Chic Colors for Spring Weddings

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

I always look to folks like Designs in Paper to keep me in the loop when it comes to wedding color palette ideas.  Check out their current green plus glam color palettes on their blog.

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Posted by Ashley of Ashley's Bride Guide | Filed under: Inspiration & Trends, Invitations & Paper Goods 0 comments »

2009 Wedding Catering Trends from Down South Delights, Part 2

Monday, March 23, 2009

Monday, March 23, 2009 On Wednesday, Brocade shared wedding catering trends from Chef's Market.  Today, I will expound upon the wedding catering trends by featuring a guest blog by Down South Delights. Guest Blogger: Rita of Down South Delights, a boutique-style catering company. Plated dinners for smaller weddings - This year with the economy we are seeing very few plated dinners for weddings or large groups. Some brides are opting to spend their budgets on very formal plated dinner for small receptions. For example, we have a bride that is a true foodie and we are creating a 10 course formal French style plated meal for 20 guests. This is the bridal party and family only. Formal plated receptions last much longer and really keep guests confined to their respected tables. I highly recommend that if your guest list is over 100, you should not have a plated dinner. For smaller groups I do recommend plated dinners. Mini Appetizers & Fun Food Stations - This is the hottest trend of the season for brides to have at the reception. Almost 90% of our brides have ordered some type of mini appetizer or food station. This year's favorites are Shrimp & Grits Station (Very Southern, indeed!) and the Custom Salad Station- chefs create and toss custom gourmet salads for each guest. This is one of my favorite things to serve. Over 30 items of fresh gourmet ingredients.

For the mini appetizers some of our faves and most popular include: *Mini Takeout boxes filled with lobster lo mein complete with chopsticks *Mini Grilled Cheese & Tomato Soup Shots *Mini Gourmet Burgers with artisanal condiments (These are super hot this year, not only in Nashville) *Shots of Peach & Apple Cobbler/ Strawberry Shortcake Shots *Mini Layered Cobb salad *Classic Mini Hors D’ Oeuvres - Shrimp Cocktail shots & Shots of Garlic Ranch with Veggie Sticks

veggie shots

Classic & Always Fabulous - Since we are in the south a fabulous southern themed buffet is always in style and sure to please your guests. A lot of my brides whose family is in from out of town request true southern fare with flair. That is something that I love to cook as I know ALL of the guests will enjoy. No matter how many food snobs or picky eaters attend they still fall in love with true southern cuisine. With the economy this is the best bang for your buck as well. The classic buffet of 2 entrees, 3 side items, several chilled side items, yeast rolls, and cornbread is affordable and chic. Add some peach iced tea and strawberry lemonade you are good to go! This menu works really well for couples having their reception at local historic sites like Belle Meade, Carnton, Travelers Rest, etc.

classic style

So here is a tip that I wanted to share not only with my brides, but those that have already found their caterer. When planning your reception, make sure and share with your caterer the ambiance that you are trying to create for your reception. Are you wanting a chic, streamlined, modern look? Maybe you are opting for the traditional classic wedding with ivory, silver, and lots of simple elements. Are you planning a stylish Town & Country rustic affair with neutrals and wrought iron? Or maybe you are having an over the top reception with hot pink, black, and lots of sparkle. You may wonder where I am going with this! You need to plan with your caterer how they are going to scape your tables because if you do not share this info they may show up with a very modern euro style table setup for your romantic traditional southern wedding reception.

modern style set-up

A great caterer will design your food tables to match your room décor. IF they do not have any choices then you may want to look elsewhere. This is one of the main elements besides great tasting food that we plan. Each bride gets a custom design for their reception complete with matching colors and decor. It really does make a difference if your food tables compliment or clash with the rest of your reception area.

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2009 Wedding Color Trend Alert: Mimosa

Friday, January 16, 2009

What's hot for your Spring/Summer wedding?  Mimosa!  Yummy right?  If you are a bride who is still trying to finalize her color palette or just want to stay in the know, check out this recent blog by Designs in Paper!

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Unique Invitations for Your Unique Wedding!

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Want a custom invitation that inspires and complements your wedding?  Relish is a must-consider!  Invitations tell your guests what to expect from your wedding - from color to style to personality.  And with Relish, you are in the driver's seat, picking the colors and embellishments that you want to set the tone for your event.

