Wedding Style Ideas In the Detail: An Artist's Take With Cheryl Bolton Reuter
Photographer Cheryl Bolton Reuter is in her element at a wedding. Laid back and down to earth, she's there when you need her and invisible the rest of the time, 
snapping away as she captures those photographic memories forever.
"I can't say this enough," Cheryl tells me, like the big sister I never had. "The details are so important in the design of your album; the favors, the flowers, the colors, all of it makes an album 'painterly' and lets you remember your wedding as you saw it so that all the details come flooding back."
I have heard her say this before. I've watched her eyes at a wedding, taking in all those details, assembling the couple's wedding album in her head as the night unfolds, making sure she has exactly what she needs to make that canvas of a wedding album into a work of art.
It's all in the details. Cheryl shares some tips to make the details count and stretch your dollar in the process.
Use That Color
Cheryl noted a trend of her 2009 weddings: red and pink seemed to be everywhere. Pink with brown. Red with black. Pink with sage green.
Don't be afraid of color. Choose bold color in your flowers or an accent on your dress. White flowers against a white dress make for bland photos.
Think hot pink, deep red, rich purple. Add splashes of color to your shoes or a flower in your hair.
Give the guys a style kick with bright colors in their ties or a cranberry handkerchief in their pocket. For the girls, stay elegant with black bridesmaid dresses and make a color statement with red shoes.
Kick up the wedding cake. White flowers on a white cake makes it easy to overlook. Add some colorful flowers, fondant or a cake topper to make your pictures really pop.
Even shades of color can be coordinated throughout the wedding, blending all the elements together so that your album is a work of art.
Go with your gut. If you like a color, do it. You can keep it simple; even two colors can have a dramatic impact. Then work those colors into every detail of your wedding so that it all flows together: the invitations, the tablecloths, the flowers, the menu.
Walmart and Michael's To the Rescue
Adding these all important details doesn't have to break the bank. Cheryl suggests some easy, inexpensive ideas for adding personal style and warmth to your wedding.
- Christmas lights. They are cheap, easy to add to your wedding décor and they make your wedding photos literally glow.
- For fall themed weddings, pick up bags of leaves or colored rocks from Michael's to use as accents on tables. Just a few splashes of color makes a big impact.
- Buy colored marbles or rocks and sprinkle them on your tables. They reflect the light, especially if you add candles, giving your photos a glittery elegance.
- Do a scrapbook style guestbook with a theme you like.
Bumblebees, dragonflies, butterflies. - Flower petals strewn on the tables or around the cake are perfect for a spring wedding. And they don't need to be real, either; silk or artificial flowers are just as lovely in photos.
- For your centerpieces, buy some inexpensive twig arrangements and hang crystals and attractive baubles from them. If your wedding is in autumn or winter, you can give your guests ornaments as wedding favors and they can double as décor. Hang them from the centerpieces and invite your guests to take them at the end of the night.
- If you are artistic, use your talents. One of Cheryl's couples gave their guests ornaments of blown colored glass with little birds inside, hand made by the groom.
But you don't have to be a DIY bride to pull off the little accents that make a big impact. Remember these essentials: color, light and blending it together. Your wedding will have style, personality and come together in a wedding album that is an artistic masterpiece.
Photographer Cheryl Bolton Reuter approaches each wedding as a spontaneous adventure. She can be contacted at Bolton Reuter Photography and has graciously provided all the gorgeous photos in this post.
