Bohemian Rhapsody

I had a friend once whose favorite line was “keeping it gypsy”.  She was the epitome of bohemian with her long skirts, handmade jewelry, and oh so unique personal style.  I loved this about her, but it just wasn’t my personal style.  I was a bit more polished with tailored dresses and always my high heels.  But what I’m seeing today is a rush of bohemian style for weddings and the unique bride.  I’m really starting to get on board with boho and I wanted to share some of the unique ideas I’ve seen lately.

What is boho? Think hippy with chic (not chick) thrown in.  Think vintage with a modern twist. From dresses without the fluff to bare feet, bohemian really puts a comfortable and laid back spin on the romantic wedding.

The biggest trend I’m noticing is the shift in wedding fashion from polished and "same-same-same" to an  exclusive style for every bride.  I’m seeing fewer tiaras and more of the teardrop style headbands, a vintage birdcage veil, a wreath of flowers and even lace in the head peice.  I’m noticing less of the uber-beaded gown with tailored lines and more softness with dropped and empire waists and oh, so much lace.   I'm seeing less and less of the high heel and more of the bare foot.  I’m seeing more sleeves or off the shoulder looks. I’m even seeing the bride wear less underneath her gown than what she would have had to wear to keep those big puffy, sleeveless dresses up. 

 

 

I’m even seeing a shift in venues from weddings of recent past.  From the stark bare spaces that the bride of last year might have chosen, I’m now seeing more venues with historical references or lush gardens.  I’ve also noticed a lot more destination weddings this year with the bride’s loving being barefoot in the sand or married in an historic castle.  A feeling of freeness and romance is what the bohemian bride is looking for this year.

I’ve even come across this great company the rents retro and vintage lounge pieces for your wedding or even your bridal or engagement shoot.  I’m excited to rent these pieces instead of the same old high backed leather banquets and ottomans we’ve been doing for years.

So where does lighting fit in with the boho bride?  Perhaps instead of dramatic up-lighting, she might choose to have soft white bulbs draped in the trees outdoors or soft fabrics with mini lights hanging from the ceiling or where the ceremony will take place. Or this bride may choose hanging tea lights over her tables or in the trees.  No matter what kind of bride you are, lighting can take your wedding to the next level. That’s where we come in.  We’ll help you design your wedding lighting to match your personal style and we don’t try to push the same old thing up your alley.

 

Go ahead, put the romance back into your wedding.  Go bohemian. And invite Sharp Event Design and Lighting to be a part of your that romance.

Saving money on your wedding so you can have what you really want: Budgets

Let's talk budgets!

So, planning a wedding can be an overwhelming task to say the least.   That may just be the understatement of the century!  You know you have things that you really want, but how do you pay for it all?  Whether you and your future spouse are paying for the wedding or you have help from parents or other sources, I’m going to help you figure out how to get what you really want with my series of blogs about where to save money.  Today, we are going to talk about budget.  This is not the most fun topic for anyone, but it has to be said first. 

Ok, so I know that this is the part of the job that many of you just refuse to sit down and do.  My seven years of planning weddings have taught me that not only is it essential to have a budget in place, but that brides simply do not want to do this step!  However, if you want to get everything you really want into what money you really have, do not, under any circumstance, spend your money willy nilly without doing a budget.  Not only will you end up way over the budget you sort of had in your mind, but you will end up spending money on things you wish you hadn't as an impulse buy. A budget helps you stay on track and buy only the things you really need or really wanted because you know that is all you can afford.  Without a budget, you will spend your money in the beginning of the wedding planning process and find yourself in the end with none left for the things you didn’t think of at the time. 

The average wedding today is about $28,427 dollars according to the theknot.com.  If this is not what you were planning to spend, don’t panic!  Creating this budget will help you stay on track to get exactly what is most important to you. 

Start by gathering up the sources of money that you do have. Whoever may be pitching in, find out exactly what they have in mind.  See if others might be willing to pitch in such as the groom’s family.  This is a new world we live in.  It is becoming more common to see various sources paying for for a wedding.  For instance, if you pitch in $5000 and your parents and his parents do the same, that gives you $15,000 to work with right there.  If you’re not sure how to answer the age old question, “how much is this going to cost me”, do some research online with your budget in hand so you know what to ask for. 

There are lots of places online that will help you budget your wedding.  One of my favorites is the budget planner at weddingwire.com (under “My wedding”, then “budget). Wedding Wire is a great place to perform a lot of your basic wedding tasks and have them recorded all in one place.  It’s also a great place to shop different vendors for the best price. 

If you want to create your own budget,  use a spreadsheet to keep up.  Put that final number that everyone is pitching in at the top of a spreadsheet (I like to put it in as a negative number, then as you add amounts you've spent or plan to spend, you can use the sum function to see how close to zero you are getting.  When you hit more than zero, your budget is blown). List the services and items you just have to have first, then the services you need to have, but that are not as high priority to you as the others. Make a column for what you expect you will spend and then a column for what you actually spent.  This way, you can see how different your original ideas for wedding costs may have been compared to what they actual cost was.  This may also give you room to spend more money on something else like killer event lighting or décor (hint, hint) if you saved money in another area.

