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27 May '15

Wedding Style Defined: Rustic Bohemian

Rustic: Outdoorsy, day-in-the-country, casual elegance peppered with quaint, personal details
Bohemian: Artsy, nature-loving flamboyance with lots of personal touches

WHY FEATURE THEM TOGETHER?

Before there was “Boho” (Bohemian Chic), there was “Rustic Chic”. Over the years, Rustic Chic branched off in several different directions: Rustic, Rustic Vintage, Eco (Green), and Shabby Chic, to name a few. But, the free-spirited, DIY flower children were left out of all of those directions. Thus, Boho was born (or, more appropriately, resurrected).

THE COLORS

Because these styles are so heavily influenced by the outdoors, the color palette is wide open and often incorporates whatever the immediate surroundings entail. But, really, you can’t have a Rustic or Boho wedding without the color green (unless, of course, you’re getting married in the desert and then, maybe, you can get by without it!)

THE DECOR
Rustic: Barns, fields, grasses, wildflowers, lanterns, wagons, wood, mason jars, tins, twigs, greenery, and golden light (sunlight/candlelight)
Boho: All of the above, but Boho is also a DIY (do-it-yourself)/community affair so it can incorporate pretty much anything someone can think up. Textiles and small trinkets appear to be popular decorations, as are things that hang (lanterns, twinkle lights, signs, pennants, etc).  Boho is very eclectic and individual, often driven by the personalities of the couple getting married.

THE POCKET WATCH

The TRADITIONAL is the perfect pocket watch for a Bohemian Rustic wedding. It features a rusticated metal alloy antique bronze toned case. A bronze emblem is the central focus of the generously embellished front cover. That cover opens with a push of the button on the top of the watch stem to reveal a butter cream dial with black and red roman numerals and an open skeleton mechanism display. The case back features a window which permits the wearer to view the intricate mechanical watch mechanism. A matching vest chain completes the look. Hand wind only. No battery is ever required. Whether purchased as a single watch or in a set of multiples as gifts for your groomsmen, this pocket watch is the perfect finishing touch for a rustic bohemian wedding.

http://www.pocketwatchpurveyor.com/collections/frontpage/products/gold-bronze-pocket-watch-with-chain-personalized-engravable-gift-ships-from-canada

07 Apr '15

Tips for Creating the Perfect Timeline for Your Wedding Day

PocketWatchPurveyor note: This article by Elizabeth Clayton of A Practical Wedding provides an excellent starting point for scheduling your special day, minute by minute.

Timelines can be confusing when you’ve never done one—even if you’ve attended a lot of weddings you probably haven’t paid much attention to how long each individual aspect lasted (barring the rare occasion that you end up an hour-long ceremony indoors without air conditioning on a 102 degree day. Which nobody forgets). So today I’m going try and shed some light on how to keep your wedding moving, without feeling rushed or ending up with weird chunks of time where nobody knows what to do.

First, it’s worth noting that timelines are a guideline, not canon. I often go into a wedding with a two-paged, single-spaced timeline—it contains every single thing that every single person is doing for the entire day. (Famously, I often edit them before sending them to other vendors, because they scare the crap out of some people.) But, as I tell all of my clients, it’s the extremely rare wedding that hits every single point at the minute it’s supposed to. We extend cocktail hour because people are having fun (and/or the kitchen is running late). We move up the first dance because everyone finished eating early. We move last call out thirty minutes because we were able to start breaking down early and know we have time. Starting and ending the wedding on time are key—hitting everything in the middle in the approximate right order is important, but you usually have to adjust a little to the particular set of people.

And because the 4pm ceremony time, 10pm reception end (with both ceremony and reception in the same venue), with secular ceremony and photos beforehand is one of the most common formats I work with, I’m going to start with that as my example. But don’t worry! Next week we’re going to talk about variations on this timeline, like religious or otherwise longer ceremonies, daytime weddings, later evening weddings, separate ceremony and reception sites, and separate ceremony and reception times (i.e., gaps).

