Interior decorators have a tip.  Buy what you love, and your choices will complement each other.  See an antique side table you love?  See a trendy new lamp that you also love?  If you stay true to your tastes, your selections will work together, even (or especially) when they are from different eras.

Planning a wedding should be the same fun and unique experience.  Choose what you love for your colors, your dress, your centerpieces, and your ceremony.  The result will be a reflection of you and your special tastes and preferences, and your wedding will be a memorable experience for everyone involved.

If you like yellow, choose yellow, even if the formal magazines say bright orange is the current trend.  If you want orchids, have orchids.  If you want three flower girls, have three flower girls.

One trend with weddings is that you don’t have to follow all of the traditional rules, but you can, instead, create your own traditions.  Consider a sand ceremony instead of the unity candle, especially for an outdoor wedding when the candle could easily blow out.  If you have two nephews that you don’t want to choose between for ring bearers, then have them both.  That’s what I did, and it worked out beautifully.

The pouring of sand symbolizes families coming together.

Selecting the venue, the caterer, the photographer – these are major decisions based on what you love but also on vendor availability.  However, where you can leave your mark is with those personal choices that are not dependent on others – colors, flowers, music, family traditions, and creating your own traditions.  These are the choices that will complement each other and leave you and your guests with the memory of a beautiful and unique wedding.  Surround yourself with what you love.

This blog writer once had the unforgettable experience of peeking inside an Indian woman’s closet. The saris were every color of the rainbow, even the pastels brilliant! The lady showed me the sari she had worn to her daughter’s wedding. Its richness was breath-taking.

Traditional mehendi drawn on the hand of a bride.

A Hindu Indian bride’s sari is richly decorated in gold embroidery and bangles. Brides from Northern India prefer red, Northeast India white with a red border, the South yellow, green and white silk, and the West an embroidered skirt with a blouse. Most all Indian brides present themselves fragranced with perfume, palms of hands and feet painted with mehendi designs, hair bedecked with flowers, necks draped with necklaces, and ankles gracefully moving with tinkling silver anklets called payals.

Hindu grooms are not to be outdone. They sometimes sport a sword and a jewel-decorated turban called a tupi and arrive for their wedding on horseback, preceded by a brass band!

The Brahmin priest officiates before a fire-lit metal vessel representing the Radiant One. The bride and groom exchange garlands and affirmations and walk around the fire. The groom’s father puts his daughter’s hand into the groom’s and pours priest-blessed water over their hands. A tali (a jewel set in gold) is secured around the bride’s neck to tell the world she is now a married woman. Guests receive perfume and flowers and can enjoy several days of fancy dinners.

Following some Hindu Indian marriage ceremonies, the bride’s sisters ransom her! They take her to their house where the groom has to pay a call and bribe the sisters with gifts before they will let him take her home!  Not a bad idea, right?

Vintage Weddings Part 2:  Formal

Earlier this month we ruminated on the difference between eclectic and formal

Tussie-mussies were common flower holders during the Victorian era.

vintage-styled wedding receptions.  Both have their charm, for sure.  Eclectic allows for a more laid-back, mix-n-match style that can showcase your individual interests and creativity.  Scouring antique shops and attics adds to the treasure-hunt fun of this look!  But preparing a more formal vintage reception can truly recreate the height of Victorian elegance.  If you have family heirlooms, this is the time to show them off.

Starting with our white and cream base colors, picture adding a metallic touch – either silver or gold.  Anchor your table with a stunning centerpiece like the 24”  or 40” Nikki Candelabra.  Or the silver 20” stand with glass votive holders.  Take that look farther by using the Willow Tree line for your aisle candelabras and hanging crystal votive holders in the trees surrounding your reception.  Enchanting!

