Wedding Trend #7: Unusual Venues

 

What do you consider as unusual venues? For some it's a destination beach wedding, others it’s an underwater wedding, some say a coffee shop wedding or a wedding in the jungle is unusual. What may be unusual for you may be totally common for others. What may be an everyday location to some may be an out of this world option for others.

But one thing is for certain; the need to make your wedding YOU and make your wedding unique is the number one priority. For couple’s who don't have the luxury of exploring an entirely different type of venue try to put their magic touch in different ways, for couples whose imagination (and not their pockets) is their only limitation, unusual venues becomes the current trend.

Here we look at some unusual venue options in Malaysia and around the world.  

Aquaria

Dining “underwater” at the Aquaria will create a cool and unique dining

experience for guests. The other extreme of this idea is a truly underwater wedding, where you exchange vows underwater with scuba gear. But this option is not for everyone.

Zoo Negara

If you always wanted to have an African safari wedding, here is our Malaysian version.

KL Tower

Maybe not as unusual as it seems, but KL tower has an open deck area where they conduct base jumping events, which is perfect for ceremonies or sunset virgin cocktails (we don't want your guests jumping off KL tower!)

Eco Venues

Eco friendly kampong style venues like Dusun Garden Fairies in Janda Baik is a perfect back to nature venue for guests to enjoy the cool fresh air and perhaps a picnic style wedding by the river.

Museum

A museum may not be one of your first thoughts but interesting nonetheless. The museum Negara offers their outdoor patio area for dinners and ceremonies.

Hot Air Balloon

Rent a hot air balloon and exchange your vows in the sky and float back down for a reception.

On a Bridge

Pick a beautiful old bridge and exchange your vows while the river flows underneath.   

Cave

How about getting married in a wine cave or in a limestone cave.

Yacht

On a grand yacht or a small cruise boat whichever tickles your fancy.

Ferris Wheel

Exchange your vows while on a Ferris wheel if you are a big carnival fan.

Floating in the Air Platform

Or have your reception on a suspended in mid air platform.

On the track

Rent a stadium and have the ceremony and reception on the track for all you sports fans. Or if you’re a football fan, a football field!

Castle

Kellie’s castle anyone? A nostalgic venue with a potential for an enchanting evening.

Warehouse

Think an old warehouse or a plane hanger or even a school hall. These may sound like totally outrageous venues and unacceptable by normal standards, but with the right decoration, the right lighting and the right setting you will be amazed at the results.

                     

Wedding Walks

This is another interesting find that has not been done in Malaysia yet, but wouldn’t it be so cool!

Why limit yourself to one set venue when you can get married on the trot? That's the philosophy of Wedding Walks; your big day is planned around a special outdoor route chosen by you. So you can either walk to or from the ceremony while enjoying the beautiful surroundings along the way.

The ceremonies are not legally binding (you can conduct your legal services beforehand) but takes place at any given al fresco beauty spot. Ending up in a quaint café or having a picnic in the park or a riverside restaurant, the choices are as unique as the walk!

We hope to see some of these ideas come true in the New Year!

Wedding Trend #6: Pre Plated Menus

-->Family style, American service, French service, English service, buffet service, side service. Oh my goodness, just give me the darn food! It may all sound like wedding jargons that you don't have the energy to learn, but some of the service styles are actually what we do every day or what we’ve seen in almost every dinner.

Buffet service: All the food is in food warmers and arranged in a row.

Family style service: Family style of food service involves food placed in the middle of the table and guests helping themselves with the food.

American service / Plated service: A method of serving in which portions of food are placed on plates in kitchen (except for bread and butter and salads which are served on the table) and served to each guest.

English service/ Side service:  This method of serving is where each guest is served from a large dish. The large dish is presented to the guests and then later plated to individual place setting.

French service: Food is partially cooked and then brought from the kitchen on a cart that is used also for the final cooking. Food is completed in front of the guests and served by a waiter or waitress who offers a dish to each guest who helps him or herself.

The trend has been changing through years from family style banquets to pre plated service, for the guests everyone gets equal portions of food, for ladies it makes them look more dainty when eating, rather than trying to get their share from the middle of the table. For the hosts it makes the menu seem more “high class”.

So it depends on what you want to achieve for the dinner. It is definitely a growing trend to make all types of cuisine into plated service; from traditional Malay food

to Chinese banquets you will see a fine dining style service being adopted.

