SENSATIONAL STYLE

This year in the US destination and themed weddings are at an all time popular high. Top American Floral Designer - Sharon McGukin - reveals her hot tips for creating a stylish theme for your wedding. Three particular favorites for this summer season are Beach, Tropical, and Garden wedding ceremonies.

Often today’s brides are opting for smaller more intimate groups of family and friends. They are choosing to celebrate their wedding in less formal surroundings than the traditional church sanctuary filled with hundreds of acquaintances. By choosing to limit the guest list brides can more easily keep to their budget. Planning the wedding ceremony for a remote location that guests must travel to or selecting a small local setting can help to keep the budget under control yet still make for a very special memorable event.

For a young professional with a busy career, a destination wedding handled via the internet and by phone calls can also lessen the stress of attending to the endless details that a large traditional church wedding and reception can entail.

Once the location has been chosen it becomes easy to build a theme with the choice of dresses, flowers, food and music that will express the mood of the celebration.

Beach

White sandy beaches make the perfect backdrop for a wedding party when the bride and groom are seeking to incorporate natural elements into their ceremony. The silky white of the sands, translucent greens of the water and clear blue of endless sky create the perfect backdrop for an informal celebration. Add the beauty of a brilliant sunset and the soft hushes of quietly spoken ceremonial vows seem even more impressive. The soft pastel tones of delicate pinks, peachy corals, hushed lavenders, sky blues, and buttery yellows airbrushed by God in the sunset reflect popular dress colors chosen by summer brides this year.

Intricate seashell tones found in dresses of soft linens, delicate cottons, and breezy silks often in shorter lengths add to the ambiance of a free spirited celebration. Shell and bead décor, candles, tiki torches, and inventive makeshift altars add interest to the setting where guests, often barefooted, gather together.

Flowers of choice for beach bouquets include Roses, Calla Liles, Daisies, Gerbera Daisies, and Orchids along with interesting foliages particularly in soft blue greens. Brides often find that the new vertical bouquets known as cuffs are fun and easy to manage in this more celebratory setting.

A flutist or guitarist or perhaps even prerecorded music might complete the scene.

Garden

Brides who prefer secluded outdoor weddings may select a garden setting for their spring, summer, or autumn wedding this year. The opulent green surroundings of a lush environment encourages the use of copious garden flowers with many traditional wedding favorites chosen such as garden Roses, Peonies, Dahlias, Tuberoses, Stephanotis, and Lilies. Deep rich green garden foliages such as ivy, springari, plumosia, and camellia leaves work well with the elegant look.

Traditional shapes such as crescents, cascades, and handheld clusters are often selected for this type of ceremony. Full length dresses in soft sumptuous fabrics such as satin or silk in rich subtle colors such as olive, platinum, mauve, red, purple, or fuchsia are often chosen for this type of more formal ceremony. A touch of elegance can be incorporated with the addition of silver or gold accents or the use of wire and bead accessory.

A more formal choice of musician might complete this theme of luxe-chic such as a trumpeter, violinist or small 4 piece orchestra. For a more lively reception a larger pop or jazz band might entertain for the evening.

Tropical

The lure of an exotic tropical location offering both a beautiful setting for a wedding and the perfect place for a honeymoon leads many couples to choose an island locale for their cherished event. Friends and family can often be persuaded to join the festivities when the ceremony takes place in paradise. The dramatic beauty of sun-drenched surroundings lends itself to the use of such tropical flower choices as miniature Calla Lilies, colorful Anthurium, bright sunflowers, or vivid flower mixes like lilies and roses.

Bright color is a preferred quality for eye-catching tropical bouquets. Texture is the luxury of design and it is easy to add that element when emphasis is placed on the varied surface qualities of such tropical foliages. Deep rich green, bright yellow green, or greens with red accents are popular with choices such as Bamboo, Equisetum, Monastera or Aspidistra leaves and twigs incorporated into bouquets. Wedding clothing is usually lightweight, comfortable, and vividly colored and patterned to portray the desire to have fun and celebrate the moment.

Drama is heightened with the music as well by the addition of a Conch trumpeter or an energetic island band.

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