But for now, let’s dig into the format I mentioned above, with the timeline I use for almost all of the weddings that fit this mold:

  • 10:00am—Hair and Makeup/Getting ready
  • 12:00–2:00pm—Most vendors arrive for setup
  • 2:00pm—Wedding party and family photos start
  • 3:30pm—Doors open/Guests begin to arrive/Pre-ceremony music starts
  • 4:00pm—Invite time
  • 4:15pm—Ceremony starts
  • 4:35pm—Ceremony ends
  • 4:40pm—Cocktail hour starts
  • 5:45pm—Move guests into dinner
  • 6:00pm—Buffet opens/Dinner served
  • 6:20pm—All guests have food
  • 6:30pm—Toasts
  • 7:30pm—First dance
  • 7:35pm—General dancing music starts
  • 8:00pm—Second set of pre-sunset portraits
  • 8:26pm—Sunset
  • 8:30pm—Dessert
  • 9:45pm—Last call
  • 9:55pm—Music off
  • 10:00pm—Guests depart
  • 11:00pm—Breakdown done, all staff departs
And now, a few tips on how to get this all to go smoothly:

Invite Time vs. Start Time

The “invite” time is the time on your invitation. The earliest guests will show up about half an hour before this, so be prepared for that. And then there are the late guests. No matter the size of your guest list, you can put money on the fact that ten of them will be around ten minutes late, even if they’re all staying down the street from the venue. Do yourself a favor and plan on starting the ceremony fifteen minutes after your invite time. There’s nothing more awkward than a late arrival standing at the back of the aisle because the bridesmaids are walking down.

Food Timing

Timing for dinner depends largely on 1) what type of food service you’re having (the most common options being buffet, family style, and plated) and 2) how large your guest list is. It takes about twenty minutes for one hundred guests to get through a buffet. Plated courses are usually spaced about forty-five minutes apart. And family style also takes about fifteen-twenty minutes for one hundred guests to be served. Plan accordingly—I highly suggest starting with a minimum of bread on the table to give guests something to snack on while they wait for their turn at the food, although plated salads are also a great way to start out an otherwise buffet meal for the same reason. And of course, always discuss timing with whoever is actually serving your food—they should have the best idea for your particular menu.

Toasts

I really encourage people to do toasts during dinner—you have a captive audience, and people are in a headspace to be attentive, plus you don’t have to carve separate time out of the day for them to happen. Note: Make sure the first person to give a toast tells all of the guests to please continue to eat while people are speaking! And also make sure to tell the catering staff that they should continue to serve/clear/etc. while people are speaking (they’re good at doing this discreetly). (Editor Maddie’s note: Don’t forget to tell your photographer too! We usually eat when guests eat, because face-stuffing photos are unattractive. So make sure we’re not knee-deep in the lasagna when toasts start by giving us a heads up on when toasts will start. Though it’s always best when your timeline is shared with your photographer at least a week or two before the wedding so that we know in advance.) (Elizabeth’s note on Maddie’s note: This is why I have the photograhper’s go through a buffet first, yes, before the guests. Or if it’s plated or family style I’ll discuss with them and either have them eat at the end of cocktail hour, or once toasts are done. Please don’t forget to feed your vendors!)

Sunset

Note what time it’s going to happen! (There are lots of places online that will tell you—I personally use this site, possibly because I love the name, but I also find it to be totally accurate.) You’re going to want to think about lighting, especially if your event is happening partially outdoors. And also…

Portraits/Photos

Whether or not you opt for an “official” photographed first look, the truth is that a lot of couples these days tend to do formal portraits before the ceremony, because otherwise you’re stuck wrangling people during cocktail hour, which a) means they’re less compliant and b) you miss out on mingling with your guests/stuffing seared shrimp in your mouth (Editor Maddie’s note: or scallops wrapped in bacon. Mmmm…). Also, I always suggest a second set of portraits right before sunset for two reasons—the light is totally different, and gorgeous (they don’t call it golden hour for nothing) and you’re also in a totally different space emotionally—the ceremony is over, you may have had a glass of champagne, and you’re married, as opposed to about to get married in an hour. You really only need to budget ten to fifteen minutes for these, and you should plan on it being just the two of you and your primary photographer. This mini session also has the added benefit of giving you a short break away from the crowds.

Cake/Dessert Timing

While this rule seems to have gotten lost over the generations, traditionally it’s considered acceptable to leave a wedding once the cake has been cut—at that point you know that nothing else major is going to happen (it’s just partying from there on out) and hey, maybe you have a sitter to get home to, or just want to be in bed to watch the ten o’clock news. And while you may not be aware of this rule, if you have any guests over sixty-years-old then they do, and they will wait for you to cut the cake (or alternative dessert. I’m personally a pie girl myself). So don’t wait until too late to do it. I mean, no one wants to leave without a piece of cake (or, again, pie).

