Weddingbee

Truvy: What are your colors, Shelby?
Shelby: My colors are “blush” and “bashful.”
M’Lynn: Her colors are “pink” and pink.”
Shelby: My colors are “blush” and “bashful” Mama!
M’Lynn: How pretentious is this weddin’ gonna get, I ask you?
- Steel Magnolias

What’s a girl’s adolescence and coming of age without a little Steel Magnolias? I know it’s a cheesy movie, but I love it and ever since I heard that line, I always think of that scene when someone asks me about my “colors.”

While hashing out ideas and looking through my various Powerpoints and binders, I kept returning to things that incorporated Chinese culture that weren’t too stereotypical or cliche. I wanted to create an atmosphere instead of just using symbolism… so the challenge was how to do that without using the “double happiness” character, chopsticks, and fortune cookies? Plus, Mr. Canary and I have sooooo many interests outside of our cultures and backgrounds. How are we going to incorporate all of this?

So I started by scouting for items and images that would be Chinese enough but also create atmosphere. I created this inspiration board with some basic images

All these things together seemed to make up a modern Chinese garden. Lush pink florals but reinterpreted by floating in clear cylinder vases. Goldfish used as a nontraditional symbol vs. the dragon and phoenix or double happiness. Birds which are also often shown in pairs (and have been pretty popular in a lot of stationery and weddings lately!)

Then, while going through some of my clippings, I found something I had saved from Domino magazine. It captured the essence of my theme exactly! There aren’t any fish, but it’s got everything else: organic, yet elegant, brocade and floral patterns, clean lines, and birds!

imges and pages from domino may 2007

It also meshed well with all the other stuff I had been buying “for the wedding.” I purchased most of these items this Spring, while I was in Asia for work.

double happiness papercut from shanghai

OK, OK, I know I seem pretty anti double happiness, but this one was just too pretty to pass up! I bought about 50 different papercuts in Shanghai. This one was very different because it didn’t show the traditional dragon & phoenix theme, rather they’re birds & swallows. Adorable. I also love how the colors come together. The piece looks hand dyed, though I have no idea how they did it. The paper is tissue thin, seriously, like Kleenex. And it’s all ONE piece. I might frame it or somehow incorporate it into the guest sign-in table.

left: from “kingyo: the artistry of japanes goldfish”

right: miscellaneous postcards purchased in tokyo

Fishies!!! I want fish incorporated somewhere in the wedding even if they’re not going to be in centerpieces. I don’t know what it is, but I just love the beauty of goldfish. Though, I work in the seafood industry and I don’t eat fish. Hehehe.

The image on the left is from my fantastic goldfish book which has been such amazing eye candy. I love the minimalist Japanese aesthetic. The images from the right are scanned from postcards I purchased during one of my many paper sprees through Tokyo, which by the way, is paper heaven. I recall telling Mr. C this when I discovered the Itoya store in Ginza. Each floor was dedicated to a different type of paper product or office supply. I even called Mr. C to announce that my hotel was merely 3 blocks away from the main store. Mr. C thought I was jetlagged, therefore delirious, but no… I was just mesmerized.

images from petit pattern books “kids & toys” and “japanese style”

Petit Pattern books were another great discovery as I scoured Tokyo book shops. Mind you, I can’t read or speak a lick of Japanese, but like they say, a picture is worth a thousand words! Every graphic pattern in these books is just mindblowing. They’re all in color and there are even instructions on how to load them into Photoshop and Illustrator. I haven’t tried it yet, but I thought if I couldn’t use them on the computer they’d make for great inspiration swatches. The only issue is that they are copyrighted and can not be used for items that will be sold. No worries, I don’t plan on selling any graphic elements from my wedding! And apparently they can be found in the U.S. now for about the same price that I got them in Japan. It’s part of a series.

UK blogger, bowie_style, blogged about various pattern projects here. There’s also a link in the blog to where they can be found on Amazon. Kinokuniya book stores (I know there is one in New York near Rockefeller Center) is another good resource for these. I’m going to test out the patterns with my new gocco (yes, I ordered one! More on that later…)

Though the modern chinoiserie part will help us with decor and tone, we’re also going to try and inject other parts of “us” throughout the wedding, such as places we’ve lived (New York and Boston) as well as our interests books, art, paper, music, and of course food! The hard part will be trying to do all this cohesively. We shall see how it all pan out… I’m actually excited by the challenge!

How did you decide on a theme for your wedding? Was it difficult to highlight specific things about you, as a couple, without neglecting others? Where did you compromise?

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