Inspirations for Warm Winter Wonderland Wedding Theme

The winter allows the wedding planner to create a winter wonderland theme. Warm colors like rich reds; plums, burgundy used with candle light and warm cozy fires can add a sense of luxury during this cold season.

Wedding Inspiration Board created by Rosena on sampleboard.com

Brides can be encouraged to use fur coats, wraps or capes. Venues like stately homes, classic hotels and even castles would add to the fairytale atmosphere. Or a hall decorated to resemble a Tudor great hall is another option. Winter time is a wonderful season for creating a fancy dress sort of wedding theme; maybe a Jane Austin style wedding. An empire style dress with a fur or velvet cloak would work wonderfully together. Or maybe a Versailles theme with the bride truly feeling and looking like a princess as illustrated in Mane’s wedding inspiration board below.

Ice Wedding Inspiration Board created by Mane Carrion on sampleboard.com

Vintage cars, carriages or sleighs if there is snow can be used to take the bride to the church and then the bride and groom to the reception venue. Can you imagine the snow glittering and the sleigh bells ringing truly magical. Winter can be used to advantage to create a unique fairytale atmosphere not easy to create in the summer.

Versailles Inspiration Wedding Theme Board created by Mane Carrion on sampleboard.com

A number of sample boards have been created with a winter theme as you can see above. It is very easy to play around with your ideas on the www.sampleboard.com website. You can select from a vast number of images and/or upload your own. You can easily create any number of wedding inspiration boards using the brilliant digital editor sampleboard.

Forgot to add this great wedding inspiration board  Winter Wedding Venues Inspiration Board created by Emma Christie on SampleBoard

Author: Rosena MacFadzean for SampleBoard.com – concept creation online

How to have a quirky British wedding

The celebration of the best of British continues with the Paralympics. The athletes are absolutely amazing I stand in awe as to what they achieve. So if you are planning a wedding what about a fun quirky British theme?

Wedding inspiration moodboard created by Rosena on SampleBoard.com

To achieve this; the colors red, white and blue and add a sense of luxury using silks, satins or velvet. The dress styles could be short affairs reminiscent of the swinging 1960s after all London was the place where the mini originated.

Not only the mini dress but the fun nifty mini car would be a great addition to the British wedding theme. Of course the union jack would have a starring role. Shoes, handbags, cupcakes, the wedding invitations and the wedding cake can all have union jack inspired patterns.

Wedding inspiration moodboard created by Rosena on SampleBoard.com

Red shoes for the bride and red roses or carnations for the bouquets and décor and there you have it.  In this blog I have created two wedding mood boards using pins from the wonderful Pinterest and images and the editor functionality of the brilliant SampleBoard.com. I find both these sites a great way of playing around with ideas.

Author: Rosena MacFadzean for SampleBoard.com – concept creation online

The versatility of a vintage wedding theme

Creating a wedding day with all the elegance of yesteryear is very much in vogue. The wonderful thing about a vintage wedding theme is the endless choices available. You can have a uniquely individual celebration for your special day and it can also be a very eco friendly affair when old items are reused.

Wedding inspiration moodboard created by Rosena on SampleBoard.com

When I think of vintage I see an old fashioned church, beautiful old fashioned garden or castle, a delicate romantic setting with beautiful china, crystal glassware, and masses of old fashioned roses, antique furniture, vintage cars and the bride dressed in a beautiful recycled wedding gown originally worn by her mother or grandmother.

But that’s not the whole picture a vintage wedding theme could be based on the 1950s, 1960s or 1970s eras. The terms vintage, antique and retro are often used incorrectly. When buying clothing or items labeled as vintage, antique and retro it is important to know the difference. I thought I would clarify the terms here.

Clothing created after the 1920s to the early 1980 are considered Vintage. Garments created before the 1920s are referred to as antique. However 1960s and 1970s casual wear is often referred to as retro clothing. Clothing created after the 1980s is just known as secondhand. As a rule of thumb anything less than quarter of a century old is not considered vintage.

