Trends and Variations in Weddings 2011

2011 will be bringing with it whimsical fantasy with weddings having eco friendly, vintage and romantic themes.  Wedding dresses are adorned with frills, ruffles, Swarovski beading, lace and tulle.

One of my favourite South African designers Elbeth Gillis showcases some of her 2011 dresses.  Elbeth Gillis has the magical ability to make you look and feel like a princess, with beautiful fabrics and design.

Colours for 2011 from Pantone are Oyster grey, Lagoon, Golden Glow, Living Coral, Endive, Chocolate Truffle, Woodbine and Honeysuckle Pink.  www.pantone.com.  Below image from www.weddingsonthefrenchriviera.com

1. Think bright jewel shades for bridesmaids’ dresses and white for bride. 
2. Black and white with fuchsia or pale yellow.
3. Another trend is to use more than one complementary colour.  Mocha and turquoise are one of my favourite combinations for the season as is dark green and light green. 
4. Honeysuckle pink from Pantone and bright orange will also be popular.

Themes are Romantic, Eco Friendly and vintage bringing a touch of whimsy and never skimping on class.  Include fun and fresh DIY ideas that are personalise your wedding.  Personalised weddings are becoming more popular with the bride and grooms interests playing a role in the festivities as well as DIY décor and favours becoming a trend.  Look at my favours pages and get some ideas.

Some other themes for 2011

1. Bohemian style with floating free accents and colours. 
2. Retro with fresh bright colours and shapes
3. Garden and natural weddings at home, parks, or in your backyard.
4.  Art deco themes with geometric patterns and peacock feathers
5. Romantic with fairytale whimsy

Trends in Décor are mirrors, peacock feathers, rhinestones, lace and pearls and at least one eco friendly décor element.

Eco recycled papers and soy inks

Romantic stationery will be full of embellishments like rhinestones, pearls, lace, feathers and ribbons.

For Futuristic décor  mix mediums like metallics and bright colours.

Retro Stationery will combine a modern layout and a retro layout.

Bohemian Stationery

Vintage Stationery

Use embellishments which are unique to your ethnic background or heritage.

Crystal print has kindly designed these example invitations to show you in respect to stationery trends 2011 and colours.  Their work, as always is impeccable and of the highest quality.  Visit their website at www.crystalprintsa.co.za.

Another stationer that I love is Macaroon.  You originally saw their goddess gift tags but they are incredibly innovative and creative.  Please go to their site, www.macaroon.co.za and have a look at the gorgeous invitations and stationery.  They also do customised e-invites. 

Your dress should always be flattering first and represent who you are before you explore trends.  For example if you wish to bring in the 2011 ruffle trend and you are pear shaped, place the ruffles on and around your shoulders, not your hips.

Wedding dress trends 2011 will bring subtle ruffles, tea length wedding dresses, lace, and tulle.  Dresses have a vintage flair this year and whether you are having your own dress made or you are reusing a dress add decorative elements to the dress with beading, Swarovski crystals and frills.

As I said before my favourite wedding dress designer is Elbeth Gillis.  She goes to great lengths to optimise all that is feminine, classic and romantic.

Driven by an unrivalled degree of quality and subtle sensuality, each dress is a journey; from fabrics sourced internationally to original designs to the personal touches, every dress is as unique as the bride who wears it.

Please be sure to visit www.elbethgillis.co.za or call 021 423 2220 to make an appointment.

Here are a few ideas for the perfect reception of 2011.  Since garden weddings are a big trend, keep your guests feeling comfortable and implement a dinner party atmosphere.  Use small centrepieces with a lot of colour, or the same two colours in different shades, dark green on light green.  By implementing a casual dinner party atmosphere keep your reception intimate. (please see my post on how to have a garden Christmas.  This post is not specific to Christmas but to garden weddings, too).  Choosing a caterer is an incredibly important aspect to your wedding.  I love Fresh Earth, www.freshearth.co.za and 5% Green  www.5percentgreen.co.za. 

Incorporate some fun ideas into your reception, like photo booths with props (have a look at my new profile picture, don’t you love the glasses LOL) , jukeboxes, frames to take pictures in and coffee bars serving espresso, cappuccinos and a cigar lounge for a cool after party.  You can also try serving brightly coloured cocktails in jewel colours and sweet tables from sweet pastries to candy sweets and chocolates. 

I hope that you enjoyed this post and that you found the information useful.

Lots of Love

Faye