Wedding Colors, Ideas about “Color Language”

Color plays such an important role in our lives whether we realize it or not. It has the ability to influence our feelings and emotions in a way that few other mediums can. It can control our moods and thoughts. And for weddings, determining your color scheme helps to set the stage for the style wedding you envision.

“When thinking about your wedding colors, ideas can be reached from also considering the subliminal meanings colors give off. They have symbolic meanings that change amongst cultures and countries.”

Color is  a part of our life.  Colors are a part of our pop-culture. We associate our favorite sports team by their team colors. Red Sox, White Sox, Cleveland Browns, Duke Blue Devils are among a few teams to incorporate a color into their name. Hmmm, maybe the colors of your favorite sports teams should be considered when coming up with ideas for your wedding color choices – maybe not.

Most colors have strong associations that everyone seems to share — “color language.”  This subtle “language of color” could be considered an important consideration in your wedding colors selection.  The following offers some generalizations about certain colors as well as some “adjectives” used to describe these colors that you can coordinate with your personalities when working on choosing your wedding colors. When thinking about your wedding colors, ideas can be reached from also considering the subliminal meanings colors give off. They have symbolic meanings that change amongst cultures and countries.

Red:  Red is viewed as an exciting, dramatic color. The most emotionally intense color, red stimulates a faster heartbeat and breathing. It is also the color of love. The darkest reds, such as burgundy and maroon, have a rich stately feeling. Red clothing gets noticed and can make the wearer appear heavier. The most romantic color, pink, is more tranquilizing.

Stimulate * Exciting * Energy * Attention * Advancing * Warm * Powerful * Activates * Dramatic * Beautiful * Strong * Passionate * Sensuality * Desire

Orange:  Orange gives off an aura that is cheerful, bold, and exciting. Orange has a friendly, informal feeling. Rust, a dark muted orange, is a quiet color that conjures up misty autumn days, while the paler peach makes a cheerful, warm but understated, impact.

Stimulate * Flamboyant * Brilliant * Warm * Spontaneous * Bold * Daring * Robust * Joyful * Adventuresome

Yellow:  Cheerful sunny yellow is an attention getter. It is the most difficult color for the eye to take in, so it can be overpowering if overused. Gold and ochre tones of yellow create a formal, antique atmosphere. Soft yellows have been popular since Colonial days, and these warm, inviting shades can do justice to any wedding color scheme.  However, not a good color on white stationery.

Optimism * Enlightenment * Happiness * Cheerful * Stimulating * Intelligent * Expressive * Warm * Wisdom

Green:  Green is nature’s favorite color. Perhaps because of this strong association with nature, green is a very soothing color to most people. Because green is easy on the eyes, it has long been a popular color. Green is a versatile color that looks good anywhere. Brides in the Middle Ages wore green to symbolize fertility. Dark green is masculine, conservative, and implies wealth.

Peace * Ecology * Soothing * Relaxing * Renewal * Self-control * Harmony * Tranquil * Restful * Secure * Flexible

Blue:  Blue is America’s “favorite color.” The universal appeal of blue skies and blue water create a feeling of serenity and openness. Aqua blue is a more frivolous and sunny color. It causes the opposite reaction as red. Peaceful, tranquil blue causes the body to produce calming chemicals, so it is often used in bedrooms.

Trustworthy * Dependable * Committed * Calming * Cooling * Tranquil * Peaceful

Purple:  Purple brings to mind of wealth and royalty. Purple and violet are indeed luxurious shades. Lavender, a tint of violet, is gaining popularity and conveys a feeling of low-key refinement. It is also feminine and romantic. However, because it is rare in nature, purple can appear artificial.

Uplifting * Calming * Spirituality * Stately * Regal * Respected * Humble * Richness

Brown:  Solid, reliable brown is the color of earth and is abundant in nature. Light brown implies genuineness while dark brown is more refined. Brown can also be sad and wistful. Men are more apt to say brown is one of their favorite colors.

Organic * Stability * Earth * Reliability * Approachability * Wholesomeness

White:  White symbolizes freshness, purity, and cleanliness. Brides wear white to symbolize innocence and purity. You can’t go wrong with white: it offsets any color you use it with. White reflects light and is considered a summer color. White is popular in fashion because it is light, neutral, and goes with everything. Another “color” that obviously doesn’t work on a white background.

