Sharon Brimmer, AAWP Certified Wedding Planner

Christine Brimmer- Floral Designer

www.cypressweddings.com

Let the sun shine in for this reception. Choose a reception site with window that let the light stream in to brilliantly illuminate your lavish design. 

The Colors:

Apple green, petal pink, butter yellow, pastel blue & lavender.

The Flowers:

Daffodils, garden roses, astilbe blossoms, ivy and French stock

The Attire:  

For the Bride:

Choose a brocade or lace wedding gown with a butterfly pattern to match your theme. Carry a clutch bouquet of springtime flowers with a few iridescent or glittered butterflies attached to the flower petals. Secure your Veil with a beautiful butterfly tiara.

For the Bridesmaids:
Choose Bridesmaids dresses in apple green, petal pink, butter yellow, pastel blue or lavender with butterfly accents. Headpieces for bridesmaids could be floral head wreaths with iridescent or glittered butterfly accents. Have attendants carry a smaller version of the brides clutch bouquet.

For the Flower girl:
Choose a beautiful Flower Girl Dress with springtime- fresh pastel hues of apple green, petal pink, butter yellow, pastel blue or lavender. Use a floral head wreath with iridescent or glittered butterfly accents or use a small comb with butterfly accents.

The Invitations: 

Your invitations should convey the theme of what's to come. 

  

The Ceremony Decor: 

Carry beautiful clutch style bouquets in springtime flowers with iridescent or glittered butterflies attached to the flower petals for both the bridal bouquet and attendant bouquets.

Wrought-iron candelabras will add to the festive, outdoorsy atmosphere, a fitting scene to help ring in your new life. Rent centerpieces from your local party rental company.

Add glorious butterfly appliqués (available at fabric stores) or iridescent or glittered butterflies (available at floral supply stores) on all accessories: ring pillow, flower girl basket, bouquets, candles, guestbook, favor containers, headpieces, shoes & etc.

Butterfly appliqué adorn many elegant wedding day accessories


The Reception Decorations

This reception creates a fresh, sophisticated look: 

Choose a reception site with window that let the light stream in to brilliantly illuminate your lavish design. 

Don't be afraid of color and texture. White on white is lovely, but even weddings are often decorated in rich & exciting colors or delicate shades of pink, blue, green, lavender and yellow, especially for garden or summer weddings.

Add a touch of whimsy or an expression of personal style with butterfly, bird, and even feather accessories . . . elegant charger plates, intriguing napkin rings, or a single, stunning flower tucked into the back of a chair cover are the kinds of dazzling details that help set your wedding apart.

Wrought-iron candelabras will add to the festive, outdoorsy atmosphere, a fitting scene to help ring in your new life. Rent candelabras from your local party rental company.

Center a candelabras in front of each window in your reception area. Cover candelabras with French stock, ivy and garden roses trailing down the candelabra stem to the floor, add butterflies to a couple of the blooms.

You can also use the same candelabras at the alter at the church, one on each side.

The Table Linens

Use tablecloths in blossoming-bud colors like apple green, petal pink, pastel blue, lavender and butter yellow. Don't be afraid to use a different color tablecloth on each table, this creates a dazzling effect. Add eye-catching butterfly accents that coordinate with each tablecloth. Place a goblet style bright green and blue stemware alternating at each place setting, this will complement each table's pastel "canvas. Use white plates and stainless flatware".

The Centerpiece

Birdcages accented with French stock and garden roses with iridescent or glittered butterflies attached to the flower petals make lovely centerpieces for this reception. Another centerpiece idea is to use round gold birdcages filled with a profusion of pink spray roses and astilbe blossoms with a pair of lovebirds sharing space in the birdcage.

This nature-inspired centerpiece could be used on serving tables, guest book table or the head table, use silver trays in different shapes, place a delicate bed of moss on top of each tray and a bouquet of spray roses and French stock with pastel ribbons. Attach a couple of butterflies to a flower bloom or to the ribbon.

A variety of pillar candles customized with bands of pastel colored ribbon (held in place with pearl pins) around the bases are just as powerful as a floral arrangement. Attach a couple of butterflies to the candles. Be sure to use unscented candles for the dining table to keep the scents about the food.

Take plain glass cylinders & line them with paper, cover the outside of the glass cylinders with butterfly stickers. Add an oasis foam cage to the top of the cylinder (a size that fits down into the top of the cylinder) to create a vase for masses of carnations. Just cover the entire oasis cage with carnations (stems cut to about 2"-3"). For a whimsical touch, place one or two butterflies on a couple of blooms or tie pastel colored feathers together with wire & top each arrangement with the feathers.