Last Call

The universal signal that things are about to wrap up or wind down. You don’t have to make it official, but if you do it can be a helpful to sign to people that they should start preparing (mentally) to leave.

Breakdown

If your venue has strict timing rules, or noise restrictions, or you’re paying a staff hourly and they’re going to go into overtime or time-and-a-half at some point, don’t forget about breakdown. While generally faster than set up (it’s a lot quicker to toss decorations into a box than it is to take them out and perfectly arrange them) I rarely see a breakdown that’s under an hour, and sometimes they end up in the one to two hour range. Think about all of the things that are going to need to happen once the lights go on and how much time that will take, and plan the end of the night accordingly.

After Parties

(and why you should have one)

“But really, I know we’re going to want to party until 1am!” you say. Dude—me too. But we’re in the minority. I am already anticipating a lot of rebuttal on this point in the comments, but as someone who’s coordinated over a hundred weddings I will tell you—I can count the number of weddings where there has been a critical mass of guests still wanting to go after 10:30pm on my fingers. And two of them took place on New Year’s Eve. And most of the rest had 6:00pm or later ceremonies. Six hours is about the most that most weddings guests have in them. That said, should you make everyone go home at 10pm? Hell no. Move people to an afterparty. My favorite way to do this, because it’s the easiest, is to pick a nearby bar ahead of time, spread the word, and whoever wants to go can go. Do you have to host (as in, pay for) the afterparty drinks? Definitely not. You certainly can, and it would be super nice, but after paying for everyone’s drinks for six hours, you’re off the hook (and I will tell you—if you walk into a bar in a wedding dress there’s definitely no one in the world who’s going to make you pay for you own drinks!). Also—if the majority of your guests are staying in the same hotel, that hotel bar can be a great option for this, and they may allow you to bring extra wedding champagne in for a reduced corkage fee.

 

Originally appeared at http://apracticalwedding.com/2013/03/calculate-wedding-timeline/

04 Apr '15

Make a Wedding Cake for Under $50 Using a Grocery Store Sheet Cake


DIY Wedding Cake Grocery Store Sheet Cake (25)

A few weeks ago, the APW team got together to do a little flower shoot. While we were at it, I decided that we were going to do something I’ve wanted to do for a zillion years: turn a grocery store cake into a really lovely wedding cake. You know, a post you could show to your mom when she didn’t get you were saving money AND being super classy. (PocketWatchPurveyor note: Costco sheet cakes are even more affordable, tasty and perfect for this project.)

So it was decided that I would go to Whole Foods, and get some of their cute cakes for us to work on. But I was really determined to take it a step farther than that. I wanted to show that you could take ANY kind of grocery store cake and turn it into a wedding cake. (Because, let’s be for real: my home town does not have a Whole Foods or a Trader Joe’s or any kind of gourmet grocery store, and your town might not either.) So, I set out to find the world’s most average sheet cake. This being Oakland, I tracked one down at the Lucky’s in my neighborhood, where the people behind me in line were pretty clearly high on crack. So, you know, that seemed not-gourmet enough.

And when I got this cake I was OVER THE MOON, because it was suddenly clear to me that this was going to be the awesomest of all the projects (in my estimation). So I brought the cake into the shoot, and everyone just sort of looked at it, worriedly. Then they looked at me very doubtfully. (Credit where credit was due: Maddie was as excited as I was about it.) While I was working on the cake, I kept waving people away, because everyone wanted to pretty-fy it: take off the sprinkles, take of the piping. And do.

But for truth. When I finished, there was a collective, “Ooooooooo…..” It was good, my friends. So without further ado, the world’s easiest (and cheapest) wedding cake. If you do this for your wedding, I want to have a drink with you.

DIY Wedding Cake Grocery Store Sheet Cake (20)DIY Wedding Cake Grocery Store Sheet Cake (21)

DIY Wedding Cake Grocery Store Sheet Cake (22)

 

Originally posted at http://apracticalwedding.com/2013/06/grocery-store-sheet-cake-wedding-cake/

02 Apr '15

How to Pick a Song for the First Dance at Your Wedding

http://www.yesbabydaily.com//images/uploads/blog/Top-First-Dance-Wedding-Songs-2012.jpg

Maybe you're dreading the much-hyped first dance. Or could it be that flaunting some fancy footwork is your ultimate fantasy? Which of the seven dancing personality prototype do you guys fit into? Figure out where you belong, and then do yourself a favor: learn the ropes from a pro. Whether you have a band of DJ, they should be able to provide you with a close proximity to the song you request. In the end, a first-class first dance will come down to confidence, chemistry, and a whole lot of attitude.