Today, I am honored to share the keypad with Stephanie of Relish, who will share the hottest colors in weddings dresses, cakes, flowers and invitations! Hopefully these weddings will inspire you to dream in color, as only Relish allows us to do.

Guest Post: Relish is web-based, build-your-own invitation company.  Their website allows you to build a fabulously custom invitation to match your event - perfectly!

You've dreamed about your wedding day perhaps for your whole life. I was personally not that way, but as soon as I said yes, the dreaming began! I have always had a creative spirit and my wedding was my chance to show who I was (and yes, who my husband was) in each and every detail of the day. As with many wedding professionals, it was after my own wedding that I begin to think of entering the wedding industry. I think that comes from being a bride who has trouble finding those things which represent her for her big day, those things which will express the tone of their wedding the way they want. Invitations were a big part of how I set the tone of my own wedding. I have been a graphic designer for years so it seemed like an easy place to start. I began to envision the whole day and what would suit us as a couple. I decided I wanted a cute picnic themed reception. I wanted sheer green ribbon in lots of places, so it made sense to put it on my invitations, since that would be the first look our guests got of our special day. I must admit that at that time, even I had trouble thinking too far outside the box with my invitations. I had worked in printing for years and had used "The Books" to help brides get ideas for invitations. I hated that my ideas didn't fit nice and neat into "the book" way of thinking. Now, a short 4 years later, I am the CEO and one of the designers for Relish (getrelish.com). It may sound strange for me to say this about my own company, but I truly wish I'd had Relish when I got married! With Relish, my partners and I have tried to really come out of "the book box" with our paper designs. We have created many designs for different types of brides. If you want something more formal (like what most books have), you can get that with Relish, only you can still customize it to you. If you want something more crazy - you can do that as well! The most important thing about customizing your own invitations is that they are unique to you and your special day! Do not limit yourself in any aspect of your day. Dream in color, think BIG... and then you know - try to put it all into your "budget". Here are a couple photos from my own reception. To the right is a photo of an invitation I designed on getrelish.com and you can see how well it would have tied in to our wedding theme. (*NOTE: You can also have Relish adjust the colors of their patterns to custom match your exact color scheme)

So, it may be too late for me to send those out now, but below are some great photos of this season's color trends which are used in the dresses, the flowers, the cake, and then of course the invitations! You could continue the colors and theme into the rest of your wedding stationary, your reception linens and all the other little details!

Black & White is always in style and very classy. Also, you can pair it with any color to get a unique look!

Bright Yellow is such a fresh color to see everywhere this year! Paired with Bright Whites and Garden Greens, it is beautiful, especially for Spring & Summer!

Fuschia / Hot Pink is very in this year. It's great paired with Dark Purple, Wines & Black as well - it's so much fun and creates a very unique look and feel to your day!

Aqua is another one of the fun, bright colors we are excited to see a lot of this year! You can go with a Dark Turquoise-Aqua (seen above) or a lighter, Sea-Green Aqua (also used in this invitation). You can pair it with Fuchsia, Lime Green (as seen below) or Dark Purple.

Lime Green is so bright and fresh, especially for Spring & Summer! Pair it with Hot Pink, Garden Green, Yellow or Aqua (as seen in previous photo).

Bright "Tangerine" Orange is another fresh color for this year! It works great in the Summer and into the Fall. Pair it with bright Whites, Peach (for Spring), Fuchsia, and nearly any shade of Green. As you can see, the possibilities for a unique wedding in 2009 are endless!  And it can all start with your unique invitations! Check out www.getrelish.com this week. We are offering a special deal to AshleysBrideGuide.com readers. We are extending our 20% Bridal Show special exclusively to you girls for the remainder of January!!! Just enter this special Coupon Code in the Checkout area of our store: ABGJAN09 - 20% off is a huge savings so don't miss out! PHOTO CREDITS: Dresses provided by Cherished Memories Bridal Flowers provided by Fresh by Carryann Cakes provided by Cakes by Shara Promotional Photography provided by Jessica Rai Photography Personal wedding photos by Laurie Carpenter Photography

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Posted by Ashley of Ashley's Bride Guide | Filed under: Inspiration & Trends, Invitations & Paper Goods 0 comments »