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Toddling Down The Aisle (Tiara optional): Flower Girl Fails and Finding a Way Around Them

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Toddlers and Tiaras on TLC, like many of their shows, can be compared to a train wreck.  It’s horrifying, but you can’t look away.  The little terrors strutting the T&T stage got us to thinking about a common wedding problem: the Flower Girl Fail. They come in several forms

  •  The Wee One: She’s somebody’s niece, and she’s simply too young. She’s destined to get halfway down the aisle and either scream for mom, or announce over Pachabel’s Canon that she’s made “a wee” in her new tights.  Avoid this one by staying with kids 5 and over.
  • The Ham: Need we explain? She’s a scene stealer – and this is your movie.  They’re fine being cute down the aisle, but then they should be whisked away to the back of the ceremony space.  Avoid leaving them at the front to pull focus with a little dance or other mischief.

    A special moment with the flower girls- they might remember it forever, or might go in one ear and out the other.
    A special moment with the flower girls- they might remember it forever, or might go in one ear and out the other.
  • The Wallflower:  She’s adorable – the picture perfect flower girl – but she’s scared to death and doesn’t really want to do it.  The solution? Don’t make her.  There’s always an enthusiastic little one somewhere in the mix – there’s no need to put anyone in therapy over some petals.

So there you have it – three Flower Girl Fails and how to avoid them.  The most important thing is to remember you’re dealing with a kid, and to be patient.  And be sure to tune into the best TLC train wreck…I mean reality show…we’ve seen lately, “My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding.”

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Down the rabbit hole…what was I searching for to begin with?

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A form of dragée: Jordan almonds (a.k.a. confe...
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Ah the paradox of the Internet.  So helpful, but it’s kind of a rabbit hole. Alice went down following something specific, and then all of a sudden she was at a tea party full of  strange people.  So you went on looking for a certain color combination of Jordan almonds. You clicked here and there and suddenly you’re on Salon.com reading about how the Democratic, Republican and Tea Parties are full of really strange people.

 

What’s the lesson here?  Make sure you stay focused on your particular search.  And if you’re just in the mood to knock around on the Knot, or read your favorite Floral and Event Design Studio blog, set your kitchen timer for a half hour to spare your eyes and your sanity.  The rabbits like to keep their holes to themselves.

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There’ll Be Sad Songs to Make You Cry. For the Love of Billy Ocean, Not at the Reception!

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A fellow planner friend relayed this recent recurring dream:

“I’m toddling happily around the cocktail hour holding the bride and grooms signature sloe gin fizz* and taking in the scene of a bustling reception getting off the ground.  The peppy Michael Bublé number tapers off and familiar slow piano chords kick in, filled with emotion.  Uh oh, It’s Billy Joel. My inner game of “name that tune” begins. Is it ‘Always a Woman?’  ‘And  So It Goes?’ Does it really matter? Let’s face it, Billy Joel, bless his heart, is the troubadour of the relationship train wreck.  Nightmare!”

Afraid of Billy Joel? Oh yes. A bummer song busting up your carefully orchestrated cocktail hour scene can really stick in the craw. Here’s the thing.  After the ceremony,  guests are on a high – they’ve just witnessed a glowing couple come floating back up a flower-bedecked aisle. If the wedding professionals have done our jobs we’ve created the atmosphere you dreamed up for your reception.  Flowers, food, drinks, lighting, music…it all combines to envelop a guest in your vision and keep that warm ‘what-an-amazing-couple’ buzz going.

So when all of a sudden the music devolves into a love gone wrong ballad, it’s like putting salt in a recipe instead of sugar.  The notes are pretty – but there’s just something off.  And off putting.  So leave those weepy tunes off the playlist.

Wedding tears are best kept for the ceremony, not for depressing cocktail hour music

A quote inspired  by Billy Ocean:  “There’ll be sad songs that will make you cry.  Love songs often do.  They can touch the heart of someone new and all that jazz – just let your DJ know you don’t want them played at the wedding.”

Need specifics for your Itunes jockey? Just feel like crying your eyes out? Check out this list.

As for our friend with the restless nights, maybe we’ll send her the MP3 of “Get Out of my Dreams (Get Into My Car).”

*note – boutique distillery gin is all the rage – start learning to talk snooty about juniper.

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