Couple #1: The Traditionalists

For Emily Post's poster children, the first dance is no trifling matter. In fact, many by-the-book brides and grooms regard their dance-floor debuts as the ultimate opportunity to drive home a display of grace and good taste. What "classic" lacks in risk-taking, it more than makes up for in elegance. Hopefully, you have the moves to do the moment justice.

  • Songs to Sample: "At Last" by Etta James; "Moondance" by Van Morrison; "Unforgettable" by Nat King Cole; "Fly Me to the Moon" by Frank Sinatra; and "Stardust" by Billy Ward & His Dominoes

Couple #2: The Jesters

With your radars permanently set to "irreverent," your first dance of course will provide excellent fodder for joke-cracking and other forms of farce. Choose a cheeky song to communicate your insouciant sense of humor. You can obnoxiously ham it up or roll your eyes with a mischievous air of irony.

  • Songs to Sample: "She's No Lady" by Lyle Lovett; "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off" by Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong; "I Think I Love You," by The Partridge Family; and "Love is Strange" by Mickey & Sylvia

Couple #3: The Hipsters

You live in a renovated loft. There's more gadgets than homegoods on your bridal registry. Ever on the pulse of "what's hot," an old-fashioned standard just isn't suited to your too-cool-for-school sensibility. After all, you can't stand cliches. Still, you're game for first-dance formalities -- as long as the artist is of the Tom Waits or Aimee Mann ilk. Just remember, a song with no beat can cause a first dance meltdown, so don't sacrifice a good beat for the sake of hipness.

  • Songs to Sample: "Ice Cream" by Sarah McLachlan; "Truly, Madly, Deeply" by Savage Garden; "Fever" by Peggy Lee; "Wild Horses" by The Sundays; and "Head Over Feet" by Alanis Morissette

Couple #4: The Hopeless Romantics

A passionate, sentimental pair, one of you always seems to be uttering the words, "They're playing our song." And suddenly you're both in tears, shamelessly waltzing and/or smooching in train stations, ballparks, and grocery aisles. Lyrics, just as much as melody, are important to you: poetic, intense, and emotional.

  • Songs to Sample: "You're All I Need to Get By" by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell; "I Believe (When I Fall in Love It Will Be Forever)" by Stevie Wonder; "In Your Eyes" Peter Gabriel; "Somebody" by Depeche Mode; "Unchained Melody" by The Righteous Brothers

Couple #5: The Rebels

Some people call your sense of style unorthodox -- others call it unseemly. You generally raise eyebrows wherever you go, but beneath all the attitude, tattoos, and leather, there's a little part of you that can kind of get with the first-dance hype. As with other aspects of your anarchistic lifestyle, your spin on the dance floor will be less about making a scene than it is about making a statement.

  • Songs to Sample: "Like a Virgin" by Madonna; "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away" by The Beatles; "Start the Commotion" by The Wiseguys; "The Joker" by Steve Miller Band; and "Sweet Emotion" by Aerosmith

Couple #6: The Shrinking Violets

We don't want to call you scaredy-cats, but as a rule, you eschew the spotlight for fear of looking foolish. The solution: Alleviate the pressure and sway to a song that's familiar, easy to dance to, and innuendo-free. "Cute" is also pretty easy to pull off. Don't worry, if you can walk, you can dance. Let that be a comfort to you. Professional dance lessons will be essential to a successful spin on the dance floor, so go for it! Start about six months before the wedding. With enough practice and preparation, you'll be comfortably -- and confidently -- cutting a rug in no time.

  • Songs to Sample: "What a Wonderful World" by Louis Armstrong; "Chances Are" by Johnny Mathis; "The Way You Look Tonight" by Frank Sinatra; "Dream a Little Dream of Me" by The Mamas and the Papas; and "Cupid" by Sam Cooke

Couple #7: The Smooth Operators

You can't keep your hands off each other in public. You've got movie-star good looks. And you're never afraid to strut your stuff. Turn up the heat with a tune that's sexy, sensual, and made for moving and grooving.

  • Songs to Sample: "Cruisin'" by Smokey Robinson; "Can't Take My Eyes Off of You" by Lauryn Hill; "By Your Side" by Sade; "Beautiful" by Mary J. Blige; and "Ribbon in the Sky" by Stevie Wonder

Originally posted at www.theknot.com/content/how-to-find-your-wedding-songs