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High-end Wedding
Looks for Less
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Think a designer
high-end wedding isn’t in your budget?
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Think again.
With
some careful planning and product selection, you can get
a high-end look for less.
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Wedding costs add up
quickly so you may only be able to splurge on a few
items. Do you go for the Vera Wang or Monique Lhuillier
gown, gourmet five-tier wedding cake with clusters of
sugar flowers, ten-piece orchestra, or over-the-top
reception décor? Only you can decide which items to
splurge on, but remember, just because you’re not paying
designer prices for everything, doesn’t mean you can’t
get designer style.
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Photo by
Bobbie Bush Photography
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David Tutera, party planner to the stars, creates
one-of-a-kind affairs for his clients but budget conscious
brides without a wedding planner can also create an
indulgent designer look for their wedding affordably by
focusing on creating one distinct high-end look; replicate a
lavish tabletop you discovered in your favorite bridal
magazine or create grandeur and drama copying a celebrity
destination wedding like Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes’
Italian castle wedding or a star-studded breezy beach theme
reception.
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Here are a few tips for creating tabletops and theme
weddings that look expensive but don’t break the bank.
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Simply Stunning Tabletops
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Tabletops for weddings this year are going glamorous.
And nothing says glamour more than a tabletop covered in
colorful dupioni silk, set with Lenox china, Waterford
crystal stemware with Veuve Clicquot champagne, Tiffany
picture frame favors, beaded or embroidered fabrics for
chair covers or napkins and pricey floral arrangements
with orchids, calla lilies, and gardenias.
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But
you don’t have to spend big bucks to get big bang for your
buck. A neutral table with colorful accent pieces in silver
and white conveys a richly elegant and expensive looking
table that will impress all your guests. You can create a
glamorous tabletop for a fraction of the cost of the
high-end wedding tabletop by selecting
sparkling, glittery
fabrics like fancy linens in shimmery hues, dress up the
backs of chairs with monogrammed satin chair covers or
metallic pull bows, use silver accents on the tables from a
large frame to house the evening’s menu
to small frames with a photo of the bride and groom
as a take home favor. If crystal toasting glasses at each table
are not possible, try trumpet toasting flutes accented with
platinum finished rims for the bridal party only. Instead of
an expensive centerpiece, try using carnations, roses, and
greenery in centerpieces or use flowers that are in season
or try a cluster of elegant tea candles surrounded by a
sprinkling of rose petals as an alternative to a traditional
centerpiece.
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Fancy a Theme Wedding?
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If you’re dreaming of an Italian or beach wedding but
aren’t reaching for your passport, you can create the
style and feeling of a destination or theme wedding
without traveling far from your own neighborhood by
selecting accessories, food, flowers and colors
reminiscent of the locale you love.
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Instead of a reception in a medieval Italian town and
castle, you can
hold your reception in a mansion or historical home.
Select a menu with Italian favorites like antipasto, pasta
or pizza station, desserts like cannolis or tiramisu and a
selection of wines. Italy is known for its beautiful
landscape so play up that feature with
Italian floral vine
accents on the wedding accessories. Fill the room with the
scents and sights of Italy using fresh flowers like
sunflowers and climbing plants like bougainvillea with
votive candles for a romantic glow. And if Italian singer
Andrea Bocelli can’t perform live at your wedding reception,
don’t worry, a few of his songs played by a DJ helps conjure
up images of the love and romance associated with Italy. All
these details help to create the mood of an expensive
Italian wedding without a big price tag.
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Beach theme weddings also can be accomplished affordably
with or without actually heading to the shore. Whether
you’re traveling to the Caribbean or Fiji Islands for a
seaside wedding or holding the wedding at a
local marina or
lakefront restaurant, you can create a professional look by
having tents on the beach or a ballroom with a tented
ceiling of neutral muslin, fabric draped on the walls and
aqua accessories for a cool ocean inspired feel. Instead of
expensive tropical centerpieces with anthuriums, orchids and
gingers, seashell flower baskets filled with sand and shells
or large banana leaves and a single exotic flower like a
bird of paradise are a cost effective and similarly dramatic
alternative. A simple shell and ribbon trimmed pillar candle
is another fun centerpiece for a beach or tropical wedding.
Using
shell and sand accented accessories for an organic,
high-end look are just a few of the designer inspired
details you can do yourself that turn an ordinary wedding
into an extraordinary one.
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Don’t let a limited budget limit you from designing the
high-end wedding of your dreams. Focus on recreating one
particular high-end element of a wedding for a show-stopping
statement of your savvy style. |
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