Choosing your wedding party

The task of choosing our wedding party has been more difficult then I anticipated. There's also all sorts of baggage associated with it (as we all know I'm sure). This post at A $10,000 Wedding really sort of got me going on this topic.

At my friend's wedding last summer, of which most of the helpers were theater folk, we kept joking about the wedding as if it were a production.
"Two hours to curtain!"
"So, which songs do you want for the pre-show music?"

And while we were joking about it, I think that it is a valid comparison. You have the cast: Bride & Groom, parents of the couple, officiant, attendants, MC etc. You have a Stage Manger: Wedding planner/Day of Coordinator (whether you pay someone or not, or if it is even the bride doing this, you have someone...) There is tech help: Ushers, sound guy, DJ, some times lighting help, and of course your costumers, make up artists, set builders/designers, props etc.

To follow the metaphor even further, when you are casting people for a show, or choosing your tech crew, you consider their talent for the position (do you love them/ like them, want them to stand up next to you or are the creative/talented/artistic/organized) but you also think about their professionalism. You would never hire someone in a vital position if you couldn't trust them to show up on time and do their job responsibly, to take direction from those in charge, and to work well with others. So why would you ask someone to work on your wedding if you can't trust them to do the same thing?

I have seen, in friends weddings, a situation where a bridesmaid was chosen because she was like a sister to the bride, even though the bride has a history with the girl of her being flaky and/or selfish as well as committing to things, and then dropping them later when it became 'too much'. She picked her because she loved her, and just hoped that the lack of professionalism wouldn't come into play. Sure enough, not long after the planning started in earnest, this girl was problematic, and causing stress for the bride. In the end, we were all scrambling to make up for the responsibilities that the bridesmaid hadn't done, the morning of the wedding. Retrospectively, the bride may have chosen to give this close friend a different role, where less was at stake, perhaps greeting guests, manning the guest book, helping to set up day of etc.

My point? Choose people to stand with you that you love and want to be with you on your wedding day, but also consider their level of professionalism, because if you wouldn't hire them to do the job, you shouldn't ask them to be part of your wedding party.

Palette Decisions

For some time now, before I even got engaged (one of the few things I'd thought about), I knew I wanted green as one of my wedding colors. A nice, dusty, sage green. Not Forrest or Kelly. However, choosing complementary tones to go with it has been more challenging then I originally anticipated.

I found a wonderful site, Colour Lovers, that allows you to use Hex code to create a pretty much infinite array of color combination. You can also source your palettes from photos or just about any image on the net, so if you really want the color of that flower in the photo, or the exact tone of the bay of that tropical island, it will match the tones more or less perfectly.

I had been playing with things, and not taking anything too terribly seriously, but now I am in the process of trying to make mock ups of invitations. Which means that I have to make a decision!!

Luke and I originally decided on the green, with pink and brown (and white/ivory of course) accents, for the simple reason that pink flowers are abundant and easy to find. But my dad, who is a very fashionable, artistic man with an eye for color, suggested we consider maroon or burgundy. So of course I went back to Colour Lovers and made yet another palette. So without further ado, here are a few of the things I've been looking at. Any opinions? Mix and match?


Color by COLOURlovers
This palette is based on the colors from David's Bridal's bridesmaids dresses.

Color by COLOURlovers
This is a little more intense with the pigment

Color by COLOURlovers
My first go using Maroon instead of pink. Though whoever 'created' this maroon called it tropical fuchsia.

Color by COLOURlovers
A second try, more of a Burgundy perhaps?

Which do you think looks best for a July wedding, amongst fir trees?
Coming soon, invitations and location news!