Today I want to spend a little bit of time talking about the Traditional wedding style and how it can work beautifully to create a timeless and elegant wedding.
What does ‘Traditional’ actually mean?
It’s not old fashioned or prim & proper for sure! A traditionally styled wedding may get you thinking about a big pile of fluffy white Tulle. To me, a traditional wedding is timeless elegance, luxurious fabrics, crisp linens and large, impressive floral statement pieces.And candles! Oodles of candles for the romantic ambiance only candlelight can give (pst – if your venue will not allow candles to be lit, we have an alternative that is still as beautiful).
Let’s look at all of the key parts of your wedding, from a Traditional wedding style view
Wedding Chair Styles
White chiffon waterfall chair dressings & statement floral centerpieces at Shottle Hall
How you dress your chairs always comes down to the type of chairs your venue includes in your package.If the chairs are particularly nasty, or you’re just not a fan of chair covers, one option would be to hire in alternative chairs that are more appealing to your style. These can still be dressed to match or compliment your colour scheme, using floaty fabrics for an ethereal feel to the settings. I talk more about chair covers in this post here and you can have a look at some more ideas here http://www.icedandspliced.com/weddingchaircovers/
The Traditional Style Wedding Cake
Sugar Ruffle Wedding cake, with sugar flower cascade & cushion
If I’m honest, traditionally designed wedding cakes are my ultimate favourites. I LOVE making them! My signature Sugar Ruffles may be time consuming, but they’re well worth the extra time and effort they take to make for the effect they create. Teamed with Sugar flowers to match those used in your wedding, a neutral coloured cake forms the perfect backdrop for your colour palette.
If your dream cake is a multi tiered sugar confection, but your guest numbers aren’t large enough to consume something that big, ask your cake designer about the option of using fake tiers among real ones, to allow you to have the huge cake you’ve dreamed of, without having cake portions that could feed half of the county. This is something we do quite a lot to give our brides the effect they want without the need for spending additional money on something that just won’t be used.
I love this style of cake because it really, to me, demonstrates a traditional wedding but still has a modern feel to it. Those sugar ruffles take time to do but I always look at them with love when I have finished designing the creation.
Table Decorations for your Wedding Venue
A traditional wedding has centerpieces that make a grand statement. But that doesn’t necessarily mean huge & expensive. Mixing tall & short centerpieces add depth to the room, whilst also being kinder to your wallet.
Alternating the table decorations makes the eye travel across the room easier and allows you to opt for two chair dressings if you simply can’t decide between the two styles you’ve fallen in love with. As you can see from the image above, mixing the two styles of chair dressing works really well when they coordinate together.
My love of candles is obvious in the style of centerpieces we offer and I’m especially in love with our new, all crystal pieces… the epitome of understated glamour & elegance. No true sparkly magpie will be able to resist their look and they look really beautiful as the day turns to night.
Table Runners and Top Table dressings
Blush Pink Sequin top table swag at Shottle Hall
Traditional weddings have crisp linens, maybe something with a subtle shimmer like Taffeta for total opulence… but it’s not all got to be white.
If your budget won’t stretch to hiring in table linen and napkins, your venue should supply coverings as part of your package and these can be given a wow overhaul with a little imagination.
The options are endless here, from adding softness to your tables with lovely chiffon fabric drapes to match those used on your chairs, to all out sparkle with sequin runners and stunning swags.
Never overlook your Top table dressing either. It’s the main focus of the Wedding Breakfast and you will have the majority of the wedding breakfast photos taken here during dinner and the speeches so you want it to have a wow factor. Why not make a huge statement there as well. It’s your day to shine after all!
Additional decorative items
Mirrored Table Plan with floral dressing at Shottle Hall
I love a mirrored Table Plan at a traditionally themed wedding. It reflects light, looks amazing on display and gives your guests the first hint of what to expect as they enter the room to find their seat for the meal.
Decorated with flowers & foliage to match those in the main room adds more luxuriousness to the detailing of the wedding, Even a small spray of flowers to dress your post box or gift table makes a huge difference to a simple item.
Hints & tips
White Chiffon Waterfall Chair Dressings and Statement Floral Centrepieces at Shottle Hall
Although a monochrome wedding using white or ivory as a base has a richness to its look, subtle inclusions of your accent colour adds depth, impact and texture to any dressing.
From chairs to the tables and onto the cake too, it’s all about the small elements of detailing that will wow your guests, making your wedding design memorable. These small details also mean your photographer has lots of beautiful details to capture, so you remember them as you look through your wedding photos.
Neutral Tiered Wedding Cake with Sugar Ruffles and Flowers at Shottle Hall
I hope that this blog series is helping to guide you in how to choose your wedding style, one that will suit your venue, your personalities and your vision for your wedding day. Bringing all of this together in the weddings we style for our couples is such an important (and fun) part of what we do and we love looking back at all the gorgeous weddings we have been involved in.
Contact us http://www.icedandspliced.com/contact/ to arrange a private consultation meeting, where we can talk all things wedding together, in the comfort of our showroom.
