Monday, 27 July 2009 13:26 | Team at The Ring

Celebrity planner shares

12 steps to a couture wedding

If you ask celebrity planner and lifestyle expert, Colin Cowie, a wedding isn’t about being perfect or having the perfect day. It’s about making a statement of style... taking your guests on a journey with you... and giving the people you love a window into your world. In an interview with Bridal News Magazine, this style guru explained how everyday brides can plan ‘haute couture’ weddings—with or without a celebrity-sized budget!

Colin Cowie’s talents are behind some of the world’s most lavish and high-profile events. He’s called an event and lifestyle expert by the biggest names in fashion and media, and his company, Colin Cowie Lifestyle, has a client list that includes icons such as Oprah Winfrey, John Travolta and Tom Cruise. All that aside, Colin’s goal is simple: to share his “secrets and inspirations of style, beauty, charm, ceremony, sexy elegance and sensual living.” This is evident in his breathtaking designs, such as “an exotic cliff-top wedding in Capri, creating a dazzlingly ornate reception at a Middle-Eastern palace, or showing television viewers how to create a beautiful Easter, a memorable Valentine’s Day or a family-and-friendsfilled summer’s-end beachfront blowout.”

1. image & vision first

Many couples assume that all good plans have to begin with the budget. But when Colin sits down with a bride and groom—often over several hours and a bottle of wine—his first questions are about dreams, not numbers. “Look at the big picture.

Think big. Dream big. Don’t worry about the money yet. Image and vision first...”

2. file the good and the bad

Colin has his clients put together a wedding file (a binder or photo box might also work). “Weddings bring out the best and the worst in everyone. The most important thing is to enjoy the journey. Make it a fun experience and not a stressful experience... Find vendors who will support you and interpret your vision. Make a file with two sections, one for inspirational pictures of all things you like. The other for pictures and notes on all the things you don’t like.” He says your file will help you articulate your vision—what you want, what you don’t want, what you can pay. “It helps you get to the bottom of things very quickly.” [Note: Use magazines, wedding books filled with photos, websites you’ve printed, fabric swatches....] Colin admits that one of the biggest compliments he could receive is seeing a client’s event file filled with clippings out of one of his books.

3. be a ruthless editor

When it’s time to start laying out your plans, use a process of elimination to fine tune or tweak your vision. Colin’s mantra is, “Great style comes from ruthless editing. Every detail should serve and enhance the big picture.” Ask yourself, What’s important? What isn’t? What stays and what doesn’t? What am I going to anchor my design around? The idea is that as you cross things off your list, your vision and reality will start to come together.

4. make a statement of style

Colin believes there are many ways couples can plan a fabulous wedding, with or without a celebrity-sized budget. “Use in-season flowers... Use computer printing instead of a calligrapher....” He believes a wedding should be a statement of style, “You’re not doing this to impress people. You want to feel comfortable and to make your guests feel welcomed. You want to give guests a window into your world. Everything you do, everything you design, should be indicative of who you and the groom are.”

5. plan for help, not perfection

Things will go wrong at your wedding. They even go wrong at multimillion dollar weddings planned by the expert himself. For example, Colin has seen cakes delivered to the wrong address or fallen over completely. “Darling, never use the word perfect. Something always goes wrong. You have to roll with the punches and make the best of the situation,” he explained. At the events of his clients, Colin is there to handle whatever may happen. “I’ll have the time or the people available to make sure [the issue] has the least negative impact on guests as possible. Hopefully, no one will even notice.” And if hiring a celebrity planer isn’t exactly in your budget, plan to have help, or better yet, hire a wedding planner to take care of the mishaps for you so you can enjoy your day with your friends and family.

6. timing is everything

Colin says that your wedding should be production-quality. You don’t want your guests to get tired or bored or drunk. “Timing is everything. We make a schedule and we move it along.” He says the flow of the day is the least expensive aspect of the plans and the most often overlooked. “The guests should wait no more than forty-five minutes for the next part of the day to begin... For example, they start the ceremony fifteen minutes after guests arrive. You can take as many pictures as you like beforehand, but there is no more than forty minutes scheduled for photography between the ceremony and reception. The ceremony always starts fifteen minutes after guests arrive....”

7. the look

Colin is a firm believer that, “The bride should wear the gown. The gown should never wear the bride…” He advises brides that less is more. “You don’t want to look overproduced.”

8. throw an after party

Since the single biggest wow-factor of your day comes from the experience you and your guests have, turn your reception dance into an after party. Colin says in his book, “... when it’s time to hit the dance floor and party, party, party, you want to transition to an upbeat sound and big vocals... I term this stage the ‘after party.’ It’s that moment when it’s time to cut loose and take everyone along for the ride...”. He says the after party can take place in another room, another area or even just the centre of the party space. To make it happen, he says you should bring in whatever you think will keep the party alive. “Set the lights a notch or two lower, trade in the round tent top tables and floral centerpieces... for night club elements such as comfortable couches with an abundance of cushions... cocktail tables decorated with votive candles... coloured lights....”

9. find a high-energy DJ

As far as Colin Cowie is concerned, regardless of budget, nothing beats the flexibility, verve and breadth of styles that a first-rate DJ can provide. “Add tray-passed shooters that waiters present to guests while they dance to provide rocket fuel without missing a single beat.”

10. “Linens are more specialized than ever before,”

Colin told Bridal News Magazine. In this photo, a chair is dressed up with a canvas slipcover that has a bamboo weave of chocolate brown and white, brought to life with vibrant Schiaprelli pink piping along the joints. Wedding Chic, p. 123

11. Shocking Pink Aisle:

This winding (serpentine) aisle runner in a show-stopping Schiaparelli pink is bordered with succulents, creating a fantastic contrast. Wedding Chic, p. 60

12. Draped in Fabric:

The after party for this reception takes place in an unfinished loft with its raw cement walls draped in white fabric. The floors are covered in white carpet and open spaces are filled with overstuffed furniture. Wedding Chic, p. 340

WEDDING CHIC

Interviewing Colin Cowie for Bridal News Magazine and our brides in The Ring was definitely a highlight of this issue for me. Unbeknownst to him, Colin wrote the first wedding ‘planning book’ I ever purchased, Colin Cowie Weddings. At the time (which was about twelve years ago) most wedding books were text-heavy, instruction-style binders filled with lists, traditions and rules. Colin Cowie Weddings seemed to be more about inspiring ideas and teaching by example—it was a large, hard cover, coffee table-style book containing commentary and expertise alongside fabulous photos of everything from bouquet colours to place settings.

Wedding Chic is easy to love for many of the same reasons. It’s filled with wedding designs and details straight out of his career archives, organized into 1001 tips and brought to life with photos. “You could look at it as a retrospective...” And whether or not you can afford everything you see, you can use all of the concepts and make them your own. Colin says, “Some ideas might be lavish, but all ideas are free.”

- Jennifer Goulden

[Images and excerpts] reprinted from the book COLIN COWIE WEDDING CHIC by Colin Cowie. Copyright © 2008 by Colin Cowie. Published by Clarkson Potter, a division of Random House, Inc.