Some other elegant vintage touches could include:

1. Metallic plate chargers.
2. Metallic chair sashes.
3. Lace or silk-look pintuck table cloth covers in honey, gold, ivory or pewter.
4. Mix-and-match antique napkin rings.
5. Old linen napkins in white and ecru.  Use a mixture of plain ones with those trimmed with hand-tatting and lace.
6. Vintage-look wedding cake stands.  Not to be overlooked for the traditional Victorian wedding, which would have featured three cakes:  an elaborately decorated fruitcake, a white bride’s cake, and a dark groom’s cake.  Consider some old-fashioned-looking boxes to send home slices with your guests as they would have done in yester-year.
7. Place card holders like our “work of art” line.

If you feel compelled to add a color to your formal winter whites, there’s nothing quite so bold as deep red – especially for that amazing Valentine wedding!  Picture pops of burgandy among your roses with the “imperial” exquisite glass photo coasters!  Your guests will always remember the contrast of whites and reds.

Another option for spring or summer? The royal touch of flow blue.

Whether you choose eclectic or elegant, we hope our tips get you going!  Have fun planning your vintage reception!  Have a tip to share?  Please leave it along with your “calling card” right here!

Delight guests with antique silver service and grandmother's china!

India: a land of mystery, beauty, and long-standing traditions. Marriage in India is greatly influenced by the religious culture, and that’s why we’ll be dividing our discussion into two parts: Muslim/Sikh and Hindu.

There are a few similarities between the types of unions. Engagements in India were traditionally accompanied by a bridal dowry, which has since been outlawed. Still, sometimes the bride and groom initially meet each other at their engagement party, where gifts are given and sweets are served! Being of the same caste (social standing and function) is of utmost importance. Weddings are often held in a tent, courtyard or garden of the home of one of the pair. And sometimes in India, as well as Iran, Syria and Turkey, the couple may try to step on each other’s toes during the ceremony because it’s said the one who succeeds will be the boss of the new union!

In the Shiite Muslim culture of India, it’s not uncommon for cousins to marry. The guardian of the man proposes to the girl’s guardian. The groom’s mother and female friends will then bring sweets to the bride. Sometimes the bride will show her face to the groom and his family. The groom’s mother ties the traditional Imam Zamin (coin wrapped in silk) on the bride’s right arm.

In Sikh Indian families, the groom’s family often gives a thread with five knots tied in it to the bride’s parents, five days before the wedding. Each day one knot is untied. On the wedding day, guests arrive at the bride’s home with coconuts, sugar, money and jewelry. Muslim and Sikh brides wear a kameeze (long, embroidered tunic) over shalwar (baggy trousers). Men wear a white jacket with a stand-up collar and white trousers. The bride’s father provides a long scarf which is held between the bride and groom as a symbol of unity. With a granthi officiating, the couple walks four times around the Granth Sahib holy book.

After the ceremony, the men go to a banquet hall for a meal of curried vegetables and salad, rice, yogurt and chappatis prepared by the bride’s family. The father of the bride goes home to bid her farewell before she leaves with her groom in a decorated getaway car.

Did you or a friend have an Indian wedding?  Share your memories!  And check back soon to learn more about Hindu Indian brides and grooms.

Vintage Weddings Part 1: Eclectic

Planning a winter or spring vintage wedding? Don’t be overwhelmed by the myriad ideas and facts online! It’s easy to organize your planning to create a stunning reception for your guests, whether you’re a purist Victorian with a morning wedding and breakfast reception (don’t forget to create a special corner where the bridal couple can welcome guests – perhaps using a colonnade or arches) or a later, more traditional afternoon wedding with finger foods or seated dinner.

Really there are two ways you can go: eclectic (think worn patinas on furniture and decorations, whimsical, shabby chic – with the occasional glitter of crystal or the muted shine of a silver service) or elegant (picture formal candelabras and centerpieces in silver or gold with organza chair sashes or pintuck table overlays reminiscent of a Victorian gentleman’s waistcoat). Either way there’s a common starting point: the fresh palette of whites and creams that echo the purity of a formal vintage wedding.

