It’s not for everyone, but here are some ideas for:

A Wedding That Walks on the Dark Side

Think skulls, black and other dark colors, and draw inspiration from The Day of the Dead, Halloween, and For more subtle ways to incorporate the color black into your wedding, please read next week’s article; “Black Tie Weddings“.

Here are some tips if you are going to the dark side:

Keep It Simple:

Restrict the decorations to one color and one or two images and stick with them, unless you want your wedding to look like a Halloween party. For example, you might select white skulls on a white backdrop for an elegant yet eerie look. Or black spiders on a black background would work well. Even better just use a spider web design, and leave the spiders out of the picture.

Go Crazy:

Or you can do the exact opposite and use every color out there. Use the rich vibrant palette of the Day of the Dead art as inspiration. Again, you might want to keep yourself to one or two images, but you can repeat them everywhere (a skull and a cross would work well, or a top hat and a fan). Colorfully printed fans would make great wedding favors and table decorations for the female guests. A cigar or a red boutonniere would be a nice gift for the men.

Til Death Do Us Part

If you’re a fan of the Day of the Dead (or just skulls), these custom-wrapped chocolate bars would be killer. You can order them from ChulaMichelle on Etsy.

Here Tooth-Decay, Gone Tomorrow

Here’s the perfect decoration for an engagement party near Halloween (or any time, if you have a sweet tooth). Also a fun way to display and offer a variety of sweet wedding favors. This candy cake is available from cookiepots.com at a very reasonable price. At less than $40 each, you could use them as table centerpieces in the place of flowers and wedding favors (which would easily add up to more than this price).

For Better or For Hearse

Cool wedding cake topper crafted by self-described ‘mantastic crafter’ Patrick Murillo.

For Richer For Gorier

This colorful skull cake is from bake me a cake.

Here’s another cake made by tiffanysbakingco.com – a hearse groom’s cake, but also could work as a wedding cake as well. Of course, it would be perfect for the wedding re-HEARSE-al (MWA Ha ha ha ha). Also, check out their traditional wedding cakes – delicious and beautiful looking!

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Personalized chocolate is a great way to share good news, whether it’s an engagement or wedding announcement or just announcing where someone is supposed to sit at a table…

Chocolate Diamonds

Make some chocolate jewels for a stagette or bridal shower, using this mold from cookiecutter.com. A great excuse for the bride to be to show off her engagement ring!

Design Your Own

You can create your own signature chocolate at chocri.com. How does a chocolate bar with dried cranberries and banana chips sound? Or perhaps one with gummy bears or jalapenos? All possible… “more than 10 billion possible combinations” according to their website.

Killer Copy Cats

Make your own deluxe versions of popular chocolate bars using the recipes at chow.com. This is a great way to spruce-up a snack for the bride and groom with a sweet tooth.

Personalized Wrappers

Order chocolate with personalized wrappers like these funky options from beau-coup.com. They offer classy kosher Belgium chocolate. You can also find online tutorials to help you print your own wrappers, allowing you to wrap your favorite brand of chocolate bar. My friend ordered personalized Nestle Crunch bars for her wedding, I tried to keep it as a keepsake but it didn’t last long – I think I ate it that night!

Handcrafted Squares

These personalized wedding favors from chocolate.com would also work well for an engagement party (note: the minimum order is 100).

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Attention: Brides to Be – Boxing Day is just a few days away!

Many stores now hold Boxing Day sales for a week. Online stores also have sales. This is the perfect opportunity to stock up on all of the things you will need for your wedding. Get a jump start on your wedding planning and save money.

Tips for Wedding Shopping on Boxing Day

Prepared to Shop?

Taking advantage of Boxing Day to ease your wedding budget makes sense as long as you already have a clear idea of what your wedding will be like. It doesn’t matter how far off your wedding is, you can start shopping if your wedding party has been selected and you know the size of your guest list.

It is also a fantastic time to shop for wedding rings – you can buy some beautiful wedding bands and engagement rings for reasonable prices at this time of  year. While you’re out there shopping, don’t forget to watch for gifts for your wedding party as well!

Wedding Colors

The more flexible you are, the more you save. If you are willing to select your colors based on what is available at a low price, you will save more money. If your wedding colors are popular then there will be more choices available to you, at lower prices.

Wedding Theme

Select your wedding theme from the wedding supplies available and you will save money.

