10 Of The Hottest New Wedding Trends For 2015

Check out this great article by Lauren of TheKnot.com -- there's nothing that I need to say in addition to it except ... have fun planning your special day and enjoy the moment!


By Lauren Kay for TheKnot.com
We don't have a crystal ball but we do have our pulse on what's hot in the world of weddings. From Wild West weddings on the ranch to bridal jumpsuits and GoPro wedding videos, here's what's new for 2015.

Luna Photo; Theo Milo Photography; The Nichols Photography; The Nichols Photography; Artistrie Co.; Theo Milo Photography
Wild West Weddings
Weddings are headed west -- at least in style and design. The big theme of the year is inspired by ranches and lots of leather accents. The details are personal and elevated, but the party has a fun, relaxed vibe. A rustic ranch sets the scene for details like antler motifs, distressed lounges with cowhide rugs and wildflower bouquets. Mix in leather elements to contrast the soft and romantic wedding details in accents like the napkin belly band. Guests can sip on specialty craft beers or mix their own heirloom bourbon cocktails in a copper mug. Your attire can echo the Wild West look in a long-sleeve dress with subtle lace embellishments and an ethereal illusion neckline. Look to designers like Reem Acra, Maggie Sottero and Temperley London for ideas.

Casey Clark Photography; Carolyn Scott Photography; onelove photography; Brooke Schwab; Brooke Schwab; Brooke Schwab; Rebekah Murray Photography
More from The Knot: Flower girl duties in detail
Peace, Love and Macrame
If your style is totally laid-back and casual, use boho-chic music festivals, like Coachella, to inspire your wedding. Think: a backyard or open-field setting, complete with kitschy details like striped tepees, cocktail hour lounges and picnic-style dining. Keep the colors bright and festive, yet earthy (try sunny yellow and teal paired with terra-cotta). Must-have elements include hand-drawn maps with your invitations and fun, not fussy, wording on your invites (instead of "accept" write "you in?") to really drive home your theme. For the fashion, a gauzy and modern take on the bell-sleeve wedding dress evokes a '70s, Woodstock vibe. Intentionally mismatched bridesmaid dresses will keep the look effortless and easy.

Deb Shields Photography
Drone Wedding Photos and GoPro Videos
If you want a view of your wedding from every angle imaginable then try this trend. Some photographers are getting in on the action by using drones to capture aerial shots, like the view of your ceremony from overhead and the amazing scenery. Videographers are doing it too by bringing along GoPro cameras to the wedding in addition to their video cameras. The cool part about these is that they can be attached to a "selfie stick" to get ultra-creative shots of you and your guests on the dance floor and record your guests' candid reactions as they enter the reception.

Katelyn James Photography
Bridesmaids Are Off the Hook -- There's An App for That!
You don't need to get all of your bridesmaids together to tie bows on wedding favors anymore. Instead, lots of couples are enlisting wedding planning help through apps like TaskRabbit to take on any small to-dos, TouristEye to help plan the honeymoon itinerary, and (ahem) The Knot Wedding Planner app to find and get in touch with all of the right wedding pros. Being a wedding guest is easier this year too. All of the major registries make it easy to buy gifts straight from your phone, and Uber and Lyft ensure guests don't have trouble finding a ride at the end of the night.
More from The Knot: 12 ways to ruin a wedding

Readyluck; Natalie Franke Photography; Jenny DeMarco Photography; RHM Photography
Foodie Installations
Food and drink are taking center stage at weddings this year in an outrageous way. We're talking hanging salad stations, doughnut dessert walls that double as escort cards and beer-garden-inspired stations, complete with beer steins made of ice. You could ask your caterer to help you come up with creative ideas or follow what a few innovative couples' lead and actually hire a food stylist to dream up something over-the-top.

Kurt Wilberding; Kurt Wilberding; Maria Valentino/MCV Photo
Bridal Jumpsuits and Statement-Making Separates
This season's runway wedding dress designs are more playful and dressed down. Jumpsuits, separates and menswear-inspired styles, like these ones by Houghton, Delphine Manivet and Theia are giving the traditional bridal look a new edge that's a bit celebrity inspired. Remember Olivia Palermo's chic shorts with a tulle overlay and Solange Knowles' several jumpsuits? If that's too edgy, then look to the latest accessory trends, which involve bold add-ons such as top hats, ear cuffs and lace gloves.

