Comments on: Ask Abby…A Literary Bride

By: ellen

ellen — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 03:21:19 +0000

It would be awesome to find an open space or an english garden and you can accessorize and theme the wedding with shelves of books you like…and lamps..make some sort of a reading lounge area but in an open space with touches of flowers for whimsical feel. You can even use pile of books topped with small glass vases of flowers with crystals for the centerpiece tables.

By: Colleen @ The Everyday Bride

Colleen @ The Everyday Bride — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 17:18:26 +0000

Hi everyone! We had our reception in a vintage law library and it couldn’t have been more fabulous! We ran with a book/vintage library theme – which turned out to be conducive to our super tight (15K) budget, as didn’t have to “dress up” the reception site, the library was gorgeous enough! All of our DIY wedding paper carried the “The Story of Us” theme, my favorite of which were my Escort Card Books (inspired by a Rebecca Thus photo) and our library-check-out-card-advice-note-cards. Our library had super dark wood tones throughout, while the books themselves were a variety of deep, rich colors. As a result, our Eggplant & Pomegranate color scheme complimented the existing decor! Yay! The one thing I wish I had done, however, was displayed actual eggplants and pomegranates… But, oh well, live and learn. If you’d like a bit of inspiration, feel free to peruse the details of my wedding! Good luck!

http://theeverydaybride.blogspot.com/search/label/My%20Wedding

By: Taylor

Taylor — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 14:04:02 +0000

I’d also suggest going to http://www.weddingbee.com and looking at the blogger “Mrs. Lovebug.” She had a literature inspired wedding, complete with an adorable typewriter guestbook and hardback book centerpieces. She’s really creative!

By: Valerie Metrejean

Valerie Metrejean — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 13:52:37 +0000

I am a journalism graduate with an English minor and love the idea of a literature inspired wedding. I immediately went to thoughts of the pages themselves picturing lots of cremes with flourishing black designs and tons of calligraphy and creme anemones. Adding color inspired by actual books you read is great. I have seen some people make toss flower petal or feather holders of old music pages made into a cone but old book pages would add to your whole theme.

By: sherri kardell

sherri kardell — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 06:19:06 +0000

Ditto on the suggestion for a university club or library. I recently did a wedding with a great “love stories” theme. We provided classic romance novels such as Jane Eyre and Dr. Zhivago. They were very reasonable on amazon well under $5 if you buy them in bulk. We wrapped them in plain butcher’s brown paper with a ribbon.It was a great way to top off the evening and the guests loved it.

S Kardell

By: jbrowne

jbrowne — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 03:00:33 +0000

You MUST check out Christina Oth’s website… he has a picture of escort cards from a wedding at the New York Public Library that were done as book circulation cards. Such a clever idea that would work for your theme. The table names could be titles from your favorite British classics.

http://www.christianothstudio.com/#/new_york/35

Good luck with the rest of your planning!

By: Becca Lee

Becca Lee — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 01:05:18 +0000

Thanks for the pretty inspiration boards and all the wonderful advice! I love the way all these book-themed invitations and plush hardcovers look with the soft, full flower arrangements that have been suggested. I’m definitely going with those jewel tones. And since I’m a DIY kind of bride, I think I’m going to try to pull off a lot of these looks on my own. I live in a historic 19th-century home with large, domed and carved ceilings, a bright bay window, and rich wood all over the place – the (very lovely) location for my small reception. It’s a very white house, so I think all these color suggestions will brighten up the whole space considerably for my guests.

I’ve bought some rich blue toile for table runners (very 18th-century) which I plan to offset with some of those gorgeous purples and rich magentas you’ve all been commenting with. Also, I’ve been a collector of antique cloth-bound books for years now – I’m thinking a few of these might spruce up our tables beautifully.

So, thanks so much everyone for all your wonderful suggestions and many, many thanks to Abby for all her wonderful inspiration ideas!

By: flowergirlz

flowergirlz — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 19:39:06 +0000

If you go to the Stoneblossom.com website you can check out a wedding that was done using a literary theme.You have to look under venues at Rosecliffe Mansion and I believe it is also on their blog this week. The event planner is a company called “Something Fabulous”.
They did all the details items(books,favors, chargers, etc) so their website may also have some great images. The overall color pallette included shades of pink with accents of browns and very soft golds. I know these are not the colors you are looking for but you could easily use warm,bright colors with this look as well! It was super romantic! Take a peek and Enjoy!

By: Tina

Tina — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 18:29:25 +0000

Colleen, The Everyday Bride, held her wedding reception in an actual library. She had a deep purple wedding. The result was gorgeous.

http://theeverydaybride.blogspot.com/2008/12/vendor-review-iii-wedding-reception.html

Here’s her favorite photo from the day to give you an idea of the look:

http://theeverydaybride.blogspot.com/2008/12/photos-are-in.html

By: KM

KM — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 18:20:45 +0000

My fiance and I are also planning a literay themed wedding. We chose two main books that would go with a garden feel — Secret Garden and Alice in Wonderland — as our primary inspiration. Our colors are rich pinks, greens, and yellows. We are using old tea cups, saucers, and teapots for flower arrangements, using bookplates as escort cards, and are using the book covers of our favorite books as our table numbers.

We are also trying to pull in little pieces from our favorite books . . . in one, the main character makes lavendar toiletries, so we are incorporating a touch of lavendar into our flower arrangements.

By: IpreferAngie

IpreferAngie — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 17:51:06 +0000

SMP featured an online stationery merchant Chewing The Cud a while back. If you visit chewingthecudweddings.com and click “bespoke” you will find their custom invitation gallery. I believe the actual designers have their wedding posted. Their wedding was based on their favorite book “To Kill A Mockingbird”. The gallery features endless tips from their book-themed wedding. Definitely worth checking out.

By: Melanie

Melanie — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 17:34:55 +0000

We’re also doing a book-ish wedding….escort cards will be library cards, invites look like a book, and for centerpieces, we wrapped books we already owned in the colors of our wedding, stacking them in threes, with an open paperback on top (secured open with clear line) with the table number (featuring a quote) sticking out of it. We also wanted color, and I think this will work quote nicely, especially since our location isn’t very library-ish: We’re able to keep the theme light to complement the venue (in a restaurant surrounded by a beautiful garden with windows on all sides, in June).

By: Lil_Miss_Sha

Lil_Miss_Sha — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 17:22:51 +0000

I think you have your own answer…East Indies! You could incorporate all those beautiful jewel tones with a Rudyard Kipling theme. It would incorporate a mix of Victorian and Indian motifs – Peacocks, elephants, tea, silks, stacks of books and dark woods.

By: Vilija

Vilija — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 17:13:35 +0000

The first thing that came to mind when I thought of British literature and wedding colors was Alice in Wonderland. It is one of my favorite story books and the idea of colors as the illustrative properties of your wedding sounded like a cool idea to me. I too can see how stacked books, cloth or leather bound could add to your ambiance and add color to your palate.

If you are thinking of going the book-as-centerpiece route you should see if your local library has an annual book sale. I buy books for my classroom at similar sales regularly and they always have a nice selection of classic titles, even hardcover, at amazing prices.

By: David Whitehouse

David Whitehouse — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 17:00:07 +0000

We have wooden panels at our hotel, but it still has a bright contemporary feel. You could have various romantic quotes from Shakespeare (or whatever takes your fancy) scattered on plain white backgrounds in some kind of cursive(?) text in a bold color. I think that would look really good…