Wedding inspiration moodboard created by Rosena on SampleBoard.com

You can quickly identify a wedding dress to a particular era by remembering some key feature/s. For example the drop-waist dresses of the 1920s. Sleek full length bias cut silk gowns were popular in the 1930s. Nipped in waisted full skirted dresses were in vogue in the 1950s.

During the 1960s psychedelic prints in man make fabrics like polyester, miniskirts and rounded Peter Pan collared shirts along with short length empire line dresses were considered trendy. Bohemian, gypsy, peasant style dresses were all the rage in the 1970s. Power suits with gilt buttons, wide shoulders and nipped in waists are from the 1980s also popular in the 80s sequins, beads and studs.

To successfully create a vintage wedding it is best to select one particular era although you can add contemporary items. Often the wedding dress can dictate the theme for the whole wedding for example a drop-waist 1920s dress belonging to a family member may be offered. Or a particular style of wedding dress may have appealed to the bride since she was a young girl. Although I did not have a vintage themed wedding I had always loved the simple sweet heart neckline satin dress styles of the 1930s. I had my wedding dress designed and made in that style.

The setting, the cars, the style of cake, bridesmaids, groom’s suit and flowers will work best if they echo the selected theme be it 1920s, 1930s, 1950s or 1970s. It will also make it easier to organize and to make decisions if you stick to one era. I love the trend at the moment of using vintage china, silverware and crystal.

Vintage themed weddings do have a wonderful whimsical, nostalgic romantic elegance about them. Maybe that’s why they are so on trend in 2012.

Author: Rosena MacFadzean for SampleBoard.com – concept creation online

Trendy grey & yellow interior design & as a wedding color scheme

Grey can create a sophisticated, smart elegant color scheme. However it is a challenging color to use. In this blog I will mention a few things to consider when working with grey. Pure grey is rare in nature. Grey is considered a non or neutral color so it can be used with any color.

Concept board created by Rosena on SampleBoard.com

Grey ranges from grey white, ash grey, silver, cool bluish grey, cyan (a greenish blue), warm reddish grey, dark grey to charcoal and grey black. One of the keys to working with grey is to realize how different the greys can be. A way of making a grey color scheme work is to use many different shades of grey. In this way you know it is going to work. You need to be very skilled in color selection to be able to combine a few greys successfully but it can be done.

The wonderful thing about grey is it can work with any color. One of the in vogue color schemes is grey using just a touch of yellow. This works very well as too much grey can be depressing and yellow is such an uplifting and sunny color. The other key is to use at least three different tones of grey; a light grey, mid grey and darker grey. They do not need to vary very much. But a hint of dark grey and black can add impact. Adding shine with silver accessories or mirrors is another way of making the greys in the room sing.

Wedding inspiration mood board created by Rosena on SampleBoard.com

Grey and yellow are also popular colors for weddings at the moment. Having the bridesmaids and the groom dressed in grey works well. Selecting yellow or yellow and white flowers for the bouquet and décor is the only other color needed. An unusual cake and table decoration can be the addition of lemons giving a fresh spring like feel. You will note in the wedding inspiration mood board above the grey curtain appears warmer than the grey ribbon on the cake and the grey vase due to the lighting. It is important to check your color selections in different lights.

Wedding inspiration mood board created by Rosena on SampleBoard.com

I will leave you with a quote from the fabric designer and master colorist Manuel Canovas he said “There are no ugly colors, there are no ugly sounds there are only unfortunate combinations” Our challenge as designers and wedding planners is to combine colors successful. But don’t you just love color? I do.

Author: Rosena MacFadzean for SampleBoard.com – concept creation online

Wedding inspiration mood boards using Pinterest and SampleBoard.com

Wedding inspiration boards can be created to show an option of different color choices. A wedding planner can create a number of color boards showing how different styles will look in different colors. The wedding inspiration boards can easily be created online at www.sampleboard.com. A recent excellent addition to the brilliant concept creation online website SampleBoard is the ability to add wonderful images from Pinterest.

