magicwand articles
It's All About Senses
Sense of Style and Cents of Style
by Lisa Hughes

In the wedding industry, my job as a wedding consultant is to satisfy both the bride's sense of style while minding the cents of budget.
Creative Visual Sense. Atmosphere provides an opportunity to showcase your artistic sense of style. Sight is the first sense your guests will experience when they walk into the room, so engage them with a choice of colors that reflect your wedding personality. From my experience, today's brides are viewing their reception as an opportunity to create a memorable atmosphere instead of just decorating. Look at every aspect of the location to create that unique mood; the interior architecture, lighting and color. Old wedding reception rules are a thing of the past. It is no longer the "norm" to choose only one or two colors for a wedding. When asked about table design, I offer the option of creating each table as its own island of style. Traditional elements can mix with contemporary, and understated can mix with opulent. Experiment with varying the heights of the centerpieces, mixing flowers and vase styles, candles and color schemes to create an unforgettable ambiance. Instead of a lavish centerpiece of flowers, a cost effective cents of style might include a candle centerpiece with scattered rose petals on the table, creating not only a visual sense, but enhancing the overall impression with the addition of floral scents. Another sense of style option is actual theme weddings, complete with props and actors. Joy Robinson from "Theme Works Productions", operating in the southern California area, can create a memorable production ranging from "Paris in the Springtime" complete with a 16' Eiffel Tower-- to a Casablanca Movie theme where you can party with Bogie, Bergman, and a piano player amidst a dramatic foggy setting... it depends on your sense of style and cents of budget.
Creative Audio Sense. Whatever your sense of musical style; rock and roll, Ave Maria or rap, music is the catalyst which supports the theme of the visual ambiance. I like to enhance a theme by carefully selecting music tempo, before, during and after the ceremony providing guests with an audio direction and an overall cohesiveness. Cost effectively, using a DJ will get the most cents for the dollar; however, there are live musical bands with competitive rates and sometimes a combination DJ for the best of both senses, visual and audio. Keep in mind, music not only expresses your unique style, but also declares your feelings for each other.
Sense of Taste. Whether its sushi, chicken or pasta, this is where you can tie in the taste buds to tantalize your guests' palette. Your food choices will complete your guests' sensual experience along with the visual feast of colors, arrangements, combinations, and your musical sense of style. As a wedding consultant I'm always asked, "What should I do for food?" I reply, "What are your favorites?", and then move to the center of what the average person would enjoy at a wedding, always keeping in mind your sense of taste and cents of budget. While not everyone can afford sushi for a large wedding, providing a small sushi station or serving it as a limited appetizer makes for a feasible option.
At the end of all the wedding planning, it comes down to your personal sense of style and a cents of budget. So make a list of your absolute desires remembering to weave in a little of each of the elements of music, color, food, theme, florals and fragrance. Seamlessly pulling all of these elements together is one of the services of a professional wedding consultant, but if you wish to forego the wedding consultant's fee in favor of serving sushi -- there's always a way to have it all while remaining true to your sense of style and cents of budget.
"The Little Book of Magical Weddings"
by: Lisa Hughes
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If you have any questions about this article, please e-mail me:
lisa@magicwandweddings.com