Ideas – What Brides to Be Should Buy on Boxing Day

Wedding Time Capsule

A wedding time capsule is a great way to collect memories of your special day and then revisit them on an anniversary. You can order this time capsule at giftsnideas.com. Couponcodes4u says they are offering 15% all orders after Christmas (sale ends December 30).

Wedding Dress

Many bridal shops have Christmas and Boxing Day sales – this is the perfect time to get your dress! For example, if you buy your dress from bridalsbay.com during their boxing day sale, you can get dresses up to 75% off their list price. Check local stores in your city for big sales, too.

bridalsbay.com

Wedding Stationery

Everything at Mujka.ca is 50% off for Boxing Day – a site that sells templates you can buy to create your own wedding stationery (the invitation, rsvp card, thanks you card, reception card). A very reasonably-priced way to jump start your DIY wedding project!

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This article features ideas for Autumn or Fall Weddings. To see ideas for other seasons, see ‘Spring Wedding Ideas‘ (Feb 2009) or  ‘Wet and Wild’ (beach themed weddings, May 2009),and look for a Winter Wedding feature in December.

Awesome Autumn

Fall weddings can be so romantic. Autumn colors are rich and vibrant. And, for longtime students such as myself – September always marks a time for new beginnings, much like the New Year does for others – so a September or October wedding can be symbolic as well.

Warm Wishes

The warm colors associated with Autumn can inspire the entire event. Candle light and textured fabric can inspire a cozy atmosphere. Branches or ‘heavy’ bouquets add to the setting.

LED The Light In

Use LED ‘candles’ to reduce heat, fire hazards, and the need to light/maintain flames throughout the evening. The 4″ Pillar style below flickers realistically and lasts up to 200 hours (batteries included in price).

hassle-free LED from yummicandles.com

Make or buy Fall tone wreaths to go around each candle for table centerpieces. You can buy the supplies you need from Michael’s: you’ll need a grapevine wreath, floral wire, and a glue gun. Attach decorations that match your wedding colors and the season: berries, leaves, flowers, apples…

michaels.com

Be-Leaf It!

Leaf designs are complex, elegant, and visually pleasing – perfect for wedding invitations and decorations.

Save the Date

Designer Meg Moynahan has created a stunning collection called “New England Fall Wedding” which includes an invitation, save the date, and website. I enjoyed her other invitations as well (the polka dot collection was my favorite).

megmoynahan.com

Attire

Incorporate leaf motifs into the wedding clothes or jewelry. The ring pictured below has a leaf design along the top and sides.

danforthdiamond.com

This 18K white gold wedding band has a hand-engraved leaf pattern.

danforthdiamond.com

Favors

You can order the bags and leaf ribbon from sophiesfavors.com. Their website also suggests you can use this ribbon to decorate bottles, invitations, hang tags, and tins. I also imagine it could be used to decorate the reception chairs, tables, or candles.

sophiesfavors.com

Fill them with traditional Jordan wedding almonds or any candy of your choice. You can order Jordan almonds in an Ivory Tusk (light beige) color or a seasonal color mix for Autumn.

jordanalmonds.com

I also like the white Amorini hearts offered by the same company – these are traditional Italian wedding favors and translate to ‘little loves’.

jordanalmonds.com

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Last post, I started writing about cookies at weddings.

Cookies are always a fantastic idea, and they are really great when it comes to weddings.

They sweeten up any wedding-related event.

See my last post “Wedding Cookies – The First Half” to read about my top 5 reasons why wedding cookies work and to discover a bunch of ideas for smart cookies (cookies you can prepare yourself to take a bite out of your wedding expenses).

Elegant

thewelldressedcookie.com

Pretty

These wedding rose cookies will add color to every table and can be color coordinated for the event.

rollingpinproductions.com

Picturesque

When the bride and groom look good enough to eat…

ediblegiftsplus.com

Sweet

Just supply the guest list and order the cookies and ediblegiftsplus.com will make these cookies that double as seating cards!

ediblegiftsplus.com

Cookie Themed Favors

The cookie cutter below comes with a recipe for sugar cookies and you get to personalize the card. The online store suggests that you “tie the cookie cutter to the card with a string or satin ribbon (not included) that coordinates with your wedding colors or… arrange them with sugar cookies in a basket on your reception table for an extra sweet surprise!” Available at orientaltrading.com.

orientaltrading.com

hotref.com

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Chocolate is all-purpose – it’s supposed to be an aphrodisiac and it’s tied up with ideas of romance (first dates, Valentine’s Day, gifts from your sweetheart); but it’s also there to console you after a break-up or on pretty much any day when you feel like you just need to treat yourself (at least, that’s chocolate in my life…).