The Napkins

Bring color to the table via cloth napkins. Give each person two napkins slipped into one napkin ring. Use two different colors, two coordinating patterns or one patterned and one solid-colored napkin. A colorful setting can be achieved with little effort this way. Attach a sheer pastel ribbon butterfly to each napkin ring, at first glance it will look like as though a butterflies, just fluttered down to perch on your reception table.

Another alternative is to use Supersoft Napkins imprinted with a butterfly design, your names and your wedding date. 

The Chair Covers

To complete your table setting, use white chair covers made of sheer chiffon fabric distinguish the bride and groom's spring-fling thrones by adding a bouquet of Daffodils, garden roses, and French stock to the back of the chairs.

If your budget is tight and flowers are to expensive, just make butterfly bows from sheer ribbon and attach to the back of each chair.

For an alternative to chair covers gossamer works well, hold it's shape beautifully, it is also economical and makes lovely chair bows. You can also use Gossamer & White Bridal lights to accent your serving tables.

The Favors

Bird Nest Favor Baskets - Use a round white wire basket, weave a blue pastel ribbon around the top of the basket and tie in a bow. Line the basket with tufts of ornamental grass & add pastel bird eggs (place a group of 3 pastel foil eggs in tulle, tie with ribbon and place in nest). Have attendants refill the nest as they are taken. 

Other Favor Ideas:

Place a small nest with clusters of eggs at each guest setting on the guest tables. Use candy robin's eggs, pastel speckled eggs or pastel foil wrapped eggs in tulle circles tied with personalized satin ribbon. 
Birdseed in colorful organza bags would be lovely too.

Let your guests shower you with "Seeds of Love". Pretty white packets with a silver dove design and small handfuls of birdseed.

Little packets of flower seeds invite guests to "Plant A Memory" of your wedding! Personalize packets with your first names, and wedding date. Use a mixture of garden favorites, such as carnations, asters, daisies and snapdragons in each packet. Add planting instructions inside the cover. On the back of the packet have it read;

Thank You
for sharing this special day
of our new life together.

Please plant these seeds
to commemorate
our new beginning.
 

Another idea is to fill pastel colored bake cups (cupcake liners) with birdseed, then wrap the birdseed cups in Netting circles or Sparkling Netting Circles. Set these down into the bird nest basket. Rather than using a basket, you could also use a silver cake stand, place a bed of straw on the top of the cake stand to form a nest them place favors in the nest.

The Toast

For your wedding toast, use Butterfly Flutes for the bride & groom and trumpet flutes for the guests and spritz up each flute by adding ripe raspberries and strawberries, they will float to the top of the glass.

Special Touches

Place a Butterfly Place card at each guest setting.

Use round white wire bowls fill with ornamental grass and place birdseed in pastel bake cups (cupcake liners) into the bowl.

Place a flat oblong silver tray on the serving table. In the center of the tray place a small white bread & butter plate with gold trim filled with raspberries and strawberries.

Next to the fruit plate, set a clear bud vase with garden roses, or a Crystal Votive Bowl with gel floating candles. Arrange champagne flutes around the centerpiece.

Don't forget to carry your theme into the bathrooms as well. Place a small white wire basket with blue ribbon weaved at the top of the basket and tired in a bow. Place a bird's nest of straw inside with 3 pastel soap eggs ( speckled eggs or pastel foil wrapped eggs could also be used), or use a small spray of garden roses on a moss covered silver tray. Use pastel towels, pastel rose shapes soaps or butterfly shaped soaps.

The Cake:

Have your cake designer make a stacked 4 tier cake iced in natural-colored butter cream and covered with budding flowers in pastel hues (petal pink, butter yellow, pastel blue) cascading down the cake. Add butterflies, a small bird's nest of chocolate with blue eggs inside, and bees made of sugar dough and royal icing as accents. Top the cake with a Butterfly Cake Top , Love Birds or a bouquet of budding flowers. The piping on the cake should be very simple. Don't forget your Butterfly Server Set for cutting and serving your cake.

The Butterfly Release

Brides are looking for different ways to make their wedding different and unique. The releasing of butterflies has become a very popular alternative to throwing rice. They are environmentally friendly and beautiful also. 

Read this article on A Butterfly Release; Alternatives to Throwing Rice