Take Back Your Wedding

2010-05-05T20:01:00.000-07:00

creative wedding ideas to set your wedding apart from the rest

There is nothing wrong with the traditional white wedding, but sometimes it is nice to makes yours stand out from the rest…

Today’s weddings are all about options that reflect your personalities and style. We’ve compiled a list of our favorite non-traditional or unexpected wedding ideas to incorporate into every aspect of your big day.

Ceremony Ideas

Location

If you don’t host your ceremony in a house of worship or in the same location as your reception, you can get creative with your ceremony location and exchange vows at sunrise on the beach or at sunset from the rooftop of the tallest building in your metropolitan area.

Refreshments

Use the season or your location as an opportunity to greet guests with a refreshing drink. Lemonade and sweet tea will quench your guests’ thirst while gathering in the blazing sun, or serve hot apple cider to warm your guests during chiller months. Plus, unlike the bridal party who often have photos to take, the guests usually have an hour or two to kill before the reception starts; why not give them a spot to mingle and socialize for a bit after your ceremony?

Grand Entrance

Make your entrance especially grand by being escorted by your pet dog or by arriving on a white horse.

Vows and Readings

Not a new concept, but speaking from the heart by writing your own wedding vows or incorporating personalized poems and popular wedding readings or even humorous wedding ceremony readings into your ceremony will surely grab the attention of your guests.

Reception Ideas

Location

You shouldn’t feel bound by the need to have your celebration in your hometown or the town in which you currently reside. Don’t be afraid to consider something unexpected. Bring your event to your favorite vacation spot or another location that has special meaning to you and your hubby. Everyone can appreciate some time away.

Venue Type

Think outside the banquet hall and bring your celebration to a naturally beautiful venue like a garden or museum. Your guests will enjoy strolling around picturesque grounds or appreciating timeless works of art.

Seating Arrangements
Add some visual interest to your setting by interspersing different shaped tables throughout the room or seating your guests at long tables for a family-style affair.

Catering Ideas

Bars

Who doesn’t like something with the word “bar” attached to it? Your guests will delight in all things bar, from a mashed potato bar or dessert bar to an espresso or martini bar.

Ethnic Cuisine

If you have a strong heritage, have visited a favorite world destination together, or even just have an affinity for a particular variety of cuisine, revolve your menu around that ethnic specialty.

Family-style

Offer delectable comfort foods with a twist, served up family-style – a great icebreaker for your guests.

Seasonal

Take inspiration from the season and serve a menu that offers a theme of seasonal favorites.

Courses

Break out of the conventional chicken-or-fish mold and base your entire meal around cocktails and appetizers or coffee and desserts.

Wedding Decoration Ideas

Color Scheme

Try featuring varying shades of the same color throughout your space. The monochromatic look is intense and dramatic for any venue space.

Flowers-Flowers-Flowers

We had to at least give one section to what we do. If you want something that none of your guests have ever seen, ask us for our advice. We know the newest rage for bouquets in Miami - we know what the Floral Designer of the Year in Europe is creating - we know designs that you and your guests have never seen before.

Au Natural

Consult Mother Nature for inspiration, and bring the outdoors in. Natural objects like stones, leaves, pinecones, even twigs can add an organic aesthetic to your reception décor.

Lighten Up

Arrange multi-level candles on a mosaic of coffee beans or cranberries at the bottom of a vase or bowl to hold the candles steady also adds an aromatic effect.

Consult your Inner Child

For the kid at heart, fill decorative bowls with your favorite candies – such as jellybeans and M&M’s - in your wedding colors.

Entertainment Ideas

Ceremony Music

If “Here Comes the Bride” doesn’t suit your style or personality, choose a song that does. There is no written rule that states you can’t make your grand entrance to a rendition of your favorite Beastie Boys’ song.

Non-traditional Instruments

If you desire live music over a DJ, consider tying your musician selection to the theme or location of your event. A beachside bash naturally lends itself to the sound of steel drums, while a trumpet quartet will sound impressive in an elaborate cathedral.

Themed Music

Take it one step further and zone in on the music that is indigenous to your wedding location. Guests attending a Mardi Gras-themed event in New Orleans will bask in a cocktail hour of Dixieland jazz.

Photography Ideas

Photojournalism

More and more brides are leaning toward hiring a photographer who specialized in a photojournalistic style. These photographers shy away from posed shots and aim to capture all of the candid moments that you’ll always want to remember or may have never seen.

Creative Shots

Hire your photographer to follow you throughout your entire day (leading up to the “Do Not Disturb” sign, of course). While it may make you feel anxious to have someone photograph you as you get ready, these shots will help you to remember the joy and anticipation of every part of your big day.

Wedding Cake Ideas

Square Tiers

Looking for a subtle way to break away from the ordinary? Square tiers make a modern presentation. Whoever said “it’s hip to be square” must have been in the cake business.

Cake-free

If cake isn’t your favorite dessert, then don’t feel the need to serve it to your guests. Apple crisp, peach cobbler, pumpkin pie, cupcakes, or even glazed doughnuts are a hit at the dessert table.

Sugar-free

The end-of-meal offering doesn’t have to be made of flour and frosting. Think savory instead, and visit your local cheese shop to have them construct wheels of cheese in tiers and stacked to look like traditional wedding cake.

Attire Ideas

Wardrobe Change

Today’s brides are opting to wear not one dress, but two! Wear an elegant gown while you exchange vows, then slip into something a little more comfortable to round out the evening.

Anything but White

A white wedding dress symbolizes innocence and purity, but if that’s not your style, feel free to bring out your colorful personality by adding a splash of color to your attire. You can be as subtle as a colored sash and jewels or as bold as a fuchsia-colored dress.

