Here’s another idea from one of the vendors at the San Francisco Wedding Fair.

Photobooths were one of the top trends for weddings in 2011 and will still be a popular attraction at many weddings this year. But what will guest do when they are waiting for their turn?

One photobooth company at the fair, Photo Booth US, also rents out games. While your bride doesn’t necessarily want carnival and arcade games at her reception, unless these things would work with her wedding theme, a fortune telling machine, in which she customized the messages, might be fun amusement for guests waiting in line for a photobooth opportunity or a cocktail.

You can find this machine and others like it at party, prop, and game rental companies.

One of my favorite bridal shows takes place every year at the Four Seasons Hotel in San Francisco. It’s the San Francisco Wedding Fair, and it’s a great place to see the latest wedding ideas for high-end weddings and get inspired by some of the top wedding vendors in the San Francisco Bay Area. I”ll share some ideas and show some of the booths this week.

Floral and event designer Floramor Studios had a room with tabletop displays inspired today’s top female singers.

Above and below are photos of the table inspired by Katy Perry, fun and pink, with centerpieces of glass jars filled with candy.

The tabletop inspired by Fergie featured a centerpiece of a glass dome with stelleto heels.

The Jennifer Lopez table was silver and white.

with a stunning crystal beaded candelabra.

Beyonce inspired an elegant table of copper and white.

The Britney Spears table was both sexy and romantic, with it’s mirrored table and candelabra of crystals and pale rink roses.

And Lady Gaga inspired a huge single flower as a centerpiece and deep, rich-colored linens.

Where might you and your brides find inspiration?

When you are starting to work as a wedding planner, you’ll want to be ready to help brides plan their dream weddings. The February issue of Brides magazine published results of their survey in which they asked readers to give them a portrait of their dream weddings.

Here is where brides said they wanted to get married along with my tips on what you should know about the sites:

1) Gardens

A garden wedding can help a bride save money on her floral budget but you can also work with a florist to bring in additional tress and flowers to make the setting seem more opulent. There are public gardens available in most cities but also check private estates that rent out their homes for events. The ceremony can be held in the garden and the reception in the home.

2) Beaches

Not every wedding planner has the ability to plan a wedding at local a beach but if you do, scout locations that give the best views and are easily accessible for guests and, most importantly, make sure you have a Plan B. Wind, rain, and heat can pose challenges during any outdoor weddings but especially at a beach weddings where there may not be nearby shelters.

3) Tents

Once a tent meant a plain white structure. Today you can find everything from clear tents that make guests feel like they are outdoors to luxury tents that work for weddings with exotic themes and come complete with hanging chandeliers and matching furniture.

4) Wineries

Like a garden wedding, wineries can provide natural decor for the event. It’s not just large wineries that offer event facilities, small private vineyards often open their property for events on a limited basis so do some research to find them.

5) Museums

Think beyond art museums and find ones that specialize such as auto, technology, maritime, and railroad museums. Even the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum can host weddings. So, think outside the box to give your brides their dream wedding locations.

If you’re like most wedding planners, your brides will want weddings that probably don’t veer too much tradition. But you might come across a bride who wants something totally unique, like celebrity wedding planner David Tutera did with his Goth bride on his television show, “My Fair Wedding.

This non-traditional bride had been planning a small, 20-guest, Goth wedding in her home. The decor was mainly black and included skulls and spiders. She told David she didn’t want it to look like Halloween, but that is exactly how her decor came across.

David took her Goth theme and turned it from a very black and sad-feeling wedding to a unique, edgy, romantic event that included all of her family. 

He first changed her dress and the dresses of her bridesmaids and flower girl - they were all in black!

The bride ended up getting a unique dress that she loved. It was an asymetrical white and black plaid dress with black lace (seen in a photo below from the Cymbeline website) which she wore with a black veil.

The wedding ceremony took place outdoors, under a tent of sheer white and black fabric on the rooftop of Palihouse. Guests were seated in white chairs that were draped with black sashes.

(David’s Tip – For an outdoor Goth wedding, choose a space that is dramatic, historic, or has a stone archway for a grand entrance.)

The reception venue, La Boheme, was decorated in reds and blacks. Tableclothes were shades of dark reds with black lace overlays (below), centerpieces were black iron chandeliers with deep red flowers and candles(see photo at the top of this post).

(David’s Tip – For a Goth wedding, look for stained glass, velvet chairs and fireplaces at an indoor venue. For decor, choose dark colors that don’t clash with the venue, black, midnight blue and dark greens, maroons, and reds. Flowers should be exotic; orchids, dahlias, black magic roses, and eggplant colored calla lilies.)

The cake, by Cake Divas of Los Angeles, was black fondant decorated with red, purple and black flowers that looked like the paper flowers of the Victorian era.

(David’s Tip – Red velvet and chocolate are good flavors for cakes for this theme.)

Goth might not be your style but if, like David, you open your mind and can understand the bride’s vision, you can make a Goth themed wedding a romantic and fun event.

On the season 5 premiere of “My Fair Wedding,” celebrity wedding planner, David Tutera, fulfilled a Make-A-Wish Foundation wish by a teen-aged boy, Ryan, who wanted David to go to Kansas to plan his mother’s wedding.