 

Here is a sample of the budget spreadsheet I've created for my clients.  Yours does not need to be as in depth, but I'll tell you, having all of this information in one place is so helpful toward the end of your wedding planning journey.

 

 

Ok, so enough about depressing stuff like creating budgets.  Check out this page to see what certain budgets bought for brides in every price range.

http://thebudgetsavvybride.com/categorybudget-savvy-wedding-of-the-week/wedding-budgets/

More about saving money on your wedding coming soon!

 



 

Wedding colors, flowers, and more for summer 2013

Let’s talk about summer’s hottest colors for weddings. Coral is one of the hottest wedding colors for 2013.  Pair it with teal for two beautiful pops of cosmopolitan color or pair it with some softer colors for that classic summer look such as grey, beige, yellow and pale blue.   This year, the softer the look, the more popular it has become.  Pair a pretty lilac with silver or grey or a berry pink with a mint green for that outdoor summer feeling all around.  If the lighter colors are not your thing, I’d check out hot pink and tangerine tango, which is a pretty bright orange that I love. I’m personally pretty excited about this color combo as I’m really into bright colors that pop. 

The other hot trend I’m seeing is mixing and matching of more than just two colors or even using a rainbow of colors.  And when I say rainbow, I do mean like the actual rainbow.  This has been a hot new trend that is allowing each bridesmaid to wear what she looks best in as well as allow the bride to choose all of her favorite flowers.

Speaking of flowers, I love the peonies and hydrangea that have been peaking this year as well as the hanging amaranthus and lisianthus pairings I’m seeing. Know what else is still hot this year?  Feathers and Fur!  That’s right, I said fur.  Feathers have been hot for several years and I still love using them when the event calls for it.  But fur is a brand new one for me and I can’t wait to use it, though I probably won’t use it until the fall.

Two other hot trends that have been picking up speed for years and are finally a must have for every bride are event lighting and a lounge area.  Though I’ve been helping brides add these items to their budgets for years, today, I’m hearing more and more brides say, “I gotta have it, help me figure out how to make it work.”

On my next blog, we’ll chat a little bit about how to save money in other areas so that you can have what you really want whether it be lighting, a lounge area, a certain out of season flower, or that killer dress.

Ta ta for now my beautiful brides....

Ta ta for now beautiful brides…..

Why to light your event. Reposted but even more true than it was back then!

Lighting for weddings

What can lighting do for your event?


Event lighting is a growing trend in New York and Chicago events according to Sarah Pease of Brilliant Event Planning out of New York City. Clients are spending their budgets on “music, floral, lighting, and food”. I’ve started to see this trend here in the D/FW metroplex as well. Some clients are just doing a little bit of pin-spotting on their centerpieces and cakes and some are opting for all out room washes with gobos that highlight the couple’s monogram as well as themes such as trees on the walls or beautiful swirls or snowflakes.

So, what is “lighting” anyways? Well, to start, there are room washes that light up the entire room with a certain color. Why do a room wash? There is nothing worse than stark house lighting on everyone’s head. Color wash takes away the harshness of house lighting and replaces it with a mood or feeling of relaxation and fun. Imagine taking the unkind white lights out of the equation and replacing it with one or two of your wedding colors. Our favorite lighting color is 100% magenta washed with a little bit of blue. This stunning look makes everyone look good, the food looks great and the guests are ready to party. There’s no harder way to get people on the dance floor than with cruel house lights shining on them highlighting their every move. Replacing this with a color wash gets everyone on the dance floor and in my book that is a successful event.

What about pin-spots? Pin spots are a great way to highlight the design and décor that you have worked so hard on to make perfect. You should always budget pin spots into your floral design. You can also uplight each individual centerpiece with centerpiece uplighting. These neat little devices fit underneath your centerpieces and light up the water and takes your décor to the next level. I suggest doing both centerpiece uplights and pin spots on your tall centerpieces at the very least. I would also suggest pin spotting your cake. Shed some light on the items you’ve spent a lot of time deciding on so that they don’t get lost. You’ve taken the time to make these items perfect. So, take the time to make sure they are seen.

What is a gobo? A gobo is a light fixture that sends light to your dance floor or walls in the shape of your monogram or other fun shapes such as trees, snowflakes, swirls, or words. For instance, if you’re theme is Hollywood, you can do a gobo that has the Hollywood sign projected right onto your dance floor or on one of your walls. The most popular gobos are monograms on the dance floor. Gobos add so much to your event’s décor that everyone will be talking about it for weeks to come.

So, to light or not to light? That is the question. Well, if you want an event that is out of the ordinary, lighting is definitely for you. If you want an event that is chic and unique, lighting is definitely for you. Don’t forget about lighting when you are creating your wedding budget. Whether it is a little bit of pin spotting for your cake and centerpieces or a full on room wash with gobos and centerpiece uplights, lighting is definitely for you.