Wedding inspiration moodboard created by Rosena on SampleBoard.com

The wedding planner can also email the wedding inspiration boards directly to her client. Any adjustments can easily be made to the boards after discussions with the client. Another option would be to use one board to show the various ideas. Wedding inspiration mood board creations using SampleBoard and Pinterest are a great way to express visual ideas.

A few wedding inspiration boards have been included here so you can get an idea of how professional looking wedding inspiration boards can be easily and quickly created online at Sampleboard.com. The old saying of blue and green should never be seen without a color in between can be put to rest this season. Vibrate blue and green work brilliantly together and are in vogue.

Wedding inspiration moodboard created by Rosena on SampleBoard.com

Wedding Inspiration Theme Boards    

If the client of a wedding planner is unsure as to what sort of theme to use for a wedding the wedding planner can create a number of wedding inspiration boards featuring different themes. The themes can easily be created online on the sampleboard.com website with pins from Pinterest; the options are endless.

Wedding inspiration moodboard created by Rosena on SampleBoard.com

You have only to look at the wedding inspiration boards in this blog to get an idea of how to achieve this. You can play around with different themes and a mix of different themes until you come up with something special and unique.

If you love Pinterest you will love combining your pins with the functionality of SampleBoard.com. I’m having a ball playing around with mood board designs using these amazing sites.

Author: Rosena MacFadzean for SampleBoard.com – concept creation online

Wedding Table Decor

It is so easy to get carried away and overwork the table design for a wedding. I have been (nearly) guilty of doing just that. It is a running joke with my friends; they often stop me in my tracks saying “It’s getting bigger than Ben Hur” as my over stimulated imagination goes into overdrive at the start of a project.

Wedding Inspiration board created by Rosena on SampleBoard.com

My husband has come to understand the stream of ideas flowing off my tongue need to be voiced yet not necessarily acted upon. After a rush of ideas I settle down simplify and get on target to try and create a functional beautiful design. It is a bit like the six thinking hat technique of Edward de Bono. But that’s another interesting topic I will save for another blog post.

 

Wedding inspiration board created by Mane on SampleBoard.com

The first thing to aim for when designing a table for a wedding is the décor will enhance the wedding theme. The wedding theme should reflect you and your partner. You can be as creative as you like. However like all good design it should not be over the top with too many conflicting items. Keeping it simple often works best.

Tables can be decorated with flowers, candles, fairy lights, balloons or jewels the scope is unlimited. Take care and resist the urge to run out and buy items for the tables without first coming to a firm decision about what exactly you intend to do with the tables. It is so easy to blow the budget. There are so many options available.

Wedding Inspiration board created by Mane on SampleBoard.com

The most popular centre pieces for tables are floral arrangements. They can range from a single prefect flower in a tall vase to low arrangements surrounded with candles. Other options include blooms floating in bowls or flowers cascading from candelabras. The size and shape of the room will influence your choices. Using in season flowers will usually be most cost effective.

Candles can add a romantic atmosphere to any room. Groups of candles at different heights in colors to match the wedding color scheme surrounded with petals or just bowls of floating candles can look stunning. Vases with baubles, flower heads or lights is another option. Using mirrors with the centre piece placed on top will create a sparkling reflection.

Wedding inspiration board created by Mane on SampleBoard.com

It is important to remember people need to see each other across tables. Towering centre pieces need to be selected with this in mind. They need to be created in such a way the top of the arrangement is well above eye level. Towering arrangements work very well in rooms with high ceilings.

Wedding inspiration board created by Rosena on SampleBoard.com

In this blog I have placed a few wedding inspiration boards featuring some great ideas for table settings. You will also find numerous examples of table décor in the SampleBoard.com library. All you need to do is follow the link ‘Create your own Sampleboard’ under the SampleBoard Links on the right. You can have a wonderful time planning your wedding tables online.

Author: Rosena MacFadzean for SampleBoard.com – concept creation online

How 2 set the scene for a wedding reception dream

One of the first decisions to make after you have decided what sort of wedding you want is to decide on a venue. The type of venue will depend on what sort of wedding theme you have chosen. There is a growing trend in Australia for simple Friday evening wedding celebrations instead of the usual lengthy Saturday affairs. This trend has evolved because many wedding venues are booked up well in advance.

