Dessert tables are expected to continue to be a big deal in weddings. Variety is the spice of life, and a wonderful way to end a reception meal.

A further wrinkle on this trend that’s on the rise for parties that last late into the night is a second spread of snacks offered to guests on their way out. Doughnuts, cookies, sliders, coffee and cocoa… this is the chance to offer up a tasty final gift to your guests.


Alternatives to flowers are another trend on the rise. Paper, brooches, fabric, feathers… if it can substitute for flowers, someone’s using it. This is a great trend if you’re dealing with allergies or want to DIY your bouquets and centerpieces over time. But real flowers are hardly going anywhere.

More brides have been doing DIY projects for their weddings, and that isn’t changing anytime soon. Whether it’s to save money, add uniquely personal touches, or honor a family tradition, using your own hands to put at least a couple pieces of your wedding together can be tremendously satisfying.

Green is clearly the way to go in the coming year. From invitations of recycled paper to living plant centerpieces, to packets of wildflower seeds as favors, brides and grooms everywhere are getting eco-friendly and loving it.

More weddings than ever are happening in the great outdoors. Whether it’s a garden, a beach, the woods, couples are choosing the sky as the ceiling they prefer. As someone who had an outdoor wedding and loved it, I say go for it… just make sure you have a backup plan in case of inclement weather.

Of course trends are fun, but never follow one if it feels wrong to you. You should do what matters to you.

You may have a favorite color that’s become something of a signature in your life. It doesn’t matter whether that color is sunshine yellow, inky indigo, or bright fuchsia: everybody will know it’s from you when your invitation arrives in the mail, because it’s in ‘your’ color.

Or you may choose a color because it’s culturally significant. Many a Japanese or Indian bride has chosen red because it’s as standard in their cultures as bridal white is in ours. And there are brides who decide that if red, white, and blue is good enough for Old Glory, well, it’s good enough for them.

You may choose the colors of your favorite sports team, or just go with the color scheme of the church or hall where you’re having your wedding. Then again, you may decide to go with what’s currently fashionable. That one’s easy. After all, you know that everything you need will be readily available in the colors you want! And if you already like those colors, so much the better.

You may even decide to pay tribute to someone you loved who has passed on by using their favorite color in your wedding. It’s a happy, subtle way to honor someone who has been important in your life, after all.

Or you may find yourself utterly flummoxed and hunt online for sites that will allow you to play with color until you find a combination that makes you smile.

You can put together an inspiration board and see what colors keep jumping out at you.

(I found this one at Wedding Aces)

Or you can even do what I did: not bother to pick. That’s right, I never picked specific wedding colors. I just found things I liked and put them together. I dressed the bridesmaids in the same shade of white I wore, added tartan arisaides all around, tossed in some pretty flowers and ribbons… and voila! A ridiculously attractive wedding. Red did seem to keep popping up, which worked just fine. I like red, Mr. Twistie’s mother was from Japan, and my late mother was particularly fond of the color. It wasn’t something I had particularly planned on, but it turned out nicely. All those tartans meant that the cheerful mix of flowers all co-ordinated with something else. And overall, since the day was a picnic in the woods, a bit of randomness and informality really fit the situation nicely.

Whatever colors you choose, it’s fine. Whatever the reason you choose them is fine. Color can – and should – be one of the fun bits of the planning, because it’s just pretty. So have fun with it. Choose something that makes you and your intended smile, and just take it to eleven… or whatever number will make you happy.

2. Wearing a colored wedding dress can be a nod to your cultural heritage. Various shades of white may be the go to wedding gown colors in much of the Western World, but in other parts of the world, different hues are considered ‘right’ for wedding garments. For example, in China, India, and Vietnam, red is the traditional choice for brides. In the Klamath, Modoc, and Yurok tribes of Northern California, brides wore gowns woven in white, blue, yellow, and black. And once upon a time, black was the top choice for Scandinavian brides!

3. Those who don’t feel like spending big bucks on wedding garb can instead save big bucks by choosing a colored wedding dress. Gowns specifically created for weddings are priced at a premium, whereas frocks meant for parties and proms (or even everyday outfits for gown-lovers) frequently have price tags featuring numbers that won’t make your wallet cry. Worried that you won’t find a style you like because you love that traditional wedding gown look? There are plenty of colored gowns featuring the same silhouettes and styles as traditional wedding dresses.

4. While I don’t have any reason to wear a gown these days, maybe you do. I’m sure you’re thinking: Re-wearing a wedding dress sounds even sillier than re-wearing a bridesmaids’ dress. But why not? If you don’t have the same dress dying skills as the lovely Toni, you can up your chances of having the opportunity to wear your big day frock again if you choose a colored wedding dress over a white one. You can get even more mileage out of your colored wedding dress by choosing one that can be altered into a cocktail-length dress after you say your vows. Or starts as a cocktail length wedding dress!

