Chairs surrounded the central all-white ceremony area on three sides. Black-and-white garden images were projected onto white draping that hid the altar from view as guests arrived. As the clock struck midnight, Blackmann kicked things off by singing “You Make Me Feel So Young."
Photo: Carolyn Curtis/BizBash
Rustic Glamour
"Sweet, simply styled rustic weddings are in large part what helped put wedding blogs on the map," writes Larson of the popular look, adding that the latest way of approaching the now-iconic style is by juxtaposing homespun elements, such as burlap and farm tables, with opulent details, such as high-end china and gold-rimmed stemware.
Photo: Courtesy of Clarkson Potter/Publishers
Marcy Blum Associates built a bakery-style display case to offer guests breakfast-to-go treats from New York bakeries at the end of a wedding reception.
Photo: Eliot Holzman Photograph
Mélangerie Inc.’s customized wedding genealogy charts detail the relationship of the wedded couple to their guests with the help of a relationship key. Guests browse the chart during the cocktail hour to learn about their tablemates.
Photo: Courtesy of MĂ©langerie Inc.
At a casual outdoor wedding in California planned by Kate Miller Events, gingham flags displaying table numbers were tucked into vintage soda bottles filled with flowers.
Photo: True Love Photo
Set up inside a rustic New England barn, an escort card tree made with branches, mirrors, and moss held hand-lettered kraft paper envelopes, secured with tiny clothespins.
Photo: Carla Ten Eyck/Courtesy of The White Dress in Color
Organic Modernism
"Modern means 'minimal' in my book," writes Larson. "Clean lines, simple color palettes (whether bold or demure), repetition in pattern and style." Often spotted at modern, organically styled weddings, succulents are a wildly popular wedding centerpiece trend. Larson recommends pairing a succulent table runner with white square chargers and simple cutlery for an understated vibe.
Photo: Courtesy of Clarkson Potter/Publishers
At a dessert table from Sugar Chic Designs, pink macarons were displayed on dainty, miniature ghost chairs.
Photo: Carasco Photography
Kaley Cuoco's Wedding
For her New Year's Eve nuptials, actress Kaley Cuoco had an upside-down wedding cake created by Kimberly Bailey of the Butter End Cakery in Los Angeles. During the wedding, Cuoco posted a photo of the cake to her Twitter and Instagram accounts, and “our traffic went insane,” said Sara Beveridge, director of operations at the Butter End. “We have 3,000 new Instagram followers ... and 2,000 new Facebook fans.”
Photo: Claudia Craig Photography
Whimsical
"Officially my new favorite breed of wedding is the whimsical wedding," writes Larson. "Whimsy means you can really play with your design and add spunk in the most unexpected places." Case in point: embroidering guests' names onto inexpensive white napkins embellished with colorful pom-poms and grosgrain ribbon.
Photo: Courtesy of Clarkson Potter/Publishers
A shoot at a modern oceanside venue featured escort cards displayed under a deer head sculpture growing out of a wall of roses. “Escort cards are the perfect place for some playfulness," writes Dowling Coppola. "We cut out the shape of antlers into a few of our escort cards—an homage to the enormous installation of rose petals surrounding our faux deer head—which was the centerpiece to our escort card display. A simple backdrop can elevate your design to an entirely different level of art.”
Photo: Carla Ten Eyck/Courtesy of The White Dress in Color
The event also showcased tabletops from different vendors. Ashland Addison Florist created a hanging table strewn with hundreds of pink and white orchids.
Photo: Carasco Photography
Caterer Great Performances served a cocktail-style menu of small plates, including mini waffle cups topped with bacon-and-egg ice cream and savory cannolis made with radishes, whipped butter, and chives.
Photo: RobertEvans.com
Matthew Parker Events crafted lighting fixtures for a speakeasy-themed wedding using hats from a party supply store, decorative ribbon, corded wire, and filament bulbs.
