Unveiled Wedding Events Blog

Twenty-Nine years ago 600,000 people filled the streets of London to be part of an event that would mesmerize the world. An estimated global TV audience of 750 million watched – making it the most popular program ever broadcast. On July 29, 1981, Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer were married at St Paul’s Cathedral before a congregation of 3,500 invited guests.

You have to remember the 1980’s was all about – bigger and better – and let’s face it Diana’s gown was bigger and by today’s critics not so much better. It became the gown that wore the bride. Well, say what you may, I loved it! As I recall sitting in my living room with a bottle of champagne watching on my 13”black and white TV, Diana stepped out of the Glass Coach in a flurry of silk tulle and, yes, wrinkled ivory taffeta. To the world’s surprise was the 25-foot long train of complete grandeur that continued to cascade down the steps of St. Paul’s Cathedral with Diana ascending the stairs in a fanfare of royal trumpets.

As truly a Legendary Bride, or shall we really say a Legendary Wedding, what did we learn from The Royal Wedding of All Royal Weddings? (besides taffeta wrinkles and gowns can wear a bride)

Have a fireworks display the night before the wedding

Plan your ceremony as much as your reception

Traveling to your ceremony with your parents makes an everlasting memory

Your entrance to your wedding should be outstanding

Large Impact Ceremony Centerpieces can be used at the reception as well

All members of the wedding party can wear white or ivory

Unique transportation – other than a SUV Stretch – is elegant

Cloth, white or red carpet on the church steps is a Wow factor

Walk on the right of your father or escort so he doesn’t have to go around your train

There is stature and splendor in being a bride – look the part

Cascade bouquets can be pretty ; but not so big as a casket spray

Lay your bouquet at the grave of a loved one on your way to the reception

Brunch is a great alternative for a wedding reception

Re-introduce the going away dress

A bridal parasol just in case it rains on your perfect day

If you have a lot of children in the family allow them to be flower girls and pages

Courtesy to your mother and mother in-law before the recessional

Bridesmaids can follow behind the bride to make sure her train is perfect

If you want to be regal have a detachable cathedral train

Above all, the Royal Wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer was a celebration of two people and their families coming together (to the amazement of millions of people around the world). Two young lives with so much promise. We learned and watched wedding trends unfold in front of our very own eyes. We watched big sleeves and tiaras become the norm into the 1990’s and how a Royal Wedding is truly, “the stuff of which fairy tales is made.”

In the late 1950s, French  inventor André Cassagnes, created “L’Ecran Magique“, the magic screen. When Ohio Art saw the toy they decided to develop the product and in 1960 L’Ecran Magique, renamed the Etch A Sketch, was born to become the most popular drawing toy in the business. Today the Etch-A-Sketch turns 50!

So, we wondered how this retro toy could be incorporated into a wedding – Certainly a fun addition to the evenings entertainment, when added to nostalgic arcade games and Wii stations. But for that pop-art couple we had an even better idea – Commission an original work by Etch a Sketch artist George Vlosich III. While this option might not be for most (Commissioned pieces start at $3,000) these are detailed one-of-a-kind gallery pieces that have taken George 20 years to perfect the art. The final Etch A Sketch creation is made permanent, signed, framed, and shipped to you. As seen on Oprah, she called it “one of a kind”. Unlike anything else, it will be the most asked about addition to you art collection.

$3000 a little over your budget? Well, now GV Art + Design offers a simple personalized Etch A Sketch created from a photograph. The price for a simple one portrait Etch A Sketch is only $525.00. Additional portraits can be added for an additional cost. While this piece is not done specifically by George Vlosich III, it creates a personalized pop art piece without the custom price tag. Consider this a great way to capture your engagement photo and display it during your reception. Or have one of your wedding photos forever captured in Etch A Sketch style!

On Saturday, January 30, 2010 at 9:30AM CST as The Wedding Guys were featured in a segment to talk about Chandeliers and their amazing use for weddings. Whether the chandeliers are used to light the aisle for your dramatic entrance or hung from a tree in the evening with a glowing warmth in the sunset, chandeliers can enhance any wedding with a bright vision. If you want to take it a step further use them on your guest tables as centerpieces….just remember the bulbs do radiate warmth not only a glow at the table.

Weddings
By Tara Guerard
Photography By Liz Banfield

Finally a Wedding dream book that is approachable and actually applicable in reality.

Weddings – A new book featuring world-renowned wedding designer Tara Guerard of Soiree by Tara Guerard of Charleston, DC and New York City has just been released. All of the photography is by Liz Banfield of Minneapolis, Minnesota who is well known for photographing a number of weddings for Martha Stewart and whose work has been seen in Town & Country, InStyle, Conde Nast Publications and Southern Weddings. We had the pleasure of meeting Tara Guerard this week and reconnecting with Liz Banfield at the NACE luncheon and a wonderful book-signing event at the chic Monique Lhuillier Salon in Edina, MN.

Tara is a trend forward designer with meticulous detailing in her designs. Tara is very nice to point out what she likes and what she doesn’t like in today’s weddings and we honor her for her focus on creating not only a personal experience for the couple but also for the guests. What is very apparent with Tara’s designs is that she does not duplicate them so a couple truly has a wedding designed specifically for them.

The book Weddings by Tara Guerard is a stunning book that not only gives you pretty images to dream and fantasize about for your own wedding, but it also gives you images that you can actually incorporate into your own wedding. The pictures are stunning, the designs are amazing and above all Tara does not talk about how wonderful she is, she actually talks about how and why they did the design elements you are looking at. Thank You Tara for inspiring couples instead of just saying ‘look at my event wasn’t it beautiful’. Thank you so much!

