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I know that Pantone declared Tangerine Tango the color of the year and I LOVE it.  Orange everywhere, as accent, as dominant color, on shoes, on bags…it’s EVERYWHERE.  But I realized something the other day.  Ready?  It’s kind of a secret.

I think the **real** color of the year…is…

Coral.

If you look around the wide world of Pinterest, you see coral about 10 times more than you see Tangerine Tango.  Bridesmaid dresses. Flowers. Decorating.  Coral is just a little softer.  A little bit pink without being too twee.  Still red/orange, but maybe more liveable and versitile.  Pair it with cream and it seems beachy, but pair it with a taupey gray like we did here and it looks even more cool and sophisticated.  Flattering for just about everyone, it reminds me of sunsets and peach pie (or cake, like in the pinboard.)

We paired it here with a great classic wedding invitation with an unusual wedding invitation twist.  We call it the Kiev, but it is a beautiful invitation with pretty flourishes in the corners to take this from the basic wedding invitation to something very unique that will set your wedding apart.  Pretty, cool, and just pretty cool.  More ideas and inspirations, as well as sources on our Pintrest board.

Well, since we passed the first day of summer, my job is to be thinking of winter.  I try to stay in the moment, but my eyes are always on the horizon when it comes to weddings.  And today I’m picturing an early December affair, soft blues and browns and touches of frosty pine cones.  Check out the board I made up based on our Tahoe Pine Cone Wedding Invitation. From a simple garland strung on ribbons, to some amazing bridesmaid bouquets, it’s a perfect idea for a winter wedding that isn’t rooted in the holidays. I can just picture it–maybe with a hot chocolate bar? A faint scent of cinnamon everywhere?  A crackling fireplace?

The Tahoe suite of wedding products would be a perfect accompaniment to set the tone for the day.  Classic, clean and elegant, but with just that twist of whimsy that we’re always giddy about.  Only a few of the best ideas for a great winter wedding made it here, check out some others on our Pinterest board!

Tahoe Pine Cone Wedding Invitation

You know those genius ideas that you wish you had thought of?  Those things that would have made something special even MORE special? That you can’t believe it didn’t occur to you before now? This is one of those ideas.

Once you are engaged you have the guy, but what about your girls?  The ones who’ve been by you through thick and thin, the ones who you can call middle of the night, the ones who are really *in* your life.  Sure, you can just ask them to stand up with you on your special day or…and here’s the genius idea…you can ask them in a really special, memorable, fun way.  A RingPop in an oversize ring box would be adorable, as would a bottle of really great wine tagged with your request. (LOTS more ideas on our Pinterest page!)  There are more cool ways to ask your best girls than you can even think of.

The idea I’m most drawn to is a locket with your ‘proposal’ in it.  Heartworks by Lori is a sweet little etsy shop that is just filled with different kinds of lockets.  These golden orbs are speaking to me today–very mod, very Mad Men, and only $15!!–and she’ll even provide the secret message. There are lockets for just about every taste and style, too.  Slip in a little piece of paper, a great picture of the two of you, put a ribbon on it, and get set to make a memory…

I know, I know, I know.  I’m supposed to be thinking ahead to fall and winter already.  Today I just can’t.  I can only think of the hydrangeas I have been spotting on my walks.  Beautiful, luscious, poufs of blooms, huge clusters of tiny delicate petals.  And such colors!  I love white, I am smitten with the pink, I am enamored with the green and I am utterly over the moon for all the blues.

Here, I picked the whispery blues, tinged with green and cream, to go with our Hydrangea Invitation.  Simple, beautiful and elegant.  It’s an option that’s so effortless that it’s almost plug and play.  Choose the invitation and all the elements fall into place–the flowers, the colors, the shapes.  Add some surprising elements like that amazing necklace for the bridesmaids (or yourself?) to make the day your own and your thoughts can move on to that handsome gent who’s placing a ring on your finger. Check out sources for these, as well as other ideas that would be lovely with any of our Botanical invitations on our Pinterest Boards.

The flip side of our Art Deco Days and the easy, breezy style of the day, is the sleek, urban, skyscraper reminiscent turn of night.  Flair for the dramatic? How about a silver beaded wedding dress like the one here?? It would be AMAZING in candlelight, would be stunning in pictures, would make you the talk of wedding talk for years to come.  Add in a great vintage ring, some touches of color to help the silver shine and help the black stand out.  And again, the graphics–the fan shapes, the scallops, the parallel lines–all seem futuristic, yet contemporary.  All of it has a sense of time, without being too themey or costumey.  Sophisticated, sleek and stylish in any decade.  This is a champagne wedding, full of bubbles, effervescent.

Still more ideas, as well as sources for these shining examples of the 20s, can be found on our Pinterest Board.

Trendspotting.  Love it.  All the time.  Mind never stops.  And I love seeing them about a million miles away.  Art deco never really goes out of style, but with the new version of “The Great Gatsby” coming out combined with the success of “The Artist” last fall, it’s going to be HUGE for the next year.  And why not?  The graphic elements are amazing.  There is a sleek modernity to the style, but with hints of fun and whimsy in fringe and feathers and beads (Oh, wow, the beads!)  Zelda Fitzgerald. Flappers. Swankiness.  Yes.

I am smitten with this idea like Gatsby is smitten with Daisy.  So smitten I’m doing two posts this week on it.  The first is a daytime affair…reminding me of Jay and Daisy watching swans swim by, of picnics on a too hot summer day, of expanses of lawn just waiting for a croquet game.  I love how our thoroughly modern Chevron invitation can work with the graphics of the era.  The sleek dress and perfect shoes are great, but how cute would your nephew look as a ring bearer in that outfit?  I can smell the gin and tonic and feel the breeze right now…

For a MILLION* more Art Deco ideas for day, Roaring 20s ideas for night, more Gatsby love, more great dresses, check out our Pinterest Board!

*Not actual number.  Though we may reach it!