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Wedding
Centerpiece Ideas and Wedding Reception Inspiration:
Beautiful Wedding Receptions (Pennies from Heaven Series) (Paperback)
Your wedding reception will be the party of your life.
It will be a time to gather all the people who are meaninful to
you and your husband. This book is about creating the wedding
reception of your dreams.
The Perfect Wedding Reception : Stylish
Ideas For Every Season (Hardcover)
Book Description
Once couples decide to say "I do" there
are dozens and dozens of decisions to be made. It's hard to know
where to begin and even more difficult to fit all the dozens of
details together into one wonderful event. Thankfully Maria McBride-Mellinger,
author of acclaimed bridal books, stylishly illustrates just how
to create a dreamy reception that will be forever memorable.
The Perfect Wedding Reception features exquisite
wedding celebrations designed by Maria McBride-Mellinger that
capture the magic of each season in refreshing, contemporary style.
The nuptial adventure begins in a formal spring garden but soon
its off to a beach front for a fanciful summer wedding, to a revolutionary
era stone barn for a rustic fall wedding and finally to a gracious
country home for a candle lit winter wedding feast.
Glorious photos of each location, flowers, menu
selections, table details, centerpieces, bouquets, invitations,
wedding cakes and favors tell the story of each wedding with helpful
tips and most importantly McBride-Mellinger's favorite resources
from around the country that will actually help bring your wedding
reception to life.
Whatever season you choose to marry Maria McBride-Mellinger
offers delightful flourishes to tempt every couple as they plan
the party of their lives and create memories meant to last a lifetime.
Review: Perfection!
As a second-time bride, this was the book that "did it"
for me. My October wedding reception, while not the exact replica
of Ms. McBride-Mellinger's, incorporated as many of her ideas
as I could. This is an absolutely beautiful book which will be
an inspiration to any bride to be that wants a classy, memorable
wedding befitting her chosen season. The settings, invitations,
floral designs, cakes, and small touches are unique and certainly
can be "scaled down" for those on a smaller budget.
Not the end-all, be-all catalogue of a bridal book...but a digestable
and exquisite source of inspiration.
Review: Beautiful pictures, but not enough
different weddings
This book has wonderful pictures of four weddings, one in each
season.
The pictures are truly extraordinary, but they are almost exclusively
of these four weddings, so there aren't tons of different ideas
for each season, rather one "theme" idea for each season.
One thing that disappointed me was that her summer wedding was
a casual one on the beach, so if you want more formal ideas for
a summer wedding you are out of luck. Like other reviewers have
said, most of these perfect presentations would be completely
out of a lot of people's price range, but you could definitely
pull a few ideas that you loved from her spreads and make it work
on a smaller budget. By and large this is a good supplementary
book on reception ideas, with tons of photos and some good "idea"
text (as opposed to "how-to" text.)
Review: OSTENTATIOUS IDEAS FOR EVERY SEASON
BUT NOT EVERY BRIDE
If Kennedy or Vanderbilt is your last name and I mean The Kennedys
and The Vanderbilts, if Bill Gates is your wedding sponser or
if you are a member of the Royal Family then this book is for
you. If you live in the real world you may not want to bother
reading a book that would embarrass even Martha Stewart. Even
if your wedding budget isn't that of a small nation you can uncover
some ideas to use on a realistic day of bliss. But I would leave
out the "Honeymoon bed out in the open" next to a swamp
unless you are marrying Jeff Corwin or the Crocodile Hunter. Look
at page 116 and see if you would like to spend your wedding night
there but McBride-Mellinger says "far from sight of the area's
inhabitants". It's also far from sight of a bathroom,room
service and Walgreen's to get some mosquito spray and close to
sight for anything with four or six legs or even eight hairy ones
that hopefully would be four groomsmen rather than a spider. As
in all the weddings in the book, the cakes are works of art, the
prettiest I've ever seen (pgs 106&107, 214&215 "a
masterpiece" and the chapter on Confections) and the flowers
are magnificent. If you read this book make sure to have a dictionary
for all the $2.00 words as it must have been written with a word
processor in one hand an a Thesaurus in the other. Also, a really
good cook book will come in handy to try and figure out what everyone
was eating. McBride-Mellinger is even so helpful as to tell you
how to dress the "help" as if in this day and time the
guests even know what to wear, where the "help" should
go to the bathroom, and to prepare food incase they work more
then four hours. But do show respect because Maria McBride-Mellinger
has a very high opinion of herself and a much over inflated ego.
