Simply sweet centerpieces

Here are some simple sweet centerpieces that caught my eye. I'm having trouble deciding on my color palette - way too many options - so I'm hoping that maybe flowers will guide me in the right direction.

I can't get enough hot pink!

The colors on this next arrangement are a little soft and blushy for an Indian wedding but the choice of flowers is lovely and how sweet is the vintagey monogram?

Here is a super glamorous look. The varying heights of the vessels add a lot of drama. I would bring in at least one color into this table setting.

This dahlia centerpiece is exactly what I expect for Summer wedding flowers - a fresh burst coral color.

Another glamorous option - the crystals draping dramatically over the table edge are very ooh-la-la.

Color Palette Inspiration Board 1 - Burgundy, Red, Pink, and a Touch of Green

Check out my first color palette inspiration board! It just wouldn't be an Indian wedding without lots of color. As you can see, I created this board around some stunning images of flowers because well, flowers are just gorgeous. The rich, vibrant colors will fit perfectly with the location of our wedding since it's at a winery but also bring in the Indian flair. Rather than go purely with rustic vineyard colors (burgundy, chardonnay, and green), I chose to add some big pops of color with the fuchsia and flame. The champagne gold helps ground the bold colors while keeping with the rich look. I'm really loving the analogous palette of purple, red, and pink - they create a cohesive statement and at the same time allow for some needed variation in the color scheme. Sigh, I could never decide on just one color...

Image source: Karen Tran Florals (top left), Fifty Flowers (top right), Town & Country Magazine (bottom images)

Peacock feathers galore

One of the themes I'm considering for the big day is the Peacock theme. I've been seeing this in a lot of blogs but it would actually be meaningfully significant at our Indian wedding. Known for its beauty and grace the Peacock, which is the national bird of India, symbolizes beauty, prosperity, love and peace and is considered sacred. What a beautiful symbol for a wedding! Here are some lovely ideas I came across based on the theme.

Source: Momental Designs

Source: Karen Tran Florals (tons of stunning pics on her blog)

(love how they mixed the feather with a hot pink color scheme!)

Source: ThePartyDress.Net

(a clever and dramatic idea to keep the cake simple and put the feathers on display)

Source: OneSourceWedding

Source: The Fairmount Bride

Laura Kranitz hair clip

Platinum Weddings on WEtv features a decadent Socal Indian wedding

My Tivo is now filled with an array of wedding shows, much to my delight (and to the fiance's chagrin). I stumbled upon Platinum Weddings recently which is a show on WEtv. A recent episode featured a lavish - and I mean lavish - Indian wedding. It's a hotel wedding overlooking the beach in Santa Monica and let me tell you, no expense was spared. The show tells you what each major item costs so you can see and be astounded. The total budget was (gulp) $425,000! Makes me feel less guilty about my budget.

The style isn't quite what we are going for because our wedding will be at a winery (think rustic elegance), but I took special note of a few unique touches. One of the bride's outfits featured a unique peacock design on the back and on the bottom of the lehenga. The turquoise blue color scheme makes a huge impact. The mandap was made out of acrylic and was filled with flowers and had crystals. Check out more pics here.

The Lush Look with Flowers

In my slightly obsessive search for all things amazing for my wedding, I frequently find myself dawdling on flowers. What gal doesn't love flowers?! And I've been gravitating towards low centerpieces that showcase big blooming flowers in a streamlined palette. Being that it's an Indian wedding and all, I pretty much know that I've got to have some vibrant colors going to keep with the theme. But I love the notion of sticking to a simple bright palette to make a strong statement. It dawned on me that Indian weddings, in a way, sort of decorate themselves because all of the "aunties" wear such bold and colorful prints in their sari's. So it could easily get muddled by going crazy with all different flowers in too many colors. Sticking to one color family also seems to make it easier to achieve a full, lush look. At the risk of using a ridiculously overused word in the world of wedding blogs, I think these are just super CHIC while still being colorful and vibrant.

Source: Town & Country Magazine, October 2009

Source: Huckleberry Karen Designs

Source: Huckleberry Karen Designs