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Colin Cowie is synonymous with stylish, elegant weddings. TODAY.com spoke with the famed event planner, who is out with a new book titled "Colin Cowie's Wedding Planner," about his tips for what everyday brides-to-be can do to pull of the perfect, stress-free event.
Keep it simple, sweetheart: Don’t try to do it all
It’s all how you edit it. The most important thing is how you create the big picture. Once you’ve identified your theme and what the color scheme is, it’s going to help guide you with all your creative decisions. Looking at Pinterest or ColinCowieWeddings.com, you’ll find tremendous inspiration. You’ll take in all these different ideas. But what’s really unique? I always say that great style comes from ruthless editing — not everything works. So take what you like and see what works for your rehearsal dinner, reception, for your bridesmaids’ lunch. Take all these ideas and share them between the different events, but keep the big picture and your story together.
You don’t have to invite kids, but if you do, keep them entertained
I think as the bride and groom, you decide if you want or don’t want kids at the wedding and your guests should be there to honor your wishes, not selfishly think that they want their kids at the wedding. When kids are at a wedding, the adults’ behavior is completely different. You have to watch what you say, things have to be child-friendly and adults can’t get together and enjoy their table because of a nagging child.
If you do invite kids, get a babysitter at a table off to the side, get a kid-friendly menu (they’re not going to sit through three courses, so give them pasta or pizza, something easy) and get a room in the hotel with a bunch of games and movies for the babysitter to use with the kids there. That way, the kids are taken care of, and the adults can have fun on their own. What we’re seeing now is really catering to the kids so that they’re not irritating the adults.
As long as you’re tasteful, do what you want!
The wedding is, with your fiancé, your first opportunity to make a joint statement of style. You can do anything, as long as taste prevails. If you want to walk down the aisle in a lime green wedding dress to Billy Idol’s “White Wedding” with your dog in a bow and a furry leash, and you’re not offending anyone, go ahead and do it; it’s your time to shine!
Save money with DIY
One of the biggest trends we’ve seen is a lot of DIY — brides want to do it themselves. They want to expand their budget, so there are things they can do at home to make (the wedding) glamorous and elegant and beautiful without spending a lot of money. Sites like Pinterest are an incredible DIY inspiration. Invitations, place cards, center pieces, vases — all these elements can be made in advance of the wedding so that money can be put into things like catering, etc.
Add a little bling and a pop of color
Mixed metals are really big, as well as working with reflective surfaces — a lot of bling goes a long way.As far as colors, we’re seeing a lot of gray, purple, lavender and emerald green is the new big color trend of the year.
© 2013 MSNBC Interactive. Reprints
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