Right now one of the big decorating trends for weddings is copper. I love this. Copper is a warm, inviting metallic that goes well with a wide variety of other colors. Whether you’re going for a blast of color or a restrained, neutral palette, copper will round your look out nicely. It can even bridge the gap between gold and silver handsomely if you want an all metallic look.

I’ve found a few examples of the versatility of copper, just in case you’re undecided on the matter.

(Image via Delightfully Engaged)
Here copper combines with red for a sumptuous, elegant look. It’s rich and warm.
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Once upon a time, if you mentioned an eco-friendly wedding, people tended to think of something like this:

You know, obviously hand-hewn, crunchy granola, unfashionable, and probably reeking of patchouli.

In short, even a lot of people who admired the commitment these couples made to living lightly on Mother Earth wouldn’t be caught dead in a ditch looking – or smelling – like them.

But times have changed. You don’t have to be a card-carrying hippie to care about the environment anymore. and you don’t have to completely reject both tradition and fashion to follow your convictions.
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(Illustration via Delightfully Engaged)
If you listen to conventional wisdom, you’ll learn that you won’t remember a single moment of your wedding. It will all be a blur. And that is true for some brides. I’ve known several of them myself. I’ve known women who spent the entire day in a fog, or in tears, or stressing out over minute details nobody else noticed who missed their entire weddings.

Me? I wasn’t like that. I’ve known a lot of other brides who were more like me. They spent their wedding days really at their weddings and remember them clearly years later.

You may simply be the sort of person who gets caught up in emotions and forgets the details. It happens. But if your fog or forgetfulness springs from another source, there are ways to get more in touch with the moment and truly enjoy yourself at your wedding.
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2012 is just around the corner, and that means that the experts are lining up to tell us what’s hot and what’s not for the coming year. I’ve browsed a few of these lists. Some of them contradict one another, but after looking over dozens of guesses, I’m seeing some pretty clear clues to what’s coming in the next few months. Let’s take a look at a few of them.

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.
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(photo via Glamour)
It’s no secret that my favorite wedding trend of the past few years (and one I would love to see elevated to ‘tradition’ status) is the dessert table. What can I say? I love dessert. I bake. I bake a lot, in fact. And I love things that offer choice to guests.

Just imagine being able to choose whatever flavor of cake you want without regard to anyone else’s preferences because there will be plenty of things for those who don’t like or can’t eat the cake to choose from.

Besides, it’s another fun piece of decor to the room, most of which is provided by the colors, textures, and general delectability of the food on the table top.

But when putting together a dessert table, there are still practical considerations to think about. It’s not just a free for all, and organization matters.
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Captured by Daniel Usenki Photography

Fact: When it comes to personalizing a reception venue dance floor, options are limited. You can use lighting design to spruce up your party space. Or choose a reception venue with a dance floor that’s a cut above – something like a wood tile floor or light up dance floor. The only other option that comes to mind is the vinyl dance floor monogram, provided your wedding venue of choices allows such things.

But when you’re hauling in your own dance floor, anything goes. Er, within the limits of the local event rental companies’ inventories, I suppose. If I had my wedding to do all over again, I would spring for the dance floor – sandy soil underfoot didn’t exactly inspire booty shakin’ – and furthermore opt for a checkerboard like the one above. Probably wee like the one above, too, since I like the idea of everyone cramming their finely dressed selves onto a tiny checkerboard dance floor outside in the empty air as if that’s only place dancing is permitted. The contrast between the checkerboard floor and nature is fantastic.

Have you thought about your dance floor options? Or is that just too tiny a detail to matter in your wedding planning book?

What’s this? Today’s post is written not by me, Christa aka Never teh Bride, but by Bentley Meeker, America’s premier lighting designer. I thought Mr. Meeker might have something to say on the subject of lighting design for weddings, as he has worked for over two decades in the event industry, creating extraordinary environments for the weddings of notable celebrities like Robert DeNiro, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Chelsea Clinton. The images in Mr. Meeker’s post come from his book, Light X Design, which features a kaleidoscope of amazing lighting design for weddings and other events.

Wedding lighting design for ceremonies

Lighting is THE single most important visual element in your wedding. More so than flowers, decor, or even architecture and space. Yet, with all of its critical nature, so many brides, and even wedding planners, don’t consider lighting or budget for it at all. If so, it is often looked at as an addendum to the wedding decor budget.

With lighting setting the mood, it should be considered first and foremost once a space is chosen. Here’s why: One can transform any space with light, but one can only augment with flowers or decor.

On the practical side, there are three things that need to be managed when executing a lighting design for weddings:

• The room needs to look beautiful
• The guests have to feel good
• Lastly, the guests, especially the bride, have to FEEL good

Lighting design for receptions, too

So in support of that, here are five things to look for when lighting a wedding:

1. Symmetry - Light everything evenly so that the room looks symmetrical.

2. Intensity - Dim the lights a little less than you think you should. Your eye adjusts to the lower light and it creates so much more atmosphere than you’d ever imagine. Which brings me to my next point:

3. Levels - Dim absolutely everything. Having the ability to dim the lights when the grandparents go home and set the mood for the kids is a pretty important thing to be able to do.

4. Color - Soft beautiful flattering colors (pinks, ambers, honeys and apricots) should be used wherever people are. While we love blue and green to look at, and we often want to go bolder with color, those colors make our skin tones sallow and pasty.

5. Angles - Be super sensitive to light in peoples’ eyes by angling things as vertically as possible. If your grandmother has a light shining in her eyes all night, chances are she’ll go home before the cake cutting.

There is also a 6th consideration, namely your lighting designer. Since lighting is often mysterious and unknown, and the bride and her family are often unable to see the full picture prior to their walking in, (decor, catering, etc. will not yet have been set up) it is very important that your lighting designer really get you and who you are. That’s personality driven and I think it should be considered right alongside talents and portfolios as a critical criteria.

~Bentley Meeker

Are you a wedding vendor who has some insight to share with brides-to-be and grooms-to-be? Send me an email to talk about the possibility of guest posting right here!