bridal fashion mall

This is sort of a mini-inspiration board - it just worked better this way than with any of the other images I tried to fit into it. Sometimes less is more...

If you're a winter bride who loves lavender, how about a bouquet of dried lavender, wrapped in soft velvet ribbon? After the ceremony, treat your guests to dessert and champagne (I'm dead set on bringing this type of reception back, can you tell?). Gingerbread linzertorte is a perfectly appropriate, yet totally unexpected, winter wedding "cake." Each dessert certainly doesn't need to be color coordinated, but the table also doesn't have to look like a middle school bake sale. Arrange things thoughtfully, maybe with a small vase of flowers, and let this table of sweets be the focal point in the room. Unless you're lucky enough to hold your reception in a room with a working fireplace - that would be the perfect focal point for a winter wedding. You'll have one less thing to worry about if you skip the party favors, though you might make small glassine bags available for guests to take some chocolate truffles home with them.

So what do you think? Can you still get a sense of this wedding with only 6 images?

Mood: sweet and simple
Palette: gingerbread, faded lavender, rosé

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Top row from left: winter bride and groom from Brides, champagne coupes filled with rosé and chocolate truffles both from Martha Stewart Weddings
Row 2: gingerbread linzertorte from Martha Stewart, dried lavender bouquet with velvet ribbon photo by Elizabeth Messina, snow-topped church

Things are winding down here at Snippet & Ink - this is the last inspiration board of 2009! I've still got a few beautiful posts lined up for you, though, before heading out for the holiday. Later this morning, I'll be posting a beautiful shoot that Janie Medley, Courtney Spencer, Katie Stoops, and some other talented folks put together just for us! It's full of winter and holiday inspiration for a wedding or dinner party, so don't miss out on that. Also, don't forget to enter in the Ban.do giveaway before Thursday at midnight!

Once again I've repeated a few favorites here, namely the large balloons with number tags from Randi Brookman Harris' wedding, and the black and white bouquet by Artfool (now Matthew Robbins Design). What can I say, they're favorites! I actually started with the intention of creating an all-white winter wedding inspiration board based around this gorgeous dress by Elizabeth Dye, but I think what I ended up with here is much more fun. Inspired by vintage circus ephemera and details, from the balloons to the souvenir card to the popcorn, this is a modern take on that look. Mostly white, with just a few well-edited dabs of black for contrast, it's both whimsical and chic.

Mood: chic modern whimsy, with a touch of vintage circus inspiration
Palette: glassine white, ink black

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Top row from left: white dress with ruffled waist by Elizabeth Dye, balloons with number tags from Martha Stewart Weddings, Papermade stationery with black and white twine photo by Max Wanger via Style Me Pretty
Row 2: coconut chocolate cupcake photo by Victoria Pearson, white lemonade with straw flags from Amy Atlas
Row 3: black and white bouquet with sweet peas and privet berries by Artfool, vintage souvenir postcard, balloon ceremony photo by W. Scott Chester
Row 4: popcorn in glassine bags styled by Erin Quon, white piano from Janny Panns' flickr, milk glass cake stands from Martha Stewart via Classic Bride, vintage alphabet garland from Chronicle Books

This inspiration board is, I hope, further evidence that having a simple, and even budget-friendly,* wedding doesn't have to mean sacrificing style. The decor is mostly large white balloons (which can be found for under $3 each), some touches of black and white twine ($15 for 240 yards), and milk glass cake stands (check eBay and flea markets for these). The only flowers are in the bride's bouquet (and possibly the groom's boutonniere). Even the darling alphabet garland is only $13, and which could be used for any number of things (and used again and again after the wedding!).

A reception with cupcakes, lemonade or punch, and popcorn will cost far less than just about any other option. There is no rule that says you have to serve your guests a full meal (though if you don't, make sure to hold your wedding in between meal times); in fact, for the longest time, a cake and punch reception immediately following the ceremony was standard. I think it's tough these days when, so often, many or most wedding guests are coming from out of town to attend, and it seems as though you ought to serve them a full meal at the reception - this is certainly something my honey and I have struggled with. But if that's not your style, or if it's just not in your budget, cake and punch, or dessert and champagne, is perfectly acceptable, especially if it means you can afford to have all of the people you love there with you to celebrate.

(*In fact, "simple" and "budget-friendly" are not the same thing. It can cost an awful lot of money to have a simply elegant wedding, and it can cost no money at all to lose sight of simplicity.)

