Archive for June, 2011

Sitting Pretty Image Credits: Woodworked chairs  Kartell Ghost Chair Striped Chairs, Jessica Carnevale Stretch Chair Bilou Bilou Chair Moda Collection Antique Chair

Sitting Pretty {Part 2}

So yesterday I shared my views on wedding chairs, and more importantly the trend that has developed in covering up wedding chairs with chair covers and chair sashes.

It’s fair to day I’m not a fan – of the sashes in particular -  I think a good chair should be shown off and used wisely as part of the overall look of a room.

I also shared {Part 1} of my ideas on how to style wedding chairs, including hiring in your own chairs or collecting mismatched vintage ones. Now for {Part 2} and we’re talking garlands and ribbons.

? Hang homemade chair garlands

You can get really creative with your wedding chair garlands to hang across the backs of each chair, using anything from paper signs to printed programes, doily garlands, old lace or try making your own series of pinwheels in bright colours. Check out Etsy for a great selection of ready-made ones, or try vintage style bunting hanging across the back of each chair.

Image Credits: Wedding Program, Doily Chair Garlands, Chair Garland, Coffee Filter Garland, Angel Wings, Rope and Ribbon Chairs, Folded Paper Garland, DIY Reception chair labels

? Decorate chairs with ribbon, feathers or burlap

Bunches of co-ordinating ribbons flowing from the back of each chair look super-cute, as do ribbons mixed with dried flowers like lavender, and just think how fabulous the room will smell too.

Burlap and feathers make a much more stylish alternative to the organza sash, I just love this image on the bottom right. Makes me think of beautiful ballerinas.

Image Credits: Ribbon Chair 1, Ribbon Chair 2 Sarah Yates Photography styling by Sitting in a Tree, Ribbon Chair 3, Lavender Bow, Pink Bow, French Garden Chairs, Ribbon backed chair, Christian Dior Feather Chair, Burlap Bow, Tulle backed chairs

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There are still more ideas to come as I share with you a little more inspiration and advice on how you can creatively and stylishly decorate your wedding chairs in {Part 3} tomorrow.

Do you have a strong view on the wedding chair, or are you happy with whatever your venue provides?. I’d love to hear your views.

Michelle x

Credits:  Maarten Baas – Smoke Chair, French Chair – Sweetpea and Willow, Ghost Chair, Coco Chair, Industrial Metal Chair, Swing Chair

Sitting Pretty {Part 1}

I don’t know about you but there is one thing I really, really do not like to see at weddings. And I risk upsetting quite a few people with this opinion but it is still one I stand by nonetheless. You see they have become the sort of twee and rather tired looking thing ‘you-must-have-at-a-wedding-because-everyone-else-has-them’, not to mention the fact they usually come with the venue’s ‘enhanced’ wedding package. Yes it’s the dreaded wedding chair sash…..argh, sorry, but yuck!. There is nothing stylish about these at all, especially when they have been draped across the chairs of every wedding up and down the country. And what annoys me even more is that YOU get charged to use them (along with chair covers) so that you can cover up the unsightly chairs the venue provides you with. Sorry what?…there is something really wrong with this picture. Furniture is such an important aspect of styling any room, be it in your home or within a venue. And carefully chosen key pieces can really make or break a look. The venue, including all it’s decor and surroundings should complement your wedding style not fight with it, and the venue you choose should be able to provide you with stylish and useable furniture in keeping with the rest of the surroundings. Just look at all these pretty chairs featured here, how I would love to see some of these babies featuring in a wedding venue, instead of the obligatory chair cover and horrid sash. Obviously some chairs do quite rightly need covering with a chair cover, as many are old, tatty and stained from years of use (Venue’s take note – maybe its time you invested in some stylish new ones rather than charging your patrons to cover them up – just a thought!). My advice here is to choose your venue carefully, consider what furniture they provide you with and how it works with your colour scheme and don’t cover-up just for the sake of it. If the chairs provided are really fighting against what you’re working with then there may be no alternative than to cover-up, but if you do then please don’t feel obligated to use the chair sash as an addition, they look far more stylish without. I urge you people to step away from the chair sash and step towards one of these creative ideas….

? Hire in your wedding chairs

One option is to hire co-ordinating chairs,  two popular styles are these featured Ghost chairs (the clear plastic ones) and Chiavari chairs (these are the spindly ones and can come in a variety of colours, usually one neutral enough for many colour schemes),  hiring the latter ones can work out around the same as paying for chair covers and chair sashes but will add so much more decadence and style to your event. Image Credits:  Jose Villa Photography, Beth Helmstetter Design on Style Me Pretty | Desidio Chair Hire

? Collect mismatched vintage wedding chairs

What about collecting mismatched vintage chairs? You may even get these at a super-knocked down price if you scout round the flea markets and car boot sales, or why not try sites like gumtree where people are just looking to get rid of old unwanted items, you may even get them for free!. You can then use them in and around your home, in your garden, or sell them on after the wedding. Image Credits: Design Sponge, The Knot, KT Merry via Style Me Pretty, Brent Van Auken Photography on Ruffled, photo by Jill Thomas, designed by Amorology Weddings

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I have so many more ideas to share with you about how you can creatively and stylishly decorate your wedding chairs so please do call back for {Part 2} on Thursday and {Part 3} on Friday and {Part 4} next week

So what’s your view on the wedding chair, are you a lover or a hater of chair sashes?. I’d love to hear about your creative alternative ideas.

Michelle x