5. Including colored wedding dresses in your list of possibilities widens your range of gown choices – particularly if you’re also open to a variety of silhouettes. Sure, you can find colored wedding dresses that are identical to white wedding dresses, but you also have your choice of elegant ballgowns and sleek, simple evening dresses. And the more choices you have, the more likely it is that you’re going to find a wedding gown that is close to or even exactly like the dress you’ve been picturing in your head.

In fact, the article includes this quote from a bridal consultant named Susan Rodgers:

“I think they figured out that everyone really didn’t look good in white. … Nobody orders white anymore. It’s kind of a faux pas.”

And the article featured discussion of several individual brides who chose to wear other colors.

Bridal surveys at Bridal Guide, though, would dispute this idea. According to their 2002 survey, 57% of bridal gowns were white, 38% ivory, and the remaining 5% ‘some other color.’ This trend continues much the same in their 2009 survey which found that 58% of bridal gowns were white, 37% ivory, and – you guessed it – 5% in other colors.

The Knot breaks it down a bit further in their 2009 survey. They found that 27% of gowns were stark white, 25% diamond white. That’s 52% white gowns, for those who aren’t quick with their math. They further found that 39% of brides went for ivory, 4% for champagne or rum, and 6% other.

In short, far from being a ‘faux pas’ it would appear that white continues to be the single most popular color for wedding gowns.

Now I’m willing to believe (in fact I do believe) the number of women wearing dresses that are neither white nor ivory is a bit higher than The Knot and Bridal Guide would indicate, since the people who answer their surveys are the sorts of people who would read their more traditional guides to getting married. I’m guessing that there is a certain percentage of brides who would no more dream of wearing a white gown than they would of responding to a survey on The Knot.

So what am I trying to say with all of the statistics and all of the waffling? Just this. It’s not up to the experts or the rebels or the Wedding Industrial Complex or your soon-to-be-mother-in-law what color you wear. It’s up to you.

Whether you feel you look best and most bridal in stark white or lime green, ivory or incandescent orange, choose that color. Don’t let anyone else tell you what you should wear on your wedding day. Be the best, most beautiful you that you can imagine.

You can start right out with your save the dates.
These buttons from Zazzle run from $2.89 each down to $1.89 each, depending on how many you buy. Not wild about this one? There are other iris-themed save the date items available.

Of course, the most expected way to use a flower is in a bouquet. This one made me smile when I saw it:
The bold colors speak volumes to me, and I’m a complete sucker for an elegantly organized, simply tied bouquet.

I’m not certain I really like this cake from Cakes by Mez, but I do find it intriguing.
What? I’ve never seen the stems of flowers used as part of the design like that.
This simple yet elegant centerpiece would be easy to DIY. Seriously, do you even need instructions? And yet your table would look gorgeous.

Tables do not live by centerpieces alone, you know. Your and your new spouse will probably want to make a toast or two. If you want to carry the theme on and have a fabulous pair of glasses to keep afterwards, you might be interested in these gorgeous ones from Art of Glass.

Whether you concentrate more on color, shape, or literal use of the flower, iris is a great inspiration for a wedding.

(Hey kids, remember there’s one more day to enter the contest for this fabulous silk clutch here at Manolo for the Brides! Hurry up and give it a go!

The deets: High-school sweethearts Jena and Justin had themselves a gorgeous, chic, unfussy green, black, and white wedding in Whitney, FL. Green gerbera daisies, green hydrangeas and spider mums, and Jade roses looked even brighter when paired with black bridesmaids’ dresses, black-and-white gingham shoes by Jessica Simpson, matching gingham ribbon, and even a coordinating umbrella that the bride found because she heard it might rain.

Featured on this pink, green, black, and white inspiration board are damask border table numbers from Papeterie; pink, green, and white bridesmaids bouquets by Pure Joy carried by bridesmaids in black; pink, green, and white favor cards; a pink, green, and black button bouquet from the amazing Princess Lasertron; adorable bridesmaids in green with black sweaters and pink scarves; a sweet table by Ravishing Radish featuring a cake by Tallant House; a chic and blingy wedding cake from a dessert table designed by Couture Cakery; and finally, a floral centerpiece that features almost all the colors in this scheme (even if you can’t see them).

Peacock feathers also look lovely in boutonnieres, where their size means they play a starring role, and in reception table centerpieces. There are plenty of peacock wedding cake designs to be found via GIS, though a talented cake designer would be able to invent one just for you. Peacock feathers could be woven into the flower garlands decorating the ceremony space, or used in other ways to enhance an otherwise blah space, or oR OR…

Or you could, you know, just wear an awesome peacock wedding dress inspired by the bird itself! I rabidly adore this dress! Yes, I am foaming at the mouth!

