When you design home interiors for a living, as I do, it’s quite natural to find yourself designing events as well. I occasionally decorate clients’ homes for Christmas and other special occasions, so when it came to my own wedding several years ago, I was delighted to have the fun of creating my own celebration.
Although my wedding date was May 1st, auspicious as May Day and known as a spring festival, June is universally known as the month for weddings.
In Roman mythology, the month of June was thought to be lucky for marriage because its namesake, the goddess Juno, promised happiness and prosperity for all who married then. (June was also a month known to be warm enough to take off your clothing and indulge in an annual bath.)
A healthy life is a happy life. So in the spirit of living with joy and celebrating love, here are my ten sweet ideas for a beautiful wedding, taken from my own celebration.
Sweet Ideas for a Beautiful Wedding
1. What do you love? (Other than each other, of course!)
Frank and I split our time between a house on Connecticut’s shoreline, and a home on Nantucket Island. We married at the Roger Sherman Inn in Connecticut, but wanted to honor the special place Nantucket holds in our hearts, as well. Our wedding included elements of Nantucket sprinkled throughout, like the top of our wedding cake: it’s a Nantucket Lightship basket, created in sugar.
2. Carry the theme throughout your celebration.
We continued the theme with wedding favors of Jordan Almonds and chocolate scallop shells covered with silver, from Sweet Inspirations (www.nantucketchocolatier.com) on Nantucket.
3. Include something special for just the two of you.
There were two blue butterflies on our cake: one represented me, the other represented Frank. It wasn’t a secret, but not everyone knew why they were there, other than as decoration. But we knew.
4. Share your favorite things!
I collect vintage hotel silver, so the cake rested on one of my treasures: a Victorian hotel silver cake plateau.
5. Enchant with details.
Weddings are made for details: from the ribbons and bows to the flowers and food. I had such fun planning darling confections and pretty place settings. Nothing was too small to be special, such as these sugar cubes for coffee and tea, fashioned into exquisite little blossoms.
6. A perfectly planned event is like telling a story, and the venue is your setting. It should be uncommon, captivating, completely extraordinary!
When we chose the room where we would marry and entertain our guests, the shape of the space lent itself perfectly to the idea of a carousel. Festooning the ceiling with great swoops of asparagus fern entwined with sparkling white lights made the room feel smaller and more intimate, and created an other-worldly atmosphere that carried all of us away!
7. Fill your day with flowers!
Flowers and weddings go together, both for decoration and by tradition. Bouquets of your favorite blooms infuse the celebration with your unique spirit, so don’t hold back! Roses, hydrangeas, tulips and lilies of the valley were abundant at my wedding, some in sugared icing draped around the cake, others in small groups of posies gathered in silver chalices, and many more cascading from gorgeous arrangements throughout the room.
8. Lots of pretty little things are charming, and add a dash of fun.
We had lots of delicious cakes and candies to tempt our guests. Each was a delectable work of art all its own, which made the feeling that much more festive! These cakes were mini tabletops, one with a topiary of sugar, and they came in pink and green and blue and white. Darling!
9. Your family and friends are part of what you’re celebrating: share the love!
Each of our guests took home a miniature wedding cake decorated with blue hydrangeas. Guests who couldn’t attend had little cakes delivered to them. it was our way of telling the people we loved that we couldn’t have done it without them!
10.) Once the stage is set with all the things you love, relax and enjoy your wonderful day. If something goes wrong, laugh it off, kiss your spouse, and celebrate with joy!