Purity * Cleanliness * Neutrality * Fresh

Black:  Black is an authoritative classic color that conveys sophistication. Black provides a neutral yet dramatic counterpoint to any color you choose. It is popular in fashion because it makes people appear thinner. It is also stylish and timeless. Black also implies submission. Priests wear black to signify submission to God. Some fashion experts say a woman wearing black implies submission to men. Black outfits can also be overpowering, or make the wearer seem aloof or evil.

Authoritative * Powerful * Mysterious * Dignified * Refinement * Sophistication

Gray:  Gray is an elegant neutral that has enjoyed a lot of attention. Gray has a definite business-like, urban feel to it. Because gray is so neutral, you can accent it with any color you please.

Security * Reliability * Intelligence * Conservative * Maturity * Practical,

If you want to delve more into the meaning of colors while deciding on your wedding colors, ideas about color from what they mean in different cultures to what other colors go best with your choices can be found aplenty on the internet.  Just type in your keyword search questions such as “what does yellow mean,” what goes good with yellow” and you will get a tremendous amount of education about colors.

By Cheryl Cox, Editor of YourWeddingDollars.com. See “Note from the Editor” for more information on Cheryl and her credentials.

“Create Your Own Wedding — Own Your Style, Not Someone Else’s — and do it all while keeping money in your pocket!”

How to Decorate a Red Wagon for a Wedding

Ah, this can be fun and is so quaint!  Let your imagination go!  When you think about how to decorate a red wagon for a wedding – specifically YOUR wedding, let’s talk “personalization” – How about painting it white with your names in red all around it – like: Cheryl Loves Jim . . . Jim Loves Cheryl.  Well, that’s one idea; here are several more ideas not only on how to decorate a red wagon for a wedding but what to do with it:

Ideas for Ways to Decorate a Red Wagon for a Wedding, Fill your Wagon, Display your Wagon or Use your Wagon:

• How about decorating it with ribbons all around, placing a ribbon covered pole in the center with long ribbons hanging from it for the kids to dance around
• Looking to add more color to your ceremony or reception, fill the wagon with flowers that complement your wedding theme colors
• Want to add a little “sexy” to your wedding, fill the wagon with water and have rose petals floating in the water
• For a beach themed wedding, fill the wagon with sand and seashells
• Would you like to smell your favorite fragrance at your wedding, place scented candle arrangements in the wagon
• What about creating a romantic corner, fill the wagon with tons of little votive electric candles (safety first)
• Fill it with food — how about exotic fruits or your favorite treats!  Or a candy buffet on wheels! This is a great twist to the traditional candy buffet; just arrange the jars of candy it in a little red wagon and assign one of the older children to take the wagon from table to table during the reception.
• Lay grass and twigs (greenery) in the bottom and put an ice carving on the top sitting it near your buffet table
• Are you into horticulture or landscaping? Create a mini-garden in your wagon by putting flowers, pebbles, and rocks, or have beautiful plants of all heights emerging from the wagon
• Have it sitting right next to the ceremony arch
• Have it center stage when your guests arrive at the reception location
• Have someone pull the wagon down the aisle with your dog in it; and of course s/he should have a color coordinated ribbon as his/her collar.
• Does the bride or groom have children?  Have your children sit in the wagon; well, this obviously works best with children who are too young to walk or still young enough to be too shy to walk down the aisle alone.  This will help them remember your day!
• Fill the wagon with wedding favors and take home gifts
• A wagon is a unique photo prop.  You could have a large sized photo of the bride and groom in the wagon or display your engagement photos and photos of you as children
• A great ring pillow alternative – have your ring bearer carry the rings in a decorated little red wagon; it’s so much more fun for him and for your guests especially if you are having a garden or beach wedding.
• Other ways to cover the wagon is to use a small table cloth, some tulle or a length of fabric in a color or pattern that matches your wedding theme and drape it over the edge of the wagon.
• Decorate it like a float – Use decor elements like garlands, tulle, flowers, etc to cover the sides of your wedding.

Wedding wagons add a unique and interesting addition to any type of wedding and you can see from above that there are boundless ideas of just how to decorate a red wagon for a wedding, but one really great idea that is not listed above is NOT to decorate it all.  If the bride or groom have a little red wagon that they’ve had since they were a kid, putting something in it is one thing, but changing its look – I’m not so sure I would do that.  Maybe just “snuggle” in it for a photo op!

