A Summer Wedding

Here is a summer wedding that I designed the flowers for back in January. Robin, the bride gave me her suggestions and then she let me use my creative license to design her wedding flowers.

When designing her bouquet, we considered her dress which was cream colored and the beading on it. She sent me pictures of her wedding gown so I could design a wedding bouquet that would compliment and be in harmony with her dress.

The wedding was scheduled to be held outdoors in a beautiful garden area she and her groom had chosen. So I took this into account as well. Because I work with silk flowers, I carefully chose flowers that would look as if she picked them from the garden. Realistic looking silk flowers are a must! I surrounded the bouquet with heather greenery. It gave the bouquet a lacy, picked from the garden kind of look. Crystal type beads were also worked into Robin's bouquet to match beading on her dress.

Robin makes a beautiful bride! Happy wedding!!!!

Roses Have Meaning

Roses are a popular choice of many brides. Did you know each color of rose has a different meaning? If you want your wedding bouquet (bouquets courtesy of
The Wedding Contessa) to send a message, here are some of the meanings according to color:

Coral/Orange represents desire and enthusiasm which seems to radiate from this bold color.

Dark Pink: is a symbol of gratitude as it stands for thank you.
Light Pink: if you give someone a light pink rose it means admiration.
Pale: a rose of this color stands for friendship.
Peach: says let's get together.
Pink: means many things including love, happiness, grace and gentility.
Pink & White: this combination or rose colors means that "I will always love you".
Red: like the orange rose it also stands for desire, respect, courage, and as you can guess red(because it is such a standard color of roses given for Valentine's Day!)
White: gives the impression of reverence, humility, charm, innocence, and silence.
Red & Yellow: says congratulations!
Yellow: means joy, gladness,welcome back, and friendship.

It would be interesting to research this topic a little and find out how these rose colors achieved their meanings. Go ahead and combine whatever colors you like for your wedding because it is doubtful your guests will try to play detective and figure out what you are trying to say with your wedding bouquet!

Most brides choose their bridal bouquet colors to match the rest of the colors they have chosen for their wedding events and because they like the flowers they have chosen. Other flowers have meanings as well but for now it is enough to know that the many beautiful variety of rose colors speak a language all their own!

~Planning Your Wedding~ Part 4

This is the fourth installment in my "Planning Your Wedding" blog series. I think it makes planning your wedding a little easier that way than just giving a long list of things to do for each month.



That way, I also get to comment and give more helpful tips for making your wedding day unique to you, more affordable, and less stressful!

3 Months Ahead

• Groom's ring~if you haven't already purchased it and picked it out, now would be a good time to do this. Also have any engraving done on the ring if you plan to do that.

• Register for your wedding gifts~ This makes gift giving a little easier for your guests because they know exactly what you need and would like.

• Time to find a place to live~ start looking for a place to live.

• Order your Wedding Cake~Shop around! There are so many great ideas online and then find a cake that you like and take that idea to the cake decorator. Cake decorators also have many ideas available for you if you're not sure the type of cake you want. You can also order frosted cakes with no decor and you could be adventurous and decorate your own. Add some silk or fresh flowers such as you chose for your wedding flowers. There are many fun cake toppers available so don't be afraid to do it yourself if you want to!

• Schedule appointments for dental and physical check ups~Because I was moving out of state when I got married, I had to have a quick dental check up and by the time I scheduled it, I had to go to the dentist while on my honeymoon. So not fun! Live and learn so plan ahead!

• Plan your honeymoon~Make travel, passport, and hotel arrangements. If you plan now, you can enjoy a wonderful honeymoon. It doesn't have to put you in debt! You can plan a very nice getaway for just the two of you, somewhere close and then when you are making a little more money, you can take a big trip somewhere!

• Make arrangements for out of town guests accommodations.
  

~Planning Your Wedding~Part 3

4 Months Ahead

• Wedding Line Attire~Start selecting bridesmaid dresses and accessories. Figure out everyone's sizes and what you will need to outfit your bridesmaids, flower girls, mom's etc... It would also be a good idea to decide what the men in the line will wear as well. Go ahead and rent their attire and make sure you have their tuxes or suits rented for the date that you will need them.

