Beautiful and elegant are words often used to describe an Indian wedding, but understated is not a word that comes to mind for the function.  The red and gold traditional color palette is often complimented by other hues such as orange, purple, yellow and more.  The above photo montage is based on the Pantone color swatches in Claret, Sunrise, and Merlot.  If you want to use this color scheme for your wedding, you should consider picking up the Pantone color or fabric swatches at Dessy.com.  That way you can carry them with you when you are on the hunt for matching bridal party attire, reception decor, and wedding accessories.  Finally, for detailed ideas on cakes and decorations for an Indian wedding, visit our Indian themed wedding ideas page.

Indian Summer photos courtesy of mmm384

Every country boy knows that you can’t leave home without a pair of Wrangler blue jeans so having the groom in a pair of these jeans with his cowboy boots and hat is a no brainer.  Many country brides choose to wear their boots and hat as well (although some also go for a casual hair-do for the ceremony and switch to the hat for the reception).  If you are having your wedding in an open meadow, then the groom arriving on a horse like Prince Charming is a fun addition to the ceremony.  Denim dresses and corduroy blazers are casual options for the bridesmaids and groomsmen.

Create a casual inviting atmosphere at your reception by utilizing hand-made quilts like the one shown in the upper left to cover the benches or haybales (you can do this at the ceremony as well).  White-washed picnic tables set in a long rows are a great way to set-up a casual reception area.  Utilizing glass canning jars for the table centerpieces can also be fun….just fill them with a small simple arrangement of local wildflowers.  Big jars of iced tea (sugar and no sugar) are always a big hit with Southerners.  Finally, although this isn’t shown in the board, I love the idea of using a “Wishing Tree” constructed from twigs with leaf-shaped wish cards rather than a traditional guest book at country style weddings. 

Photo Credit: Big Sky Wedding by Angelise07

Heather from All The Rave Events chose the items for this board perfectly in my humble opinion.  The polka-dot covered wedding dress, red satin shoes, and the teal blue bridesmaid dresses with the red sash are sure to make a bold statement at the ceremony.  And the red and white polka dot covered wedding invitations are a lovely way to introduce your theme and style to wedding guests.  I always love when brides use the invites to give the guests a little taste of things to come.  Of course, no reception for a red and teal blue wedding would be complete without a signature blue wedding cocktail that is topped off with a bright red maraschino cherry.  Both of the photos on the upper right side of the board showcase amazing ideas for setting your reception tables. Be sure not to forget some polka dot red and white or even teal blue favor boxes that are filled with your favorite candies like red and teal blue personalized M&M’s or Jordan almonds.  And last, but not least, give your bridal party some thank you gifts that also fit with the theme.  The red polka dot and teal blue tote bags are the perfect way to say thank you to your bridesmaids. 

I just LOVE everything about this board and this color scheme.  Yes – it is bold, but hey, if you want to break from tradition, I can’t think of anything better than a bright, fun, and cheery color scheme!  What do you think?

One of my favorite places to find inspiration is at dessy.com.  They enable brides to easily create their own inspiration boards and share them with the world.  I’m always impressed with the creativity of the brides who take a simple color palette and create a truly inspiring mood board.  The above Winter Modern Glam purple and gray board was created by Winter Heather who shows that purple isn’t just for spring and summer anymore.    You can see hints of purple in many things such as the lilacs in the floral bouquets, the martini glasses (which would be the perfect way to serve a signature cocktail), the purple duchess satin ties on the groomsmen, and of course the purple bridesmaid dresses.  A truly glamourous look!

I found another gorgeous purple and grey inspiration board created by yellow and gray at dessy.com.  You can see that the following collage shows a vision for a purple inspired garden wedding.  A few lime green accents have creeped into the design as well.  Eggplant colored bridesmaid dresses are paired with simple graphite gray tuxes with duchess satin gray ties.  A flowing floral pattern wedding gown features a grey sash.  And purple flowers abound.  Simply stunning!!

The above fuchsia and orange wedding inspiration board was submitted for a contest on Dessy.com. Colleyberry’s collage of images includes photos of the bridesmaids all dressed in simple orange and fuchsia dresses along with the groomsmen who wear khaki pants and white shirts. I can’t tell you how much I love the “jumping” photo. The freshwater pearl earrings in a posie pink color and the taffeta flipflops in sunrise orange or rose quartz are also a nice touch. For the reception, brides can bring the color scheme to the celebration by utilizing fuchsia and pink chair sashes and centerpiece flowers such as Gerbera daisies in a color scheme that matches perfectly. Finally, use those same flowers on the wedding cake along with Swarovski crystal accented monogram letters for the wedding cake topper. Stunning!

