Wedding Tactics

A loyal reader recently wrote in about not getting to the chapel in time, so to speak. She and her fiance have postponed and now rescheduled their wedding because one of them needed to have surgery. All healed and ready to walk the aisle, they are confused about how to convert their first planned early-summer wedding to a December wedding without looking very last season.

It is important to remember not to be too saddened by the loss of your Spring wedding. You can create something you love just as much and with a little thought and assistance from ME, the unofficial wedding planner.

My two favorite options for winter weddings are the snow-scape inspired drenched in winter white flowers, candles and twinkling lights, something a’la Preston Bailey, OR, take advantage of the richness and bold colors that the season naturally provides and go with darker, richer colors like purples, burgandys and dark greens. There is no rule against a pastel pink wedding in December, so if these options just don’t work for you, do what you want and it will turn out beautiful.

I browsed through many galleries to find some darker flower bouquets that I can see being the highlight of a wintertime wedding.

If you like purples and blues, consider a bouquet of purple orchids. Orchids are more readily available, read: less expensive in certain parts of the country. Try to be a little flexible with your choices, unless price is no obstacle to you.

I think this is a really earthy-looking bouquet, but from a distance, the sunflowers have a fuzzy look that makes me think of dried flowers, which we see in the fall and winter. This bouquet also uses some some bright pink roses to offset the rich browns of the sunflowers.

If your dream bouquet for your Spring-Summer wedding looked like this one below, consider carrying a bouquet that uses only some of the flowers.

Original Choice.

Alternate Option No. 1

Alternate Option No. 2

Alternate Option No.3

If you really don’t like the shades of red and purple above, consider using a deep blue color. These hydrangeas work with all seasons and you can accent them with many colors and patterns too.

Some brides are very concerned about their color palate, but I wouldn’t advise turning yourself in knots. If you choose a few colors or items that are important to you, like, for example, your bouquet, you can build the rest of the wedding around that. You can pull in greenery to your ceremony in your bouquet, or on the chairs or arch or chuppah. Just because you use elaborate flowers in your bouquet doesn’t mean your centerpieces need to match.

It is okay to have a $200 bouquet for yourself and spend $40 on your centerpieces. Just remember, candle light is an excellent and very inexpensive addition to any table. The warm glow matches any season and especially, in this case, the flame gives off a sense of warmth, a nice touch for a December wedding.

winter, wedding, preston bailey, dark reds, blue, bouquet