Make it a dream day! We invited top wedding planners to share their biggest, brightest ideas for your flowers, cake, decor and more.
Flowers
Photo Credit: Susan Stripling / Wedding Planner: Sasha Souza Events
1. Dare to be different! Choose an unusual color for your flowers, like purple or lavender, which are definitely going to be the hot new hues in the coming year.
2. Don't mix too many colors in your floral centerpieces; it will dilute the impact of the arrangement; more than three colors are probably too many. Consider using just one hue, or two shades in the same family, for a thoroughly striking look.
3. Instead of placing single-container centerpieces on each table, consider using a grouping of four or five flower-filled, matching vessels, each of a different height or size. This will create interest in the room.
4. If you want soaring centerpieces without the formality of those tall silver vases, create small "trees" using blossoming branches that are woven together at the base to form a "trunk." It'll look like the trees are growing from the tables.
5. While flowers are the focus of centerpieces, keep in mind that the vessels holding them are also important. Use ones made of blue- or green-colored glass, or simply wrap the vases in pretty fabric. Rectangular and square-shaped containers are also very attractive and chic.
6. Add a personal touch to your space by using flowers from a family member's garden to decorate the escort-card table.
7. Dust off that family silver! Creamers, pitchers and sugar bowls make charming containers for small flower arrangements.
Budget Smarts
8. To save money on centerpieces, think simple, sleek and small. Tulips and hydrangeas are reasonably priced blooms that look elegant and lush when tightly packed, even in small containers.
9. You don't need to place flower arrangements on every available surface — just the places where they will give the most visual impact. Spend money on the centerpieces, flowers for the escort card table and a small arrangement for the bar. And don't forget the ladies' room!
10. Find a way to light your centerpieces. Pin lights — little spotlights that can be hung from the ceiling — are ideal, but if that costs too much, simply place votive candles around each arrangement. The light will bring out the flowers' colors, which means you can get by with fewer blooms.
—Mark Held, co-owner, Mark's Garden, Los Angeles, CA
Décor
Photo Credit: Tantawan Bloom
11. Instead of keeping all your tablescapes uniform, jazz things up by creating three distinct looks. Each could feature different centerpieces, charger plates, candlesticks and linens. You can even vary the table sizes. Doing so creates the feeling you're having a party in your own home.
12. Think your ballroom looks a little blah? The quickest way to add interest is with hanging elements. Ask your planner about using Chinese lanterns or glass globe-shaped vessels overflowing with hydrangea.
13. Change the mood at your reception by adjusting the lighting. Ask your party planner or lighting specialist to arrange for bright, cheerful lighting when guests first enter the ballroom. Lower, amber-colored lighting is best during dinner, when things are calm. For dancing, pump up the energy with funky purple-hued lights.
14. Don't forget to dress up those little spaces in your reception room. Sideboards, shelves, nooks and niches are all perfect places to create lovely vignettes with flowers or candles. In a corner, or next to a bare wall, a grouping of urns filled with roses makes a dramatic statement.
15. During the reception, people will be looking at the band, so don't forget to decorate the area behind the musicians. You could hang panels of shiny vinyl to create a sexy nightclub vibe, or pieces of sheer fabric, accented with long ropes of orchids, for a romantic ambience.
16. Guests naturally gravitate to the cake table, so be sure to showcase yours. Place a full-length mirror behind it, or position the cake on a sideboard with a hanging mirror above it. This doubles the visual impact of your gorgeous confection — and gives guests a 360-degree view.
17. Ask your planner to adhere strips of colored tape to the dance floor, maybe in a combination of fuchsia, pale pink and white. It looks fun, fresh and modern.
Budget Smarts
18. Although hiring a harpist or guitarist to play at the cocktail hour is nice, live music isn't really necessary. Why? Because sounds coming from a soloist or even a group of musicians in the corner of a room will get lost when you have lots of people chatting and moving around. Instead, play your favorite tunes on the sound system.
19. Create a sexy lounge-like area in a corner of your ballroom. If you're having your event at a hotel, ask the manager if you can borrow couches and chairs from an unused suite. He or she may arrange this for you at a minimal cost.
20. Get a warm, intimate ambience with candles. But don't place them on every table. The room will still twinkle if only one-third of the surfaces contain them.
—Bryan Rafanelli, owner, Rafanelli Events, Boston, MA, New York, NY, and Palm Beach, FL
Catering
Photo Credit: Lover.ly
21. At your cocktail party, serve a signature cocktail that reflects the season. Summer's ripe for mojitos or fresh peach bellinis. Fall calls for green-apple martinis. Lemon drops or hot cider with applejack brandy are perfect for winter. In spring, serve daiquiris made from the season's fresh strawberries.
22. Ask your planner to set up a square-shaped bar so guests can approach from all four sides. This way, you'll prevent long lines from forming and keep the party flowing.
23. A standard bar can look very unappealing. Remember to dress it up with small flower arrangements or even just beautiful bottles of wine, vodka and other spirits.
24. If you have a sit-down dinner, the appetizer and entrée courses, combined, will last roughly an hour. Guests shouldn't be made to sit around any longer than that, so forgo the dessert course and have a dessert table, where people can help themselves to an array of sweets. That way, you get people up and moving around.
