Decorating with fabric: Organza
You often don’t see organza fabric outside of formal events, whether its used on the formally-dressed attendees or on the formally decorated facility. Either way, organza is luxurious, shiny and eye-catching — and comes in dozens of colors. My mom had great foresight when she invested in dozens of colors (including at least three shades of pink) and at least a few hundred bolts of organza. It’s a great fabric to use for decorating, but try not to giggle when you spot someone wearing the same fabric you’re using to decorate a table. It’s happened to me before, believe me.
The photo to the left, by the way, was lifted from circuscitykids.com.
I used at least half a dozen pieces of organza on my friend Cathy’s wedding, to great effect. But with her sweetheart table and backdrop, I only used two. Why? Because less can be more, and with the white English netting, that bubble-gum pink has no choice but to pop. Organza, however, can be difficult to decorate with because its fabric. Let’s face it — your clothes wouldn’t lay flat if it weren’t cut in a particular way, and the same goes for yards of fabric used for decorating. Except, you don’t cut fabric you use for decorating. So what do you do? You pin it and you bunch it and you gather it, hopefully in a symmetrical manner. That’s my philosophy in decorating setups like these. 
Here are two colors of organza used together. I actually prefer to use different types of fabric on my tables — like English netting with organza — but that tends to limit my color choices. Most of my English netting is white, so for this gorgeous champagne color, out came the organza. This happens to be a long head table on the floor, with two shorter tables on a riser flanking a sweetheart table, plus that backdrop. And in case you were wondering, I don’t draw my tables in advance — I just seem to see them in my head when I get there and see blank tables.
Since I love the champagne organza so much, here’s another example from a job in Whittier. But besides that, I want to point out how easy it is to fluff organza. This sweetheart table here is decorated with just one long piece of organza, even though I decorated it a bit like a baker decorates a cake. I twisted and fluffed the organza along the edge of the table, as well as draping it along the table skirt. With a color like champagne, its not too overpowering. I wouldn’t recommend this technique with a stronger color like pink or purple.
And here’s a close up of how organza hangs. This photo, not previously posted before, was taken at a gazebo ceremony at the Almansor Court in Alhambra. Go to the post to see the finished set up, but this photo was taken from in front of the gazebo — basically the groom’s view as his bride walks down the aisle. The organza has a luminescent quality, really shining in the sun — and it doesn’t hurt that the skies were gorgeous that day. But organza should be used outdoors sparingly, since its relatively thick and wind can make it look and feel like a sail.
DIY wedding decorations in Wisconsin
All photos by Shruti Mathur
At this point, I think I need to create a “Shruti” label because she keeps coming through for me! My favorite Wedding Attender recently had a grand time at a wedding in Wisconsin (state of cheese!). This wedding, she says, was a major do-it-yourself affair — not so much because of the cost, but more because of the bride and groom and their personalities. Aw, shucks, let me let her tell you herself.
Jen and Kyle were engaged for two years but I’m not sure if they started planning the wedding until maybe less than a year before. On top of that, Jen spent the summer in Mongolia, coming home about three weeks before the wedding. So, if you can’t tell, they are a really easy-going couple and their wedding reflected that–in the best way possible.
Their wedding perfectly encapsulated them and it was really lovely and comfortable and fun. I think that is the highest compliment anyone can pay about someone’s wedding — that it fit their personality perfectly. (I only hope people will say that about mine.)
The week before the wedding we went to IKEA to pick up vases, candle holders and candles for the wedding–and anything else that caught the bride’s eye. The day before the wedding they visited a flower farm and picked wildflower bouquets and created potted plants in mason jars, which hung from hooks in the wedding tent and were set on the table at the reception.
Rain is supposed to be good luck on the wedding day, but it was unfortunate that it rained the entire time. They had a backup plan of using the marquee tent for the ceremony and the reception was already planned for the lodge–though I am sure they also had planned to let people spill out onto the lawn instead of stuffing themselves inside!!
Instead of a seated or even buffet-style dinner, they opted for “heavy hors d’oeuvres.” And, amazingly, this appetizer dinner was really filling! They had wheels of cheese, fruit trays, crackers, pulled pork with buns, home-recipe chicken satay, mini-spanakopitas, hummus, pita, thin slices of beef, mushrooms stuffed with sausage and cheese and this whole fish that you flaked off chunks of…it was scary. I am certainly forgetting foods. I was STUFFED…which was good, since it was an open bar. It was in Wisconsin after all!
Now, I’m just going to interrupt Shruti’s great narrative real quick to point out a few things. I LOVE the mason jar idea. How cute! And I love it that they’re filled with sand. Remember what I said about lights and candles — so important!
Case in point! Japanese paper lanterns at a Wisconsin DIY wedding reception? Why not! In the end its all about lighting up the space and creating ambiance. And it also helps dim the soggy outdoor area that people were supposed to be able to wander about in, but for the rain. I believe the photo in the middle was of the bridal bouquet, with white and green mums, white and green roses, and what appear to be green buds. Simple, but so pretty. The photo at the right is of candles in the fireplace, surrounded by greens and branches with red berries. Kind of a nice, fireplace effect in a, heheh, fireplace. With all that Wisconsin drinking, I think a real fire would have been unsafe.
The cake, adorned by a vase of flowers and the bridal bouquet.
The couple, also recognizing that the park was way from our hotel and also it was Wisconsin, land of drinking, provided a small bus to get to and from the hotel. This was very nice touch, I thought.
Park rules stated we had to be out by 10:30 that night. We managed to squeeze in a lot of dancing and fun before that time…and the bridal party plus a few hardy friends headed to a local bar to just hang out.
This wedding, by the way, took place at Bukolt Park and Lodge in Stevens Point, Wisconsin. And its a perfect example of a wedding not needing a year (or two) and the budget of a small city to pull off a one-day event. Do it yourself! It makes things pretty fun. And by the way, I love the idea of heavy hors d’oeuvres. What a great idea. I’m saving that for my next party.
