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I was recently asked this question: “What can a bride do to make the bridal party more fun and memorable?”  I love questions like these! Brides have so many options available to make their bridal party really stand out. Here are a few ideas for your Wedding Wednesday…

*Shoes!*
This depends on what your vision is & the time of year the event is taking place. For example, you wouldn’t want your bridesmaids wearing flip flops in a snow storm, but they sure are cute in the summer for an outdoor wedding. Look into the clip on accessories available!

I also like the idea of Groomsmen wearing converse sneakers and bridesmaids wearing Converse custom sneakers with a favorite pattern for something fun. You can also “Punk your Chucks,” but your personality has to warrant a look like this otherwise it’s perceived as just plain silly to your guests.

A nice white Suede Buck shoe on the guys will look super sharp in the summertime with kaki pants, white shirt and a blue & white stripe seersucker jacket. It’s simple, clean and refreshing. If this look is appealing to you, carry it out in the fall and winter with the standard Kearny Taupe Suede Buck and switch out the jacket for a nice navy blazer or Chocolate Cashmere jacket.

View more photos of this wedding from Elizabeth Anne Designs

Photo – Danielle Aquiline

*Florals*
Spring begs for Groomsmen to wear a fresh spring pea boutonniere accented with lacquered Beet Tops rather than a boring carnation.

Summer brides who really appreciate the local movement can consider having Bridesmaids carry a bouquet of fresh veggies. This takes extra care as fresh veggie stalks can wither quickly. Carrots and beets, however, are rather hardy and work well in arrangements, as do fresh baby artichokes. Rolled leaves of Nappa cabbage add great texture to arrangements and bouquets or try using exterior leaves of purple and green cabbage as a “cup” to embrace your bouquets.

Winter brides might consider old-school winter muffs for the bridesmaids instead of traditional flowers.

Photo: Ashley Maxwell Photography

*Bridesmaid dresses*
Get away from those cookie-cutter dresses! Find a good seamstress, get on e-Bay and purchase some French Countryside Linens. They make for beautiful sheath dresses for spring and summer weddings.

Dazian Fabrics in New York has a plethora of specialty fabrics for one-of-a-kind Bridesmaid dress making.

If you want to be really creative, create your own design and have the fabric made! Spoonflower specializes in custom printed fabric. Just think of all the fun options this opens up!

Of course!

Our house made potato chips have been wildly successful at weddings and events. We serve them standing upright on a bed of coarse rock salt with various dippers. We’re now taking those same house made chips and topping them with a sliver of tuna tartare and wasabi, or black bean puree with a dollop of fresh made salsa, or Mango and Avocado. Let’s not forget the ever-favorite mozzarella, a dab of fresh pesto with an added hint of cayenne.

If you’re  looking for something during colder months, put a chunk of brie & raspberry jam on that chip, or go for grilled pumpkin or butternut squash with a maple hazelnut glaze.

Have fun and be creative. No one should have “cookie-cutter” food at their wedding!

For many of you who get engaged this holiday season, it can be difficult to get your head into another season while planning your wedding. This is assuming we’re talking about a spring and summer wedding.

A new trend  next year will be organic popsicle treats using seasonal produce to make luscious flavors like salted cucumber and lime, or Grapefruit Chambord pops. Tomato Soup pops seasoned with Old Bay would put a unique twist on a popsicle, as well as Honeydew and mint pops. These work best if made in bite size servings. This way, they can be butlered to your guests and there’s no mess when the serving is petite.

mini popsicles (image courtesy of foodproof.com)

Another interesting trend is savory cupcakes. This is a growing trend out west and making their way East for casual , yet elegant receptions. Meat Loaf cupcakces with mashed potato icing, lasagna cupcakes, fontina cheese and spinach cupcakes are just a few to get you thinking about how cool that would be instead of the same old plated dinner!

Savory "calzone cupcake", from cupcake project

Culinnovate your wedding reception!

Scattered leaves effect- very cool!

