Mix styles to create an eclectic, rustic wedding. Our color palette inspiration is soft with a nature feel. Set the tone for your vintage event with natural, handcrafted elements using burlaps, lace, wood and metal. Get inspired!
Go green with our chic line of eco friendly wedding favors. Now offered at The Stationery Suite.
It could be a meaningful piece of fabric–from the favorite dress of a beloved grandmother, perhaps–or just a print that caught your eye while you were hunting up some mason jars at the thrift store. However that gorgeous vintage fabric found its way into your heart, you can use it to add charm and beauty to your wedding decor.
If you're having a rustic farm-style wedding, use your vintage fabric to cover up hay bales for seating for your guests.
Vintage fabric, suspended and then draped like a canopy, can make a dramatic backdrop for your cake or dessert table.
The perfect pattern can be hung up on a clothesline, and used as a background for a fun photo station for all your guests. Have your photographer set up times for each set of guests to show up and have their pictures taken, so no one gets lost in the crowd!
Depending upon how much of the fabric you have and how well you (or a crafty friend or family member) can sew, the possibilities are endless: table linens, chair covers, and chuppahs are just a few ideas. You can even use fabric for gift wrapping to cut down on expensive and wasteful wrapping paper.
If you only have a bit of special fabric, consider using it to bind your bouquet in an elegant and meaningful way.
You can also cut out small pieces of your fabric to serve as backing for the flowers in the mens' boutonierres. No matter how you use that beautiful vintage fabric, it will add a lovely and personalized green touch to your decor.
For these folks, if their wedding day(s) weren't the happiest days of their lives, then something is seriously wrong. If you thought your wedding was astronomical, try these top ten of the most extravagant weddings to date ranging from $2 million to $78 million dollars where broadcasting your wedding vows to the world is as important as showing the lining of your wallet.
They're still together, almost 6 years later, Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes and they come in at number 10 on the top ten list of grandest weddings of all time. After Tom proposed to Katie on the top of the Eiffel Tower, 19 months before the wedding date, they were married in Italy at the 15th century castle, Odescalchi Castle in Rome on November 18th, 2006. Giorgio Armani designed all the apparel for the bridal party and Andrea Boccelli gave a musical performance. The wedding was attended by 150 guests. The couple honeymooned in Maldives following the elaborate wedding event.
Fireworks, grand feasting and dancers dressed in Indian costume performed for Paul McCartney and Heather Mill's wedding in 2001. The $3 million dollar wedding ceremony took place in County, Monaghan, Ireland. The ceremony was held in St. Salvador's Church and the reception took place at Castle Leslie with 300 guests. Heather Mills wore a dress she herself fashioned and carried roses named after her husband. Following their affair they honeymooned at a private island in Seychelles. They spent their first evening on a $20 million yacht for $19,000 a night.
Held at the Manhattan's Collegiate Church in 2002, with a sum total of 850 wedding guests, the wedding was a monumental event with guests including Natalie Cole singing "Unforgettable", a 60-piece orchestra also kept the guests entertained along with Tony Bennett. The wedding included a $40,000 6-foot, 12-tier cake, a staff of 500 and a bill of over $700,000 in flowers.
Wed on June 29, 2006, Elizabeth Hurley and Arun Nayar, an Indian businessman married in a 15th century castle in Sudeley Castle in Gloucestershire in Britain. The festivities lasted for 8 days across the 2 continents of Europe and Asia. The proceedings began at Sudeley and then the wedding party traveled to Umaid Bhawan Palace in Jodhpur, India. The palace suite cost $10,000 a night.
Who said a bride isn't worth it, especially when she's the daughter of the wealthy French businessman, Bernard Arnault? A father coined the 'pope of fashion' in France too means of course, a fancy dress, in fact, one so fancy that it was fashioned by the famous designer, John Galliano. It certainly was a price you'd not find on the racks at David's Bridal either. Add to a wealthy bride a wealthy groom with a family with a wine dynasty business and you've got a splendid party, with of course, plenty of fine wines. They couple wed in 2005 at the Cote d' Azur in France. The venue was decorated with 5,000 white roses. Harper's Bazaar called it the "Wedding of the Year".
