Comments on: Ask Abby

By: jules

jules — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 04:12:26 +0000

How about fruit for the centerpieces? It shouldn’t be expensive and in mexico you should be able to lots of beautiful exotic fruit. Just bring bowls or serving dishes down with you and get the fruit there. Or you could use the table runner idea mentioned above and just artistically mound the fruit along the center of the tables with lots of tea lights.

By: Jeanna

Jeanna — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 18:20:14 +0000

I was wondering if you could do an inspiration board for me..I love rustic, natural elements…We are getting married outdoors, but an indoor reception in a lodge with all the doors wide open, with a big stone fireplace…My color scheme is dark grey, and pink…Id like all aspects of pink, but i really want hot pink accents…Our tables are the long rectangular tables, and Im looking at some (not all) dried floral arrangements for outdoor decorations…I have so many ideas swimming, and I just want to pull it all together without looking tacky…
My dress is a v-neck, floor length, ivory lacy one….

By: Nole

Nole — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 16:44:45 +0000

You could also use smaller lanterns, such as these moroccan-style tea-light lanterns. You can find lots of them on ebay in both blue and amber colors(http://cgi.ebay.com/AMBER-GLASS-MOROCCAN-LANTERN-Candle-Tea-Light-Lantern_W0QQitemZ220145047365QQihZ012QQcategoryZ40144QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQ_trksidZp1638.m118.l1247QQcmdZViewItem). They’re slightly more bulky than chinese paper lanterns, but should still be able to fit into a suitcase depending on how many you’d need. They’d look really nice in a single-file line down a long table or in clusters of three on a round table. Good luck!

By: Bella Signature Design

Bella Signature Design — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 16:14:17 +0000

I too got married on the beach (in the Caribbean) – being a wedding planner/designer, I didn’t want to offend all the vendors I knew locally (you can only pick one each, after all) and I wanted to get away from all the hoopla..In any case, I did bring my linens with me, as well as some really light wire cages for centerpieces. I simply puddled the fabric down the middle of the table, stuck a wire cage (they were round, kind of sea-urchin like) and put local orchids and plumeria inside. I did ship a lot of flowers to the resort, as I LOVE flowers and wanted a lot of them…they arrived fine, even with 3 airplane trips and a boat ride later. However, eco-wise I probably would not do that again, especially since I ended up being able to use some local flowers (It was a tiny island without a flower shop, so I thought my options were more limited.)

I would bring a few linens (easy and light to pack), buy local glassware and candles, and surround them with a ton of bougainvilla petals! Bougainvilla’s leaves (versus the actual flowers) are stunning, and have the same feel as rose petals – but the colors are breathtaking – oranges, fuchsia,s etc. My whole beach aisle was lined in them, and it was stunning (an they last longer!) You should be able to find those locally really easily.

Daniela
Bella Signature Design

By: Lauren

Lauren — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 16:11:12 +0000

Thanks for all the ideas, everyone! (I was the one who asked the question.) I WISH we could just ship everything down there, but apparently it’s pretty difficult: customs sends packages back, items get “lost”, and sometimes it can take months to get there. And while I’ve considered LOTS of local resources, they actually seem to be much more expensive and quite hit-or-miss. Not to mention that we’ll be sharing everything with a couple getting married at the same place the following week, so I want to make sure she likes whatever I come up with before it’s too late to change it all!

We’re definitely planning to use luminaries all over the grounds (white paper bags, soy-wax tea candles), but wanted something a bit different for the tables.

Thanks again for the ideas, and please keep them coming!!! I can use all the inspiration I can get.

By: Brooke

Brooke — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 13:44:51 +0000

Instead of cramming everything into your luggage, you can check with the concierge at your resort or hotel to see if they will accept packages that you have shipped from home. That way you can buy what you want a head of time and not stress out about the table decorations days before your wedding. Though, I would check with the post office before hand to see how long it will take to ship and go through customs.

By: Ley

Ley — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 13:21:33 +0000

Well, I’m not sure where in Mexico the wedding will be, but I know plenty of areas have fabulous mercados that sell all kinds of vases and candleholders created by local artists. Most are really inexpensive, and it seems like keeping things eco-friendly is important. You can even find beautiful glass and metal work, sometimes. Granted, you don’t have much control over the selection this way, but at least you’re keeping it local.

Also, while the flowers you might find at the markets may not be “organic” and “fair-trade,” depending on the vendors, they are most likely locally grown, and you would be supporting local small businesses rather than importing organic, fair-trade flowers from a larger company. Again with the control issue, though- you’re at the mercy of the resources available, but if “green” really is an issue (as you mentioned with the flower selection), you may want to consider local resources as opposed to flying down alot of candles, glasses and papers for centerpieces. Just something to consider.

By: Catherine

Catherine — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 13:03:24 +0000

What about using luminaries made from little colorful paper bags? I've seen some really beautiful things done with these -- and they are light and inexpensive as well! You can use the local sand to weight them, and will just need to bring a stack of bags and some candles with you. Here is a link to some beautiful wedding luminaries on Martha Stuart.com . . http://www.marthastewart.com/article/lacy-luminarias