…moving on, how about peacock wedding invitations like these from Izzy & the Bean Design, Peacock Invitations, and Paper Olive? There are so many ways a bride and groom might incorporate a peacock wedding theme into their invites, from sending invitations embellished with real feathers to choosing wedding stationery with decorated with stylized peacocks (that don’t even have to be peacock-colored).

Don’t let the groom and his guys out of the fun — these peacock feather ties are pretty subtle, especially if you’re not looking for the pattern, but a little treat to those who notice it.

Far more overt and also deliciously stunning, this peacock feather headpiece from Sewperlative would jazz up even the most subdued wedding day attire. If the bride would rather wear white, Sewperlative can accommodate, in which case perhaps the bridesmaids could rock the bright plumage.

The peacock bouquet and other peacock feather enhanced wedding flowers below were created by Lana of Fairbanks Florist in Orlando, FL. I love how the feathers are taking the lead in the bride’s bouquet instead of playing second fiddle to the flowers. It’s almost like a peacock feather fan that happened to run smack into a small floral arrangement. Pretty, no?

But wait, there’s more! Busy Button sells pretty custom painted peacock ring bearer pillows in the bride and groom’s wedding color palette. Again, it’s not an overt use of the peacock’s plumes, but it is definitely in keeping with the peacock wedding theme.

And finally, here’s a little reception table inspiration, compliments of the Indian Blue (and perhaps sometimes the Green peafowl, where the males and females both sport backside brilliance, though these are endangered).

There are so many fun ways to incorporate peaches into your wedding theme, from giving out peach cookies (that taste like real peaches) as wedding favors to dressing your flower girl in a pretty peach dress to an awesome peachy sash. So what if you are getting married in a clime where peaches never grow? Cute and fuzzy, mellow orange and bright pink… peaches are the pets of the produce world. Here are some quick ways you can enrich your wedding theme (or color scheme) with anthropomorphic fruit:

1. Peach cookies from Tickle My Tummy (top left)
2. A peach flower girl dress from I Love Gorgeous (top right)
3. Peach table cards like these from Blooms by Martha Andrews (middle left)
4. Peach reception table decorations like these photographed by Justin Marantz (middle right)
5. A beautiful peach sash from Icing 101 (bottom left)
6. Peach-in-a-nest table decor, again from Blooms by Martha Andrews (bottom right)

And yet, weddings are very often uber feminine affairs. There are big bunches of flowers, sometimes oodles and oodles of them. Wedding color palettes are trending toward gender-neutral hues, but there are still plenty of weddings with color schemes dominated by pinks and purples and pastels. Plus, so much of the wedding hype actively focuses on the bride — her experience, her wedding dress, the engagement ring, etc. — that the groom can seem like just another minor detail.

My take on it is that society frames weddings as being for women. Dads tell their sons and future sons-in-law to “stand back and shut up” while the wife-to-be goes on a tulle-fueled buying binge. Advertisers address the bride-to-be’s experience. Have you ever seen a commercial or print ad that featured a groom-to-be waxing poetic about wedding planning? I haven’t. We grow up thinking of the guys as secondary players in the wedding, so maybe it’s easy for some people to forget that the guy standing in the corner holding the Tiffany & Co. box might have some opinions about what his wedding ought to look like. At best, grooms-to-be are given one area to oversee… they handle the music or the menswear, while the bride-to-be has the final say over everything else.

I realize, of course, that there are some men who honestly do not care about their own weddings. They’re more than pleased to be tasked with showing up at the ceremony wearing whatever their sweethearts have picked out. And there have got to be grooms who think a feminine wedding is the only kind of wedding! But I also wonder how many guys are “standing back and shutting up” because that’s what they’ve been taught to do, just as us ladies have been subtly trained to do it all. Maybe the groom-to-be secretly hates the pink wedding invitations or the wedding cake that looks like a castle or the elaborate floral arrangements, but is hesitant to say anything because he thinks he shouldn’t care or that caring will seem unmanly or some such thing.

To brides (or grooms) who are dismayed, offended, or irritated by their groom’s lack of interest in the wedding, I say give him another chance. Before you put down a deposit on a venue or vendor, ask his opinion. Try once more to include him when you’re shopping around. Give him something to do, especially if you’re feeling overwhelmed by all your wedding planning to-dos. The flip side is, of course, that once you include him, you have to respect his opinions and choices just like you expect him to respect yours. Compromise will no doubt be necessary. But won’t it be awesome to have a wedding that you created together and that reflects aspects of both of your personalities?

(Images via)