I grew up in the Europe; weddings usually took place in the morning followed by a wedding breakfast. And the bride walked up the aisle with her father the bridesmaids following behind. When I was married in Australia we had an afternoon wedding followed by an evening reception. And my bridesmaids toddled up the aisle before me. I say toddled because I had persuaded them to wear the highest platform shoes we could find. We were so little and the guys so tall it just had to be so in my opinion and it was my wedding after all.

Of course the budget set for the wedding will influence the sort of wedding venue you select. I strongly believe it is important to start married life without debt and recommend staying within budget. A dream wedding can so easily turn into a debt nightmare. Some of the most beautiful weddings I have been to have been simple and unique affairs and have not cost a fortune.

Wedding Inspiration Board created by Rosena on SampleBoard.com

Due to the fact I am a designer at heart I am very into fine details. I can drive my family and friends crazy. I do so try hard not too but I can’t help it I want everything to be as perfect as possible. When I returned to interior design after some time out of the workforce I was offered and nearly decided to go into a wedding planning business. That’s why I am so interested in weddings. But I returned to interior design instead. A lot of the skills required to be a good wedding planner are similar to the skills needed to be a good designer. This is so much so when setting the scene for the big day.

With regard to the venue; check out your reception venue by walking through the place imagining you are a guest. Stand at the entrance and note anything you want to hide or highlight. First impressions count; what will your guest see as they enter? Sometimes a large floral arrangement can be placed in the line of vision to create a wow factor affect as the guests enter. The best way to disguise unattractive features is to highlight the positive ones this will drive the eye away from the unsightly. A beautiful view from a window or an elegant fireplace can be highlighted with candles, petals, lighting or flowers.

This is where a few design rules come in handy when decorating your venue. Try to keep the space as open as possible. You can create depth by placing taller items at the edges of the room. This is important as a space can appear so much bigger and empty when you view the space without the guests.

Varying the height of table centre pieces will create visual interest. Proportion is another important consideration. In rooms with high ceilings small low table decorations can look odd. Whereas in rooms with low ceilings very tall decorations can make the room appear enclosed and crowded.

Wedding Inspiration Board created by Rosena on SampleBoard.com

Limit what guests have to notice. It is better to have a few beautifully place items than a lot of fuss. Last year I watched a few shows on TV called (I think) ‘Four Weddings’. In one show the bride was so into craft and I am not kidding you the venue decoration at her wedding was over the top. I imagined it would be so over whelming for the guests. I had intended to say a lot more in this blog but I have run out of time. I plan to discuss wedding table decorations in a future blog. Until then have sweet wedding dreams.

Author: Rosena MacFadzean for SampleBoard.com – concept creation online

Wedding Favors: 2 have or not 2 have

Concept board created by Rosena on SampleBoard.com

To have or not to have that is the question with regard to wedding favors. The first time I became familiar with wedding favors was when my brother married into an Italian family. The beautiful bride although born in Australia came from a very traditional Italian family. We have over the years been overwhelmed by the heartwarming hospitality of our Italian relatives. My husband just loves their home grown and homemade food. We are delighted to have been accepted and welcomed into the whole family. They just love us to death and we do them.

The giving of wedding favors started in Italy. Traditionally each guest is given five sugared almonds they are given to represent the mix of sweetness and bitterness in life. The almonds represent health, happiness, fertility, wealth and longevity. I must confess I just love almonds so my hubby has no chance I usually eat them all.

Thinking of Almonds makes me fondly remember one holiday when I was decidedly decadent my sister and I treated ourselves to too many cups of Almond tea and chocolates. Oh it is a heavenly mix.

Favors of all different sorts have become a big trend at weddings in recent years. It really does depend on your budget whether or not you want to include favors. The little gifts selected can be chosen to work with the style, theme and colors you have created for the big day. Sometimes the favors can be personalized with the guest’s name and double up as place cards. Some wedding planers/brides select different favors for males and females.

