Legal Beagle Gets Married!: The Pretty Side of Planning

Planning lately hasn't been a barrel of laughs. In fact, it's mainly been a pain in my neck, consisting of choosing bridesmaid dresses, coordinating the day of coordinator, and finally securing a florist. This is the ugly side of planning. The "we need your 50% deposit immediately or we'll cancel your hold on that date" side of planning. Weddings are a cutthroat business; those aren't hearts and rainbows in your vendors' eyes, they're dollar signs -- and don't let anyone tell you differently.

Once you realize this, though, you can move past it to the prettier side of planning. It's the hearts and rainbows side, or rather the "oh I don't care how much it is, I just have to have an 5 ft swan heart ice sculpture!" What better symbol of our undying love and our intertwining lives than that of two blocks of ice carved into swans with their necks melded together in the shape of a heart?! (Insert the requisite "cold-hearted" jokes here). So, before my inherent sarcasm and skepticism ruin a perfectly good "pretty planning" post (how's that for alliteration?), here are some new inspirational pictures of flowers and reception centerpieces:

This is absolutely perfect, even down to the colors! I love the idea of using a single type of flower for some of the centerpieces, and I love the way this one cascades between the varying heights of vases.

Again, the colors are fabulous, and I like the idea of decorating the chiavari chairs without completely covering them in organza or sashes. This might be a cute way to distinguish the bride and groom's chairs.

I like the varying shades of purple and pink in these flowers, but I don't know if they'd clash with the darker blueish purple of the irises. It might be a nice contrast to have some centerpieces with this pinkish purple and others with the darker irises.

I love the uniqueness of this bouquet! Although not as prominent as I'd originally planned, I do still anticipate using peacock feathers in the overall design. I think the very few used here are charmingly unexpected, while still being elegant. The colors match perfectly, as well.