VINTAGE MEETS WEDDING
Here is my post for Marriage.com today. Savoir Flair will now be featured on marriage.com once a month as a guest contributer. Look for our posts.
Today we have a guest blogger, Ryan Larson from Savoir Flair Weddings in Los Angeles, California. She has been featured in numerous publications for her great eye and wedding planning skills. She plans everything from destination weddings to weddings here in Los Angeles. Her creativity stems from a number of inspirations, one of them being the vintage look and feel so we asked her for some tips on creating vintage elements for your wedding.
Vintage is always in style. I love vintage elements in weddings. I always say “nostalgia warms a room up like nothing else.” You can incorporate a lot of vintage pieces and sensibilities or a little. Here are some favorite and some new ideas.
Courtesy of: Shannon Lee Images
1. Bicycles conjure images of the past – It would be darling to have a photo of all the groomsmen on bicycles for an outside summer wedding.
2. Champagne hayride – Take your guests on a hayride during cocktail hour but bring the cocktails with. Juxtaposing rustic with elegance always feels special.
3. Chandeliers - Hang big grouping of chandeliers over a long feast table seating the wedding party and bride and groom. I love a grouping of different chandeliers rather than having them spaced throughout and having them match. Chandeliers are a perfect place to mix and max without things looking to shabby chic.
4. Centerpieces - Peacock feathers , milkglass and antiqued silver centerpieces make a perfect art deco centerpiece. These make your own centerpieces can be built onsite with no fresh flowers. Use a mix match of milkglass and silver pieces that are in need of a good cleaning. Resist the urge to clean them! Fill the vases and such with peacock feathers and maybe a vintage brooch or two. Voia! Art deco tabletop!
5. Lace – Make crocheted lace program covers. Or provide crocheted lace gloves for the ladies.
6. Dance cards – As they did in 19th Century Vienna at the lavish balls, have dance cards printed for each of the ladies with the order of dances laid out to gentleman may ask the ladies for a dance.
7. Hats – Invite ladies to wear hats to your outside ceremony.
8. Mix it up – Mis match china with antique pieces. Scour antique shops and yard sales for plates with a vintage flair.
9. Generational Inspiration – Ask your mother (or grandmother) for an invitation from her wedding. Have them recreated by a trusted graphic designer with your own information. Or recreate your moms wedding cake or bouquet.
10. Rollerskate – Rent roller skates from a nearby skate shop and create your own outdoor roller rink on the dance-floor during cocktail hour.
Engagement season.
Never heard of it? Well, if you are a bride wanting to get married next year you need to know about Engagement Season. It’s a real thing.
Every year MOST couples get engaged between Thanksgiving and Valentines Day. This means that come January (after the holidays of showing off the ring to friends and family) couples are ready to get down to the nitty gritty with planning their weddings. Which means that they are all vying for the same vendors and sites at the same time. Don’t fret. But,be wise. IF you were lucky enough to get engaged before Engagement season…do not procrastinate. Get in what I call “decision making mode.” You will want to secure the following before engagement season if at all possible: Coordinator, Site, Photographer, Band/DJ, Florist. These are the vendors that book up first and in that particular order. If you have all of those set before engagement season you can rest easy and enjoy your holiday season. If you don’t get that done before, you will want to try to secure them DURING the holiday season. This can be a bit more difficult as vendors like florists are busy with seasonal events and don’t have as much time to meet and put together proposals. But keep on them and get those appointments on the books, even if its not till after the season, because as soon as January 2 rolls around their phones will be ringing off the hook for appointments and you’ll already have yours set.
I don’t mean to stress all of you out with this news that there is a time crunch on your planning. But I do think its good to be informed so you can plan wisely.
Hand made wedding goods.
I absolutely adore hand made things. I appreciate them more on so many levels than anything mass produced. That’s why I just die over Etsy. Believe it or not there are still those who havn’t heard of Etsy…if you have not…please… etsy.com
Oh and be sure you’ve got some time to kill. It’s hard to get off it once you’ve started clicking. And please let me know what delicious finds you come across.
We love these hand made fabric roses.
DIY wedding invitations?
Oh my. Papersource is really bringin it for me this week. They are now selling a letterpress machine that is less than $150 which is crazy cool..but also a die cut machine…I could have my own little invitation sweatshop here. I have to say though…still nothing beats good letterpress design and that amazing attention to detail you get from a true letterpress artist like Jill at Jill Cate Design, she really is amazing and worth every cent.
Savoir Flair Weddings loves this DIY letterpress machine from Papersource.
Savoir Flair Weddings ALSO loves this silhouette machine from papersource.
My number one tip for Brides in the final countdown.
So you have two months to go. You have all your vendors. But there are a ton of fine details left. START CROSSING THEM OFF YOUR LIST. Whether you have a coordinator or not, there are certain things that your coordinator can’t do well for you such as your Table Assignments. And you DON’T want to do all of that the week before the wedding. But so many brides do because they are waiting on for the RSVP’s to come in…but the best best thing you can do is to start your seating assignments now! You totally can do that.
Escort Card table with cards throughout manzanite branches.
Make 3 LISTS:
1) you always know a huge group of the THEY WOULD NEVER MISS IT people as i call them.
2) and then you have your THEY WILL NEVER MAKE IT people.
3) and then there is the grey area…the THESE PEOPLE WONT MAKE A DECISION TO SAVE THEIR LIFE people…( :
….but you can usually bet that most of the people on the would never miss it list are going to be sitting near each other anyway…and you’ll have a work table, a friend table, a family table (obviously more than one on these) but the point is you can start putting a couple of people heading up those tables and then literally just fill them in as the rsvps come in…most brides dont do this and its my biggest biggest tip! ( :
Well here we go. So much to say about weddings. Get ready!
Hi everyone. Silent no more. I’ve got a blog too! ( : I am a wedding designer and coordintor named Ryan Larson of Savoir Flair Weddings based in Los Angeles. I’ve been doing weddings for almost 9 years. Wow. Can’t believe that. I have learned so much along this journey and I’m excited and anxious to share that wisdom with all of you. Please check back as I build a blog that will explore much more than just what’s hot (there will be just a little of that…we all know where to find that content already) but will explore things like…WHY a wedding?… HOW on a budget… WHAT most brides forget… and much more…We’ll also be interviewing other vendors that I trust and want to impart their wisdom as well. If there is a topic you need help on in particular please email me a blog/topic idea. This is going to be fun! Ryan
Photo by Susan Bordelon