Top 10 Southern Wedding Trends of 2013

Here at Epting Events, we are very busy with preparing for spring wedding season. This year, brides are really showcasing their personalities with fun color palettes, unique design options, and much more. Take a look at what we think are the top 10 Southern wedding trends of 2013!

 

Mint Green
This mint green trend is huge in 2013 weddings!  It’s refreshing, delicate, and blends well with almost any other color.  We’re really into this mint, gold and blush palette for a shabby chic look.

From United With Love

Lounge Areas
Having a place for your guests to lounge around in between dances is a great idea and a growing trend for 2013.  They can be incorporated with indoor, outdoor and tent receptions. Not only are lounges a fun way to enhance your wedding’s theme, but they also give your guests a place to relax away from the dance floor and guest tables.

Vintage Lounge via Postcard and Pretties

Mini Menu Items

Having a dessert or an hors d’oeuvre buffet with tons of mini-sized favorites is a fun way to present food to your guests.  Plus they look so darn adorable!

From Weddings by Lilly

Iron Chandeliers

Lighting is always the first step towards creating a unique look for an event, and iron chandeliers can make a huge statement. They provide a rustic vibe, and are sturdy enough to weather outdoor weddings. Hang large ones from your reception tent, or several small ones from a large oak tree.

Epting Events’ Iron Chandeliers

Going Green

We already talked about the color green, so this trend focuses on being eco-friendly! As more people incorporate green efforts into their daily lives, we see couples making these efforts on their wedding day. Some easy green options include sourcing food and flowers locally, utilizing party rental companies and vintage or thrift attire and décor.

Peony Flower

In East Asian culture, the peony represents prosperity and honor, which are two blessings that all couples wish for as they dream of their future together. They are perfect for bold bouquets and centerpieces because of their large size and bright colors.

From Style Me Pretty via Vitae Weddings

DIY

It takes some extra effort to put together DIY projects for your wedding, but you will appreciate each invitation, centerpiece, and wedding favor so much more if you do it yourself! And your guests will love the personal touches that only DIY projects can bring. With sites like Pinterest providing infinite inspiration, it’s easy to find the perfect projects for you.

Eye-Popping Cakes

We all know that the cake is the best part of a wedding, and they’re getting better. Brides are breaking away from the old (but still delicious) cupcake trend, and are showcasing incredible cake masterpieces. Look out for pops of color and fascinating textures like feathers and crystals.

Via Hip Entertainment

Bark

Earthy elements go hand-in-hand with the eco-friendly trend. We continue to see bark-incorporation adding rustic charm to weddings. Use a large, round piece as a cake plateau, or make votives out of small cylinder pieces. You can even wrap vases in flexible pieces of bark, like birch, for a pastoral look.

From Martha Stewart Weddings

Unique Reception Entertainment

Couples are trying harder to think of new ways for their wedding to be a night to remember. For music options, keep an eye out for dueling pianos, strolling mariachi bands, and live disc jockey mixing. Other entertainment options could include photobooths, caricature artists and outdoor games.

Via Captus Photography

 

We can’t wait to see these trends come to life as our busy spring season kicks into high gear. Comment and tell us what trends you are looking to incorporate in your wedding. And of course, let us know of any trends we left out!

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Lasting Party Favors: Plant + Grow Invitations

I could never turn down attending a wedding that sent me a bouquet of flowers with my invitation! By sending invites on paper that have an array of flower seeds in them, guests can simply fill out their RSVP card and toss the invitation into their back yard! These invitations are not only eco-friendly as they’re completely biodegradable, but they also provide your guests with a beautiful set of flowers to remind them of the fabulous time they will have/had at your wedding! You can choose from dozens of mixes of flower seeds, or just go with your single favorite flower; if you’re big into cooking, there are invitations with choices of herbs to plant too. There are plenty of DIY kits for plantable wedding invitations and also customizable invitations to order: ones with pictures, ones that look rustic, ones that are elegant and romantic…

Photo by: A Fine Press

Photo by Gourmet Invitations

Photo by Invite Site

Photo by Earth Invitations

Another good idea is to attach a small plantable note to your party favors for guests to take with them. As a crazy Mexican food enthusiast (but really, who isn’t?), my favorite twist of this idea is to write a short note of appreciation to your guests on the front of some decorative paper, fold the bottom into a pouch and sew cilantro seeds into them. Then on the back print your favorite guacamole recipe: give your guests the gift of great food. Definitely something unique and cost-friendly for your wedding! By Alexa Munford

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Easter Inspired Weddings

Easter can be very inspiring for your Spring Wedding – the pastel colors, egg cups, tulips, baskets, painted eggs, vintage inspired pieces, fresh grass and flowers. I love this time of year, and I’m happy to share this inspiration with you!

Picture from Weddings in Iowa

You can create centerpieces using painted eggs in tall, cylinder glass vases.

Picture from danischwab.blogspot.com

For your rehearsal dinner or seated wedding reception, you can treat guests to bagged chocolate eggs on your vintage plate settings.

Picture from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

Mix and Match these dresses for your bridesmaids or wear one to your rehearsal dinner!

Picture from Martha Stewart

This Sunny Style Board inspiration is obvious!

Picture from 4thewedding.com

This bouquet is the quintessential Easter/Spring inspired floral mix.

Picture from Wedding Flower Ideas

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Who Says You Can’t Go Over it?

Today’s post gives a complete new meaning to “Can’t go over it, can’t go under it, must go through it”. We all know we are huge fans of doing things uniquely, and this bride did just that! Katharine was determined to go over it, and with the help of her family and our floral design team she did!