Bon a petit!

Wedding Trend #5: Besides Flowers?

Flowers, flowers, flowers. What is a wedding without flowers? Or is it? Flowers normally take 10% of your entire budget; this has not included the frills of decoration from ambiance lighting to theme colored linens.

Don't get me wrong: Flowers are beautiful. In fact, there's nothing more classic than an all-white

bouquet filled with perfectly styled blooms (I would have loved gardenias as my bouquet, probably one of the priciest buds, too) expertly wrapped in silk ribbon. But flowers can take a serious stab into your wedding day budget, which will inevitably be exceeded when you add your mother's co-worker's first cousin (with a plus one) and that too die for gown.

That is why slowly but surely we have seen an evolving trend of bride’s doing away with flowers even in key areas of the wedding. Next year we will see even more couples going for quirky and different ideas to replace flowers. Their reasons are simple cost and/or concept.

Cost: It’s cheaper to give your bridesmaids a sandalwood fan to hold down the aisle vs. a traditional posy. So cost is a major factor for brides to swap flowers with props, this also makes sense if you want your bridal party to keep your prop as an appreciation gift.

Concept: For the love of the concept and theme, couples venture into more exciting and thematic props and setting to blend into the theme that may not always be flowers. Here we’ve seen candelabra’s as centerpieces, lanterns as aisle decoration and even vintage bicycles as entrance props.

Rather than sacrifice a romantic look, try one of these gorgeous ways to glam up your big day:

1. Candles, candles, candles. Whether you go with pillars, votive, or a mix of both, the mood lighting will cast a warm glow on all skin tones -- making everyone look prettier in pictures and in real life. Head to a local store to pick up a variety of shapes, sizes and heights; and play with scale to get a customized look. Another great lighting option? Vintage lanterns. But be warned, you may be stuck with 300 pcs of candleholders after the wedding, which would probably make you the best-lit house during an electricity shortage. 

2. Branches, sticks, weeds and wildflowers. Really! Don’t roll your eyes just yet; think filled pots with local wildflowers for centerpieces, chalkboards as menus for each table, branches for a beautiful wishing tree and weeds as the base decoration for the backdrop. Not only will you save a tremendous amount on decor, but also you will be able to create a traditional vibe without blowing serious cash.

3. Hurricane vases--filled with baubles. You know those glass beads you'll see at craft stores that resemble the Christmas decoration? Well, pick up a ton of 'em, along with a bunch of clear hurricanes or even jam/ mason jars. Choose different colors and fill each vase to a different level. Another great filler? Faux gemstones, seashells or even sand. With the right combination it can look luxe and couture. 

4. Feathers. Tie up a bunch together to make a luscious bouquet that's soft to the touch and pleasing to the eye. Dress 'em up a bit by inserting a few bouquet jewels or popping in a few fake pearls for extra luster. But be careful when purchasing the latter: Fake white pearls look far cheaper than their ivory or blush counterparts. And as for the bouquet jewels, use them sparingly--too much sparkle can scream "poor quality." Think about replacing corsages with feathers for that Avant-garde look.

5. Paper Flowers / Pom poms: Handmade paper flowers, pom poms or even hand sewn fabric flowers make great dress embellishments, boutonnieres or even backdrop/ photo station/ family photo table/ candy bar decoration. Need I say more?

6. Vintage Brooches / Hair Pins: Can you think of how gorgeous it would be to pin a bunch of beautiful pieces together to create one giant bouquet? I've seen it only once or twice but it's not only a visually striking idea, but also quite a sentimental one. Ask family members and friends to raid their own jewelry boxes for important jewels of his or her own; it's a touching nod to your guests (and good taste in jewelry).

7. Total Novelty Items: Work with me here. Best idea for a boutonniere I've ever seen? This little peacock feather boutonniere tied with little rhinestones in the theme color, it was simple, elegant and perfect for this Indian inspired wedding. Have your man pin just about anything on that works with your color scheme, location, or even just makes you laugh. Think about how great you'll look in your photos if you can't stop smiling throughout the ceremony.

And the one idea you should never take on?

Silk and/or plastic flowers.

They're cheesy, cheap looking and just in poor taste. If you must have a bloom on every table (not that there's anything wrong with that), think about floating a single blossom in a small container of water for an elegant and refined style. 

Your only limitation is your imagination.