Tuesday, May 6, 2008

Wedding Trends: Go Bold, Go Green

As the warm weather rolls in, it seems only natural that the hottest color of the season is bright yellow. Whether you choose to incorporate it in your flowers, your linens, your bridesmaid’s dresses, or even sashed across your own wedding dress, yellow screams summer, energy, and freshness. Bold colors are very in, with jewel tones ranging from shocking pink to vibrant green. Many wedding couples are now focusing on green, not in the sense of the color itself, but rather for the natural, organic connotation it suggests.

It seems that many often brides confuse the idea of a “green” wedding with something too informal, too nontraditional, and maybe even “too hippie” for them, but in fact, there are many ways to interpret the concept of “green” weddings. Most obviously, choosing a natural setting will help set the tone; however, as with many of the organic ideas that I will discuss in this blog, making “green” choices often means spending more “green.” Unlike hotels, country clubs, or restaurants, outdoor venues often require you to outsource all tables, chairs, linens, stemware, plates and glasses, flooring and draping for tents, and most significantly, heating or air conditioning units and power generators, which are anything but conservatory. Thus, in making the decision to use an outdoor venue, it is hugely important to emphasize to your vendors that they minimize their use of energy and waste so that you maximize your green concept and make any extra expenditures worth your dollar.

Continue to “go-green” by choosing organic food and wine, and stay in tune with the trends by serving miniature portions. Offer organic vegetables, artisan cheeses, and soup shooters for hors d’oeuvres, and choose a sustainable fish, such as halibut, for your main course. Start your guests off with an amuse bouche of hummus, olives, and olive oil served in a three-compartment plate, and follow this with an intermezzo of refreshing and colorful sorbet. Fusion cuisine is also very in, so provide your guests with small portions of exotic tastes presented on square plates, and expose them to three fabulous new trends at once!

Be inspired by the bold colors that are so in style, and add energy to your event by transitioning from color to color throughout the wedding. Move from one color to another from the ceremony to the cocktail hour to the reception. Realize that you do not have to travel to an exotic destination or serve a traditional five course meal on formal china to have a fabulous, successful wedding. What will really get your guests excited in 2008 is being bold with color and concept, creating energy without wasting it, and most importantly, allowing your personality to shine brightly through all of the items that you select for your special day.

The author of this blog is Jaime Greenwald, President of Gala Events, Inc.

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