Concept Board created by Rosena on SampleBoard.com

There are numerous choices of wedding favors available today. Favor boxes in various colors and filled with a vast variety of chocolates, love hearts, colored jelly beans or biscuits. The list is endless and the boxes can be decorated with ribbons, feathers and flowers.

Candles can be used as part favor and part table decoration. Tea light candles are popular and can be personalized with the guests name and your wedding details. If cost is a big factor then using candles in this way can act as place card, table decoration and favor. In this way you get three wedding items in one.

Toiletries are a nice option; little soaps, bath confetti or miniature bottles of perfumes for the ladies and after shaves for the men would really go down well with your guests. Mini plant pots with a plant or packets of seeds would be a great option for a garden wedding. Sea shells maybe one large one with smaller shells would make a nice memento for a beach themed wedding.

Mini bottles of alcohol; bubbly, port, wine or whisky are always popular. Of course this sort of favor is not suitable for children. A wee goodie bag containing things like colored pencils, activity books or a wee cuddly toy would be a great idea for the children. You could include activities for the children for example a wedding quiz or a coloring in competition.

Concept Board created by Rosena on SampleBoard.com

If you want to keep the cost of favors down maybe an individual chocolate for each guest or a bowl of chocolates placed where guests can help themselves would be the best option. But if you are on a really tight budget you can forget about them altogether after all it is your wedding.

You can see from the concept boards of wedding favors in this blog the options are endless. There are many wedding favor and other wedding ideas in the SampleBoard.com library. You can easily visit the library by going to the ‘Create your own Sampleboard’ under the SampleBoard Links on the right. And you can have a wonderful time creating your own wedding theme and select an ideal favor.

Author: Rosena MacFadzean for SampleBoard.com – concept creation online

How 2 find your perfect wedding gown in 5 easy steps

The first thing to do is work out what you want to pay. Then what style and color of wedding dress would best suit your body shape and skin tone.

Step 1: Work out what you can afford or want to pay

Wedding dresses can cost from a few hundred to thousands of dollars. What you want to pay is up to you it is a very individual thing. Some people would rather spend more money on the honeymoon, wedding or buying a home than on a wedding dress.

Mood Board showing A-Line/ Princess Styles created by Rosena on SampleBoard.com

Step 2: Workout the best style of wedding dress for you according to your body shape  

The strapless Ball Gown style of wedding dress is suitable for tall thin women with broad shoulders. Ladies with pear shaped figures can also look great in the style. The Princess Line style of dress is ideal for petite ladies but suits most figure types. A Line styled dresses are one of the most popular styles of wedding dresses and can help camouflage the fuller figure.

Boyish figures look great in Column style dresses. Short brides can appear taller in the Strapless Sheath style of wedding gown. This is not a good style for those with fuller figures. Mermaid and Fishtail styled wedding dresses suit ladies with well proportioned figures and is not suitable for those who have a flat chest and/or are very skinny.

You may find my blogs ‘How to decide which style of wedding dress is best for you; Part 1: the Ball Gown’ http://wp.me/p1jrSa-gt and ‘How to decide which style of wedding dress is best for you: Part 2’ http://wp.me/p1jrSa-gz helpful.

Mood Board examples of Ball Gowns created by Rosena on SampleBoard.com

Step 3: Workout the best color of wedding dress for you according to your skin tone

As far as skin tone is concerned basically you can have a warm yellow undertone or a cool blue undertone skin color. It can be helpful to have your colors done to determine what type you are. If you have a warm undertone then creams and ivory colored gowns will flatter your skin tone. It you have a cool undertone then pure white and blue whites would be the most flattering colored wedding gown for you.

Once you have determined the best style and most flattering color for your gown you can now start your search for the perfect wedding gown. My wedding gown was in a ivory white satin in a princess style as I am petite just under 5ft (I was upset when a number of years ago I read ‘when you stop growing you start to shrink’ I told my husband I was horrified and we had a good laugh. I mean what else can you do? I did wear very high platform shoes) One of the best things I ever did was have my colors done. Its well worth the money as it can save you time and money in the long run.