To my surprise I loved when Tara gives recipes for hors d’ oeuvres and refreshments or tips on how to make a monogram for a door. So many things we do as wedding designers but forget how simple it can be for the DIY bride to accomplish if she feels very compelled to do so.

Liz Banfield our hat goes off to you for your amazing passion for capturing weddings in a true art form with such style and vision.

Brides and wedding professionals if you do not have a copy you better hurry!

The Wedding Guys® were on the Get Married show on Saturday, January 16, 2010.

Check out the video clip to see the latest tips about ruffles!

Tune in to Get Married on the WeTV channel on Saturday, January 30, 2010 at 9:30AM CST as The Wedding Guys are featured in a segment to talk about chandeliers and their amazing use for weddings. Whether the chandeliers are used to light the aisle for your dramatic entrance or hung from a tree in the evening with a glowing warmth in the sunset, chandeliers can enhance any wedding with a bright vision. If you want to take it a step further use them on your guest tables as centerpieces….just remember the bulbs do radiate warmth not only a glow at the table.

We hope you enjoy the segment.

The Wedding Guys!

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For many brides planning their wedding, they initially think of the reception. So get ready to put it in reverse and start at the ceremony. Instead of having your guests arrive at the ceremony and quickly ushered to their seats with program in hand, design the start of your wedding with impact right from the start – ‘the ceremony’. Remember you don’t have to wait until the reception to bring in flowers and decor.

Make the start of your wedding ceremony with an impact statement sure to greet your guests and tantalize their senses.

To demonstrate the look we would envision for the entrance to a wedding ceremony, we would like to introduce Heath Alan Ray, the creative director of Jackson Durham in Atlanta, Georgia. We met Heath in Atlanta last month when we traveled to speak at The Wedding Party by Atlanta Weddings Magazine, which took place at the stunning Georgian Terrace Hotel. Heath totally rocked his studio space at the show with this stunning floral arrangement including hydrangea, roses, tea roses, tulips, and large stunning stems of Phaleanopsis orchids. A truly stunning statement! BRAVO!

This arrangement would make a stunning entrance to a wedding ceremony. You could have this arrangement displayed on a 48 inch round table with an elegant specialty linen. The guest book could also be placed here for your guests to sign and write their sentiments. To enhance the entrance area you may want to add candles to create a warm glow, select a string quartet or harpist performing, a very romantic and fresh vision.

So many people ask how we develop our creative for our national show tour ‘Unveiled’ THE Ultimate Wedding Planning Event or for our Signature Weddings we design for select clients. I will tell you a little secret; it came from something I used in journalism and creative writing classes while I attended college. It’s called ‘Branching’.

Branching is all about taking a main idea and ‘branching’ off from the main idea with supportive details for the ‘main idea’. This is also a great way to get out of a ‘writers block’ or when you need to creatively think of a way to solve a problem. It’s clearly not that difficult and it helps to make sure you are covering all the details and aspects of your design.

Branching – To branch out, write your main idea at the bottom of the page ie trunk or roots of the tree. Above it, list your sub-categories supporting the main ideas. Then, branching off to the left and right, listing details of these sub-categories. See the example below; being creative about a daisy or peacock and it’s many uses and how you can incorporate this into your creative process.

Monique Lhuillier 2010 Spring Collection Trunk Show
January 14-16, 2010

We had the distinct pleasure of not only attending the fashion show for Monique Lhuillier’s Fall 2010 Bridal Fashion Show but also a private showing in New York City. The runway fashion show was a walk in a winter wonderland with her Fall 2010 bridal collection. With dresses fit for a mystical bridal winter fantasy, the designer created a series of breathtaking silhouettes. This season Lhuillier created feminine drama with corset tops and sheer bustier, but the classic styles with stunning lush fabrics and detailing ala ‘MoniqueSophistication’ unmatched by any other designer for a truly pure bridal vision.

So now is your time for an up close and personal look at the new collection for Spring 2010 by Monique Lhuillier. We will be there to see them again! Wouldn’t miss them for anything in the world!

All ABOUT RUFFLES! – Get Married Show & The Wedding Guys®
Tune in to GET MARRIED on Saturday, January 16, 2010 as The Wedding Guys give tips on the latest craze – RUFFLES FOR WEDDINGS! Check your local cable listings for an airtime near you!

For some of us who remember the old Ruffles Potato Chip commercial, ‘Ruffles Have Ridges’, we love to see the reinvented use of the ruffle in not just wedding gowns but also in wedding decor. For brides who are planning their wedding – ruffles are one of the hottest trends and bigger than ever. Initially it was the romantic flare of the gown by adding ruffles to the skirt or a one-shoulder bodice or a way to incorporate the jacket into a frilly bolero jacket for that strapless gown. This very flirty and feminine silhouette has now inspired other aspects of the wedding from the invitation, cake and yes even chair-back covers.

At first like with many detailed aspects of the wedding a bride will want to have them everywhere. However like any good thing, too much is a bad thing. So our advice is to look at your overall wedding vision and see how you can introduce the ruffle aspect into your design but as on a gown a ruffle is best used as an enhancement not a blanket treatment. Look at each stage of the wedding and develop one area that will be strengthened by the use of ruffles, if ruffles are ‘you’ as like other things, they are not for everyone.

Ceremony:
Chair Back Covers for the parents and bride and groom’s chairs.
Chair Back Covers for the first chair in each row next to the aisle.
Chair Back Covers for every chair in the last row on each side of the aisle.
Flower Girls look adorable in ruffled dresses.
Ruffled cabbage leaf in a bouquet.

Reception:
Ruffled gift table or cake table.
Ruffled table linens.
Ruffled chair covers.
If cost is an issue reserve the ruffled chair back covers for the head table and the parents or family tables.

The ruffled chair cover image shown in the blog is from the Chameleon Chair Collection by visiting http://www.chameleonchair.com