Flowers can get expensive, especially when you have to fill out an entire table with them. While I wouldn’t forego using flowers entirely, there are easy and inexpensive ways to add non-floral color and whimsy to your reception tables…and most of them involve fruit!
My favorite table fruit are definitely lemons. They’re bright and cheerful, and perfect for spring or summer weddings. You can place a couple footed serving bowls of lemons in between small arrangements of flowers (or even single bud vases if you really want to save), and the result will have just as much impact as a table full of flowers (if not better).
While the bowl above (from Crate and Barrel) is great, at $54/each you’re going to end up spending more money on it than a floral arrangement. Instead, look for a footed glass bowl that’s more inexpensive, like this IKEA Gottis serving bowl for $9.99
Another great inexpensive option for a centerpiece is pineapples…and you don’t even need extra serveware for them. I think pineapples are perfect for weddings with a french/middle-eastern theme, and will look amazing alongside flowers such as ranunculus, anamones, or peonies.
I’m currently loving all the Kate Moss wedding photos that are being featured on Vogue.com. The accompanying article is great as well…if you haven’t read it yet, you should. It gives a fun glimpse into Kate Moss’s wedding day, and all the beautiful yet simple details that went into it.
Kate Moss was my favorite of the supermodels. She always managed to look effortlessly cool and comfortable no matter what she was wearing, and she was gorgeous without a stitch of makeup. Plus, she used to date Johnny Depp. They were like that painfully beautiful and mysterious couple in high school that everybody wished they could hang out with (or date). I think we should all take a moment to reflect upon Kate +Johhny and what used to be. It’s like a yearbook photo!
Now, Kate’s married to The Kill’s Jamie Hince. I guess he’ll have to do.
Moss and Hince tied the knot on July 1 in the Cotswold region of England, alongside guests such as Jack White, Karen Elson, Naomi Campell, Jude Law, Sadie Frost, and Lucinda Williams. Click here to see all the pictures and read about the Friday afternoon wedding. (She switched it from Saturday to accommodate famed photographer Mario Testino’s schedule. That’s a no-brainer.)
The beauty of the wedding was that it looks like something you could easily take inspiration from without breaking the bank. Kate Moss enlisted the help of fashion show designer Sam Gainsbury and partner Anna Whiting to design and plan the event. “Sam is a genius,” Kate told Vogue, “but this is the first and last wedding she said she’s ever doing!”
I love how Kate and her team didn’t go overboard with the details…it looks like something that was thoughtfully put together without a visual overload. The flowers were simple and so were the colors. With that many beautiful people in a room, you don’t need much!
Below is a collection of details from Kate Moss’s wedding, and my ideas for how you can recreate the look and feel of her big day on a non-supermodel budget.
Image courtesy of Vogue. Photograph by Mario Testino
Kate’s dress was designed by John Galliano, who said he was inspired by Jazz Age photographs of Zelda Fitzgerald.
Zelda Fitzgerald
I think one of the best wedding dress designers who successfully captures that vintage style is Claire Pettibone.
Cloisonne wedding dress by Claire Pettibone, $3500-$5,000
A designer named Johanna Johnson has some AMAZING veils, but they will set you back about $800. Instead, trying doing a Google search for “cap veil.” I found this antique 1920′s veil below for $129.
The tables had small bunches of apricot and lilac roses, Victorian chandeliars, bentwood bistro chairs, and vintage stemware…
Photo courtesy of Vogue.
Photo courtesy of Vogue.
Classic Party Rentals has locations throughout the U.S., and they have a fruitwood or black bentwood chair available in select locations (prices vary). Party Rental Ltd. also has locations throughout the U.S., and has the brown bentwood chair available that most closely matches the one at Kate’s wedding.
You can rent vintage glassware from companies such as Small Masterpiece, or if you’re having a smaller wedding, you can incorporate your own pieces. A search for “1920′s glassware” on Etsy can yield some fun results, such as this set of 12 1920′s glasses for $65, below.
London’s Peggy Porschen designed the wedding cake, which was a tier of six different cakes, each of which were a different flavor, with droplets of icing-sugar lily-of-the-valley blossoms. If you like to bake, Peggy’s website offers her tools of the trade…
Photo courtesy of Vogue.
Believe it or not, but Publix actually has a great selection of cakes. If you don’t see what you want, they can also copy pretty much any cake style you want. Their prices average between $350-$500 depending on size and style. The “Simply Devoted” style from Publix, below, can be decorated with roses like Kate’s cake, and you can also add more tiers.