If you’re going eclectic, add one or at the most two colors in complimentary color families. For winter, what about the blues and silvers brought to mind by a sharp, frosty day? For spring, we like pale coral and terra cotta, with dark coral chair sashes. Consider mingling minor touches of sage green. Imagine a 45” candelabra topped with an arrangement of white and pale coral roses spilling ivy, and your table set with tiny topiary photo holder place cards!

Here are some fun, whimsical decoration ideas for your eclectic vintage reception:

1. Mix-n-match antique chairs at your tables.
2. Vintage tea cups filled with mini tussie-mussie guest favors, or simply with roses and baby’s breath.
3. White bird house centerpieces (plain, filled with multi-sized white candles, or burgeoning with flowers). Bird houses hung from trees at an outdoor reception.
4. Old buttons in the same color family filling apothecary jars.
5. Favors of one-hued hard candy in apothecary jars and block vases.
6. Vintage suitcases and hat boxes reminding everyone that the bride and groom are starting their first voyage together – and not just the honeymoon!
7. Silver service with teapots crowned by white roses, surrounded by white votives.

Check back for some beautiful ideas for an elegant vintage-styled wedding!

How many of you have seen Fiddler on the Roof? If you have, scenes from the sacred-turns-riotous wedding are forever imprinted on your mind. The symbolism and simple beauty of the ceremony giving way to joyous celebration presented the very essence of the historic Jewish wedding. Now days, things may have changed, but Jewish weddings here and abroad often echo these same traditions, most strongly among the Orthodox Jews, but also somewhat with the Conservative or Reform congregants.

Traditionally, many Jewish matches were made when the children were quite young. There might have been a ceremonial betrothal meeting where the bride unveiled her face to the groom-to-be. Seven days before the actual marriage, the bridal dowry would have been displayed and a party given for the bride.

Currently, Western Jewish weddings take place at any time other than the Sabbath (Friday night/Saturday). Among the approximately 29% of Jews in Israel and the 45% in the U.S. and Canada – with large pockets in New York and Los Angeles (Weddings: Dating & Love Customs of Cultures Worldwide – Mordecai) – the ceremony may be held at a temple, home or outdoors. The bride wears a white or cream veil, which the groom – clad in a yarmulke (skull cap) and tallith (prayer shawl) – lifts after he tastes the wine. She then sips from the same cup (the “loving cup”). The couple stands together under the chuppah (canopy) which represents the sweet unity of their future home. The bride’s ring is a simple gold band. At the end of the ceremony, a goblet wrapped in cloth may be placed on the floor and smashed by the groom, symbolizing the destruction of the Jewish temple. Shouts of “mazel tov” (“good luck”) echo from the guests.

Orthodox Jewish couples are entertained at a reception, held at a hall or a home, by guests dancing in segregated circles to folk music. A line dance may also be performed during which the bridal pair are lifted into the air while seated on their chairs – as seen in Fiddler.

If you or your spouse-to-be claim Jewish ancestry, including some of these cultural touches can make your ceremony unique and memorable. We wish you “mazel tov!”

A napkin: just an unimportant piece of cloth in the grand scheme of your wedding reception or party. Right? Actually, this unassuming bit of fabric is a little item that, presented properly, can pack a big punch! Boldly colored amid snowy linens, folded creatively and standing tall, or offering your guest a surprising trinket to take home, the napkin can go a long way toward making the lasting impression you desire.

Basically there are two options to consider when you’re urging that limp little napkin to “talk” to your guests: beautiful folding techniques or unique embellishments. If you choose an unadorned, folded napkin, it’s easy to find a number of photo-illustrated, step-by-step instructions online for creating French or diamond pleats, goblet or opera fans, various pouches to cradle your silverware, or a plethora of stunning shapes like the rose, crown or cardinal hat.

Impressively folded napkins like this crown style can steal the show.

