With colors firmly established I think it’s important to turn your attention to the other elements of the overall event design that add depth but DON’T necessarily involve color.  Layering with textures that are consistent with the overall look you’re going after is such an important way to build those interesting visual layers.  It keeps things from looking too matchy and too stark AND doesn’t compete with your chosen colors – that is the ideal mix.  Think adding galvanized metal or grass cloth to a beach wedding.  Neutral, doesn’t compete with colors but appears in places like floral containers, favor boxes, serving vessels, etc.

For Christine’s modern art museum wedding, I love the idea of working in a really organic texture like sandblasted manzanita branches and juxtaposing that against clean, clear lucite elements.  Together with her colors and the backdrop of the art museum, I think it keeps the overall look fresh and really modern.

{images via HGTV.com, WeddingBee, Intrigue-Designs, Florist-Sarasota, JL Designs, Nettle Hollow, TheKnot.com}

There are endless uses for these relatively inexpensive branches.

–They could serve to add height to some tables centerpieces, nestled in a glass vessel with yellow mum balls, votives at the base and a few smaller floral elements scattered throughout the table.

–Smaller pieces can live in tall glass cylinders with a few blooms and be scattered throughout the museum (perhaps on the stairs between levels).

–2 manzanita “trees” would make dramatic statements at the entrance to the reception venue, church or anywhere else where guests will benefit from a bit of “wow” factor (love them flanking a dessert display like above!)

For another texture, I would consider ultra-modern lucite.  This is definitely a hot material in event design right now, but I think a little can go a long way.

–I love the idea of elevating the wedding cake on a lucite box (maybe filled with Billy Balls on Reindeer Moss?)

–Personalize the serving experience by having the catering staff pass cocktails and hors d’oeuvres on lucite trays lined with a paper to coordinate with your stationery suite and other signage.  {BONUS:  You can use them in your at-home entertaining post-wedding}.

–To introduce the element before the reception, I would consider adorning the doors of the chapel in Billy Ball wreaths with lucite letters in the bride & groom’s initials suspended inside.  After the ceremony, have a trusted friend snag these and use some pretty ribbon to hang them on the back of the couple’s chair at the reception.

–Really want to go over the top with the lucite thing?  What about lucite etched invitations? These are sure to wow guests (but probably not the most budget friendly option if you’re having a big wedding!)

{images via Nuance Occasions, BellaWeddings, Imoi, Wonderful Graffiti, LuxuriousWeddings, MOMA, WeddingWire.com}

This last image I included just because it’s too awesome not to.  Not exactly lucite but I love the clean, modern look of this effect.  All it takes is a bulk order of test tubes, some white ranunculus and fishing line!

My friend Christine just got engaged and is in the early stages of planning her wedding.  She’s still nailing down a venue, date, etc but as she’s a designer by trade, her mind is already squarely on the fun, pretty stuff!!  And that is fine by me because I love all that stuff and am always ready with an opinion and 900 inspiring images (only a slight exaggeration when I open my iPhoto!)

So here’s what we know so far:

The season – next fall
The likely venue – an art museum
The overall aesthetic – modern with pops of color and a nod to the seasonality (note I said “nod”…pumpkins need not apply)

As a designer, color is important to her and she’s leaning toward a bright, cheerful yellow paired with a cool gray.  Definitely a popular color combo these days.  BUT the addition of a pomegranate hue keeps it fresh and slightly more fall-ish and organic.  I also love the idea of these pops of color in a more modern, stark space like the art museum.

With a color palette in mind, I always turn to nature for inspiration first (made even easier in this case because of the pomegranate!)  I think one of the most difficult things as a new bride-to-be is figuring out what flowers work with your color palette and what the heck they’re called so you can communicate it to your florist of choice.  Luckily I am obsessed with flowers and know way more even obscure varieties than a normal person should.

First up – yellow. Abundant in nature and available in tons of different flowers, this is definitely the easiest color to source for florals.  But I was looking for something that would work for both color and overall modern feel.  Bonus points if I could find them combined with that maroon-y, pomegranate color.  Enter Billy Balls.  They look great solo (for a really streamlined look) but in conjunction with other more ruffly flowers, they add the perfect graphical element and keep the whole thing from looking too deconstructed.  And of course, they come in the perfect shade of yellow.

{images via Green Wedding Chica, A Many Splendored Thing, Holly Chapple Flowers, JL Designs}

Next – the pomegranate hue.  This could be tough to match and quickly get into the maroon mum realm when really what we’re looking for is a more vibrant color.  I think several varieties of garden roses, cymbidium and vanda orchids could work, but for some interesting texture in just the right shade, try kangaroo paw. It adds the perfect amount of looseness to a bouquet, juxtaposes the tight Billy Balls nicely and again, is just the right shade.  AND it also comes in a lovely yellow.  Brilliant!

{images via edhat, Geelong Advertiser, The Knot, Apartment Therapy, Photo.net}

Finally silvery gray.  Finding this shade in the floral world might seem downright impossible.  But it’s actually not and there are options that range from modern to romantic to organic.  If a minimal look is your thing, silver brunia is perfect.  Similar to Billy Balls in it’s orb-like composition, I love it by itself or side by side with a more traditional, textured flower.  A ring of dusty miller around the circumference of a bouquet can also add the perfect amount of gray as well as a girly frillyness that I love.  And scabiosa pods can look a little greenish but I think it’s all about how you combine them with other flowers.  I love their interesting texture and shape.  The more I look at them, the more I love them.

And let’s not forget pomegranates themselves.  No, I’m not suggesting we pop them into bouquets!  This is just an accent color so perhaps they make an appearance at the reception in gorgeous little pyramid piles or glass bowls interspersed with white and yellow florals.  I also love that they symbolize hope and eternal life.  What could be more appropriate for a young couple beginning their journey together?!

This is just the beginning!  I can’t wait to brainstorm more on Christine’s wedding and share all the prettiness here.  Frankly, it’s a nice distraction from the fact that I’m 35 weeks pregnant and about to tip over.

Yes, I know…I have been a very bad blogger lately.  I’ve pretty much completely neglected White Thread while I’ve been busy nesting like it’s my job over at Honey + Fitz.  I PROMISE I will try to do a better job of integrating these 2 halves of my life.  But in the interim, I’ve had a few pretty pink images building up in my inspiration file that I felt the need to share with the world.

I am unashamed in my love of pinkness.  It just makes me happy in it’s many forms.  Pink peonies and ranunculous…yes please!  Pink macaroons…what could be better?  Pink ruffles…love them!

Enjoy!  And in the meantime, I will try to stop stressing about the perfect posts for White Thread and thus procrastinating to no end.

Here’s to a fun weekend of outdoor activities, mint julep drinking and all around Southern-ness  See you Monday!

{Photo credit:  Shelter}

I love seeing our very own, fabulous Carolina wedding vendors get recognized on a national scale.  Today, the fabulous team of  Cunningham Photo Artists, Ivy Robinson weddings & events,  The Wow Factor Cakes, Hayden Olivia Bridal and Swanky Bride just to name a few, were featured in a Style Me Pretty Inspiration to Reality feature.

Head over to SMP for all the details but here are just some of the swanky pink and black features.

And because I can never get enough of Modern Trousseau’s amazing designs, here is a feature shot of the dress used in this shoot.  So glam, I love it!!