The holiday weekend approaches and somehow I find myself alone in the office, reminiscing on wedding weekends past!  Since I won’t be blogging for the rest of the weekend, I thought I’d leave you guys with part one of two from one of our favorite weddings of the Season- Sara and Trevor’s Asian fusion wedding celebration as shot by Karen Wise.  I had posted Sara’s Inspiration to Actuality with some hints of what the wedding looked like a few weeks ago, but today, I’m breaking out (almost) the whole enchilada.

Sara’s family is originally from China, and so it was very important that we incorporate a full-fledged tea ceremony into their wedding day.  The more that we thought about it, the more we felt it would be beneficial to start the day off with the tea ceremony for only their immediate families and the wedding party, then take a short break for guests to rest and change before the more traditionally “Western” ceremony later that evening at Studio 450.  We had toyed with using hotel suites for this part of the day, but ultimately decided that their home would be best, and more homey.

Sara started the day in her red Chinese wedding gown which she had custom made. Trevor, as is the custom arrived with his groomsmen in tow ready to play some games and “earn” the right to see his bride.  This is one of the most fun and awesome parts of a Chinese tea ceremony (which has different traditions from a Korean or Japanese tea ceremony).  First they guys had to “pay” to gain entry to the house and then they had to play a series of games including being fed baby food and an eating contest before Sara actually emerged to greet her groom and the tea ceremony itself would begin.  The actual tea ceremony involves many, many, many cups of tea poured and served to the bride’s parents, the groom’s parents and of course, the bride and groom itself.  I love being a part of a tea ceremony, first because it’s a very intimate ceremony, and a wonderful chance for the families and close friends to gather together in a more casual (and fun) way and see the coming together of two families.  But, secondly, I think that the concept of sharing food and drink is a universal concept and way of saying “welcome” and “thank you”, even if you aren’t a part of that culture.

After the tea ceremony was over, Karen took the couple down to the seaport for a fun little photo shoot.  Weren’t they just adorable? Coming up this afternoon, Sara and Trevor ’s western ceremony and reception.

I am still riding high off of our wedding this past Sunday at Caramoor Center for Music and Art.  Howie and Lisa came to us only about 15 weeks ago to work with them on their wedding.  This was a first for Always a Bridesmaid- not because their engagement was short, but because we’ve never worked on a rabbi’s wedding before.  Lisa is a rabbi and runs the conversion program at Central Synagogue.  This was a wedding that was just FULL of details! Fun, fabulous, details.  I wanted to share some of them with you because I hope that they inspire you!! I think that details don’t have to just add beauty to a wedding, they stand as tiny opportunities to add some more meaning to your day.

So, here we go!  As a couple, they had been to more than their fare share of weddings, and probably had a drawer full of kippah to show for it with couple’s names and wedding dates stamped on the underside.  As a couple, they are terribly witty, and rather than repeat this tradition letter for letter, they saw an opportunity for a chuckle. At a wedding with at least 20 rabbis and cantors in attendance, everyone would know what to do with their kippah right?  Well, just in case someone forgot….

Between them, as a couple, Lisa and Howie had a total of 8 loving parents and stepparents, all of whom were under the Chuppah. Along with that were nearly a dozen siblings! So, for the program, rather than the ins and outs of the ceremony, we offered “A Lineup” . Because they were only one page, we decided to place a pattern on the back, which mirrored their invitation. These were custom created by Smock with the help from Judy Paulen Designs at Bloomingdale’s.

Mayra, Rebecca and I were just in LOVE with Lisa and Howie’s Ketubah, which was designed by the same woman who created Chelsea Clinton’s ketubah (that was sheer coincidence, btw). I love this particular design for its beauty, but when I actually saw it up close I understood why it was ALSO the perfect ketubah for Chelsea’s interfaith wedding as it was written in Hebrew (as is traditional) but with English just beside it.

The couple was beyond excited for their Horah. We slated in a full 30 minutes for it. Being a summer, outdoor wedding, they kept saying “We want people to be drenched from sweat after this horah”…. So, in that spirit, we created sweatbands for people. Right before the music began, waiters from Great Performances came out onto the dancefloor with trays of wristbands that said “1. Place on wrists 2. Enjoy Horah” Clearly, it worked, because not only were people screaming like Justin Beiber had entered the tent, we had a crowd fully clad in white wristbands and out of breath when it was all over.

Of course, some details are simply there to be pretty, and, we love those too, so I’ll share a couple with you! We worked with Matthew Robbins on this wedding, who brought in 30 fabulous farm inspired tables. I’ll wait to share the full look and tablescape, but we utilized tiny silver coffee service trays as chargers, and replicated the design from the invitations on the menu cards, which were warmed up with just a sprig of pine.

And, the icing on the cake was… well, the cake itself! The incomparable Ron Ben Israel created this absolutely astounding cake. It was just amazing. Not only did it pull design elements from the invitations, but it tied in the silver details of the room along with the blue tones (the lettering was navy and silver) of the room decor. Truly delightful!

I was looking at calligraphy styles on Laura Hooper’s website a few weeks ago when I spotted these amazing escort cards that Laura does on Spanish Tiles.    These tiles, naturally reminded me of Talavera pottery, which while a staple in  Mexico, is really evocative of  a warm, sunny vibe with a bit of Spanish flair.   I was so inspired by these that I actually got my act together enough for an inspiration board.