By Cheryl Cox, Editor of YourWeddingDollars.com. See “Note from the Editor” for more information on Cheryl and her credentials.

“Create Your Own Wedding — Own Your Style, Not Someone Else’s — and do it all while keeping money in your pocket!”

How to Make Wedding Centerpieces in 5 Easy Steps

Many folks believe that unless you have some magical or mystical artistic talent, creating flowers for your wedding or special event is something beyond their  abilities. That is simply not so. Just as you can learn to drive a car or speak a foreign language, flower arranging is a skill that can be easily learned. It does however, require a little instruction. If you have the desire and time management skills to juggle flowers plus the other demands for your very special day, do it yourself centerpieces for your party or event can be fun. It can save you a lot of money if you can do it yourself, and it can be emotionally quite fulfilling. There is a lot to be said for the bragging rights you earn when you can tell your family and friends that YOU made those designs!!  In this brief article we are going to teach you how to make wedding centerpieces; well, one simple one anyway. I believe that you will really enjoy this brief mini lesson in floral designing.

For Homemade Wedding Centerpieces, ideas from Rittner School can help you create beautiful do it yourself centerpieces. Let’s get to it. How to Make Wedding Centerpieces in 5 Easy Steps:

Step #1 – You will need:

• Container-Glass Cube (approximately 4″)
• Foam
• Ti Leaves or Aspidistra Leaves
• Baker Fern (3-4 stems)
• Roses (9-10)
• Mini Sunflowers (6)
• Carnations (4-5)
• Alstroemeria (6)
• Daisy poms (two or three stems)
• Miniature carnations (two or three stems)

Step #2 – Choose your container

Every vase arrangement starts with a container. The choice of the container is very important for it sets the entire mood of the design. Will the arrangement feel contemporary? Classical? What colors will be incorporated into the container? This becomes especially important when planning flowers for wedding reception centerpieces. Your container could be the same color as the linen or a contrasting color. It could be part of a color harmony that you are trying to achieve. It could incorporate some of the colors of the flowers, or it could simply be achromatic or neutral. For these do it yourself centerpieces, we are going to use clear glassware. The use of a clear cube gives the clean linear look of today! Although we are using glass here, we could have just as easily created this design in a silver revere bowl or other opaque kind of container. The flower part would remain the same. The visual effect of the completed design would vary depending upon the base.

Step #3 – Put the foam in the container

For homemade wedding centerpieces, ideas are flowing in this design where we are going to play with a neat illusion. We have taken some foam, in this case a third of a block for our 4″ cube, and wrapped it with some foliage.

Step #4 – Add foliage

The foliage used here could be Ti leaf, or alternatively aspidistra. On the other hand other kinds of foliage (eg. croton) would give other really neat looks to your design. Sometimes the container will hold the foliage in place. If the foliage does not easily stay for you, you may take florist wire in a #20 gauge, and make little upside down U shapes. We call these hairpins. A couple of hairpins through the foliage into the foam will easily hold the leaves as desired. Pouring water around the foliage/foam provides a magnifying glass effect to the base! Play with this effect. It is fun to experiment with different shapes and sizes of glassware, and with different foliages. The overall shape of this arrangement will be a roundy, moundy, hemispherical shape, so popular in both arrangements and bridal bouquets. One quick and easy way to achieve that shape is to first create it with foliage and then fill in with flowers. The foliage that we are using here is baker fern or leather leaf. It is a very popular foliage and quite easy to use to cover a lot of space quickly. Start by placing smaller pieces in a circle around the top of the container. The stems of the baker fern may be inserted into the foam above the large decorative leaves, or right through them. Then place more pieces of fern on the top of the foam to create that gentle moundy shape. Don’t fuss about covering every single inch of foam. Plenty of flowers will be used to fill in should there be any small areas of foam showing.

Step #5 – Add your flowers of choice

You never can go wrong with roses. They are one of the most popular flowers and are available in so many varieties and colors. Take five of them and make a diagonal line from one side of the top of the arrangement to the other as shown in the photograph.

The next step for how to make wedding centerpieces is to place two more roses in front of the first five as shown in this photograph. Place two or three more roses on the side of the arrangement facing away from the camera in a similar configuration. This gives us a “backbone” to the design. All other flowers will go around this center core.