The family constructed the bridge across the pool, and we decorated it to the max. Along with the bridge floral, the pool was accented with floating flower balls.

Guests were dropped off in the front of the house by shuttle buses, walked through the house to the sun porch and were greeted in the garden by a string quartet, then walked around the pool to be seated. The bride made her grand entrance across the pool to an intimate ceremony.

The moral of the story is never say never, and if you want to do it at you’re wedding we’ll make it happen!

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Merry Merry! How to Tie a Bow!

You’ve always wondered how to make the perfect holiday bow, and today’s the day to learn how! Follow our step by step instructions by our floral design team!

Supplies:
Pipe Cleaner – 1 per bow, preferably one that will blend in
5-7 yards of your desired ribbon *Remember, ribbon is measured in feet!

Start about 2-3" from the bottom for a tail

Pinch and Gather Across

Twist the Ribbon and Turn it Towards You

Create a Small Loop (The Pipe Cleaner Will Later Go Through Here at the End)

Tuck, Pinch & Twist

Make Your First Loop, Go Away From You on the Top Ones. (Make Your First Few Smaller)

Twist the Ribbon, So the Right Side is Showing

Hold Tight!!

Make Another Loop Pointing Down

Keep Making Loops, Twisting the Ribbon Each Time to Show the Right Side. Keep it Pinched Tightly

Keep Making Loops, One Up, One Down

Pinch and Twist!!

Keep Making Loops!

Fluff

Insert Pipe Cleaner into the Small Loop You Made in the Beginning

Once the Pipe Cleaner is Through the Small Loop, Don't Let Go Yet!

Weave the Pipe Cleaner Between Your Two Fingers Holding the Bow. Be Sure to Wrap All the Loops!

Pull the Pipe Cleaner Tight!!!! Twist the Ends Together

TAH-DAH! Your Finished Product!

You can top the tree with your bow, make a wreath, or put them on presents! So many possibilities, and they will look professionally done!

Happy Holidays from Epting Events!

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Vintage Green for Your Holiday Tree

“This holiday season try your hand at “Vintage Green”. Start a new holiday tradition by bringing back some old ones. Use Grandma’s old costume jewelry and raid the button jar to decorate the tree and create your own ornaments. Make a stocking to hang by adding some ribbons and bows to that one purple knee sock that has lost its mate. Incorporate fruit, nuts and candies into your holiday décor. That way, you can snack on the decorations or when the season is over you can throw it on the compost heap. Use those old magazines and scraps of wrapping paper to make folded paper ornaments, or revive some of the old family photos by turning them into ornaments with a festive paper frame. Get creative and have fun! Come up with your own way to keep tradition alive with “Vintage Green”.”

– Bart Scott and Leigh Frazier – Epting Events Floral Department

Our Arizona Blue Spruce tree is designed around the vintage green concept. For starters, the tree is sourced locally from a small tree farm five minutes up the road. Leigh and Bart took our old wedding magazines, and made origami ornaments, rolled the pages to make paper beads added with beads from Leigh’s grandmother’s collection to make a garland, and the tree is topped with an paper origami star. The tree is placed in an Amish country sleigh, Lee Epting purchased years ago in Pennsylvania at an auction. We also used the sleigh on our award-winning Christmas float this year (not to brag or anything).

Before you look at the pictures, let me again remind you I am not a professional photographer, and I could not be any more envious of those that are, especially while trying to capture the beauty of this tree!

Abby Buss Photography

Abby Buss Photography

And since my pictures unfortunately do not do this tree justice, you must now come eat at Harry’s and poke your head in!

We encourage you to look around your home, and see how can you use things you already have to make your home a little more festive for the holidays!

P.S. Stayed tuned for the blog post on how to tie beautifully amazing bows like Leigh Frazier!

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Your Not So Traditional Bride Bouquet

If you’re like me…you may not like to eat artichokes, but I absolutely love them when they are used to make a fabulous bouquet or table arrangement! Artichokes make a beautiful bridal bouquet, whether your mix them with flowers or just use them by themselves. I love when they have wrapped the stems in burlap creating the perfect rustic bouquet. They come in a variety of different shades of “artichoke green” to “artichoke purple”. You can use them as rustic, elegant or shabby chic. The artichokes for floral arrangements have long stems which make it easier to work with them.

Images from: The Knot, Get Married, Sleigh Dresses, D Magazine.

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The Only Time Love is Good in Tennis

Tennis balls can add the perfect touch of color to your next luncheon, ladies’ tennis club events, end-of-the-year parties and more. It’s best to use ones that aren’t brand new so the color is not so intense depending on your flower colors. You can adapt the vase arrangements with baseballs, ping pong balls and more.

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A Man’s Best Friend: Your Dog in the Wedding

What could make an outdoor ceremony even better? Maybe, having your dog walk down the aisle? This is becoming more and more popular with weddings outdoors, and even some inside if you can sweet talk the church. I, personally, feel outdoor is the best way to have your dog included. If you don’t want your dog to be sporting their normal Georgia Bulldogs collar and their everyday attire, and they obviously can’t carry a bouquet, buy a leather collar and have your florist attach flowers.

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Don’t Forget Art of Weddings Friday!!!!

The event will feature art and wedding dresses, paired with food and wine. Ticket proceeds benefit Make-a-Wish Foundation. Today is the last day for buy one get one free tickets. Tickets are $15.

http://tinyurl.com/ycypler

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