Wedding season has officially started and you have, oh, 5-10 weddings on your calendar.  First, what to gift?  Then, what to wear?!  And we won't blame you if the sequence of those questions is the other way around.  It can be so hard to decide what to wear to weddings.  How casual is too casual?  Is this dress too attention demanding?  Do I have to wear floorlength?  Ultimately, the answer to these questions lie in two factors:  location and time of the wedding.  For example, if you're attending a wedding right outside of the city, you can probably get away with a brightly hued gown at a black tie reception.  But, even if the reception is at a rural vineyard, if it's after 5pm, you'll need to opt for something a little more formal- even if black tie isn't requested.  And, PLEASE know that just because a wedding is taking place in a transformed barn (very popular this season!), a dress is still REQUIRED!  Take the below inspiration board as a guidline for planning your 2012 wedding guest wardrobe.

1. Make an Entrance: The entrance is one of the most important elements of the wedding.  Have a team available to greet them by name, hand them a glass of champagne, and take their coat.  Roll out the red carpet treatment and offer aphoto opportunity before they enter the reception.
2. Lighting:  Lighting is single handedly the greatest way to transform a space.  Have your lighting designer wash the room in color and use additional uplights in another shade to add depth.  Use gobos (it’s kind of like a projection!) of design elements such as branches to create an enchanted forest feel or your monogram to mark the dance floor.
3. Different table shapes:  The traditional round table will no longer do.  Guests love the intimacy of long banquet tables with florals flooding down the center and the visual interest that a mix of square and round tables can bring.
4. Serve something other than champagne:  Make the Bride’s signature drink a bubbly concoction that can be used for toasting.  Call on a professional mixologist to help you come up with the perfect blend to accompany champagne.
5. Approach each room as a chapter in a story, with the reception being the finale:  Let each room surprise them.  Work with an event designer (ahem!) to help you come up with a cohesive design concept that will flow from room to room, wowing them over and over again.
6. Don’t overlook the food:  People love food.  They have an emotional connection to it.  Serve your guests warm butternut squash soup to mirror your love of fall or set up a sushi station if you love to travel.  
7. Think full transformation:  The modern wedding doesn’t stop at gorgeous centerpieces and great music.  Create a space with lighting, draping, furniture rentals, standing arrangements, a custom dance floor and specialty chairs.  
8. Ditch the linens:  No, but seriously....  choose farm tables for a rustic feel, mirrored tables for a glam feel or a glass top sitting on cylinder vases for a modern, sleek look.
9. Take decor to new heights:  Don’t forget the ceiling!  Whether you hang florals, crystal curtains, chandeliers or hundreds of votive candles, taking the decor to new heights adds a dimension that will certainly get your guests talking.  If you’re looking for a less expensive option, try colorful floor length fabric panels or satin ribbons.
10. An unforgettable exit: confetti canon.  Enough said.

I have a little bit of an obsession with french inspired decor...and not french country.  I love lush, Rococo infused, ornate furniture, gold gilded surfaces and anything that sparkles with Marie Antoinette flavor.  Here's an inspiration board for one of our upcoming shows.

Have I mentioned that garden hedges, pastels, metallics and lush florals make my heart skip a beat?  

With the grass getting greener, flowers getting brighter and sun shining warmer, we're all getting the itch for the vacations that lie just around the corner.  Sun, sand, that sea side massage for two we've been craving- who would rather have a ballroom wedding when paradise is just south of the border?  We know we'd much rather jet set to the Seychelles and say "I do" in pure relaxation.

Destination weddings are becoming more and more popular and we've never met a bride to regret one yet.  Just the closest family and friends for a week long vacation celebrating your love sounds like heaven on earth.  We're thinking morning yoga sessions, yacht excursions by noon, spa treatments and exotic delectables for evening- all leading to a romantic ceremony, backed by the crystal blue sea stretching endlessly....Ready to hop that plane yet?

Check out our inspiration and call us to help you plan that vacation- who says wedding planners can't be travel agents too? ;)

We have a mild obsession with pattern.  We caught the graphic fever when chevron graced the pages of every wedding publication...and then we couldn't stop.  We love quatrefoil, houndstooth, greek key....well, just check out the lovely inspiration below.

So how can you incorporate these fun patterns into your wedding?  Our suggestion is in the stationery, especially the inside of the invitation envelope flap.  Cakes, table linens and favors are other great ways of adding eye catching pattern.