Here are some ideas to sweeten up your wedding proposal…

Edible Engagement Ring Box

conversationpieces.org

This box from conversationpieces.org comes with a candy ring but you could just replace it with a real engagement ring.

Or it would also be a cute favor at an engagement party!

Who’s the Lucky Girl?

Another option, from the same company, you could order chocolate fortune cookies – they let you personalize the fortunes inside! Why not have them all say, “Will You Marry Me?”

conversationpieces.org

A Very Personal Message

You could also write a message on yourself if you think your true love would find that tasteful!

victoriassecret.com

Ask “You Wanna?” With a Pinata!

Check out the cool pinata cake below and just imagine that there’s a diamond engagement ring inside when she cracks it open! How cool would that be? There’s a recipe for this type of cake at the Australian Women’s Weekly website.

simplesong.typepad.com

Hand Over Your Heart

A simple, yet romantic gesture – order one of these sweet little boxes of chocolates and replace one of the candies with the ring (bonus – you get to eat one of them!). Then wrap it all back up and bring along to present to your sweetheart during the perfect romantic date…

godiva.com

Sweeten your love story by giving these boxes out later as wedding favors. The really sweet news is that you can order them online for only $7.75 at godiva.com,  leaving more money to buy the engagement ring, like this tasty 2K treat!

danforthdiamond.com

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Who Says It Isn’t Easy Being Green?

Here are some wedding options that are both beautiful and eco-friendly (and often, economical, too!)

A Dress That Won’t Cost the Earth

Your dress doesn’t have to be made out of recycled tin cans to earn it’s green status. Look for dresses made from natural fibers, like the gowns from Tennessee company ‘Threadhead Creations’. Their dresses are made by hand from hemp, organic cotton, peace silk, and bamboo.

Go green with your gown: wear a hand-me-down!

Reconsider wearing that ugly dress of great grandma’s if your family will allow you to alter it’s design. Re-using fabric to create a new gown is a wonderful way to be eco-conscious. There are experts who specialize in restyling heirloom gowns, like the Illinois-based Treasures by Tina. The gown featured below was originally a high-necked, long-sleeved wedding dress from the 1960′s.

treasures-by-tina.com

What Kind of Metal is Your Love Made Of?

Did you know that “mining is a very “dirty” business and the production of one beautiful gold ring will generate five tons of environmental waste, contaminating water and lands which endangers the health and lives of humans and animals” (danforthdiamond.com).

Think Refined, Not Mined

Eco-conscious jewelers offer engagement and wedding rings that are made from 100% recycled precious metals, like the 14K white gold set below.

Warning: make sure the company can provide a certificate of authenticity!

Do the Earth a Favor

Don’t send your guests home with another useless knickknack… provide guest favors that are good for everyone! Here are some heart-shaped bird seed favors: a favorite for any feathered wedding crashers at  your garden/outdoor wedding! Or, guests can take them home and hang them outside their windows. These favors, from blissweddingsmarket.com, can be personalized with your name and a ribbon that compliments your wedding colors… If you buy at least 35 favors they are only $2.99 each – so they are nice to your wallet as well as the earth!

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The last installment in our Wild Wedding feature: this time we’re discovering that weddings can be a real beach!

How Deep Is Your Love?

Let’s start with some wave inspired jewelry for the occasion, like this unique yet under-stated wedding band. It is a stackable white gold wedding band with an S-shaped engraving around it, reminiscent of love that’s deeper than the ocean and that will outlast the tides.

Sing the Blues

Or, how about an engagement ring with side stones that are a deep blue, like the sea? Surround your beauty with round blue sapphires, like the diamond in this engagement ring.

Beach Themes Take the Cake

Your cake can play along, too, if you have a willing bakery and the idea of mixing sea creatures with cake doesn’t turn you seafoam green… I think starfish are a bit much, so here is a classier sample – I live the use of color too. This cake is from Patty – Cakes of Illinois.

pat-t-cakes.com

Here’s a slideshow of cakes that have waterfalls… not sure I like all the cakes but I’d sure like to hire the person on the synthesizer for my next big event!