Sergey Green Photography
Unexpected Wedding Venues
More couples will look to unexpected spots for their wedding venue, like castles, private estates, museums and even caves (yep, you read that right -- the one in Bowling Green, Kentucky, is crazy-beautiful). The best part about a unique venue choice is you don't have to go overboard on all the décor -- you can let the space speak for itself. Keep in mind that if you go this way, the logistics may be trickier than they would in a traditional wedding venue.

Jeff Tisman Photography; Cyn Kain Photography; Ashley Garmon Photographers; Steve Steinhardt Photography; Abby Jiu Photography

Royal Color Palettes
Marsala, Pantone's Color of the Year, set the tone for 2015's wedding hues. It's a rich wine red that's sophisticated, stylish and versatile. Pair marsala with dusty blue for a pretty, romantic feel (imagine marsala centerpieces paired with blue velvet linens), while a rose gold and marsala palette is rich and glamorous (think: rose gold foil font on a marsala card stock).
Bonus: Flowers, like dahlias and peonies, grow naturally in this hot hue, and it's a flattering color for your bridesmaids to wear if you want to make a statement.

Alea Lovely
The Third Dress
Why have one dress when you can have three? We've heard of brides changing their dress for the reception or late night for the after-party. Now, a few fashion-forward brides are actually choosing three different gowns for each part of the day. Imagine a ball gown for the ceremony, a sleek sheath for the reception and then a short, feathery minidress for the after-party. It sounds like a lot, but for some brides who just can't decide, this is a fun trend to try.

Shea Christine; Victor Sizemore Photography; Steve Steinhardt Photography; KT Merry Photography; Jen Fariello Photography; Megan Moura Photography
A White-Glove Comeback
Casual weddings have reigned for the past five-plus years. But we love that some couples are taking their wedding style in the very opposite direction with lots of opulent details, like a champagne tower, multitier cake and dramatic entrance. If you really want to go over-the-top, take a page from the new Cinderella movie and actually have it in a castle (a few of our favorite castles and estates are the Biltmore Estate, Oheka Castle and Hearst Castle). Even if your wedding won't be in a castle, you could still add formality to it with touches like hand-delivered invitations and valets to escort guests to their seats at the reception. This is your chance to go all out and wear a big, white ball gown and even a crown. Guys can get fancy too in three-piece suits.

Summer Wedding Trends 2014!

Summer Wedding Trends!

1.    The Colors

The trend for 2014 Summer Weddings seems to be very soft light pastel colors; the most popular being the light pink, gray, and green or mint.  Brides should keep it simple and allow the romance to speak for itself.  These colors really resemble a fairy tale environment, and bring a calm and pleasant feel to the wedding.  It’s all about romance this season, and what better to accentuate a majority of outdoor weddings then soft floral colors.  Rather than bold colors, couples should focus on embellishments for their weddings and details in order to really dazzle.

2.    The Details

Sparkle and shine will take your summer wedding to the next level this season! Pearls, sequins, and rhinestones are a huge trend this summer.  Everything from embellishing wedding dresses, to sequined bridesmaids, to my personal preference, adding details to decorations.  The soft gold and sparkles continue to add to the romantic fairy tale feel, and allow the bride to literally sparkle.  Whether it is a daytime or nighttime wedding, this attention to detail will emphasize various pieces of jewelry and will add that extra twinkle to the occasion.

3.    The Bride

Popular dress trends for 2014 summer weddings really depend on the location for the wedding, but a lot of prominent designers recommend romantic flowy dresses that make it easy to add embellishments.   Another idea that adds individuality and creativity for this summer’s brides is not sticking to a white wedding dresses.  Many designers have been adding cream colored and ivory dresses to their collections.  Bows have also been a reoccuring trend this season, it really accentuates the details on the dresses and ties in the color schemes nicely.  If a bride is looking for a more ballgown wedding dress for their summer wedding, they should focus on lace and toole, another popular choice from the runway.

4.    The Groom

Tan suits are the theme for the groom’s attire this season!  Keeping with the light fairy tale look, tan or cream colored suits and tuxedos keep with the fresh summer theme.  It is a great way to keep the wedding classy while not going overboard.  If the bride decides to go with a cream or more ivory wedding dress, another reoccurring trend for this summer’s weddings is a crisp tuxedo with a bowtie.  In this case the groom will want to wear a darker suit with the lighter pastel color flowers to tie in the theme.

5.    My Recommendations

My final thoughts to blow your guests out of the water and make your day perfect are to keep it simple and clean, and take the time to focus on the small aspects.  At the end of the day everyone will be there to support the couple, and with the right service and DJ, nothing will go wrong! 