25. Presentation is everything. Serve pommes frites in paper cones or gazpacho in bowls made of ice. You want your guests' senses to be surprised and delighted on every level, not just taste.
26. The final memory you leave your guests with is the most lasting one. Just before the party's over, pass around whimsical treats, such as demitasse cups filled with crème brûlée or mini grilled-cheese sandwiches on artisanal bread.
27. Favors shouldn't be for guests only. Send yourselves off with a treat, too. Ask your caterer to create a basket filled with champagne, cheese, crackers, fruit, cookies and chocolate that you can dip into when you're up in the honeymoon suite.
Budget Smarts
28. Skip the champagne for the toast. Most people take only a sip or two, then put down the flute, which means that most of the bubbly goes to waste. Instead, guests can simply raise a glass of whatever they're drinking with dinner.
29. Beef and lamb are expensive. Salmon, halibut and duck breast cost a lot less, and yet you won't look cheap serving them. If beef is really important to you, opt against ultrapricey filet mignon and offer short ribs, a more wallet-friendly cut.
30. Many caterers bring in their own glassware, which includes different vessels for specific drinks (highballs, wine, martinis and so on). Of course, they'll charge you accordingly. Cut costs by asking your caterer to use all-purpose glassware rather than a bunch of specialty ones.
—Lauri Dorman, vice-president, Paula LeDuc Fine Catering, San Francisco, CA
Cakes
Photo courtesy of A White Cake
31. Consider choosing a cake that reflects your interests as a couple. If you love to schuss, the cake might look like a ski slope. If you like camping, ask your baker for a topper that looks like a tent.
32. Don't choose a cake by appearance alone — it should taste as great as it looks. Most bakers have a signature flavor they do really well, so be sure to ask about it. Whatever flavor you choose, make sure you sample the cake before you buy it.
33. If you can't decide among several cake flavors, ask your baker to use all of them. You could have one tier made of chocolate, another of vanilla, and yet another of carrot cake.
34. Planning a wedding in the sun? What works for you might be disastrous for your cake: Buttercream frosting, for example, will melt in the heat because it contains a lot of butter. If your reception is to be held outdoors, request a less delicate frosting, such as rolled fondant, which is a creamy sugar paste.
35. Often, brides and grooms choose to order a wedding cake from a boutique bakery even though one is included in their catering package. Don't waste your freebie — ask your caterer to bake up a "groom's cake" (a confection that reflects his style or an interest, like one shaped like a football) instead.
36. It's a nice touch to serve your cake with a sauce or scoop of ice cream. This way, guests won't be presented with just a lonely slice on a plate.
37. The traditional bride-and-groom cake topper is fine — but not very interesting. Consider asking your baker to top your confection with a bouquet of flowers, a bow, or even a carousel or shooting stars made out of sugar.
Budget Smarts
38. Decorative flowers made of gumpaste will seriously jack up the price of your cake. Ask your baker to use fresh flowers, or buds made of royal icing, instead. They're much cheaper.
39. Buttercream frosting costs significantly less than rolled fondant. Opt for the former — unless, of course, your wedding is to be held outside, in the sun, where buttercream might melt.
40. Pull a bait-and-switch: Order a small, beautifully decorated cake for the cutting ceremony, then serve the majority of guests from inexpensive sheet cakes kept in the kitchen.
—Colette Peters, owner, Colette's Cakes, New York City
Photography
Photo Credit: Browne Photography
41. Arrange to have your formal photos taken before the wedding. That's when the bride looks her best — her hair, dress and makeup will all be fresh.
42. If certain guests — college friends, book-club members — are needed for a group photo at the reception, a clever way to get them all together with minimal fuss is to make a note on their place cards about the time and location.
43. Have your photographer tail you during the cocktail hour so you can point out your VIPs. No bride wants to end up with a bunch of photographs of the groom's high-school girlfriend!
44. Opt for both color and black-and-white photography. Have traditional pictures taken in color, which will show, in full glory, all the gorgeous wedding details you so carefully planned. Black-and-white can be used for those dramatic, artistic photos and candid shots that tell the story of your day.
45. While it's great to have a lot of folks out on the dance floor, this also means your photographer may only have views of people's backs, and the backs of their heads. Solve this problem by asking your shutterbug to bring a step stool so he or she can get a good view of what's going on.
46. Photographers know that some shots shouldn't be missed, like the bride and groom's entrance into dinner, the father-daughter dance, the cake cutting and so on. But there's always something extra that you'll want, like maybe a photo of you and your groom that mimics the pose of your first photo together or a shot of you reacting to the best man's toast. So, be sure to give your photographer a detailed shot list of those must-have pictures in advance. Otherwise, a golden opportunity could slip by.
47. Ask your photographer about digitally designed albums, which are designed on a computer and look like gorgeous coffee-table books. They're an exciting option in the world of wedding photography because they have a whole different feeling than those traditional albums with matte framed photos.
Budget Smarts
48. Can't afford a top photographer? Hire that person's assistant. You'll be getting a skilled amateur lensperson on his or her way up — for a gentler fee.
49. Save money by cutting down on personnel: Ask your photographer not to bring along an assistant.
50. Negotiate with your photographer to leave the wedding album out of your package. By purchasing a store-bought album and assembling it yourself, you could save several hundred dollars.
—Andy Marcus, owner, Fred Marcus Photography & Videography, New York City