And, To Top It All Off

This wedding cake topper is cute, and what makes it even better is that it can be customized to resemble the bride and groom. Your initials even get carved into the ‘sand’.

magicalday.com

Favor These Favors

Here are some ideas for wedding favors. At 3 for $11.50, these palm tree candles aren’t too hot to handle – and they double as great table decorations for an outdoor casual or indoor tropical event.

sophiesfavors.com

Your Guests Can Have a Ball

If your wedding is more fun than fancy, this is a perfect fit.

weddingfavors.org

There are so many possibilities for weddings and water. But, please please please don’t let your wedding song be Easy Lover by Billy OCEAN. Dressing up as a mermaid and Neptune won’t wash, either, since Neptune was her dad! And on this theme I’m leaving you with a wedding that’s truly wet and wild- the happy couple got married on water skis!

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Another installment in our Wild Weddings series – this time we’re looking at plants. We’re not talking your common ordinary (boring) houseplants (the more exotic the better!).

Sustainable Centerpieces

A potted plant as a centerpiece is a symbol of enduring love and much more romantic than cut flowers, which fade and die before your honeymoon is even over (or worse yet, they are just thrown into a dumpster after the reception!).

amazon.com

Planted Around the Venue

Add some life to your party by renting plants. Small white lights make them an attractive feature in the evening. Palms add to a Hollywood nightclub feel – perfect for a romantic reception. Creativeplantrentals.com, based out of California, offers a service called “instant jungle”.  They will also rent you a 7 foot palm for around 80 dollars.

Welcome to the Jungle

Check out local themed gardens and wildlife parks – you may be able to get married in a jungle, amazon rainforest, or even say your vows with appropriately-dressed penguins (or perhaps monkeys in their own natural monkey suits!). If you get married at the Billabong Sanctuary in Australia you can have kangaroos, koalas, and wombats as wedding guests!

www.billabongsanctuary.com.au

Exotic Wear

This beautiful engagement ring and wedding band set is an art deco reproduction. I wish I had seen this when we were picking out our rings, I just love it. Notice the flower detail along the sides.

Or you could copy Carrie Bradshaw’s ill-fated wedding and just wear an exotic bird in your hair. (No wonder Mr. Big didn’t want to get out of the car!) I’m a big fan of Carrie and her friends and I usually admire their outfits but this is one that just doesn’t do it for me. You?

Destination Wedding, Hometown Reception?

If you are having a wedding somewhere warm, sunny and far away from home (Hawaii, Jamaica, Mexico) consider bringing that exotic them to the party you are having back at home. It will make your guests feel like they were there and tie the two events together.

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Last week I wrote about Ring Bearers which reminded me that our dog, Buddy, was the ring bearer at our wedding. He was very cute and well-behaved, (didn’t eat the wedding rings or anything!) -until he suddenly started barking at me in the middle of the ceremony (I think it took him that long to recognize me – I guess I should dress up a bit more often!). 

This led me to think about all of the other ways that people incorporate the wilder side of life into their weddings and this is what I came up with:

Dove and Butterfly Release

There are businesses who will ensure that you have lovebirds or white butterflies (your choice) released at the end of your wedding. Very romantic. For local listings supplied by partypop.com, click here.

Catty Maid of Honor

When this couple renewed their vows, their maid of honor was a Siberian Tiger! Full story at vegparadise.com.

Animals as Wedding Favors

Well, not quite, but you can make a donation to a local animal shelter on behalf of each guest rather than purchasing wedding favors. New Jersey Popcorn Park Zoo is a refuge where abandoned or abused exotic animals are sheltered. When a wedding couple donate to them, each wedding guest receives a card that describes the donation plus one free admission to the zoo. Packets of Forget-Me-Knot seeds are also provided for the wedding tables.  Check with your favorite charity to see if they offer something similar, or just make a donation and print cards of your own!

Another option is Oxfam’s Unwrapped Program, where you can plant 50 trees for $30 (maybe one for each guest?) or plant a garden for $150 (perhaps one for each table?). You can print cards off of their website that explain the gift.  

The World Wildlife Fund is also set up for donations as wedding favors. You can also adopt an animal for the younger members of your wedding party and they receive a stuffed animal. 

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