Okay if that previous wedding bill wasn't enough to impress you, try doubling that with a few little extras and you've got the wedding of Wayne Rooney and Coleen McLaughlin at $15 million. Colleen McLoughlin, a television presenter/product endorser plus a Manchester United/England football star resulted not only in an expensive wedding but an interesting one at that. The 4 day wedding ceremony took place in Villa Durazzo in Portofino Italy on June 12, 2008. With stunning views of the Italian Rivera on a yacht with 64 guests flown in on five different private jets, the ambiance was beautiful. After spending almost $4 million dollars on a dress designed by Georgia Chapman's Marchesa label, guests had to wonder if the budget had run out after being served pizza for the reception. In the end, they were able to cut costs of $5 million by allowing Britain's OK! Magazine to publish exclusive information and pictures about the event, that is, after the pizza was served.
Let's make it an even 20 after 15, that is, $20 mil, and then everything will be up to par for the wedding of Vikram Chatwal, son of a New York hotel magnet and a jet-setting hotelier and actor and for his model/actress/investment banker bride, Priya Sachdey (who ever said a man couldn't have it all). The wedding took place on February 18th, 2006 and is known as one of the most luxurious weddings ever in all of India. Bill Clinton was on the guest list along with many other well-known, high-powered people. The wedding took place over 10 days and was spread across 3 cities in India (Mumbai, Udaipur, and Delhi). There were 600 guests from 26 countries who were all retrieved for the event on chartered jets.
Topping a $20 million dollar wedding isn't easy but for Miss Yugoslavia Aleksandra Kokotovic and Andrey Melnichenko, it wasn't hard with a $30 million dollar extravaganza that made history in world famous weddings. Andrey Melnichenko, the Russian billionaire and founder of MDM Bank and the Serbian model, Miss Yugoslavia Aleksandra Kokotovic married in Cote D' Azur, France on September 3rd, 2005. There were performances by Christina Aguilera and Whitney Houston for a full house of guests of the rich and famous. The singers alone cost $3.6 million each to perform.
The Arabs really know how to have a wedding party and especially the ruler of Dubai who married Princess Salama in 1981. The wedding earned a place in the Forbes list of "Billionaire Weddings". A stadium was built just for the occasion to entertain 20,000 guests for 7 days of luxury.
The Indians, however, outshined the Arabs on November 18th, 2004 when Vanisha Mittal & Amit Bhatia wed in what is recorded as the most expensive wedding in history. 1,000 guests from around the world attended after each had received a 20-page silver card to the event which included all the lavish details the entire venue that lasted for 5 days. The party took place at the finest chateau and garden in France, the 17th century, Vaux le Vicomte. The bride, Vanisha Mittal, daughter to the steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal and Amit Bhatia, the investment banker wed in sheer riches. A performance by Kylie Minogue the pop singer was the high-lighted attraction to the event. 100 different dishes were prepared by a top Calcutta Chef and the wine cost $1.5 million. The costs of everything else we'll leave to your imagination!
Weddings are a happy time for all, especially for the guests who were able to attend the top ten most expensive weddings in history. Of these wedding events, the real two questions are who is still together and who will be next to top the list?
If you've decided you want to forego diamond rings with gems mined in third world countries, you can find many options for conflict free diamonds and recycled metals. Do your research before buying the perfect ring and find an eco-friendly jeweler. Look for companies that are green certified and have fair trade practices for all workers. Buying your rings from a company that suits your values and taste makes this trip to the jeweler even more special. Purchasing a ring made with sustainable materials is a great way to go green for your engagement and will make a statement at the wedding. You don't have to limit your jewelry choices to just rings. You can also choose from sustainable pendants, bracelets and earrings for you and your bridesmaid's jewelry!
If you don't want the typical diamond wedding ring, there are plenty of different colored fair trade gemstones and even semi-precious stones. Look for stones that have not been treated with chemicals and are in their natural raw form. The mass production of metals, crystals and beads can leave quite an impact on the environment. If you don't like the appearance of certain recycled metal rings or you just want something entirely unique, you can find many jewelers that make rings from wood. There are plain wood wedding bands or some with silver inlaid into the center for some extra eco-bling!