If you’re the type that likes a personal or themed touch, perhaps one of these suggestions will pique your interest:

• For autumn, encircle napkins in 3” grapevine twig rings intertwined with wired mini-falls leaves. Or wrap in ribbon with acorns perched on top.
• Christmas parties or weddings abound with fun ideas, including gluing spray-painted cedar roses with fresh boxwood sprigs to ribbon or attaching a tiny holly berry wreath to the bow of a gingham or striped ribbon around the napkin.
• Imagine a vintage-themed reception accented by napkins wrapped in old wallpaper strips tied off with thin twine. Or try dangling a jewel from ribbon and placing the napkin atop printed antique china.
• Beach party or wedding? Consider neutral napkin rings with a starfish glued to the top, or seashells glued atop twine.

If you’re looking for a way to present a favor to your guests, some creative napkin rings can do the trick. What about photos of the wedding couple in small silver frames attached to ribbon? Another idea that’s sure to be a hit is to wrap napkins in the leather band of a luggage tag with a classy silver nameplate!

Whatever you choose, remember that your napkins can provide the “pop” to any place setting. Explore your creative side, and feel free to share your ideas with us!

The traditional trappings of an American wedding can be colored by heritage and cultural tradition.

Here in America we possess a fairly standard expectation of what the typical wedding might look like: the bride in white, groom in a dark tuxedo, bridesmaids and groomsmen with a ring bearer and flower girl, a ceremony at a church or beautiful outdoor locale, a reception at a banquet hall where the bridal couple cut the white bride’s cake together then everyone scrambles for a piece of the chocolate groom’s cake, toasts are made, the couple dances, the bouquet and garter are tossed, and the bride and groom make their exit to a decorated getaway car amid a hail of birdseed or bubbles (“no rice, thank you” – from the birds).

But – there are pockets of our population where weddings may look quite different. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, non-Hispanic white persons in 2010 comprised 63.7% of the country’s ethnic make-up. That leaves a large portion of residents whose matrimonial traditions may draw heavily from their home countries. And even among the 63.7%, you might be surprised at some European customs that can still flavor wedding plans in America today!

Over the next few months, every other blog post on this site will explore the fascinating nuances of various cultural weddings, from their historically very unique origins to their modern evolution. To add some extra fun, let’s make it a cultural treasure hunt! Keep checking back in the coming weeks to find the answers to the following questions: “In which culture …”

1. might the bride and groom try to step on each other’s toes during the ceremony to guarantee they’ll become the boss of the union?
2. do guests pin real money on the clothes of the bridal couple at the reception (less than $10 bills not allowed!)?
3. does the man help his future father-in-law with planting and harvesting over the course of many years as his bride-to-be grows up?
4. does the groom’s tie sometimes get cut into sections and sold for honeymoon financing?
5. does the bride go through town beating pans and singing loudly, kissing villagers in exchange for donations?
6. does the bridal couple sometimes elope and then ask for forgiveness because the weddings are so expensive?
7. does the groom’s mother throw dates and chestnuts at the bride – the number the bride catches representing future children?

Be the first to return to this particular post to correctly answer a question after the article giving the answer is posted (sorry, no cheating for those of you wise to cultural traditions) and receive a trio set of flameless candles from Wholesale Events.  Just post your reply, then e-mail info@eventswholesale.com along with your name, answer and mailing address. Type “cultural wedding contest” in your subject line. (Win one time per person, within the contiguous U.S.) And who knows, you might also just unearth some savvy ideas to incorporate into your wedding, too!

One-stop shopping at Wholesale Event Solutions makes preparing for an elegant Valentine’s Day party or wedding as easy as tying a knot! … Well, we guess it depends what kind of knot!

Silver place settings create counterpoint to Valentine-colored decorations.

Start by selecting your table linens, chair covers and sashes in white, pink and red, topped by our ostrich feather centerpieces in those same Valentine colors. Even roses would have trouble making a bolder statement, and what could be more unique than our full bouquets of elegant plumes? Next, imagine the stunning counterpoint of silver plate chargers! And the complement of an eye-catching focal piece on your main table or in your entryway: a wired, lighted crystal tree hung with whimsical Valentine cards, ornaments and hearts.