"The Perfect Wedding Reception" is that: perfectly ostentatious,pretentious,over
the top and prefectly not for middle class America. The book is
a "perfect" waste of a good tree. For over 30 years
I have been a floral artist and wedding planner with the experience
of over 500 weddings in all parts of the US and Europe.
Review: creative suggestions
This book suggests many creative ways to make your wedding reception
fun and unique. The author describes 4 weddings (one for each
season) thoroughly and with an artist's eye for detail and color.
She also provides an extensive index for all aspects of reception
preparation and planning. The pictures vividly display the character
of each wedding, bringing them to life. I would have prefered
some extra examples with illustrations of decorationg ideas for
each season that were not part of the featured wedding. It would
have been nice to have some more practical examples of possibilities.
The featured weddings are gorgeous but, for people like myself,
a bit out of reach financially. Surely, one can put a creative,
unique twist on some less eccentric styles to make them equally
as special, beautiful and perfect for any wedding.
Review: Very helpful
There are some wonderful suggestions here to make your day special.
You will read this and remember the little things to do. One recommendation
would be to direct readers to Katherine's Song, the wedding song
in Defenders of the Holy Grail (Ken Agori)...this is THE song
for this millenium. Of course, this may belong more at the service,
but at the reception for the first dance, WOW!! THis book is worth
the money...
Review: One of the Best
In preparation for our wedding, I ordered just about every book
that I thought looked appealing and got great reviews, literally
HUNDREDS of dollars' worth of books! This and its companion, The
Perfect Wedding, stood out among the rest.
I liked it for the following reasons:
1. Beautiful pictures of original ideas. There were lots of pictures
and lots of ideas. Obviously you aren't going to find a book that
has absolutely every idea for flowers or cakes (it would be HUGE!),
but the ones that this book included were very nice.
2. Good mix of pictures and text. About 3/5 of the book was pictures
and ideas. It was divided up into 4 sections representing the
4 seasons, so you could get ideas for your specific season (getting
inspiration from the best of your season is a great idea!). The
other 2/5 of the book was resources with phone number, addresses,
websites, etc., so you could actually get ahold of the people
who put together the beautiful things in this book or go to the
places that would give you more of a similar idea.
3. Not just for the wealthy. Granted that I personally am not
too concerned with books geared for my budget, this book gave
ideas for all ranges of budgets. Of course, some of the cakes,
flowers, etc., must have been expensive, but she also gives ideas
that are more budget-conscious.
I would recommend this book, no question. It's better
than Colin Cowie's, on par with Martha's, and definitely much
better than Vera Wang's.
Centerpieces and Table Accents (Hardcover)
Book Description
If you’ve been looking for inspiration, you’ll find
it in these exquisite full-color photographs of centerpieces for
both indoor and outdoor parties. Some feature the traditional
floral displays, while other ideas break new ground. Go with alternatives
such as candles, fruits, ornaments, and trays piled with little
treats. Your centerpiece will really be something to celebrate.
Suddenly a Centerpiece : Assemble These
Clever Table Designs in No Time at All (Paperback)
Book Description
Anyone can quickly pull together one of these 25 original table
centerpieces for entertaining or seasonal decorating. Suddenly
a Centerpiece presents 25 projects that will instantly transform
a dining table from blah to brilliant. Each centerpiece is super-easy
yet interesting, beautiful, and impressive. The projects require
no crafting experience and combine wonderful craft materials,
faux florals, candles, foods, or textiles with decorative objects
and dishes that you already have. A little of that, a little of
this, and you have a centerpiece to perk up your table. Full of
fresh ideas, the designs include centerpieces for every season,
holiday gatherings, and casual or special entertaining.
About the Author
Sher Simon is a floral consultant to home furnishing stores and
private clients. She gives popular workshops on faux floral designs.
She lives in the Twin Cities.
Review: Suddenly A Centerpiece
I found this book to be very easy to follow with great color picture
samples. The instructions are easy to follow.
You will feel great once you complete the project and it actually
looks like the picture!
Wonderfully well done!
Tabletops : Over 30 Projects For Inspirational Table Decorations
(Hardcover)
From Publishers Weekly
For occasions when cooking a delicious meal just isn't enough,
freelance writer and photo stylist Rigg here offers domestic dynamos
ideas for themed table décor. Twenty table settings and
their accompanying crafts projects (e.g., "French bistro"
calls for red sponge-painted bowls, "Ethnic ambience"
for a hand-stamped tablecloth and "Winter picnic" for
an appliqued throw) are displayed in bright photographs designed
to inspire readers to ever higher heights of mealtime style. The
projects themselves are simple and inexpensive, as the introduction
promises, although the settings in their entirety may not be so
easy to achieve. For the "Afternoon tea" tabletop, for
instance, the suggested handicraft is a lovely and uncomplicated
hydrangea and rose centerpiece. But as far as the rest of the
décor is concerned, "only the best" will do:
white linen napkins with a matching tablecloth, "dainty cake
forks and teaspoons" and a bone china tea pot are all "musts."