• Find the florist you want to use~ for your wedding bouquet and your wedding flowers. Decide whether you will use silk, fresh or a combination of the two for your wedding flowers. (If you choose silk, you can have your wedding bouquet designed now then once you have your bridal portraits taken, you can use your bouquet in the photos.)

• During this month have your wedding dress altered if needed~ You will need your dress for upcoming photos and peace of mind is certainly worth having throughout your wedding planning process! So now is the time to take care of your dress if you need to. Don't wait to the last minute to have this done. The less you have to do as your big day approaches, the better!

• Time to order your invitations and thank you cards~ When it comes to thanking your guests, it is very important that you take the time to send them a handwritten thank you! If they take the time to buy you a gift, and they take the time to join you for your wedding or reception, they deserve a handwritten thank you from you and your groom! Just a time saving tip: when you address the wedding invitations also address a thank you card for each guest. File it away until after you open your gifts. All you have to do is write a short and sweet thank you , how you will use the item and it's ready to send.

• Video of your wedding day~if you want a videographer to capture your wedding day on video hire one now. If you have a talented family member who is really good at doing this, strike a deal with them you'll take them to dinner or free babysitting for a year (just kidding) something in exchange for their talents and services as they tell the story of your wedding through video!
  

• Transportation arrangements~if you or guests will need transportation to and from your wedding, dinner, or reception, take care of those arrangements now.

• Shop for your trousseau~It's time to start taking stock of what you have and what you will need to set up your new home.
  

Lavender and Cream Wedding

Recently I designed wedding flowers for a lavender and cream wedding. The accents were champagne and gold. The bride wanted the focus of her bouquet to be ivory and cream roses with a touch of lavender and a variety of purple flowers in and around the bouquet. Lily of the valley, sweet pea, and hydrangea were flowers chosen to accent the roses.

Champagne colored fabric and gold ribbon form the wrap for the handle of the wedding bouquet and a modern bow completes the back of the bouquet. A touch of champagne colored fabric was used in the corsages, boutonnieres, and flower girl baskets. Heather was added around the roses giving the bouquet a wispy look as if the flowers were gathered from a garden.

The flower girl baskets have a handle fashioned with the accent fabric and gold ribbon as well as flowers hand sewn from accenting fabric. The corsages have a touch of hand sewn flowers as well.

Great colors for spring or summer weddings and this makes an elegant wedding floral statement! Nice thing about the design is that it will be a keepsake long after the bride and groom say, “I do”!

Choose a Bouquet That Will Last For More Than One Day!

When choosing a wedding bouquet, why not consider buying a faux or a silk flower bouquet. The artificial flowers of today are beautiful and very realistic looking. Here are some great reasons for choosing silk over fresh:

• You'll have a wedding keepsake that will last indefinitely!

• You can purchase your bridal bouquet long before your wedding day. That way you can plan your wedding decor and colors around it. You can also use it for your bridal portrait. It is one less thing to stress about the day of your wedding!

• You don't have to worry about keeping it fresh. It will look perfect all day long for your photos, wedding, and your wedding reception.

At The Wedding Contessa shop at Etsy you will find beautiful wedding bouquets handmade with special care. Blooms are carefully chosen making sure they look realistic and are made of the highest quality. An artist's touch is added by adding creative acessories in the bouquet like bridal tulle with the look of dew drops, scrumptious ribbons, toile, twigs, dried berries, fruit etc... I love custom work so if you have a certain look and colors in mind for your wedding day, contact me at theweddingcontessa@gmail.com and I will create it for you!

Something Old and Something New

Many brides incorporate "Something old, something new
Something borrowed and something blue..."
into their weddings. If a bride does this, it symbolizes the hope for good luck and happiness in her marriage.

Something old might be an item handed down from a grandmother or mother to her daughter such as earrings, a necklace, or handkerchief. Or perhaps something vintage like a veil that would go with your wedding attire. Jackie Bouvier Kennedy wore her Grandmother's heirloom rose point veil draped from a tiara of orange blossoms when she married John F. Kennedy in 1953. It was gorgeous! You can find lots of pictures online well worth seeing its beauty!

Queen Elizabeth II carried a sprig of myrtle in her wedding bouquet cut from a bush growing at Osborne House, Queen Victoria's home on the Isle of Wight. Myrtle is an herb that signifies love and constancy.

