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 

THE GREEN SPA GUIDE BY CHARNE LE ROUX OF VRYGENHOEK ORGANIC SPA.

The Green Spa Guide written by Charne Le Roux is an informative guide printed on eco friendly paper and with eco inks.  Charne Le Roux will show you how to create and successfully own a green spa.  Photographs of locally run green spas with detailed information, make this a must read.   

Get satin smooth skin for your big day

Cape Town, November 2010:  Every bride-to-be wants to glow on her special day, so let Bio-Oil help you. With ingredients like Vitamins A and E, Lavender, Rosemary, Chamomile and Calendula; your skin is in for a treat. Bio-Oil will provide intense nourishment to your skin, helping you get that glow. 

Start by exfoliating your entire body with a loofah or exfoliating cream during your bath or shower.  After drying off, massage Bio-Oil into your skin from décolletage to toes. Allow the Bio-Oil to absorb before getting dressed, and remember a little goes a long way!

Are you considering using spray-tan before the big day? Self tan can dry skin out so use Bio-Oil twice a day all over your body to provide intense moisture and help the tan last longer.

When you’re on honeymoon remember that    Bio-Oil can also help with:

1.       Soothing sunburn:  The chamomile and calendula are renowned for their ability to soothe stinging redness. Adding a few drops of Bio-Oil to a cool bath and applying it directly onto your skin afterwards will help soothe and calm red, sensitive skin.

2.       Keep massaging Bio-Oil into your skin if it is burnt as it may help shorten or even stop the peeling process.

Bio-Oil contains no preservatives, is dermatologically tested, hypo-allergenic, non-acnegenic and suitable for all ages and skin types.

Bio-Oil is available at pharmacies and select retail outlets nationwide in 60ml (R42.99), 125ml (R65.99) and 200ml (R95.99). For more information visit www.bio-oil.com 

About Evolabs

Distributed by: Tiana Lambert Account manager Atmosphere Communications 021 461 2117 or 084 200 3991 tiana@atmosphere.co.za

On behalf of: Anita Nesbit Bio-Oil Marketing Manager Evolabs

Evolabs is the official distributor of the Bio-Oil brand in sub-Saharan Africa. For further information visit www.evolabs.com

How to have a garden Christmas

Celebrate Christmas in your garden, enjoying all the joy a South African summer has to offer.

Choose a spot in your garden where you can either comfortably place an umbrella or ideally where a tree has enough of its branches overlapping your table.  The tree or the umbrella needs to provide shade from the midday sun and a place to hang your lanterns and decorations for the evening.

Chamdor Faktry sales have an amazing assortment of ribbons and trained staff to help you find exactly what you are looking for.  We chose ribbons that stuck to the colour scheme of our Christmas lunch table, which were silver, white, green and earth.  We also used hemp from their collection for the tablecloth.  I loved the natural colour and texture of the fabric and it can be bought and used for just about anything, (wedding dresses included).  Chamdor Faktry Sales sell the hemp for around R129.95 p/m.  Please consult our directory pages for your closest shop.

Cut and tie your different coloured ribbons to your lanterns and chosen Christmas decorations and then hang at varying heights from the branches or umbrella.  We used apples as decorations for each plate and cored the centre.  Put a little lemon juice on the apple to stop them going brown and place a tea light candle in the centre.  The Garden Shop in Broadacres has beautiful flowers still in their trays and all we did was wrap a ribbon around the tray and use some of the other ribbons to scatter over the live flowers.  They have since been planted and I am sure that they will bring us great joy in memory of lunch for many years to come. 

For the centrepiece, we used a glass bowl that we already had, used pine cones from the garden, Christmas baubles, tinsel and apples.  Use a little oil to shine your apples for the best impact.  Hydrangeas from the garden were added for the final touches.  Silver goblets that have been around for decades were used for the table but wine glasses would work just as well.

ALWAYS try and compliment your surroundings with colours that appear naturally around your table.

Our ladies were lucky enough to receive gift bags with goodies in them from all of our Eco Christmas shopping suppliers.  We had a fantastic time and the ladies were introduced to what it means to live Eco, what with all the amazing products and services available to us, its never been easier.  Then it came time to go for Sangria at the Throbbing Strawberry in Douglasdale, Johannesburg.  The Throbbing Strawberry is a fabulous outdoor venue with great food and an awesome vibe, with yummy sangria and mojitos.  Fabulous fun was had by all.

Thank you so much to all of the GREEN COMPANIES that supplied products for the day.

1.                  Tierhoek Organics             www.tierhoekorganics.co.za

2.                  Pure Beginnings                www.purebeginnings.co.za

3.                  Recharge your feet             www.rechargeyourlife.co.za

4.                  African Organics               www.africanorganics.co.za

5.                  Meadowsweet                    www.meadowsweet.co.za

6.                  Grow a Tree                      www.growatree.co.za

7.                  I’m Green                         www.intelligentmarketing.co.za

8.                  Chamdor Faktry Sales       www.chamdor.co.za

9.                  The Garden Shop              www.thegardenshop.co.za

10.             Live out Loud

11.             Green Spa Guide               www.organicspa.co.za

12.             Inthusiasm make up          www.inthusiasm.co.za

13.             Organic Aqua                   www.organicaqua.co.za

14.             Ladybird Red                   www.laibach.co.za

15.             Ecoco                              www.ecoco.co.za

16.             Macaroon                        www.macaroon.co.za

17.             Crystal Print                    www.crystalprint.co.za

18.             Bloublommetjieskloof        www.bloublommetjieskloof.co.za

19.             Earthnlove                      www.earthnlove.co.za

20.             The Victorian Garden       www.thevictoriangarden.co.za

21.             Good for the Ground         www.goodfortheground.co.za

22.             Soy Lites                          www.soylites.co.za

23.             Bio Oil                            www.biooil.co.za

I hope that you have an INCREDIBLE Christmas and New Year and that for those who do not live in South Africa and have never experienced a South African Christmas, you will visit our glorious shores soon.

All my love,

Faye

ECO Christmas presents