The "Winter picnic" is a little simpler-though "stylish
picnicware, napkins and a cruet set are vital"-but its cute
throw, achieved by sewing felt leaves onto a blanket, probably
wouldn't last through a single wash cycle. Other, smaller projects
(Rigg calls them "mini-makes") are also recommended,
and may be more realistic endeavors for the time-pressed homemaker:
a bangle napkin ring, a pumpkin serving bowl and fabric jar tops
are all quick ways to liven up a table. But ideas like these-and
indeed, like many of the projects-abound in women's lifestyle
magazines, which means readers might want to spend a few dollars
on a Martha Stewart issue instead of many times that much on this
glossy but superficial guide.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Book Description
Presentation is everything--and now, creating a beautiful table
has never been easier. This visually luscious book is packed with
deceptively simple ideas for creating witty and unusual table
settings. Arranged thematically, TABLETOPS features imaginative
styling tips, ideas for quick fixes, and beautifully illustrated
step-by-step projects, including everything from appliquÈd
tablecloths to painted glasses, stamped bowls, punched tin lanterns,
and gorgeous floral centerpieces. With 20 table designs and more
than 30 projects in all, this is a wealth of inspiration for every
event. Whether planning a fun-filled beach picnic, a romantic
anniversary, a cozy tea, or a sophisticated holiday dinner, now
it's simple to pull together all the right elements to create
the perfect atmosphere and make any occasion memorable.
Review:
This book has some great ideas that are fun and easy enough to
try the next time I entertain. I especially liked the chopstick
placemats. Plus it is much simpler to have one book to rely on
than dragging out a binder of magazine clippings every time I'm
looking for inspiration.
Flowers for the Table: Arrangements and Bouquets for All
Seasons (Hardcover)
Amazon.com
These are not your mother's flower arrangements. Ariella Chezar
throws out old rules about greenery and focus points and presents
us with a wealth of new gifts to decorate our homes. Her ideas
incorporate a few classics like roses and peonies, but also make
use of grapes, persimmons, olive branches, and Asian eggplants;
what they all have in common is a lush beauty and sense of ripeness
that add a feeling of real bounty to the rooms they adorn.
After a short introduction covering general techniques and container
recommendations, Flowers for the Table takes you through the seasons.
Spring is surprisingly sophisticated, rather than more traditionally
pastel, featuring unusual checkered lilies and vibrant ranunculus.
Summer brings a stunning "tomato feast," with tomatoes
of all sorts twining their vines with tiny red roses. Fall lights
up with golden calla lilies and orange peppers, while winter charms
with succulents and kumquats. Each section comes to a close with
a short glossary of the materials used, helpful if you're unfamiliar
with such items as Chinese lanterns or euphorbia.
Containing a mellow mix of stunning photography
and straightforward suggestion, Flowers for the Table will give
you both inspiration and specific direction whether you're planning
a wedding or just looking to dazzle your dinner guests. --Jill
Lightner
Book Description
Filled with lush seasonal arrangements, Flowers for the Table
is the perfect guide to creating a gorgeous centerpiece for any
celebration or gathering. What makes floral designer Ariella Chezar’s
work so distinctive is her utterly contemporary approach. In the
24 stunning arrangements included, she demonstrates how to fashion
centerpieces out of flowers, branches, fruits, fabrics, and unusual
flea market treasures. A brunch tabletop is crowned with delicate
white bouquets of clematis, ranunculus, lilies, and anemones.
An abundance of roses, amaryllis, and berries festooned with ribbons
sets the stage for an intimate dinner party. And the hot pinks,
reds, and yellows of winter poppies in silk-swathed vases warm
the room for a winter cocktail party. From sleek modern arrangements
to more traditional bouquets, there’s something for every sensibility.
Full-color photographs, an introduction to each season and the
flowers and greenery available, a glossary for each section, and
countless tips make this the ultimate guide to creating magnificent
table arrangements.
Review: Stunning!
Such a beautiful book--I bought this book less for practical instruction
and more for inspiration, and I was not disappointed. The arrangements
are lush, elegant, classic with a twist. This is truly floral
art. There are practical suggestions, and information about each
of the flowers used is listed at the end of each section.