Three mini sunflowers, bright and cheerful, add contrast as they fill in the bottom section of the arrangement. Add three more to the side of the arrangement facing away from the photograph.

Carnations are enjoying renewed popularity and a great choice for do it yourself centerpieces. They are now available in a rainbow of colors. They fill space quickly and easily and are reasonably priced. It is a great flower to mix in with more costly materials to present an expensive look yet control costs. Four or five carnations are placed in close, one facing towards the camera, several upwards, and several over towards the other side of the design.

Alstroemeria are one of my favorite flowers. Like carnations, they are also available in a wide variety of colors. There are usually a number of florets on a stem, meaning that one stem cut short can fill in a design like this very quickly and efficiently. Distribute two or three alstroemeria on both sides of the arrangement you see here, and on the opposite side of the design.The roses looked dominant in the beginning, didn’t they? Notice as we fill in with all of the other various flowers, that everything blends well together like pieces of a puzzle. When it comes to figuring out how to make wedding centerpieces, you really can’t go wrong with these kinds of designs.

Daisy poms have multiple flowers on each stem. This means that you can get great value from this flower as you prune the individual stems and distribute some of the flowers through the top and sides. It really does give a rich effect, and the cost is minimal!

The overall look that we are seeking here is that of opulence and abundance. Miniature carnations, like the daisy poms feature a number of flowers on one stem. This means that you can get great coverage from only a few stems of flowers. Randomly place a few miniature carnations as shown, on both sides of the arrangement.

A final thought about content, as you begin creating your homemade wedding centerpieces, ideas will flourish! Remember, you may use a wide range of flowers in this kind of design. Using carnations, poms and miniature carnations can save you a lot of money. However, this design can be made much more elaborate and more expensive depending upon your budget. Substituting hydrangea or lilies can make this kind of design far more upscale, but will add to your total cost.  If you’re looking for more information on how to make wedding centerpieces, please visit our school.  You might even find a career in there somewhere, but that’s another story.

Dr. Stephen Rittner is director of The Rittners School of Floral Design in Boston. Rittners School of Floral Design attracts students from all over the world with a wide variety of courses in Floral Art. If you want to learn floral skills, or if you want some well deserved fun and reduce stress, consider taking a course at Rittners. Rittners Floral School also has a number of inexpensive Distance Education Lessons available for purchase online. See www.floralschool.com

Homemade Wedding Centerpieces Ideas To Save You Time & Money

In these tough economic times, you are probably keeping a close eye on where every penny goes, even when it comes to that most cherished of events, your wedding day. You want nothing but the best for the occasion, but at the same time, you have a budget that you need to stick to like a bumblebee on a wedding flower. That’s why exploring homemade wedding centerpieces ideas will not only save you money but you can also create a memorable decoration that will remind you of that special day for years to come.

Homemade wedding centerpieces ideas will allow you to put a personal touch on your wedding that a professional decorator may not be able to duplicate. You are limited only by your imagination, and your own flair for decorating. And even if you have never made or designed a centerpiece before, or you don’t feel you have the ability, the good news is that you don’t have to be an expert to come up with one that will create a buzz among your wedding guests. All it takes is a little time and a few basic supplies to make it happen.

“Exploring homemade wedding centerpiece ideas will not only save you money but you can also create a memorable decoration that will remind you of that special day for years to come.”

One example of inexpensive homemade wedding centerpiece ideas that add a personal touch includes creating a monogrammed container, such as a white wooden or plastic pail. Just paint your monogram on the pail and fill it with a bunch of flowers such as daisies, and surround it with candles. In little time, and better yet, at little cost, you have created a work of art. To personalize your centerpiece even more, place bride and groom photos on a stick inside the pail. The more of your own personality you put into your centerpiece, the more unique and memorable it will be.

Floating candles also make for great homemade wedding centerpiece ideas. Just fill bowls or vases with water and place the candles inside. To make it more decorative, you can add food coloring to the water, and/or flower petals. And if time is an issue, or you don’t want to put a lot of effort into the project, baskets or bowls of fresh fruit can make a beautiful centerpiece, and you can even purchase them already packaged if you don’t want to do it yourself. Don’t let the expense keep you from having a wedding that your guests will envy. A little imagination can go a long way.

By Cheryl Cox, Editor of YourWeddingDollars.com, See “Note from the Editor” for more information on Cheryl and her credentials.