Planning Tips and Trends for 2010 and 2011

I was lucky enough to attend a network event last week about trends for the coming wedding season and wanted to share them with you. I was also a guest blogger for Mike Staff Productions and they posted this on their blog as well. http://www.mikestaff.com/

Planning your wedding or any special event can be a huge undertaking for anyone, but if you’re doing it for the first time, just knowing where to start can be a daunting task. Tonight I attended an event dedicated to showing all of the great trends for 2010 and 2011. It was such an amazing and inspirational event, I am so excited to share what I learned with you. Not only will I review the trends with you but tips on how to pull your entire event together and great ways to get you started.
The first thing you should do when planning any event is have a theme or color scheme in mind so that when you are visiting venues you will know what works and what won’t. I assisted with a wedding and the bride chose yellow as her main color which was such a brilliant choice because her facility décor was gold and yellow. I’ve also seen an event where the decor of the room was red and gold and the bride chose hot pink and lime green for her wedding colors, it didn’t flow as well. The look and feel of the room will dictate the look and feel of the event. A popular trend right now is choosing a historic site. Typically these facilities have so much character you can cut down on décor, which will in turn save you money.
Most everyone wants their event to feel special and personal. While a monogram is a great way to personalize your event, it has been popular for the past few years. Come up with a new way to personalize your event without getting too carried away. Some great ideas are using a favorite quote, poem, line from a movie or song, and printing them on your invitations, place cards, and table numbers. Another way to add a personal touch would be incorporating family photos through out the room. I saw a wedding, where the bride took a framed picture of every family member cutting their cake on their wedding day and placed them on her cake table. She had pictures of her brother, parents, grandparents, and all of the groom’s relatives on the table. It was really cool to see all of the different wedding styles throughout the years.
On to the trends… Colors for this season and next are going to be bold, lots of turquoise, all shades of purple, pinks, and metallics. Black and white is classic, adding a pop of color will make the look fresh and trendy. If you love the black and white look but are using a venue with more neutral tones, try using a black and ivory damask print, the ivory in the print will still give the look you want but won’t be as harsh as the white. Another big trend for this season and next is offering a soft seating area. Creating a lounge space in your reception room near the bar will allow your guests to mingle and enjoy the wedding. You can frame the space with a fabric drapery and add some couches with pillows and end tables; you can decorate the space with pictures, flowers, and candles. Most rental company in your area should be able to accommodate your request for a soft seating area.
I hope this has been helpful for you. Remember that you can always call on the experts at Mike Staff Productions or me, for help planning your special event. Good luck and happy planning!