Other fab details from Kate Moss’s wedding include:
Bar Hemingway from the Ritz Paris provided the drinks, including a signature drink called Kate 76: a combo of vodka, champagne, crushed ice, and sugar
The Palm Court jazz band provided the cocktail music
Chef Daniel de la Falaise served a dinner which included toro tartare with caviar, Longhorn veal with grilled peaches, and strawberry granita dusted with gold leaf, accompanied by Sesti and champagne.
Of the whole wedding-planning process, Kate (who told Vogue that the groom-to-be was “terrified.” I love that honesty!), said she had to rely on her friends to keep her sane:
“I don’t know how people do it. I’ve had big birthday parties, and I’ve thrown parties for other people, but this is a completely different thing. It’s the Met Ball! Because you have to look at every piece of cutlery; the details are intense. And then you wake up thinking about the ballet shoes for the girls; is the satin ribbon right? I’ve gone mental. Jamie thinks I’m mad, asking, ‘Are you gonna be all right? After the wedding, I’m hoping you’ll get back to normal!’”
It somehow feels good that even celebs have wedding freak outs…
What do you think of her wedding style? Love it/hate it?
When it came time to thinking about what kind of flowers I wanted for my wedding, I didn’t know where to start. First, I knew nothing about gardening or the names of flowers, except for three: roses, peonies, and tulips. Oh wait, and gladiolas, too! Yes, I am florally challenged.
Since I wasn’t working with a traditional florist, there wasn’t a “shop” I could visit where someone could explain to me what was available. It was more like “tell me what you want.” So, I had to figure it out.
Wedding magazines were a huge help in the floral department, except that most of the flowers I saw and loved were either way too expensive or out of season. For example, let’s take peonies. They are only in season in the US primarily late April-June, and cost about two or three times as much as roses (which are always in season). Of course, you can get peonies when they’re out of season, but because they have to be shipped in from other climates, you’re going to pay a pretty penny for them. According to this online wholesaler (which is a great resource if you’re looking to DIY your flowers), 25 Hot Pink Ecuadorian Roses will cost you $49.99, while 100 Hot Pink Peonies will cost you $329.99 in May. For June, November, and December add $60 to that, and for Feb-April and July-October add $500!
If you love peonies (which I do) but don’t love the price, you can get a garden rose variety that basically looks the same. For example, this Peony Roseis available year-round and costs $199.99 for 48 stems. Still not as inexpensive as traditional roses, but not nearly as expensive as peonies. I ended up going with a mixture of garden roses and traditional roses that were 2-3 days old, so they had that “open” and more rustic look.
For a quick overview of what’s in season when, I’ve compiled a short list of popular wedding flower types by season and their wholesale price according to Fiftyflowers.com. For a more detailed look at the most common flowers used by florists, click here. Remember, roses are available year round, so they’re not included in this roundup. Orchids are another year-round option, too, and they average around $180 for 50 extra long stems:
Have I ever professed my undying love for Martha Stewart Weddings magazine? Every issue I’ve bought is filled with useful and beautiful ideas that are totally doable. And, unlike other bridal magazines that shall go unnamed, they’re not JUST a vehicle for ugly dress advertisements. I heart Martha. Even prison Martha.
The latest issue (Fall 2010) came just in the nick of time, too, as I’ve been trying desperately to figure out some sort of color theme for my flowers. I’ve been all over the place, from white to yellow to red…but for some reason I couldn’t find the colors I wanted that went together. Until I saw the cover of Martha Stewart Weddings in the grocery store. It’s love at first sight.
Bright red and pinks together…why couldn’t I think of that? Thank God for Martha.
Sure, I might have started planning this wedding with a color scheme in mind, but things change. I’ve found that things don’t really come together until you bring ALL the elements in place, from your chairs to your tables and even your plates. You’re not married to anything (yet!), so don’t be afraid to switch it up.
What’s great about the arrangement on the Martha cover is that it’s simple. There aren’t 80 different types of flowers in it. Instead, there are varients of garden roses (ranunculus) that are readily available in most seasons (unlike peonies, which are also super expensive.)
If you’re as in love with the above as I am, here are some great boutonnieres that could work with the red and pink (mostly the bottom one).
What’s your flower color combo? How did you finally decide on it?
As a newly engaged writer, I had a hard time finding the practical information I needed to plan my wedding. While the wedding books, magazines, and websites I read had pretty pictures, they seemed to just skim the surface when it came to providing helpful ways for me to create the wedding of my dreams. Now that I'm married, I hope this blog serves as a resource for all you other bride-to-be's, with unique ideas for wedding venues, wedding decorations, wedding dresses, and more!
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