Wedding Trends: Bouquet Decorations

Now we move onto a truly pretty element of the wedding: the bouquet. Today I'll only be talking about the bouquet decoration. As weddings become more original and couples take more charge with their own DIY touches, each detail of the wedding is becoming more ornate and thought out. Proof of this is that bouquets themselves have decorations now. They can span from simple white satin ribbon enveloping the flower stems or more intricate designs including feathers, pearls or photographs. Designs are differing greatly as originality and uniqueness abound. No matter what though, the overall trend is a return to classic elegance and intricate, yet simple designs. It's a rejection of clean cut modernism and a new emergence of old-fashioned simplicity and delicate beauty.

One piece finding its way into the majority of bouquet adornments is jewelry. This is a wide field, but because it is a classy occasion, usually only high-end and sentimental jewelry is used. A classic item now being repurposed for the bouquet are pearls. They make for a beautiful decoration that match any color and most designs. Obviously, it would be hard to pull them off with fabric such as linen, but anything is doable if you use some ingenuity and true design expertise.

Another classic and sentimental element returning is the brooch. I think I love this adornment the most, because it can work on any color and on minimal or ornate designs. It's also an old-fashioned touch that never goes out of style and a perfect way to add your 'something old'.

A new way of incorporating jewelry into bouquets is to simply tie a small bracelet around the bouquet. It can be gorgeous if done well. Bracelets with hearts dangling from it around your bouquet will only add to the sweetness of the day and the simple elegance of the ceremony.

As originality increase, so does the use of new decorations. One design beginning to become popular is the use of feathers. This is a new and truly unique bouquet design, and actually has quite and old-fashioned feel. It beckons the feel of the days when boas and feather headbands were popular in the 1920's. For a very classic elegant feel, this is a great option.

Lastly, no matter what the theme of your wedding is, be sure to include the season into your motif. If you incorporate your bouquet in this, use elements specific to the season (and possibly the location). For spring, use flowers that are in bloom. For summer, a homey, unique option is to use small amounts of wheat. For fall, use leaves changing colors or dark berries. And for winter, consider using pine branches, ornaments, or ivy. The season doesn't need to rule wedding motifs, but it shows consideration for your date and location to use elements of both.

As I said above, bouquet designs are increasing in originality all the time. One thing that I've realized above all is that regardless of motif or wedding colors, white always wins. The majority of bouquets that I see involve white lace, ribbon or other fabric. I love seeing new ideas, but also homage to traditions. This may be due to the return of old-fashionedness, but above all, for bouquets, the trend is white in some way. A truly imaginative bouquet would be to find a new way to include the traditional white, but that seems almost impossible :-)

Bouquets are one of the details of a wedding that is entirely the design of the bride, and is becoming a showcase for her personality and style. Use ideas, but truly use your originality to make them your own, and just remember that white and elegance never go out of style.

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Thursday Throwbacks: Headbands

Introducing Thursday Throwbacks! Each Thursday we'll bring you a look into the past through fashion, housewares, photographs, beauty tips and everything else vintage. Stay tuned for more retro finds and tips on how to incorporate the old with the new.

Headbands began going out of style in the mid 90's, and no one has been caught dead wearing them for over a decade. In the past year though, as retro fashion is coming back in style, headbands are coming back, but not as the thick, fluorescent or polkadot accessories from Full House or Clarissa Explains It All. Headband designs now come from an era much further back. We're talking the flappers of the 1920's and before.The two main designs that are bringing back the headband are flowers

and feathers

They're much more chic and feminine than the cheetah-striped headbands that you might remember Jessie Spano or Kelly Taylor sporting, and I believe that is because they're going for an old-fashioned feel rather than modern.

Flower headbands are meant to make the flower appear to just be placed in the hair. They're opted for over clips, because headbands stay in place much better. The bands are also now very thin to help conceal it. Headbands are coming back into style, but the band itself is meant to be barely there. The flowers themselves vary greatly as there's not only just one ruling style. They're usually worn at a tilt, a vintage trend from the 20's, 30's and 40's. Another style from the yesteryears is wear it at the front of the head rather than at the center.