A few years ago, Always a Bridesmaid was invited to design a photoshoot with Latina magazine at a “Hacienda” in, of all places, Staten Island (who knew?).  Cheryl Kleinman designed this Talavera inspired cake and we created favors of Tin Ornaments for the “guests” affixed to a wall.  I just loved this lace Lela Rose dress, it reminded me of the hand embroidered linens  that we used on the table centerpiece (we placed each centerpiece  on top of a punched-tin bordered mirror) and the colorful Servilletas (oversized napkins) you see in the lower right hand corner.  No destination wedding would be complete without fabulous cocktails and snacks!  The paloma is Tequila and Grapefruit soda and it is DELICIOUS!!!   Less obvious than a Margarita, but just as tasty.  I also loved these cones of chips in the blue patterned paper. What a simple way to dress up your snacks. (image courtesy Inspiring Brides).  Finally, how great are these Talavera inspired letterpress invites from Letter Press light’s Etsy store.

A few years ago, (amazingly, two children ago!!) we flew to Mayra’s home town of California to work on and attend her brother’s wedding.  While we specialize in fusion celebrations, Mayra’s brother’s wedding was a traditional Mexican Wedding, punto. So, when I saw this lovely wedding on the Envelopments blog, I got a little misty eyed remembering Juan’s trip down the aisle, preparing for the nearly 500 guests that attended the reception and me, taking a late night  “nap”  after a few too many palomas and a hot day in the sun!

Maria, who works at Envelopments, and Carlos had a traditional Mexican ceremony, that included the laso, arras and of course, the sounds of Mariachi.

A lot of the time, our clients seeking to infuse a Latino element to their wedding (or who just like the sound) will have us secure a Mariachi for their cocktail hour.  In traditional Mexican culture though, Mariachi are a major aspect of the ceremony.  In fact, ideally, the Mariachi come to where the bride is getting ready to serenade her before heading on to the ceremony.  Can you imagine how awesome those photo ops would be? Mariachi really make for fabulous ceremony music, and it is a great way to incorporate a cultural element into your day.

Another one of my favorite traditions from a Mexican wedding is a dance called La Vibora de la Mar. As far as cultural dances go, it is not as famous as the Horah or the Tarantella, but it is certainly as much fun!  The bride and groom stand on chairs and the groom holds the brides’ train or veil.  The guests, holding hands “snake” (vibora) through… it gets fast and furious and a little bit wild!

Obviously, since Maria works with Envelopments her invitations were just fantastic.  Here is a sneak peak, but you should DEFINITELY check out their website to see how they created this look as well as some of her other stationery pieces and more pics from her wedding.

The Q: My family predominantly speaks Spanish, but my fiance’s family doesn’t.  I don’t want to send out invitations that half the guests can’t understand, but I’m not sure how to best incorporate two languages into the invitation. Any ideas?

The A: It’s so fantastic how the world of stationery has responded to the increasing number of couples joining together who come from different backgrounds. When we started this business if you wanted bilingual it would literally have to look like the invites from My Big Fat Greek Wedding… Today, however, there are so many thoughtful solutions to the bilingual challenge.
Actually, earlier this year we worked with a fabulous couple where the bride was Chinese and the groom’s family pretty much Middle American WASP.  They really wanted an invitation that would incorporate both languages in a way that didn’t make one feel less a part of the invitation than the other.  Ultimately, we turned to Meredith at Regas New York for a custom design that reflected traditional Chinese wedding symbolism, but allowed us to incorporate the use of both languages into the design of the piece itself.   The result was a belly band engraved with chinese characters overlaid over a design created to reveal the English when the band was removed.  (Photos courtesy Karen Wise)

There is also the option of using the same page and playing with the layout. Bella Figura does a fabulous job with this as shown in the Vietnamese/ English invitation.

Same “solution”, but totally different (and utterly delicious result) in this custom designed piece by Rob Ryan (via wedding bee pro). This was fabulous because it really reflected in it’s inherent design something about the culture that it was speaking to. It reads very “Mexican” via the use of “cut out” technique, and yet the silhouettes are so contemporary American wedding style.

Another option is to offer up two-sided invitations. These Italian- English invites for a wedding in Italy were printed on both sides and designed by Lela New York.  I really love the idea of a two sided invitation. In case you can’t make it out in addition to one side being Italian and the reverse being in English, the left has the groom’s parents names announcing the marriage of their son and the right has the bride’s parents making the same announcement. This, by the way, also presents an awesome solution to the issue of how to incorporate BOTH SETS of parents names (a big issue when LOTS of couples who have MULTIPLE parents)

Some couples though, find it easier to simply print two sets of invitations. Often, in Indian weddings, it is more customary for the GROOM’s name to appear first. I remember a few years ago this came up with a couple we worked with and the groom’s family insisted on his name being first. The bride, who was Latin and knew her family was NOT going to go for that since it was the complete OPPOSITE of their custom was very stressed out. So, the solution was printing two sets of invites. Sometimes, be it language, or custom, doing something separate it actually can help people come together. Here is an awesome example of an invite suite done in English and Spanish by Beast Pieces.