Within six days of arriving, David, with the help of his staff and many Make-a-Wish Foundation volunteers, was able to give the bride the wedding of her dreams.

The bride had originally had a theme which included 1000 origami cranes (symbols of happiness, peace and prosperity). She wanted a spiritual, peaceful feeling to her wedding and a decor that included weeping cherry blossoms and a long aisle with trees along the way.

David made her indoor venue look like a serene, organic outdoor space with pergolas,  trees and the cherry blossoms the she wanted.

Here are 5 of David’s tips for bringing the outdoors in that you might want to use for your brides:

1) Rent plants and trees rather than invest in additional flowers to transform a space and make it look more nature-inspired, they are also more affordable than flowers

2) David banded together both real and silk cherry blossoms when decorating the pergola to make the arrangements more lush (make sure you are using good quality silk flowers that look real)

3) For an evening wedding, add twinkle lights to the trees, accent foliage with uplights, and hang glass-enclosed candles from the tree branches (check to make sure the venue allows open flames)

4) Use trees along the aisle to define it and act as markers along the bridal path

5) Define sections in your venue with tress – separate the ceremony, cocktail and reception areas

Bringing the outdoors is in very popular today, especially since trees were brought into Westminster Abbey for the Royal Wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

In the video below are scenes from the show where you get to meet Ryan and his mother and see some of David’s designs. 

Click here to view the embedded video.

On last Sunday’s episode of “My Fair Wedding,” celebrity wedding planner, David Tutera, helped a fashionista bride who had pretty much spent her entire wedding budget on her Vera Wang wedding dress and Christian Louboutin shoes. Yikes! Good thing she had David’s help to make her dream wedding come true.

(Tip – the wedding dress should be part of the wedding budget so if you are helping a bride with this, make sure she tells you how much she has spent or is planning to spend on it. And, she should not be selecting her dress until she has decided on her venue. Certain styles work better in large venues than small ones and there are some dresses that are too difficult to wear at an outdoor wedding.)

The bride had all sorts of ideas for her fashionista wedding. She talk about wanting it girly, prissy, full of pastel colors, and similar to Marie Antoinette. Her venue was an outdoor space with a beautiful view but it wasn’t ideal because of unpredictable weather and because it had an indoor reception area that was too small.

David took her ideas and focused in on the heart of what the bride was all about – her dress, fashion and details.

(Tip – It’s easy for a bride to have too many good ideas, it’s your job as her wedding planner to help her get focused. Get to know her, look for the common thread running through her ideas and make that the focus, and don’t forget to let her personality come through.)

David usually changes a bride’s wedding dress but this time he let her keep it. The Vera Wang gown was edgy and fashion-forward and expressed the bride’s personality. The photo above is from Vera Wang’s website. The dress is from her Spring 2011 collection.

David did change out the Vera Wang midnight blue bridesmaids’ dresses. He had three fashion students present ideas and chose the design by Masai Payan because it flattered different types of figures and was a beautiful color that blended with the bride’s dress and the color theme of the reception. The photo below is from Masai Payan’s website where you will also see his original sketch of the dress.

The venue David chose was not an ordinary wedding and event venue, it was glass-walled top floors of the AT&T Center on 1150 S. Olive in Los Angeles. This gave guests a 360 degree view of the city which made it unnecessary to fill the space with lots of decorations.  (The lower floor was for the reception. The top floor had space for the reception and the dance floor.)

(Tip - don’t think that wedding venues are only hotels, banquet halls, country clubs, and restaurants. Research unique venues that might have event space such as universities, museums, art galleries, historic homes and office space, such as this one that David found.)

For the tables at the reception, David chose two different designs, using wonderful chair covers and table cloths.

The chair covers were from Wildflowers Linens. If you haven’t seen their designs before, check out their blog which shows many of their linens at celebrity weddings and Hollywood events.

David chose the Curly Willow, because it resembled the bride’s dress.

and the Lilybelle chair sleeve because if all the the chairs resembled the wedding dress, they would take focus away from the bride.

The table linens were also detailed and fashion forward. One had a swirl design

and the other floral, both were from Cloth Connection.

(Tip – all tables don’t need to have the same design. Alternating makes it interesting and can save money if some of the tables can have lower-cost centerpieces. Just make sure everything blends together and suits the theme of the event. Florists and linen providers can help you and the bride with the selections.)

You can read the bride’s thoughts on her experience with David and his team on the WeTV website.

Planning a wedding with a bride who is struggling with the cost of wedding flowers? In the November/December issue of the UK edition of Brides magazine, top florists share tips on how a bride can get the best on a budget.

Here are 6 tips that you can share when your bride is on a small budget:

1) Be open-minded

When price is the major determining factor, a bride needs to be flexible. She should select her colors and theme then be open to the suggestions of the florist as to how to get the best for her money.

2) Choose a hand-tied bouquet versus a wired bouquet

Tied bouquets are looser, less structured and less labor intensive to create so they are less expensive than a wired bouquet in which each flower stem is replaced with floral wire.