Different from the originals though, are new types of designs and materials for flowers. Flappers' headbands were meant to look lavish, expensive and elegant, made from the best materials. The flowers had to look authentic for the effort put into them. Nowadays, headbands are more simple, basic and don't have to emulate a real flower exactly. A major trend it to use to fabrics, especially cloth for the flowers. It's very cute, very colorful and pays homage to the flappers' design while still creating a design all its' own.

Of course authentic-looking flowers are still made. The types of flowers mirrored are more diverse now, but the original idea remains the same. The style is quite pretty and if you want a classic cute look, it's the way to go.

The other major headband design making a comebacks is the feather. I love this one, because it hasn't been seen since the 20's. Flowers have always been prevalent in all types of fashion, but feathers have been popular only here and there. Feather headbands can only be associated with the flappers and this gorgeous throwback in making it's way back into fashion again. I love to see them becoming popular once again.

Feathers can be incorporated into designs with flowers or be the design itself. The style I think is the coolest is one large feather going across the entire head. Like the flower headband, the trick is made the band not visible and unlike the flower headband, it is never really worn at the front of the head. For a vintage and rare look, you can't go wrong with this.

Now that headbands are becoming trendy again, the designs, like everything else nowadays, are becoming numerous. Along with flowers and feathers, there are other natural elements being designed onto headbands such as starfish, seashells, butterflies, beads and many more. They're not throwbacks, but throw-back inspired. Stay tuned next week for another Thursday throwback find!

Wedding Trends: Centerpieces

Changing the pace again, I'll be talking about centerpieces. The traditional centerpiece is usually big flowers of one or two colors maybe with some baby's breath. This is obviously overdone by now, making people long for different flowers, flower lengths, colors or something completely different from flowers altogether. This is truly an area of originality for bride (and maybe the groom) to let their design skills shine. As with other aspects of the wedding, there is a return to old-fashioned beauty, intricate elegance and a down-to-earth feel.

Most centerpieces nowadays are not simply flowers. They usually incorporate one or several other elements, depending on the motif of the wedding. If it is an outside evening wedding, the centerpiece could involve a lantern for an old-fashioned yet elegant charm. With white roses, it could truly add sophistication to the wedding. If the wedding has a more natural ambiance, then maybe a bird's nest, bird's house, or branches tastefully laid out with wildflowers. For a whimsical approach, consider many other elements such as several colors of ribbon, and perhaps some candy with bright colorful arrangements. My favorite unique centerpiece was a group of tiny green roses (which I've never seen before) with four tall feathers encircling it. Now that took some creativity to come up with and even more to tie it into the wedding motif!

Some newer centerpiece designs don't involve flowers at all. Some give the illusion, which can be very original and fit the couples' personality. I've seen this usually done by using paper, yarn or feathers. Another major trend emerging is simply using fruit for the centerpiece, especially for summer weddings. The blending of yellow lemons and green limes works splendidly for warm summer affairs. It's an original and much cheaper option. For a more festive wedding, a beautiful idea is porcelain eggs of many bright varying colors a nest or straw box/container. The last huge centerpiece trend that you see at debatably most weddings now are small trees. They're especially prevalent when made of metal and painted white (white for weddings ;)). It's cute fad, but is becoming quickly overdone. I advise that it is better to avoid this for a more original idea.

No matter which centerpiece you choose, the size of it will almost certainly differ from the traditional size. Think about the old photographs of the table centerpieces from your parents' or grandparents' wedding. They were probably an array of several flowers or roses with baby's breath that were a good height in the usual vase. In the modern day, that customary set up is out the window. Yes, some over-the-top weddings opt for the massive almost-baby-tree size flower arrangement, but the trend presently is a more quaint display. Along with simple and unique features (yarn, ribbon, feathers, etc), and a sundry of unexpected flowers, the arrangement size has shrunk substantially. There is an abundance of charm in antique, simple flower arrangements.

Use this area of your wedding to let your personality and true design for your wedding shine :) It is one single thing that you can point at and say 'this is our wedding motif'. And just like every other element of your wedding, have fun with it!