How your street style can inspire your wedding style

Whether you think of your personal style as modern, trendy, classic, funky or just unique to you – we all have different styles and tastes. While flipping through most bridal magazines we see images of brides with a beautiful full white gown, a nice up do, and soft makeup…so where does our style go when we become a bride?

Just because we all wear white doesn’t mean that our gown, hair, makeup, accessories and the entire wedding cannot be distinct to us (and our groom, of course).

My friend Jill has a great street style blog called Pics by Polka Dot - http://streetstylelondon.blogspot.com/ - where she captures people walking down the street to inspire others and open a dialogue about fashion today in London and everywhere she happens to travel to (She is in NY right now). The photos above are all from her website. All of these girls have a distinctly different style and that style should be reflected in their wedding.

Here are some tips to turn your street style into your wedding style:

STEP I

Work with your groom to design your wedding vision. Your wedding vision should be based on your street style, your groom’s style, your style icons (if you have one or many), where you live, what your backgrounds are, where you love to visit, your music tastes, your favorite foods, colors and places. At the end of the day your wedding vision is all about creating an event that is unique to the two of you. It is a combination of your styles and who you are as a couple together. It is a puzzle and every piece counts in making your vision of the perfect day a reality and your street style is a big piece of the puzzle.

STEP II

Decide on how each of the elements below will be selected to create your wedding vision.

The Gown: In order to find your perfect wedding dress or gown, start with bridal magazines. Don’t just buy one, buy a bunch. All magazines have different styles and identities so Elegant Bride, Town & Country Weddings, Martha Stewart Weddings, and Modern Bride are all quite different publications.

Also, check out dresses online from past years at http://www.brides.com/ since you may love a designer’s previous bridal line. If you don’t see what you are looking for, then why not find a seamstress to create your own unique wedding dress. You could pull out different elements of gowns you found that you like, such as the neckline or the train and show the seamstress different types of dresses and gowns that you own, which are your favorites. That way you can create a dress or gown that is unique to you and suits your style and figure.

The key is to find a dress or gown that works with your street style, in a more formal embodiment. If you tend to feel more comfortable is suits, then a more classic, fitted dress could work. If you want a more youthful, fun look go for a short white dress. If you are more of a romantic try a flowing chiffon gown. Go with what you feel comfortable in - the gown that when you put it on, feels like you.

Hair: Something I don’t understand with weddings is why so many people who normally wear their hair down or in beautiful styles, just decide for that one day to put their hair up in a tight up do. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. If you never wear your hair up, I wouldn’t advise starting to do this style for your wedding. Your wedding You should be the most naturally beautiful You, so stick with what you know looks good on you. A helmet head of hairspray is not attractive on anyone so try and keep it soft and natural, whether up or down. Pull out photos of your favorite hair styles and bring them to your hair stylist to see which looks suit your own personal style the best.

Accessories: Accessories are your time to have some fun (in addition to all of the other fun elements of planning your wedding!). If you are a bit funky, you could add a tiny veil that covers only part of your face. If you want something a bit more glamorous and stylish, try a veil that goes to just beneath your shoulders and is cut straight across to complement a fitted trumpet gown. If you like more classic styles, go for a chapel or cathedral length veil.

Then there is jewelry – From diamond or pearl earrings to a statement ring or chandelier earrings. There are tons of ways to use jewelry to bring across your personal style. To add some spice, don’t be afraid to bring in some color. If you love turquoise, why not add a turquoise ring or bracelet? Then you can check your “something blue” off your list as well!

Venue: Location, Location, Location. Your ceremony and reception venues set the scene for the entire day. Finding the right venue should begin with you. Where do you enjoy spending your time and vacations most? The beach? A lounge bar? The countryside? By a lake in the forest? Or a big city? In addition to your street style, figuring out your vacation style and the places that make you feel the most comfortable, happy and stress free is a great start to selecting your venue. Also, take into consideration where you and your fiancé come from: a small town or big city?

Despite being a big city girl, the places where I feel the most relaxed are Tuscany and outside in nature so we had our wedding at a villa in the Tuscan countryside followed by another event at Tavern on the Green in New York in the middle of Central Park.

Even if you don’t plan on a destination wedding, you can create your perfect wedding anywhere you choose. If you live in a big city but want a countryside wedding, look into your city parks and gardens and add some rustic décor to your table settings like lavender, baby’s breath and tree branches. If you live in the countryside but want a city feel for your wedding, then find a loft space or an industrial building and focus all of your efforts on the décor. Keep the tablecloths and flowers white or ivory, add mirrored disks to the table underneath the centerpieces, then add some white candles and silver bowls for the flowers. White and silver glam up any event but just make sure to keep it classy and sophisticated.

Flowers: Gorgeous hydrangea, brightly colored gerbera daisies, wild tropical orchids, soft sweet peas, classic roses, distinctive poppies or wild flowers…the list goes on and on. Choose your favorite flower or a flower that embodies you. Also, speak with your florist to find the right type of bouquet and centerpieces for you based on your gown and the overall wedding look and feel you are creating.

Music: Do you love jazz? Hip hop? Caribbean beats and reggae? Or are you more old school and adore big band hits and swing music? While you want to incorporate music that everyone at your wedding of all ages can enjoy, music can really set the scene at your reception. Look into bands and DJs that specialize in the music you love. Another option is to have more classical, fun for everyone music at the start of the night followed by your faves once it gets a bit later. If you have a favorite local band or DJ, start your search with them. You never know – they might be honored to play at your wedding…

Invitations: Many people don’t realize the importance of invitations. They are the very first thing that your guests receive. They are important because your guests will interpret what type of event you are having based on not only the text of your invitation but the style.

If you are having a low key, relaxed, yet elegant beach wedding then a simple invitation made of nice ivory card stock with a flowing pale blue script could work well. If you want to have a bit more fun, you could add a design of a shell at the top in the same pale blue.

Or if you are having a city wedding and you want to be bold, like your style, use a brighter color like red and select a stronger typeface in all capital letters.

There are so many things you can do with invitations from the card stock to the typeface and the designs you can add to personalize it – the options are limitless. Check out East Six in New York - http://www.eastsix.com/ - they do an amazing job at creating personalized invitations to suit your style.

Just make sure you have your wedding vision decided upon before selecting invitations so that they tell the story of your wedding.

Food and Drink: Are you foodies? Are you a wine connoisseur? Do you prefer a certain type of food or have a favorite cocktail? All of these elements should be taken into consideration when creating your wedding menu so that the menu reflects you and your groom’s preferences and styles.

Favors and wedding baskets: The little things count. Why not make your gifts personal so that your guests can remember and enjoy them? If you love wine, give a bottle of your favorite wine. If you love cupcakes, give your guests cupcakes at the end of the night. One bride that I know adores Christmas and she and her groom gave away silver Christmas ornaments with their names and their wedding date on one side with room for a photo of their guests at the wedding on the other side. Think about your hobbies and what you love and pass on the love to your guests so that they can enjoy it too.