Photo: Yvonne Wong
The authors encourage readers to look at their surroundings and integrate unexpected elements into the event's design. Case in point: Escort cards were attached with varying shades of ribbon to hurricane shutters for a shoot in the French Quarter of New Orleans.
Photo: Carla Ten Eyck/Courtesy of The White Dress in Color
Private Wedding
For a wedding at Cipriani Wall Street, Beahm created three tree-like installations behind the head table.
Photo: Ron and Deb Photographers
To complement a dramatic branch centerpiece dotted with oranges, wooden napkin rings printed with guests’ names were placed atop mini oranges and topped with fringed white tulip petals.
Photo: Carla Ten Eyck/Courtesy of The White Dress in Color
New York Wedding
At an AAB Productions wedding—this one at the Altman Building in 2012—the groom was a writer. In that spirit, the table numbers popped out of the pages of open books. The numbers themselves were carved out of book pages using an X-Acto knife.
Photo: Dave Robbins Photography
For a shoot staged in a Costa Rican rainforest, black pieces of paper backed with newsprint were decorated with guests' names in white calligraphy and hung from plant leaves. "Newsprint became a huge source of inspiration for us. The simplicity of black and white, mixed with clean typography, found its way into almost every design element," writes Coppola. "Introduce unique and unexpected elements into your design. Be creative. Take the ordinary and make it extraordinary."
Photo: Carla Ten Eyck/Courtesy of The White Dress in Color
A gold-painted tree stood at the entrance to the reception space, offering guests boxes of gourmet chocolate strung from pink ribbons.
Photo: Carolyn Curtis/BizBash
Black-and-white personal snapshots of the couple’s guests gave the hallway an art gallery-style look.
Photo: Carolyn Curtis/BizBash
Levy Lighting and Preston Bailey collaborated on a wedding after-party lounge held in a tent, with the ceiling lit from behind to create the glowing effect.
Photo: Courtesy of Levy Lighting
After the ceremonies, the newlyweds and their guests headed to a lunch reception, for which Bailey created three separate tabletop looks. The winter table was covered in a sequined linen and was set with Something Different Party Rental's sparkly Silver Sea Sponge glass chargers and blue Ariana goblets.
Photo: Lauren Matthews/BizBash
Train Travel-Inspired Escort Cards
For a wedding at Union Station in Los Angeles, Sterling Engagements displayed escort cards printed to look like train tickets inside vintage suitcases.
Photo: Callaway Gable Photography
David Beahm Design put together a farm cart filled with Israeli market-inspired treats, like jars of honey, nuts, and dried apricots, which was displayed at the wedding of a couple looking to tie in their Israeli roots. Guests filled small burlap bags to take home.
Photo: Courtesy of David Beahm Design
For a wedding at the King Plow Event Gallery in Atlanta, Bold American Events & Catering designed an upside-down centerpiece of yellow tulips and glass globes that hung above the head table.
Photo: Our Labor of Love
Awash in icy blue light, the first ceremony had a winter theme. Levy Lighting projected a snowy scene behind the altar and bare tree branches onto the white aisle runner.
Photo: Lauren Matthews/BizBash
At a wedding designed by Triton Productions, the focal point of the pre- and post-ceremony cocktail area at the Fontainebleau Miami Beach was a custom-designed 360-degree bar made of corrugated mirror.
Photo: Donnanewman.com
For a wedding at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, Marc Hall Design built seven-foot-tall mirrored glass vessels to hold apple tree branches adorned with phalaenopsis orchids that were kept hydrated through a system of hand-blown glass pipes.
Photo: Gruber Photographers
Todd Events made a wedding held inside a large barn in Aspen seem more intimate with two tall signature bars and scattered seating and food station vignettes. Hanging glass globes appeared to lower the ceilings.
Photo: Karlisch Wrubel Photography
For a New York couple marrying at the Waldorf Astoria Orlando, Heather Snively of Weddings Unique recreated the newlyweds’ hometown with a hand-painted backdrop of Central Park from Greenery Productions. Lighting and real trees helped the scene come to life.
Photo: Shiprapanosian.com
