Meagan Gilpatrick | Maine Seasons Events: A great way to get a custom, layered look on guest tables at your wedding is to use custom fabric runners and overlays. Renting a basic poly/cotton full length table linen in a foundation color from the wedding palette and layering with a custom fabric element on top is an affordable way to achieve a custom look on your tables.
Photo: Sharyn Peavey
Many local people provide alteration, basic seamstress or sewing services, dry cleaners are a place to start, or look up “alterations” for your area and make some calls. Many times you can find someone in your area who will take the fabric you provide, and your measurements and whip up custom runners or table overlays for you for a few dollars a piece. Factor in the cost of fabric, and you can have custom table treatments for under $200 for a wedding with 18 tables.
Photos: Brea McDonald (left) Corbin Gurkin (right)
Look for coupons for local fabric stores, JoAnne craft stores often have a 40 % or 50% off coupon, and if you buy the fabric as one cut, you can use the coupon on the whole supply of fabric. Do the measurements carefully and allow for extra fabric for seam allowances and ample table overhang, then buy the total yardage you need.
A unique, custom look for less!
Photo: Maine Seasons Events
The Look For Less is a regular feature on our blog. Get amazing style tips from top wedding experts who can help you get a great look at your wedding, without breaking the bank.
Today’s feature was written by Meagan Gilpatrick of Maine Seasons Events. Owner, creative director and Maine native, Meagan Gilpatrick, believes each event design should incorporate special style elements that reflect the personalities of her clients. And Maine Season Events is a full design and wedding planning company specializing in one of kind, creative and stylish weddings.
photo credit: marthastewartweddings.com
Here’s a DIY wedding design trend that’s easy to do and easy on your budget: tissue paper flowers. Check out the inspiration photos below. Aren’t they fun? Limited only by the amount of time you have to create them, paper flowers can add a big, whimsical, visual impact to your wedding décor. True, no one is going to mistake your tissue paper flowers for the real thing, but they can offer festive style at virtually no cost.
photo credits: flickr; marthastewartweddings.com; wellsphere.com; northridgemedia.com
Hang them from the ceiling for a magical effect, or cluster them in vases for a creative centerpiece. They’re the perfect accent for your rehearsal dinner or casual wedding reception. Coordinate tissue paper colors with your wedding palate. All you need to get started is the tissue and pipe cleaners.
photo credit: marthastewartweddings.com
I’ve provided a link to directions for making your own simple tissue paper flowers. You can also find paper flower kits (that come with pre-cut tissue paper and all other supplies needed) at local craft stores and online. Martha Stewart Crafts used to sell a great paper flower kit, but it seems they have discontinued it (I did find some available on Ebay though). Visit Martha Stewart Weddings online for inspiration and instructions for making more elaborate flowers and larger “party poms.”
photo credit: Etsy
You can also find a great selection of paper flowers online at Etsy. These come preassembled – it just takes a little bit of time to “fluff” them up. Even if you decide to use a craft store kit, or buy from an Etsy retailer, the cost is still very economical for these stylish accessories. What else do I love about these faux flowers? They won’t end up in the trash can days later. You can reuse them for parties or use them to decorate your new home together.
Annie Lee | Daughter of Design: Maybe it’s because I’m the daughter of an interior decorator but when I’m designing an event I often think of resources I grew up around like fabrics, tassels, pillows, etc. The best thing about these items is that they can be incredibly inexpensive yet have the most visual impact since it takes up quite a bit of square footage. Yards of fabric can be purchased for as little as $1/yd and can enhance your event with added color, texture and best of all cover up for any unsightly fixtures!
Many (most) times, the existing drapes simply do not match the wedding color or theme and rather than try to pretend they don’t exist or succumb to matching those colors, I often buy bolts of fabric that compliment the look. With affordable fabrics in all colors and tones to be found at your local garment district, this tip is not to be skipped. I once re-draped an entire 200-person ballroom for less than $75 dollars and the curtains looked so nice that the venue asked me if they could keep it afterwards!
Goodbye, multi-color, 1970’s loud-print drapes. Hello, chic vibrant red curtains!
At other times there were no curtains where there should have been. For example at this street level restaurant the entire front of the room was all glass and as fond as we were of sharing the beauty of the event with pedestrians walking past, well we’d rather not. Plus this way as the bride approached the entrance there was a reveal moment and you didn’t see her until the very second she started her march.
Goodbye, pedestrians and passing cars. Hello, soft flowing curtains!
photo courtesy of Beth Keiser
Nothing like cold metal poles to create an eye sore in the middle of a soft candle lit tent. There’s an easy fix for that!
Goodbye, ugly metal tent poles. Hello, elegant curtain panels that enhance the color of the table décor!
Panels and screens are often used to conceal the reception tables that are hidden behind them if the reception and ceremony are in the same room. If those panels or screens are unsightly, simply hang fabric over them and create a wall of ivory, brown, blue, green,…whatever it is that goes with your wedding best.
Fabric is not just for curtains. Reupholster a couch for a day. Finish with accent throw pillows from a discount outlet like Ross, TJMaxx or Marshalls and you’ve utilized the existing furniture to it’s fullest and at a small cost.
Goodbye, fall foliage couch. Hello, red lounge furniture!
Pipe and draping can be expensive so as a cost effective alternative, B.Y.O. F.! As long as you have the permission from your venue to drape your own fabric, this is an excellent way to fix and decorate while staying within budget.
We’ve reached out to leading wedding planners to get their expert advice on how to get a great look at your wedding, without breaking the bank. You can find these amazing tips in our The Look For Less category.
Today’s feature was written by Annie Lee of New York & L.A. based Daughter of Design. Keen on creativity, Daughter of Design is recognized for its fresh thinking and positive, “can-do” approach to planning and producing events. Lee’s fluency in weddings helps to translate and articulate a bride’s vision from idea to life for a truly stylish and distinctive occasion. Recent weddings can be found in Martha Stewart Weddings, Style Me Pretty, InStyle Weddings and People Magazine.
There is no better way to add a little drama to your wedding reception than by incorporating up-lighting. Essentially, up-lighting involves placing special light fixtures on the ground and focusing them upward. This method of lighting is one of the simplest ways to enhance the look of a wedding venue. It is relatively inexpensive and you can cut back on other décor given that lighting can make such an enormous impact.
Photo courtesy of Holland Studios
Lighting really creates a mood, whether is sultry and sexy, sophisticated and elegant, or intimate and warm. The colors you choose and the glow that they project can make the so many aspects appear more glamorous including your linens, your flowers, and even your skin.
Photo courtesy of Eric Cable
Photo courtesy of Bliss Bridal
Photo courtesy of Eric Cable
For the same price as a few centerpieces, you can transform a basic room into something amazing and unforgettable. Lighting designers have the capabilities of incorporating your monogram or wedding theme, highlighting specific areas, and changing tones throughout the evening to set different atmosphere. Lighting is an easy way (and my favorite!) to achieve a fabulous look for less!
Photo courtesy of Holland Studios
Today feature is written by Nora Sheils, owner of Portland, Oregon based wedding planning firm, Bridal Bliss . Nora’s passion for weddings, undivided attention for clients and creative spirit sets Bridal Bliss apart. She brings a fresh perspective to event design and works with client’s budgets to create extraordinary events with contemporary style and elegance.