Accent your place settings with one of our many heart-themed place card holders and guest favors. Favors include heart measuring spoons, whisks, ice cream scoops, tea infusers, butter spreaders, scented glass votives and scented soaps.

Now that you’ve got the party room set, what to do? Entertain guests with activities sure to diffuse good-hearted cheer:

• A chocolate fondue fountain with plenty of strawberries to dip!
• A “guess the number of ‘Be Mine’ candies” apothecary jar.
• Valentine bingo using your own themed cards and chocolate kisses or candies as chips.
• “Steal my Heart” activity with each guest receiving a heart charm on a safety pin upon their arrival. Whomever sees another person crossing their legs (or saying a certain phrase) can capture another heart for their pin. Every guest is always “in the game” and the one with the most hearts at the end of the party wins.
• “Partners for Life” game with each guest being tagged on their back as they arrive with one part of a famous duo like Superman and Lois, Albert and Victoria or peanut butter and jelly. Each person can ask only one question per guest to try to find out who they are (NOT “who am I?”). Then they have to find their match.

Valentine wedding? Don’t miss our many “heartsy” wedding ensembles, heart-shaped arch and “good wishes” glass coaster favors.

Got your heart beating fast yet?

Looking for some fun decorating ideas that haven’t been done and redone? Don’t get your feathers ruffled – we have some ideas for you whether you are looking for a rustic touch to accent your home’s or cabin’s outdoor motif or an event setting that your guests will always remember. Whether you prefer bold and sassy or natural and understated, feathers can fluff your nest year-round or seasonally. Consider all the potentially be-deckable accent areas

A simple feather border takes a lamp from understated to elegant.

in your home: lamp shades (if all-over is too much think a border attached with clear craft glue finished with decorative cording), mirrors and photo frames (accent one corner with a tuft of pheasant feathers anchored with a cluster of small beads or berries). Touches of feathers here and there also work well: for instance, a few pheasant feathers in a pottery jar on the mantel appear cheerfully rustic, while tall peacock plumes reaching out of an antique urn bespeak the height of Victorian elegance. Feathers can help you create the look of a winter wonderland. Picture your mantel cushioned with a snow-like layer of a white boa, sprinkled with glittered snowflakes and white and cream candles – or a wreath in the same theme using small white feathers. For a more vivid punch of color, what about a green foam wreath base twined with peacock feathers and hung with a vibrant satin bow?

If you are hosting a reception, nothing makes a bolder or more unforgettable statement than our ostrich feather centerpieces. If your plan already includes the use of flowers, try bringing out your arrangements’ subtle shades by accenting with brighter feathers in the same color family. Wow! Other ways to include feathers in your event decorating might be:

Holiday and winter decorations provide perfect opportunity to add interest with feathers.

• a single peacock feather secured inside your napkin ring
• a single peacock feather glued to the front of your folded place cards
• feathers in the up-dos of the bridesmaids at a wedding
• creating a feather collar for the bridal bouquet at a winter wedding
• hot gluing feather boas onto foam styrofoam balls, then hanging them (also think red boas on a heart-shaped foam base for Valentine’s) – or placing them in our jeweled crystal candleholders
• forming feather festoons for one side of accent chairs, like those at the end of the aisle at a wedding, by trailing feathers along with the tails of a fabric bow (remember you can accent the center of the bow creatively with a brooch, buckle, mini-fruit or -pumpkins, or bud rosettes)

Not only beautiful and unique, the reusability of feathers makes them actually practical! Just don’t place them in kitchens or baths where they will be exposed to constant moisture. Mothballs can help keep away pests. To clean, gently go over feathers with a soft vacuum attachment.

For an unforgettable punch of color, accent wedding decorations with festive fluff!