Accomac Catering is so excited to be offering another awesome product – the “Shadow Bar” dynamic interactive bar system. The Shadow bar is an interactive tabletop with integrated video-projectors that cast a variety of surface content to entice and entertain.

The system detects the motion of objects on the surface and dynamically interacts with each instance of movement. A good example of this is a pond scene that looks like a pool of water on the bar surface. When you set your drink down on the top of the bar, the water ripples away from the glass or your hand. It’s a great interactive conversation piece to get your guests talking.

Objects can be illuminated at their position or virtual objects can be touched. The software is flexible and can be adjusted or enhanced. The Shadow bar system can be provided in a prefabricated cabinet or integrated into a custom enclosure to suit your needs.

Here’s a cool video of the Shadow Bar:

I love details like this one. The details truly make all the difference and take your event or wedding to the next level!

If you love the thought of a destination wedding, but don’t want to go through the hassle, transform your venue into any place in the world :

The cost of having a destination wedding is restricting in so many ways. Not to mention, your guests may have a some problems making the trip. Why not rent a venue that has a lot of blank wall space and transform the room into your intended destination by using a variety of giant backdrops?

The choices are endless… from beaches, to cruise ships, Cities like Greece and Rome, Times Square and Vegas, to a horse track, baseball field or Amazon jungle! We can even make you feel like you’re on stage with several backdrops that give the illusion of your guests being on a variety of stages with lush, red draped curtains. Simple street scenes, wild flower gardens, woodland rivers or rose gardens are fun options as well.

Combining the backdrops with additional live elements really makes this concept work.  For example, the garden scene works well with bringing in a wooden arbor decorated with flowers, adding flower boxes with live shrubs around the perimeter of the room and placing the band under a tent top.

Don't give up your dream of a destination wedding - turn your venue into Paris! (photo courtesy of luvtrip.com)

Hello, everyone! We missed last week’s wedding post on account of the Farm to Table Dinner, which was a great success by the way! So now that we’re back in the swing of things, for today’s Wedding Wednesday post I want to share a fun and unexpected idea for your wedding reception. Instead of personalized napkins, look into personalized wetnaps!

Personalized wetnaps are a great way to get your guests out of a sticky situation. As lovely as those petite desserts look, they leave a sticky residue on your fingers, not to mention those darling little duck BBQ stuffed brioche rolls. Put out a nice little jar of wetnaps with your monogram on them for a nice surprise.

This company does custom printing on wetnaps…check out their website:

www.promopeddler.com/towelettes

It can be challenging to come up with another new idea that guests haven’t seen. Every bride wants to be the first to have the latest great idea. This innovation excites us! (hence our blog- Culinnovation ) Here’s another one to add to your list of options:

Vignette Stations.

So what is a vignette station and how do they work?

Vignette stations are draped off  into separate areas that are themed along with specialty cocktails. Guests have the opportunity to “tour” each station.

A good example would be to have an Asian themed station with a giant wok of fried rice ready to serve up in Chinese take out boxes. Give your guests a choice of toppings including, fresh pickled ginger, shrimp morsels, Chicken bites, soy sauce, scallions, bamboo shoots, baby corn and water chestnuts. On the side have trays of Mai Tai’s ready.

“Money Bags” option- Create an Asian street market scene complete with tug boat sound effects, Asian Market set pieces and moving bamboo shoot lighting design on the floor.

Image courtesy of utopiography.com

For a more casual affair, a fun idea would be a Coney Island Station with hot dogs and guest choice of toppings including sauerkraut, nacho cheese, jalapeno pepper slices, peach coleslaw, standard mustard, ketchup and relish.  Chase it down with a Sea breeze cocktail perfect for a hot summer day.

“Money Bags” option- Custom boardwalk graphic on the floor as guests approach the station. Ocean sound effects, custom three dimensional boardwalk signage with your name as the famous hot dog stand.

If  you have other vignette station ideas, we’d love to hear them!

Happy Wedding Wednesday!