Trend Five- Graceful Cultural Infusion

Blending two different cultures into one family can be a hard task, but planning a wedding that reflects both sides can make it a distinctive and irreplaceable experience. Family traditions hold a great deal of importance and a wedding that is multicultural will need to celebrate both sides and not spotlight one over the other.

Guests can get a sneak peek at what is to come by the invitation. One idea is to print the invitation in the two native tongues. This will let the guests know the important details of the time, place, bride and groom’s name, but will also show that this event will celebrate the merging of two different cultures.

While some families handle this situation by letting one side plan the ceremony and the other plan the reception, many couples like to merge both. In return this lets the families feel like they have a say in the planning. A way to merge cultures for the ceremony is by using the traditions of both in the program, during the ceremony and using a mix of music that is special to both sides of the family.

There are many easy ways to combine the two cultures at the reception. One of the most popular ways is to mix the menu of the reception cuisine. For example, if a Hispanic family is marrying into a Chinese family an idea is to serve Empanada appetizers with personalized chopsticks. Another common idea is to intermix the different types of music played throughout the night. Not only will this bring together the two styles of music, but it will also keep the entertainment level high and exciting. It is also fun to have a signature drink at the beginning of the reception that is influenced by one of the cultures. An example of this would be to serve Sangria with a cute colorful flag serving as the stir for the drink. Incorporating cultural influences into the favors for the guests is also a great way to showcase the various cultures gracefully. At midnight the guests could be offered cultural specific cookies or snacks like the picture above of the ‘Mexican Wedding Cake’ cookies. If it is an Asian theme you are incorporating, a ‘take-out’ box filled with the couple’s favorite cookies and then closed with a sticker that contains a wish for the guests is cute and tasteful.

We feel the most important aspect when incorporating various cultures is to do it gracefully and with taste. You don’t want your guests to leave the wedding feeling like it was a “theme” wedding. However, you do want your guests to understand the importance of the background of the bride and groom and that it was recognized. Remember there is a graceful balance.

Trend Four. Unique Lace

Lace is everywhere. You see it in magazines, at red carpet events and in wedding dresses. Lace isn’t just for your grandmother’s dolly anymore. There are so many beautiful wedding dresses that have unique lace touches to full lace dresses. Brides are now looking for more extravagant embellishments, including romantic lace and detailed beading. As we have been visiting bridal shops around Dallas, which we love to do, we have seen the best designers using lace in their creations. Lace gives that special touch of femininity and innocence.

While in New York looking at the 2007 collections from various designers, we fell in love with how Caroline DeVillo incorporated unique lace into her gowns. Caroline’s gowns are sold at Blush Couture Co. www.blushcouture.com. The dress posted above also is sold at Blush Couture Co. The designer is Bellissima Couture and the dress style is Brigitte.

One easy way to add a touch of lace to your look without adding it to your gown is to pair the dress with a simple, whimsical lace caplet. This way the look can be transformed throughout the night with one small change. Another example of how to add lace to your attire is to wear a beaded ivory mini for the reception gown. This will add a touch of elegance, but in a fun, exciting glamorous way.

There are many avenues for adding lace not only in the dress department. Some trends are extending into other areas including cascading lace table runners, lace heels and bounds of lace for invitations, programs and menus.

If your mother has a lace veil she wore in her wedding, this would be the perfect opportunity to incorporate ‘something old’ into your special day, while incorporating lace. Lace can be added to many areas of your wedding, from a unique detail to an all over style.

Take a look at the fabulous gown collections in Highland Park Village at Warren Barron` or browse online at www.warrenbarron.com. You will see some of the top designers incorporating unique lace into their fabulous gowns.

Send us an email and let us know how you have incorporated lace into your special day.

Trend No. 3
MIDNIGHT MINI-BITES

Another great way to incorporate things you love into your wedding is having mini versions of your favorite foods served at midnight. Considering by this time dinner has long been over and guests have been dancing the night away, they can work up an appetite. The sky’s the limit when it comes to foods that can be made into mini versions, so think big! To get your brain and tummy going here are some ideas: mini burgers & shakes, mini frozen hot chocolates, mini Philly cheese steaks, mini banana splits….mini anything!

all the shades...

