Choosing Your Wedding ‘Style’
Posted January 5, 2011
When a bride and groom first start planning their wedding, lots of thoughts go through their mind. What kind of band are we going to have? The flowers? The dress!!! But, one thing I try to get couples to think about before they start paying anyone any money is what the style of the wedding is going to be. Answering this one question will keep everything else in line and will help you narrow down your choices on each section of the wedding. So, where do you start? Style can mean a lot of different things: color choice, time of year, formality, etc. With that many ways to look at things, how do you decide on one?
Let Your Personality Ring…
I tend to think that a wedding’s style should always come from the couple’s personality. Letting their personality flow through the wedding’s style choices is always best. I have seen it many different ways: the mother of the bride decides everything and ends up with a wedding of her style; the bride decides everything according to her taste and ends up with the groom feeling like an after thought; or, the parents of the bride (who is paying for everything) and the bride and her groom don’t agree and get a wedding that looks pieced together.
So, my first piece of advice is to think of your wedding in terms of we and us. I’m not saying that each of you has to be intimately involved with every single detail. I know only a few grooms who want to know the ins and outs of flower decor. Just keep in mind that the wedding is a celebration of you two as a couple.
We have established that it is personality that brings the wedding style. So, now what? Well, what kind of couple are you? Outdoorsy? Metro? Beach? Casual? Formal? Use things like that to pull together an overall tone to the wedding.
Setting the Stage…
Now, start to think about how you and your fiance would want to entertain. Don’t think on wedding terms. Think in overall general ways, how do you like to have your guests over? Are you more intimate – small groups? Are you lavish – upscale dining or a swanky cocktail spot? Do you enjoy being outside – maybe a garden party?
Once you have started to think in these terms, you are well on your way to knowing your wedding style. Start with your overall picture of the day. Then, you get more and more specific. It’s the best way to know how to put things together.
~ Julie Bunkley, It’s Your Staff
