Michele and Paul's May 24, 2008 Wedding

Summer Wedding Season Has Begun!!!

This Memorial Day Weekend marked the first wedding of the summer season for me! It was an amazing 80 degree day in Seattle where love, laughter, and and joy was celebrated by two amazing families. Michele and Paul were married at St. James Cathedral with a elegant reception following at Hotel 1000. The couple played up the color palette of the gorgeous hotel using champagne, greens and burgundy. My pictures from the day are in the slide show above. I will post photographer Barbie Hull's pictures as soon as I get them!

Making it Legal...

As many of you know, in order to make your marriage legal in the eyes of the law, you need a marriage license. It can be applied for online, by mail, or in person. Here is a link to king county's marriage license website with all the information that you may need. There are a few important pieces of information I will point out:

1. You can apply for a marriage license in many ways, but you can only receive it in person. If you applied by mail, you will pick it up at the downtown location.

2. The marriage license is only valid for 60 days. You will need to have your ceremony within the 60 after receiving your license, or you will need a new one.

3. There's a 3 day waiting period before your license becomes valid. You want to make sure that you get the license more than 3 days before the wedding. If getting married on a Saturday, you would want to get your marriage license no later than Wednesday. I always recommend getting it the week prior, to be on the safe side. (Many churches require you to drop it off with them a few weeks prior. You will want to check with your church.)

4. Marriage license requirement vary from state to state, and country to country. You want to check with your state/local government to see if there are blood tests, or additional paperwork to take care of.

5. It is one of the largest pieces to making your marriage LEGAL. You also need a witness and someone to perform the ceremony, but with out it, you may just be having a really great party.

Peacock is the new Damask Print

We all had to have noticed the Damask print everywhere this winter. It was the center piece for what seemed like every store display, wrapping paper, gift boxes, and my wedding show booth.



It was so versatile and could be used anywhere. There were very traditional renditions, and new bold modern twists. There seemed to be a damask print suited for everyone. It was also a beautiful statement when used in small amounts.

For Summer of 2008 the peacock feather will be the new Damask Print. While looking for images for this post I have found the peacock feather has been played with a lot over the past few years. Prada introduced a stunning peacock dress on the 2005 runway.

Many blog posts in 2006 and 2007, were made about peacocks and their feathers. Brides vented their frustrations about how they were becoming overwhelmed and finding it hard to use. It seemed like a great theme, but many were unable to use the peacock to create the elegant wedding they hoped.

Why do I think that 2008 is the year it will come into fruition? Many reasons, mostly, because it like damask print, it's versatile and easy to use. There is a style or element that can be used for any wedding or bride. It can be wild, simple, playful, or contemporary.

Today's bride is willing to throw safety and convention out the window. They're taking bigger risks, and seeking the advice of professionals when needed, to reach their desired look. They want to use bold elements to create a powerful and exquisite look and feel for their wedding.
(This is not to say that past brides didn't have this as well, but more often they wanted simple elegance over bold.
For those who didn't, today's brides are following in your footsteps. You created a non-traditional, or modern approach to traditional, that established a easy path to follow and explore. For that, we thank you!)

Also, as we become a greener society, we are drawn to elements and colors of the earth. 2008 is a HUGE year for green weddings! The peacock feather has a very rich earthy color palette, and is a natural element. The aqua and teal reflect the ocean, gold, bronze and other metallic colors are found in the earth, the light and dark greens can be found in trees, and the many other colors in other natural places.





Key to success:
It is really important to use the colors in the peacock feather as well as the feather itself in moderation. Choose one or two of the deep hues as your base color and then accent with the more vibrant colors. I would use the black or deep brown with the deep peacock blue as my most prominent colors and accent with the gold, lime green, and aqua. I would use flowers, chargers, menu cards, and other small elements in those shades on a deep colored linen with dark colored chairs. Let the pictures be your inspiration to design your exquisite peacock wedding!



Like the Damask print, the peacock feather too will have its season in 2008, maybe linger a little longer, but then go back into hiding. Like any great trend, it will always resurface in a new modern way.

Pictures in order:
From Top to Bottom
Peacock: Animal National Geopgraphic
Peacock dress: Prada 2005 Runway
Peacock earings:Coffs Jetty Markets
Peacock table top: Tottaly tabletops
Black and Natural Dress: Newport News
Teal Blue Dress: Jessica McClintock
Peacock Stationary: Baron Cards
Peacock makeup:Paramita Academy of Makeup Inc
Peacock favor:The Krishna Store