So if you are planning your beach wedding, I recommend considering this unique color scheme….you’ll definitely make a statement!

Here’s how you can create this beautiful garden party tablescape:

A lovely wooden teak table covered with a natural tablecloth provide the base for the tablescape.  Use simple pots filled with local grass varieties such as purple fountain and pampas grasses along with wildflowers such as daisies, snapdragons, cosmos, or guillardia to create stunning natural centerpieces.  By using a love bird theme, you can pull in elements such as mini love nest birdhouses and love bird salt and pepper shakers.  Simple white ceramic plates provide the place setting base, but elegant crystal stem toasting flutes provide a bit of sparkle against the otherwise natural base.  A top each place setting is a organic green woven box that was filled with candies and then tied with a palm reed.   Natural polished stone place card holders are cleverly slotted so that they hold a place card perfectly at each place setting.  Finally, oil stainless steel torches can provide some light once evening begins to settle in. 

What a beautiful way to celebrate your garden nuptials with a small group of family and friends!

And speaking of dresses for the bridesmaids, I personally like the main dress color to be brown with accents of pink.  The reason I like brown dresses is because brown comes in a wide variety of hues and tints so you can easily find a color that you like.  Brown also looks good on just about any skin tone while shades like pink can look horrible on some people (personally I have very fair skin and pink washes me out even more).  If you choose brown dresses, you can bring pink into the color scheme by using pink accents such as flowers, hair pieces, jewelry, or sashes/lace/piping on the dress itself.  You can see some of my favorite brown bridesmaid dresses in the montage below.  Be sure to click through on the links below the photo to see the resources for any dress that you like.

Pink Brown Wedding Dresses by WeddingBlogger

You can see some of my favorite pink flower choices in the photo below.  If you are on a budget like most brides, then you should consider the season when selecting your pink flowers.  For instance, tulips are obviously much more affordable in the Spring, while hydrangea blooms are more affordable in mid to late summer.  Other lovely choices include gerbera daisies, carnations, stargazer lilies (my favorite), peonies and of course roses.  Pink flowers also work well in mixed bouquets when you want to incorporate a few other colors.  Their versatility makes pink one of the most popular colors for bridal flowers today.  And how appropriate that this is being posted on Valentine’s Day….the perfect day for pink!

For even more great pink wedding bouquet ideas, visit the Martha Stewart website.

Pink Wedding Flowers by WeddingBlogger on Polyvore.com

Valentine’s Day Wedding Inspiration Board by WeddingBlogger on Polyvore.com

Items in this set:
Timeless red and white wedding dresses
Real Weddings: A Romantic Red Wedding: Glowing Candlelight, $5.99
Wedding, Red, Bridesmaids – Photo by Bella Bridesmaid – Project…
Manassas Cakery – red scroll wedding cake – Wallpapers – Mobicious
Wedding Obsession – Your daily dose of all things wedding

The magnificent colors of Autumn are inspiration enough for a fall themed wedding.  Reds, golds, oranges, browns, and greens can be incorporated in just about every aspect of the wedding including the flowers and bridesmaid dresses.  Using a harvest theme, “Fall in Love” leaf motif, or a fall fruit such as ripening apples can also provide a great base for an Autumn inspired wedding.  When it comes to the reception decorations or centerpieces, focus on nature’s abundance and utilize things like gourds, fall leaves, pumpkins, berries, apples, and corn along with candles (you can even find floating candles with a leaf shape).  

Below you will find some of my favorite colors, fashion and decorations for an Autumn-inspired wedding.  I hope that you find it useful when you are planning your own fall nuptials!

Autumn Wedding Inspiration Board by WeddingBlogger on Polyvore.com

Items in this set:
Ideas for an Autumn Wedding Theme: Charlotte Geary Photography
Ideas for an Autumn Wedding Theme: Charlotte Geary Photography
The Knot – My Real Wedding – Our Autumn Wedding in the Mountains of…
autumn
Autumn Wedding Inspiration | San Francisco Wedding Photographer Blog -…