Trend Alert! Justin & Jessica Celeb Wedding Trends! Oh, How Wedding Journalists Annoy me!

So I’m flipping through the LA Times and I see that they’ve shoe-horned a  little wedding section into the paper this past Sunday.  It’s your usual assortment of articles, the charming quirky dress saleswoman at Saks, the etiquette of putting photos on Instagram, nothing that those of us who actually make our living doing this haven’t written about a hundred times.  But there was one piece that really stuck out. It was the obligatory “What’s new & hot in weddings” article.  It illustrates my whole problem with the idea of “hot wedding ideas”

Titled “Weddings from a Simpler Time,” the piece describes the “boho chic” trend, and discusses such elements as mason jar centerpieces, wildflowers, picnic tables, and popularity of the craft marketplace Etsy.

Love the boho chic mason jar look? So do we! We don’t care if it’s trendy, we want your wedding beautiful and you happy.

Um, LA Times? 2010 called and wants its wedding trend article back.  They write that “one out of every four weddings in 2011″ had this vintage type theme. Are they aware that we are approaching the end of 2012? Don’t they know editors have moved on to Roaring Twenties/ Great Gatsby weddings? Here’s my take- it’s still beautiful, whether or not it’s “popular”

Now if you read this blog, you know how I feel about trends.  Basically, they are all well and good, but I really think brides should have weddings they and their partners love, not that are dictated to them by the editors of magazines. And this article goes to show why! They often have no idea what they are talking about. The people who see the trends as they develop in the field are the designers (hint – us)! We can help you find the pieces of what’s new that fit into a look you already love to keep your wedding fresh and unique.  So this Halloween, read the magazines, just keep in mind they aren’t sent from on high.  As the LA Times demonstrates, sometimes they are the ghosts of wedding trends past! And who believes ghosts should design your wedding? No one.

Live well, and love well.

-Dinah

The Wedding Planner Goes To A Wedding

I have to go to a wedding this weekend – as a guest. At one point in my career in events I moaned “Why can’t I ever just go and be a guest?” but these days I actually feel kind of uneasy at a wedding without a timeline in my hands, or  a headset in my ear.  I’m the ultimate accessory at this shindig – a groomsman’s wife.  So while my husband stands up looking handsome in his suit and tie, the poor bride, bless her heart, will have an event professional perched on a folding chair analyzing her celebration. It has nothing to do with her – she’s a perfectly lovely girl.  It’s a hazard of the profession that parties and weddings I attend personally (and didn’t have a hand in planning) become case studies. Sometimes I come away with brilliant, unique ideas.  Other times, things are woefully underplanned, and it’s painful to watch.  Even then, I end up making notes and learning a thing or two.

English: Wedding Planning also includes table ...
Picture me here – this weekend.

So I guess in the end, when you work in the event industry, anytime you go to an event, guess what? It’s work.  So to paraphrase seven little men, “Hi ho, hi ho, it’s off to the wedding I go!”

I’ll be sure to share lessons learned and/or brilliant ideas.

Be well, and love well

-Dinah

Family Holiday Advice from My Little Flower Shop, Palm Springs florist

You know those movies about wacky families that really love reach other under all the craziness? Well, Julia Louis Dreyfuss may not be cooking your High Holiday brisket, and Jane Lynch may not be sorting the sweet potato casserole recipes that will end up on your Thanksgiving table, but the sweet families on the silver screen aren’t that different from yours.

Here’s how I know.  One of the men who invented the entertainment industry as we know it, Louis B. Mayer, was the son of a scrap metal dealer who became the most powerful man in Hollywood. Mayer would tell people his birthday was the Fourth of July because he was fiercely patriotic. He wanted America to be all marching bands, fireworks and apple pie. So that’s what he put in the movies. He created the images we all associate with our culture and our country.

English: Apple pie.
English: Apple pie. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

These days, filmmakers continue to put their dreams and ideals on screen, but in a more modern way.  We see their crazy families, but with softer edges, a lot of humor and a sympathetic eye. And there’s frequently a happy ending.  With some good dialogue, could that be your Aunt Phyllis instead of Shirley MacLaine? Can you soften the lens this holiday season to see your family more as human beings who love you and less like a clown car full of confused commuters? I bet you can. Remember, Louis B. Mayer created his own reality. Think more apple pie, less fireworks.