Now, here, we’re going to step it up a notch.  This wedding has all the charm of an outdoor, garden wedding but is also quite sophisticated and glamorous.  It mixes smooth, sleek silhouettes with loose florals.  (Ideally, the bouquet would be a much looser arrangement than what we see here but it was the closest I could find.  In fact, lets just make it somewhere between the one we see above and the flowers we find on the cake...not exactly like the cake, because that would be too much, but somewhere in between.)  The key to this board is variation without deviating too far.  The pallet hovers around light yellow-greens, deep purplish-pinks, and white to champagne to light gray, while the tone dances between casual and elegant, formal and loose, glamorous, down to earth, and preppy.

 

Often I find the key is in balancing.  Yes, you usually want to have a central idea but, if every element falls straight in line, it tends to come out boring or too expected.  In variation we find depth and richness--that’s what keeps it interesting.  (In my opinion, anyway!)

 

(cake: Ron Ben-Israel; fabric: ‘ Chardon’ by Osborne & Little; bridesmaid dress: Lynn Lugo; flowers: white peonies, pink roses, and green cymbidium orchids; gown: Tara Keely 2009; earrings: Sundance; tie: PINK; shoes: 'Carrie' Guess by Marciano; venue: the Atrium in Norcross, GA.)