Mood Board examples of Column styles created by Rosena on SampleBoard.com

Step 4: Find examples of your ideal style of wedding gown by doing an Online Search

So armed with this vital information you can start you search. Search the net for ideas. It is so much easier to do extensive searches for your dream wedding dress there are so many wedding and designer sites. The challenge is not to get overwhelmed with so many choices. But if you have followed the first two steps above you could have overcome this dilemma by narrowing the field to the best style and color for you. Try to stay on tract by only looking for the styles and colors you have decided on.

You can copy any images of dresses you like and create a folder to place your selections in. You may find it helpful to create some mood boards on this site. We have many images of beautiful wedding dresses helpfully divided into the style categories mentioned above. You can then save the sample boards to your folder.

Mood Board examples of Mermaid style created by Rosena on SampleBoard.com

Purchasing a wedding gown over the internet can be risky. Some sites will sell you badly made poor imitations if designer labels. So it pays to do your home work. Check out what sort of recourse you have if the dress does not meet your expectations also check out what sort of guarantee you have of receiving the dress well on time. Also note different countries sizes can vary, so make sure to check this carefully.

Step 5: Visit bridal boutiques to try on some wedding gowns

Go through your folder and select the dresses you like best. You can reduce the size of the images so they all fit on one or two pages. Then print the pages to take with you as you shop. Take a trust friend or family member with you. Make sure the person knows what you want and is not too pushy.

Mood Board ‘White’ created by Rosena on SampleBoard.com

Try to go to the shops when they are not too busy, maybe you could organize to have a day off work. This means you avoid busy days like Friday and Saturdays. With some bridal boutiques you have to make an appointment. You may find it best to visit a number of shops to have a general look around to see what is available and what the price range is. Then you can list the ones you want to revisit to actual try on some dresses. So this might take a few days.

Mood Board ‘Cream’ created by Rosena on SampleBoard.com

Make sure you do not rush into a purchase. If you make it a rule with your friend to have a cup of coffee or a walk when you feel the urge to jump into a purchase you can save yourself a lot of heartache. I recently had the pleasure of helping a friend choose her wedding dress. She was so excited when she saw herself in the dress of her dreams she wanted to buy it on the spot. As this was the first one she had tried on I quietly suggested we have a coffee. It turned out she found another lovely dress in her budget later that day.

All the wedding dresses featured on the moodboards in this blog are with many others available in the SampleBoard.com library you can view more dresses by going to the ‘Create Your Own SampleBoard’ link on the right. Most of all enjoy the time searching for your dream wedding dress I know my friend and I had a lot of laughs, we treated ourselves to coffee breaks and lovely lunches.

Author: Rosena MacFadzean for SampleBoard.com – concept creation online

Wedding Color and Theme Boards

Wedding inspiration boards can be created to show an option of different color choices. A wedding planner can create a number of color boards showing how different styles will look in different colors. These wedding inspiration boards can easily be created online at www.sampleboard.com.

Color Concept Board created by Rosena on SampleBoard.com

The wedding planner can then email the wedding inspiration boards directly to her client. Another option would be to use one board to show the various ideas. Wedding inspiration boards are a great way to express visual ideas.

A few wedding mood boards have been included here so you can get an idea of how professional looking wedding inspiration boards can be easily and quickly be created online at Sampleboard.com. The old saying of ‘blue and green should never be seen without a color in between’ can be put to rest this season. Vibrate blue and green work brilliantly together and are a hot color and trendy choice this season.

Color Concept Board created by Rosena on SampleBoard.com

Wedding Inspiration Theme Boards    

If the client of a wedding planner is unsure as to what sort of theme to use for a wedding the wedding planner can create a number of wedding inspiration boards featuring different themes. The themes you can create online on the sampleboard.com website are endless.

Wedding Theme Inspiration Board created by Rosena on SampleBoard.com

You have only to look at the wedding inspiration boards to get an idea of how to achieve this on the wonderful site www.sampleboard.com. You can play around with different themes and a mix of different themes until you come up with something special and unique.

Winter Wedding Inspiration Board created by Rosena on SampleBoard.com