Stationery Ideas

Ethnicity

If your heritage is important for you to represent on your big day, do some research and find a stationer who offers multi-cultural invitations and announcements.

Creative Touch

For more intimate, casual gatherings, request the honor of your guests’ presence in an innovative and entertaining way. Here’s an idea - have your invite printed on a balloon so guests have to blow them up to receive the message.

Programs
Do something a little different with your wedding programs by including personal photos or by printing them on something that serves a dual purpose - like a fan.

Storybook

Get the most bang for your program buck by including stories of how the two of you met, who introduced you, and your relationship to everyone in the bridal party. Think of all the time you’ll save by not having to explain all of this to your husband’s childhood neighbor during the reception!

Transportation Ideas

Grand Entrance

If the size of your bridal party doesn’t warrant a stretch limousine, consider arriving on horseback, on the back of your husband’s motorcycle, or in the passenger’s seat of your dad’s antique car.

Wedding Favor Ideas

Something Useful

Give your guests something they can enjoy for years to come. A small bag of seeds to plant will remind them of your big day every time they smell the flowers.

Something Edible

As if a five-course meal wasn’t enough, send your guests home at the end of the night with an extra treat of your favorite candies or special hometown delicacies.

Donations

With a high emphasis on karma these days, give something back and make a donation to your favorite cause in lieu of knickknacks. Your guests will appreciate the altruistic gesture.

Wedding Gift Ideas

Attendants

After seemingly endless Friday nights spent planning showers and licking envelopes, your bridesmaids are going to need a little pampering of their own. A spa gift certificate is the perfect way to thank them for their hard work.

Gift Baskets

Make out-of-town guests feel welcome by greeting them with a basket of goodies in their hotel room. Include some essentials that will make their stay more comfortable, and incorporate some items that are reflective of your wedding location.

Registry Ideas

The Gift of Travel
If time away is more important to you than a waffle iron, consider setting up a honeymoon registry. Many travel agents offer services to collect, record, and apply contributions from your guests toward your honeymoon travel expenditures. Some even allow guests to contribute to specific activities at your destination location, such as scuba diving lessons or boat rides.

The Gift of Life

If your house is already stocked with all of the essentials, give something back instead. Many eco-friendly organizations such as the World Wildlife Federation offer donation registries.

Final Thoughts

There are three goals to keep in mind when planning a wedding that breaks tradition and offers a true wow-factor:

1. Go Big or Go Home - don't be shy, if you want a candy station, offering 4 types of candies is nice but a table that looks like it's from Willie Wonka's Chocolate Factory is a real WOW!

2. Think Outside the Box - how many weddings have you been to? how many of them were unique? There is a secret that everyone forgets when planning their wedding: THERE ARE NO RULES! This is your one time to throw the party of your life... be bold - be unique - be you.

3. Consistency - creating a theme can be fun and unique, however most theme weddings fall short because they forget to keep every detail of the event consistent with it. To have a theme wedding truly be spectacular, takes lots of time, energy, and most importantly, attention to detail.

HAPPY PLANNING!

TOP TEN

2010-04-16T12:45:00.000-07:00

10 REASONS FOR CHOOSING ANDREW'S ATELIER

1. Experienced Wedding Flower Designers

Andrew's Atelier specializes in wedding flowers and works with hundreds of brides a year. Our team of floral designers are not part-time florists - we are professionals who devote our expertise to creating beautiful wedding flower arrangements.

2. Attention to Details

Andrew's Atelier is here for you throughout your entire wedding planning process. We are proud to be part of your special day, and we appreciate your business and will help you create the wedding flowers that you have always dreamed of having.

3. Wholesale Prices

Andrew's Atelier works directly out of our floral design workshop. Without having to pay the costs for a retail storefront we are able to save the average bride hundreds of dollars in unnecessary costs. Several companies call themselves "wholesale florists" but we haven't found one that delivers the prices that we do. Why spend more if you don't have to?

4. Complete Customization

We believe each and every wedding is as unique as it's couple. This belief is what made us perfect the system of learning each couple's vision and personality. We understand that beautiful flowers are not enough - wedding flowers need to represent the uniqueness of the couple itself if they are to have sentiment.

5. Commitment to Customer Service

Andrew Koerper believes that each client should experience what he calls "The Ritz Style of Service." This is why he is personally responsible for every sales and customer service interaction. When most companies are out-sourcing their customer service department, the founder of Andrew's Atelier directly assumes responsibility to ensure it's client's satisfaction.

6. Green Initiative

In a time when most companies talk about sustainability in the environment, Andrew's Atelier implements systems that directly minimize our carbon footprint. Andrew's Atelier takes a stand for responsible care of our environment and continues to look for additional ways to improve our way of doing business.

7. User Knowledge

We understand that for clients to feel assured in their decision to make a purchase, they need to know that they have made the most informed choice. This is why we assist our clients in completely understanding the floral design process. We want our clients to rest assured in their floral decisions.

8. Flower Variety

Our ample selection of wedding flowers gives you the option to satisfy all your flower needs in one place. Rest assured we have the capabilities of finding any flower you would ever need. Our limits in flower selections knows no bounds.

9. Guarantee

Andrew's Atelier offers a 100% quality guarantee on all floral designs. Period.

10. Wedding Industry Knowledge

Andrew Koerper has executed thousands of weddings, seeing them through from start to finish. His knowledge in the wedding industry is a resource that he freely shares with others. He believes the gift of knowledge is a gift that should freely be shared. If there is ever any questions or concerns regarding your wedding, don't hesitate to ask. It would be our pleasure to assist you in any way we can.