I'm not sure how useful this book is for the novice (such as myself)
but it offers beauty and inspiration, regardless of skill level.
Preston Bailey's Design for Entertaining:
Inspiration for Creating the Party of Your Dreams (Hardcover)
From Publishers Weekly
A party planner to the stars offers guidance
to the earthbound on creating the perfect celebration, from designing
the ideal lighting to choosing the best floral arrangements. Lavishly
photographed by Roger Dong and Alex Kirkbride, this book gives
readers glimpses into Matt Lauer's red-themed wedding reception
and the sumptuous anniversary party for Oprah's magazine, O-content
that's fun for brides-to-be and celebrity voyeurs alike. While
it's unlikely that many of Bailey's readers will have the resources
to plant atmospheric rows of 20-foot birch trees (as Joan Rivers
did for the wedding of her daughter, Melissa), there are simpler,
more down-to-earth tips to be found in this book: the pictures
may feature the stupendously lavish, but the text offers tips
for somewhat smaller budgets. Both reassuring and inspiring, Bailey
details ways to maximize party space, outlines the divergent effects
of candlelight and electric light, gives useful suggestions for
designing an event to please both adult and teenage guests and
provides pointers on selecting appropriate chairs, tablecloths
and silverware. "Look at each decision as an opportunity
to do things in your own way," Bailey urges. His helpful
guide will help party planners do just that. 150 color photographs.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
A New York City party and event designer whose clients include
Joan Rivers, Oprah Winfrey, and fashion designer John Galliano,
Bailey here shares his secrets on creating a spectacular, memorable
party. Illustrated with photographs of his lavish events, his
book advises how to create a mood with the use of color, texture,
lighting, and flowers and how to work with or change a room's
decor. Even those disinclined to entertain on such a grand scale
will find inspiration in Bailey's designs. Purchase where there
is an interest.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Review: preston
The book is quite illustrative, however there is a lot of overlap
with his other book on Fantasy Weddings, which has better theme
pictures.
Review: Preston Bailey's Design for Entertaining:
Inspiration for Creating the Party of Your Dreams
Gread ideas book - wonderful, stimulating pictures. Interesting
reading - provides what I would term an overview of how to achieve
a good design for an event. It is NOT a how to book however and
there realy are no specifics on creating a specific look.
Review: Inspiring but unpractical
I bought this book as I was curious about Mr. Bailey's designs
since his name is synonymous with "one of the top floral
designers in NY". His work is truly very inspiring and grand,
however, the scale (and imaginably the cost involved) to re-create
the floral arrangements he showcased in this book is unpractical
for the average wedding or party.
To be fair, I guess I was looking for party-related
floral ideas that are creative but more budget-friendly and this
book was too over the top for me.
Review: Great ideas and pictures...
I love this book. The themes and pictures are great. I just think
it's more for the higher end crowd.
Review: Gorgeous and inspiring
The photography is gorgeous, the ideas are inspiring - overall,
a solid portfolio of some of the best designing in the world.
It not only provides a glimpse into the over-the-top world of
haute couture weddings and fetes, but also provides details and
inspirational ideas for anyone. A can-do attitude combined with
a book that is well written, beautifully conceived and flawlessly
executed. Well done, Mr. Bailey.
Review: Fabulous!
It was exactly as it said...a resource for creating the party
of your dreams. If you're the type of person who thinks buffalo
wings is a party staple...it's not for you.
The Ultimate Wedding Reception
Book (Paperback)
Review: Wedding Details (Hardcover)
Book Description
Whatever the setting -- a minimal, modern buffet, an intimate
wedding breakfast, or a sophisticated formal reception -- this
invaluable book is full of elegant and imaginative ideas to help
you transform your wedding day into a magical and memorable occasion.
Throughout the book, clear and concise text is paired with evocative,
inspirational photographs that are guaranteed to capture the imagination.
About the Author
Mary Norden, a succesful textile designer, has been commissioned
by Liberty, Ralph Lauren, Christian Dior, and Yves Saint Laurent.
She has written for Homes & Gardens and is the author of Gift
Wraps: Baskets & Bows and Decorative Embroidery. Sandra Lane
is a successful still-life photographer. Her work appears in magazines
such as Elle Decoration and Homes & Gardens, and she has photographed
several of Mary Nodens's previous books. She lives in London.
Review: Great resource tool
I have a small wedding business and found this book very helpful.