Trend No. 2

Yellow

Yellow is everywhere this spring. From the runway in New York to the flowers used at weddings, yellow is making a huge comeback. Yellow comes in so many beautiful shades from bright yellow to soft, pale yellow. When we think of spring weddings we picture the muted, soft yellow....think butter yellow... As we move into summer the yellow becomes brighter and more vibrant...think tropical flowers, sun and lemonade. Yellow can be incorporated into flowers, bridesmaid's dresses, aisle runners, sashes, signature drinks, bride's cake, favors for your guests, linens, decor...the list goes on!!! We encourage you to be creative with the way you incorporate color into your special day.

**The butter color flowers above were designed by Fete Des Fleur and displayed at the Stephanie Anne Bridal Event.

What's Hot for Spring

We will be introducing what we feel are the hottest wedding trends for Spring 2007 over the next few weeks. These ideas came from researching various fashion designers, going to the "bridal fashion week" in New York, listening to what our brides were requesting and looking through many magazines!!!

If you are a bride who wants to do something unique and different for your wedding, we recommend incorporating one of these trends into your wedding. It doesn't matter what your wedding style is, you can incorporate these ideas. From traditional to modern events, each idea can be personalized to your style!

TREND NO. 1
UNIQUE AND PERSONALIZED PAPER

Think of everything that passes through your guests hands. From the save the date to the favors you hand out at the end of the evening. The paper products make a difference in the overall feel of your event. The tone of the event is set when your guests receive the save the date. Be as creative as you like with your save the dates. It is a great idea to begin incorporating certain colors, designs, monograms etc. into your paper products from the beginning.

We LOVE CECI New York to take care of all our creative invitation needs! Lisa Hoffman is very talented and easy to work with. She can come up with a theme and bring your event to life with custom designs of the invitations, favors, labels.... check out her website at www.ceciny.com!

Please visit the link below to see the work we recently did with CECI New York. We were asked by D Wedding Magazine to put together "Table Scapes" for their current issue. Of course we relied on Lisa at CECI to design our placecards, menu cards and invitations.

www.cecinewyork.com/press.php?item=5&page=1

We also wanted to share with you some samples of our past work with CECI New York. The pictures below contain all the "customized paper products" Lisa designed for a fabulous wedding we planned in September. The theme was "Tropical and Fun." You can see the consistency in the designs and colors throughout all the items. I had a guest pull me aside at the wedding and say, "Oh my gosh, the invitations were to die for...it set the mood for the wedding and we knew it was going to be a great event when we held the wedding invitation in our hands."









Guests received an RSVP packet that had luggage tags, guestroom keys and an itinerary of events for the entire wedding weekend. At the ceremony the program was shaped as a fan that continued the tropical theme of the wedding. There were 4 main colors carried througout the event. Everything was color blocked from the bridesmaid's dresses to the flowers, linens, place cards and menus on each table.









Welcome bags were filled with goodies such as monogrammed towels with each guests initials, customized water bottles, a deck of customized playing cards and some of the bride and groom's favorite snacks.

If you want an event to remember....start with the Save the Date and carry out your theme through everything paper product the guests touch.

Happy Planning!

For the bride....

...who can't wait to look at the latest D Weddings, Grace Ormonde and INSIDE Weddings... that love to read Bazaar, InStyle, Vogue and W... to the ones who are secretly addicted to US Weekly, E News and People...and each morning they open their email and are welcomed by Daily Candy...these are the readers who will appreciate our stories, ideas, trend reports and unique sites that we will bring you on a weekly basis.

We are inspired by how much you love STYLE and want to create a wedding that bubbles over with unique ideas that will set you apart from "every other wedding we've been to..."

We would love for you to send us your name and email address to info@akeventdesign.com. At various times we will be sending out emails just for our readers regarding special events and fun things to know. We would love to have you on the list.

Enjoy! Happy planning!