(Use your imagination and you can think of a lot of things you could use at your wedding to represent the "something old".)

Something new could be a pair of shoes, a gift of jewelry, your bridal bouquet, whatever you consider as special for your wedding day. Princess Grace of Monoco carried a book to her wedding entitled, Bride's Manual by Rev, J.M. Lelens. It was a gift given her by a friend of her family.

Something borrowed shouldn't be too hard to come up with an idea for this. Lady Diana Spencer lovingly known as Princess Diana wore a borrowed Spencer family heirloom tiara on her royal wedding day. Legend says the tiara was traced back to Marie Antoinette.

Something blue is usually a wedding garter worn by the bride and has something blue on it. Blue is thought to be worn because of its meaning of love, modesty, and fidelity linked to the ancient Romans.

One more interesting tidbit of bridal lore, there is an old quaint custom of a bride putting a sixpence in her shoe to represent wealth and security. Nowadays, a dime or a copper penny is used in place of the sixpence. It is interesting to note that Princess Grace of Monaco wore a copper penny built into her specially designed wedding shoe (the right shoe) for good luck on her wedding day.

Planning Your Wedding Now!

There is one simple secret to making your wedding a royal one, less stressful, beautiful, and one that you will happily remember" foreverafter" as they say! Plan ahead! Even if you're not engaged or dating anyone special. Now is the time to plan.

"What", you say that's a novel idea! In high school, my Home Econmics teacher gave me the assignment to plan a wedding. I had to choose my wedding dress, bouquet, bridesmaid dresses, rings, wedding decor, etc...This came in handy when my husband and I had only three weeks to plan our wedding. He had to report to two a days football camp when he asked me to marry him.

Because of my school assignment, I knew the style of wedding dress I wanted. One day while shopping with my Mom I saw the dress of my dreams so to speak. She encouraged me to try it on. I ended up buying it. That was five years before I met my husband! It worked out great though because it was one less thing on my wedding list that I had to worry about!

Here is what you do! Make a Wedding Planner Scrapbook. Purchase a notebook. One with paper or put your own card stock in a binder.

Wedding Dress:

Start looking for wedding dress styles that you like. You can look through magazines, take pictures at wedding receptions you are invited to, or go and try some on at a local bridal shop. Ask before taking pictures as some shops won't allow it. You can also look for pictures online.

Once you find a style(s) you like, cut them out or put the photos you have taken in your scrapbook. Do the same for your wedding veil.

Wedding Colors:

What colors do you want your line to wear? How about your wedding decor? Put samples of the colors you think you would like to have at your wedding in your scrapbook.

Wedding Bouquets

Lots of options here! One thing to consider as you put samples in your scrapbook. Many years later I wish I had chosen a lasting bouquet. I went with fresh roses and although I had them preserved, my roses faded from the sun and got crushed and destroyed. If you want a lasting memento that you can use to decorate your new home with, go with silk. They are very real looking these days and the type of flowers and colors are endless!

Don't forget the rest of your wedding line! Find a few ideas for corsages, groom and best man boutineres, and parent wedding flowers.

Wedding Decor

Same idea here. As you attend wedding receptions, bridal showers, anniversary or birthday parties find inspiration for table decor, and other ideas for decorating. look through magazines, online resources, even your local garden nurseries, etc...to find ideas to create a beautiful wedding reception setting.

Bridesmaid and Flower Girl Attire

Get fabric samples in the colors that you would like to use. Also get photos or pictures of the style of dresses you want to use at your wedding. A great online resource for beautiful girls dresses (sizes baby to size 12) to coordinate with your wedding line is at www.Christmas Twigs.com.

Wedding Cake

What kind of a statement do you want to make with your cake? Will it have fresh or silk flowers cascading in a spiral design down your cake? Do you want an elegant or cute cake topper? Gather pictures of cake decor to get an idea of the special cake you want for your wedding day. Will you "Let them eat cake?" at your wedding or will it just be for display? A cake topper is something you can easily purchase now in planning ahead.

You can create whatever sections you want in your Wedding Planner Scrapbook including the food you would like to serve, napkin ideas, beverages, favors, etc... By planning ahead, you won't be disappointed in how your "royal wedding" day turns out! You will have the confidence to put your wedding together when the opportunity comes and be able to truly enjoy your day!