It is a very simple short book but it is loaded with great ideas
for weddings and receptions. Pictures are excellent, lots of new
ideas to try, I would recommend it as a resource guide and was
very happy to receive it as a gift off my wish list.
Review: Big Things Come In Small
Packages
A cute-sized book chockful of ideas! Creative ideas on favor packaging,
table settings, floral arrangements. Inspirational ideas that
can be easily adapted to your budget and style.
Review: Practical and modern-day
ideas
Cute-sized book offering plenty of creative, practical and modern
ideas on wedding favors, table settings, and floral decorations;
beautiful still photography for inspiration.
Creative Wedding Florals You Can Make
(Paperback)
Review: Helpful for Beginners
When my daughter took her ideas for her wedding to our local florists,
the estimates were over $3,000. When we finished laughing, we
bought this book. Even though we had very little previous experience
with florals, with a little practice we were able to make quite
a few of the things she wanted ourselves. And perhaps more importantly,
we were also able to determine what we couldn't do ourselves,
and how best to work with a professional florist.
We didn't use any of the designs from the book, but the clear
photographs and step-by-step instructions made it well worth the
price for the skill development it gave us.
Review: Useful but Sort of Typical
(aka Traditional)
I found this book useful but typical - tradional wedding flowers
with little bits of baby's breath. Some people like the traditional
wedding styles. I like something more modern or Asian. Indeed
this book has good instructions - although I always recommend
building a prototype before you are put on the spot to make the
real thing (I prefer using silk in this stage). If you want a
more traditional wedding floral book, this is a good one. If you
want unique pizazz then I suggest you try Florist's Review - it's
my fave.
Review: an excellent resource
This book provides an excellent overview of wedding florals and
a number of pretty ideas if you need them -- this is a book for
you if you really want to do your own flowers -- not if you want
ideas for spectacular or unique florals for a florist to do. the
instructions are very understandable and easy to execute, for
all the wedding basics: bouquet, boutinnieres, corsages, basic
arrangements.
Review: Bridal Floral Basics for
the Do-It-Yourself-er in You
Let's say you're a prospective bride like me or you know someone
who is. You want beautiful basic floral arrangements, but a florist
seems like a fortune. Well, if you are like me or you know know
someone who is, then this book's for you. Different floral arrangements
for the bride, the wedding party, and extras such as unity candles,
centerpieces and pew arrangements, are all included here. Sure,
they're not super-creative in style, but YOU can be...
Review: Good Instructions, Weak on
Creativity
This is not the book to buy if you are looking for new and creative
floral ideas for your wedding - you will be greatly disappointed.
There are examples of each main different type of bouquet, such
as nosegay, cascade, hand-tied, etc., but the "variations"
shown for each type aren't anything to write home about. Look
for another book if you are hoping to find something stellar and
original that will stand out at your wedding.
On the other hand, if you plan to arrange your own flowers like
I do, the instructions are very well laid out with good detail
and clear pictures....
Review" Excellent how-to information,
but not too creative
The title of this book would lead one to believe that it gives
how-to information for new, fresh, creative bouquets and arrangements.
While the instructions are thorough and clearly written, the arrangements
themselves are more traditional and "floristy" -- they
use a lot of filler, and I think some of them look rather overdone.
The strength of this book is in the instructions. They are laid
out step by step, with photographs of how to construct each arrangement.
The book tells you exactly which tools you will need and how many
flowers to buy. Even a beginner like myself would be able to create
pretty good bouquets and arrangements with these directions.
I bought this book together with "Bouquets:
A Year of Flowers for the Bride," which does have more creative
ideas, but is weak on the instructional part. I recommend this
combination of books to anyone like myself who is looking to make
their own wedding flowers, but does not have experience in floral
design. Both books have their weaknesses, but they complement
each other and make up for each other.
Review: Good Basic, Traditional Design,
How-To Book
From a bride who started by taking 2 years of design classes and
creating her own bridal flowers to now a flourishing wedding floral
business owner who creates custom wedding arrangements for brides
all across the country, this book helped me get started. I review
and purchase a lot of floral reference books for my design business,
and when I started out, this was one of the better books I found
on basic, traditional styles. The book is particularly helpful
for the beginning designer as the clear photos and detailed, how-to
steps are easy to follow. My only suggestion for improvement is
to expand the book (or publish a second book) that lists advanced
techniques and more contemporary, unique designs and florals/materials
for the bride who desires something more unusual and creative.
It's limited in the creativity it offers, but overall, it's one
of the best BASIC books to reference and LEARN from. Good for
beginners and floral students.
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