3) Use large-headed blooms, like hydrangeas, in centerpieces

This means the florist would not need to use as many flowers to create a dramatic statement.

4) Don’t have the same arrangement on each table

Use pillar candles, arrangements of ivy and foliage or bowls of fruit instead of floral arrangements on some tables in order to save money.

5) Avoid out-of-season and imported  flowers

If flowers need to be shipped to the wedding, the shipping costs will be added to the bill.

6) Repurpose larger arrangements

Tress and large vases of flowers can be used at the ceremony then moved to the reception site.

As a wedding planner, make sure your network of wedding vendors includes florists who can help a bride have beautiful flowers on a small budget.

You can read more great tips in the magazine.

When you are a wedding planner, brides expect you to know how to help them trim costs and still have a great wedding. The November 2011 issue of Brides magazine features the article, “50 Genius Cost Cutters,” geared at helping brides save money. 

Here are 5 of the cost cutting tips the magazine lists that you can use with your brides:

1) Suggest off-peak dates

Dates between November and April, except for the holidays, are less desirable and therefore less expensive. If the bride want to get married during the business summer months, suggest she select a Friday or Sunday instead a busy Saturday.

2) Help her choose a venue that is already furnished and has linens

Rental costs can add up if the bride has to bring in all of her own tables, chairs and linens.

3) Keep floral costs reasonable by decorating strategically

Suggest the bride select flowers that are in season and are locally grown. Also concentrate on the table centerpieces, that’s what guests will be seeing most of the night. Refrain from investing a lot of the floral budget in decorating staircases and hallways.

4) Use a lot of candles

Add drama with clusters of glowing votives or giant pillar candles.

5) Nix the full bar

The bride can serve just wine, beer and soft drinks to eliminate the high cost of hard liquor. If she must have something more, work with the bartender in advance to create a signature cocktail.

Experienced wedding planners know how to help their brides make the most of their budgets, so learn all you can about how to cut wedding costs without sacrificing a bride’s wedding style. And don’t forget. you need to be able to refer your brides to vendors who will also keep costs low while having a stylish wedding.

You’ll find more ideas in Brides magazine.

Mindy Weiss, wedding planner for many Hollywood celebrities such as Hillary Duff, Heidi Klum, and Kate Beckensale, shared tips for planning beautiful weddings in the September/October issue of the U.K. Edition of Brides magazine.

Here are tips she shared that may help you when working with your brides:

1) At her first meeting with brides, she asks them to tell her all about their wedding dreams

The brides Mindy works with are busy, so she asks them to tell her everything at their first meeting. By their second meeting, she gives them an idea of what their day will look like.

2) She makes sure the bride chooses her location carefully

Whether the space is indoors or outdoors, modern, vintage, or rustic, the venue will dictate the look and feel of the wedding. The bride should know what feeling she wants to create before selecting her site.

3) She pays close attention to table decorations

These are what guests will be looking at throughout most of the event. Mindy likes to mix a variety of vessels on a table, then she fills each of them with one variety of flower. She might put calla lilies in one vessel, peonies in a second, winterberries in another, then have all three on one table.

4) She believes white weddings are always in style

White can be done any time of year, on any budget, by any bride, even if it’s not her first wedding (Heidi Klum did it for her second marriage). To keep a white wedding from looking too flat or cold, Mindy suggests using accent colors in the flowers and centerpieces. She used blush and cream flowers at Hillary Duff’s white wedding.

You can read more white wedding tips from Mindy on the U.K. Brides magazine website.

Most brides hire wedding planners well in advance of their weddings, in fact, the wedding planners whom I mentor usually have 8 to 12 months to work with a bride. But the current, November /December issue of Bridal Guide magazine has an article giving advice to brides who may have just started planning a wedding that will take place later this year. Not always easy to do, especially if the bride has a specific vision in mind. But, good news, they suggest hiring a wedding planner to help with the entire wedding, take over the tasks that she cannot seem to do herself, or manage things on the day of the wedding itself.

So, if a bride were to call you today for a December wedding, would you be prepared?

If you can answer “Yes” to these questions, you can easily plan a wedding in a short period of time:

1) Do you have a wide network of vendors you can contact who could be available on short notice?

This includes florists, caterers, bakers, musicians, DJs, photographers, and videographers. You should also know printers who can do a quick turnaround on invitations at a reasonalbe price.

2) Do you know the location of great venues that might be available?

You want to know about unique venues such as private homes, gardens and vineyards that are beautiful but not well-known and could be available.

3) Do you know where the bride may be able to order her gown and the dresses for her attendants within a few weeks’ time?

If your wedding vendor network includes seamtresses and tailors, you might check if they could quickly create something special for the bride or alter off-the-rack dresses for her and her bridesmaids to make them very special.

4) Can you get last-minute help for yourself if you need assistance during the planning process or on the day of the wedding itself?

If you are really in a time crunch, you won’t be able to do-it-all yourself and will need reliable help.

5) Are you good at coming up with alternate solutions when what the bride wants isn’t available?

When there is little time for planning, the bride will need to be flexible but you also need to be creative and quickly come up with alternate ideas so she can still have a beautiful wedding.