While I’ve been sailing the Scandinavian seas this past week (have you been following on instagram?) I’ve had one major thing on my mind: WEDDING. We’re officially 50 days out from the celebration, and I can tell you that one of the biggest lessons I’ve learned during this process is to keep things simple.
For someone who loves entertaining, I sure haven’t loved wedding planning. There’s a lot of pressure, a ton of money spent, and about a million ways to lose perspective. So in trying to combat all of that, I’ve found that it’s key to bring your focus back to the important things. Like not only celebrating the person you’re about to marry, but the people who have been there for you through it all: your bridesmaids!
Like I mentioned above – I’ve been keeping things simple. My bridal party consists of my best friend from college, my best friend from high school, my oldest friend, and my sister. Coming up with what to give them and how to ask them to be in the wedding wasn’t easy since one lives in New York, another in San Francisco, and the other two in Seattle. If could have, though, this brunch would have been my ideal way to have them all together to drop the question!
We set the table with vintage bud vases from Heath Ceramics (I love collecting them in unique colors!), and tied a little tag around that said ‘Hey bud… will you be my bridesmaid?’ because we all love a good pun!
The florals really set the tone for the color scheme here. And in the theme of keeping things easy, I pulled from some dishes I already owned to layer up a casual look. We all have white dishes at home, so I always use those as my base, then add a more special one on top. You can even mix and match these if you’re feeling indecisive (which I usually am these days!).
A few pale pink honeycomb balls floating over the table are enough of a festive touch for something this simple. I think keeping kitschy items minimal actually lets them feel a bit more sophisticated!
Whether you go crazy with pastries, bake a quiche or do a little waffle bar, brunch is always an easier option for entertaining. One of my favorite is croissants. If I were going all out, I would get a ton of different kinds, and put together a bar of jams and toppings! For this table, however, I whipped up ricotta with honey for a decadent topper to plain croissants. I also wrapped prosciutto around melon for something savory and unexpected! A very Italian move on my part, but it pairs nicely with the ricotta as well.
Taking the pressure out of the events surrounding the wedding has really helped me to keep perspective on things so far! I’ve had to remind myself that there’s no right or wrong way to do things, but that it’s really about how I want to do things. For example, putting a lot of effort into the floral for this table because it’s something I enjoy doing, but keeping the menu simple so I didn’t have to worry about cooking.
Weddings are the one time where I think being a little selfish (sometimes in the name of preserving your own mental health!) is acceptable. You have to do what makes sense for your time, budget and energy level. And if that means simplifying things a bit here and there, then do it. The most important part is that it feels true to you.
