goes for a single pillar candle surrounded by rose petals. If you are going to take on this project, how about using a little creativity girls? I am well aware that for most of you saving money is the object, but you are going to have to think outside the box a little for that. Also remember that the standard height rules apply: either tall enough to see under or low enough to see over.
The one on the left I found on Indie Bride: Simple, clean, cheap and easy. If you are going for that urban zen look you can’t beat it. Change the single flower to suit your style. An orchid would be lovely but a rose would look outdated.
The one on the right would work for anything either county or garden. It is simply a flat of wheat grass with flowers in water picks stuck down in it, tie a ribbon around the flat or wrap it in fabric. Easy enough.This one has daisies but change up the fabric and use tulips for spring or for fall use deep colored mums and sprinkle the grass with fall leaves.
We all know that everyone looks better in candle light. If you want to go this route the key is to mass the candles. See if you can order plain white or ivory pillars by the case. Get a case of several different sizes and mix them up on the table. Rent some inexpensive serving trays to put them on and fill in the rest of the tray with stones or coffee beans or even cranberries to fit your mood. Get creative. Tuck a single bloom in among the filler an BOOM, pretty, unique and reasonable inexpensive. Just remember to find out what your venues rules are regarding candles.
Another popular DIY centerpiece is to fill bowls with beautiful fresh fruit. The only problem with that is finding enough pretty fruit the day before your wedding. Plus if you buy that much fruit at the grocery store you may end up paying more that if you had had the florist do standard arrangements. This might help: limit you selection to two or three kinds of fruit that will be in season at the time of your wedding. Arrange with your caterer to order the fruit through their wholesale produce vendor. Rent the bowls. It’s worth a shot.
I would love to see your DIY centerpieces. So send them on.
(Vicki, please don’t hate me)