Don’t forget, if you are still looking for the perfect wedding officiant for your summer wedding, don’t hesitate to call Rev. Dr. Angela (562)209-2083, or email her at wedding@blessings-all-around.com

Cupcakes allow the bridal couple to tailor flavors and colors to the wedding

A personal touch

Judy Hevrdejs, Tribune newspapers

January 19, 2011

Glittering Cupcakes from Martha Stewart Weddings, features two cupcakes in gold-colored cup liners: carrot cake with cream cheese frosting, and white cake with a lemon Swiss-meringue buttercream. Both are topped with edible gold dust and leaf. (Marcus Nilsson/Martha Stewart Weddings)

Cupcakes are whimsical, easy to serve and may be more cost-effective than the traditional multitiered wedding cake. They can also reflect the bridal couple's personalities and tastes — which is why they're so popular.

"Each tier (of a cupcake stand) offers you the opportunity to completely change the cake and the icing. You can't do that with a traditional cake," said Bobbie Lloyd, president and chief baking officer of New York-based Magnolia Bakery.

"With cupcakes, (couples are) looking more for flavor. You may have one layer of pumpkin cupcakes with maple-cream cheese icing. Another layer could be coconut cake with meringue icing," she said, noting Magnolia's cupcake trees hold 24 cupcakes up to more than 100 cupcakes.

"On a wedding cake, people traditionally use a butter cream frosting that has some structure to it or they use fondant because they're looking for those three-dimensional shapes," she said. "A meringue icing you could never put on traditional wedding cake. Cream cheese icing you could never put on a traditional wedding cake."

As with anything you eat, but especially a cupcake, it needs to taste delicious (not just be sweet) and really special, said Darcy Miller, editorial director of Martha Stewart Weddings.

"What's going to go with your color palette and the feeling of your wedding? What's going to go with the time of the year you're getting married? What's going to go with your guests or your menu?" she said. "Often today at weddings, people serve more than cake. They'll serve chocolate mousse or sorbet. So I'm not really sure if you're serving chocolate mousse whether your cupcakes should be chocolate."

Also think about how they'll be displayed. "There are so many great things that you can do," said Miller. "I love those cupcake wire stands. We've taken the plastic foam rounds that a cake baker would use to make the dummy layers of cake, and we covered them with papers and doilies and tiered them."

If you let a pro handle the wedding cupcakes, you still can showcase your cupcake baking talents sometime during your wedding celebrations, suggested Miller: "You might make them for your rehearsal dinner or engagement party. Or bring them to your shower as a gift to thank those who are throwing the party for you."

jhevrdejs@tribune.com

Remember:

Appetites: Will there be other desserts? Sorbet? Cookies? If you're doing mini-cupcakes, you may need more.

Beyond cupcakes: "If you want to be part of making your cupcakes, make an embellishment," said Miller, whether it's fondant hearts or sugared petals and you won't be frosting cupcakes the morning of your wedding.

The Future of Bridesmaids

Found this picture on Erin Ever After to be quite interesting; the question posed as well. Is this the future of the bridesmaid?

Are the days of matchy-matchy dresses gone by the way side, in are the days of self expression? What do you think?

Spring 2010 Inspiration!

By Truly Engaging

If Pantone the color boss says it… it must be true. As you may know, Turquoise has been declared the alpha color, the top tinge for 2010. Over the next few months, you’ll hear the word “trendy” wrapped tightly around this color but I think it’s forever stylish and a solid choice. Stunning whether you incorporate it as a main color or as an accent. Think tropical blue waters and warm, sunny days.

I took the color boss’ suggestion and paired this yummy color with the likes of the new “classic” red…Tomato Puree. I used the design studio {although not exact} to convert Pantone’s Turquoise CMYK: 61,0,32,0 and Tomato Puree CMYK: 0,75,78,13.

I absolutely adore this high energy combination. So fun.

And behind every great color is a great neutral! These are the shades to set the stage for spring: Pink Champagne, Tuscany, Dried Herb and Eucalyptus as the ultimate grey. LOVE the neutrals for this spring!

Another lovely color for Spring 2010 is Fusion Coral {yay for coral~even though we’ve been admiring this one for a while}. Using the design studio {not exact~coral cmyk: 04,49,55,0 and tuscany cmyk: 0,20.31,25} I changed the colors on this damask Invitation from black and white to the Coral and Tuscany…

soft, warm yet energetic at the same time!

So what do you think… did Pantone hit that color nail right on the head?