Today's winter wedding board draws its inspiration from a classic harbinger of the holidays, the poinsettia. But instead of the traditional red, I've used poinsettias in various shades of pink and cream. With a mostly white palette and lots of candles, the pink isn't cloying - though it would certainly make for a sweet bridal shower as well as a wedding or holiday party. Invitations are all white, except for calligraphy lettered in pink ink, and they're finished off with white twine and sealing wax (if you want to send envelopes wrapped in twine, you'll need to put them inside glassine envelopes for mailing). I imagined this as a simple tea reception, with cake and candies, and of course champagne and tea - a budget-friendly option that's charming and sophisticated.

Mood: warm, charming
Palette: poinsettia pink, candlelight white

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Top row from left: poinsettia wreath from Matthew Mead Style, white Christmas crackers from Rebecca Thuss, red calligraphy from Mr Boddington's Studio, red-lipped bride with pale pink dress from Martha Stewart Weddings
Row 2: various white candies via The Bride's Guide, blusher veil photo by Corbin Gurkin, tea cake from Crown & Crumpet, ceremony site with candles from Wonderful Graffiti
Row 3: bouquet with cattleya orchids from Martha Stewart Weddings, envelope with twine and wax seal from Linea Carta, vintage gloves photo by Anna Kuperberg, pink poinsettia from Matthew Mead Style

I love the holiday season and the way it lends itself to fantasy and whimsy and even a little mystery. Today's wedding board was inspired by this idea, and by the laurel garland from Tail of the Yak*, with the olive green, the pop of pink ribbon, and the aged gilt of the mirror behind it. I think it's a luxurious and unexpected twist on the traditional Christmas green and red, and it's definitely full of holiday fantasy.

(*Tail of the Yak is an incredibly well-curated and magical little shop in Berkeley, and if you ever have the chance to visit, do. It also happens to be where my engagement ring came from, which might make me a little biased, except that it actually is the most wonderful shop ever to exist. Promise.)

Mood: sumptuous holiday whimsy
Palette: laurel and pine green, fuschia velvet, bronze and chocolate

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Top row from left: laurel leaf garland with pink ribbon from Tail of the Yak via Oh Happy Day, chocolate taffeta dress photo by Rodney Smith, centerpiece with magenta rose and begonia leaves by Ariella Chezar
Row 2: place setting with red napkin photo by Silvana di Franco via Wiley Valentine, vintage-style Roman-inspired crown from Heather Bullard, fuschia velvet chairs via My Little Apartment
Row 3: snowy library from Anthropologie's Nov. '09 catalog, bouquet with deep pink garden roses and jasmine by Artfool, hand-lettered menu with pink garland border by Cynthia Warren for Chez Panisse (photo by Aya Brackett)
Row 4: vintage fuschia velvet shoes via Nostalgia at the Stone House, designer Christmas tree with glass ornaments in shades of pink, chocolate chestnut wedding cake with sugared fruit and laurel leaves and diamond engagement ring in fuschia velvet box both from Martha Stewart Weddings

(I know I've been writing a lot more lately, and I hope that's okay with everyone. Some of you are probably just here for the pictures, and that's okay too.)

In the context of our recent conversations about keeping things simple, today's wedding inspiration board might not make much sense, especially if you are thinking of "simple" as "minimalist." There is certainly nothing minimalist about this sumptuous holiday wedding that I've imagined for today - it's full of outrageously rich fuschia velvet, it's decorated with garlands and Christmas trees, there's a crown and illustrated menu and fabulous vintage shoes, and a tiered chocolate cake covered with sugared fruit. I think, no matter how you try to make it fit, "simple" just doesn't apply here.

But I don't believe that richness and thoughtfulness are mutually exclusive. In fact, I think that they can and should go hand in hand. That was how I thought about today's inspiration board - it's the way I'd like to approach the holidays, my own wedding planning, and most parts of my life. It includes finding and creating beauty - both material and spiritual - in every day, thinking carefully which objects you choose to surround yourself with, giving to others, and doing these things in a way that is authentic for you. Below is part of an email I wrote to my friend Meg awhile back (she even posted it on her blog!) that seemed appropriate for this conversation, and that I thought I'd share with you:

...[I was thinking] about was why do I love all of the wedding details? Because I really do love them (well, most of them; there are a chunk that I find absurd). And I realized that it's because I love details in general, I love things that are done thoughtfully and beautifully, that are meaningful, and that are little gifts to other people whether they realize it's a gift or not. And if a bride doesn't feel that way about the details, and if all she feels is pressure and like she doesn't measure up, then that's not thoughtful or meaningful in a good way, and it's not a gift to anyone! People need to remember that their wedding day should reflect who they are, and if for them that means walking down the aisle to Johnny Cash, and not perfectly coordinated vintage stamps, then THAT'S their gift.

So, what do you think? How you feel about this idea? Is it something that resonates with you? How are you applying it to your own wedding planning (or holiday shopping, or whatever)?