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The Inspiration
If you're already having dreams of a brilliant wedding with the best-dressed guests in the biggest ballroom, with an expansive dance floor, trumpets that burst with bold, sexy tunes, and gold candelabras lighting every tabletop, then you're halfway there. Your mind is focused on all the right elements. Now it's time to evoke your inner celebrity by getting comfortable in the spotlight. You'll need to learn how to work a room, make an impression, and feel fabulous doing it. We think the fastest way to being fabulous is to feel confident in your own skin, so ballroom dance lessons are a definite must. A glamour girl cannot be found seated in the corner at any part of the night. If you can pull off the cha-cha with grace, you get extra points as a glamour gal.
The Announcement
You'll have to properly inform guests of the extravagant event you plan to throw. According to Simone Martel, wedding producer for the Zeta-Jones-Douglas nuptials, the event starts with the invitation, which makes a statement, creates a person's expectations, and sets the tone for the whole evening. So, you'll want to be sure to keep your paper products looking very formal -- formal with a twist, that is.
A classic ecru invite with black engraved script and a silver border is appropriate, but not too enchanting. To go totally out without stepping out of bounds, consider some of these ideas. Choose the finest paper: 100% cotton fiber, a heavy stock, or marbled papers for the rich European look. Forget the natural floral-pressed papers; even rice paper is a little too delicate, earthy, and ethereal. We're not talking "pretty", we're talking big, bold, and beautiful: elaborate typefaces -- scripts that feature curlicues and flourishes, or fonts that are thick and heavy -- and evocative colors like moss green, apricot, and fuchsia; and rich textures such as velvet ribbons and baby brass bells.
Embrace embellishments. A gold leaf border or a copper wax seal might be enough trimming. Design a motif like a gold-press of roses, or even a monogram watermark, that can be used as a unifying element for your invite, reply card, menu card, envelope, and even program. Include a reply card and have a calligrapher hand-address all the invites. Whatever design you choose, make it's eye-catching, and be sure to indicate your wedding celebration as a black tie formal affair.
The Setting
It's certain -- you must look for a venue that is both glamorous and dramatic. Opulence is key. The more the decor looks like you stepped into the gold-gilded Versailles, the better. Your first search should include the biggest ballrooms of the fanciest hotels in the area. However, you might find what you're looking for in an historic mansion, the atrium of an exquisite art museum, or the dining room of an historic estate. Just be sure you're not missing out on these essential elements: a grand staircase, large (or many) crystal or brass chandeliers, golden fixtures and gold-leafed ceilings, ornate designs, fanciful artwork, or wall frescoes. Think French doors swinging open to expose a shiny marble dance floor, floor-to-ceiling windows draped in rich red velvet, and a choir loft that boasts a baby grand piano.
Antique mirrors enhanced with pin lighting would prove both romantic and extravagant, especially under brilliant chandeliers. If your reception space doesn't already provide sitting room furniture, think about renting plush couches and armchairs to place before a working fireplace or in a separate "smoking room". You can also create a separate lounging area, a place where guests can gather around a vodka bar or cocktail tables, with a change of lighting -- try little tea light lamps with red beaded shades that will produce a warm, seductive hue.
The Look
Go couture! Think beaded bodices, blue fabrics, hand-sewn Swarovski crystals, and gold sashes. Imagine bugle beads, fur-trimmed opera gloves, and peau de soie. A glamour wedding calls for a slinky, backless, fully beaded sheath or a suave strapless gown with metallic embroidery and a long sweeping train. Your look should include the crowned jewels -- a glittering tiara is most appropriate -- accompanied by a beaded handbag and shimmery shoes, something with a diamond or rhinestone buckle. A silk, tulle, or velvet wrap (depending on the season) is a glamorous accessory that should not be overlooked. And the guys should outfit themselves in their finest black tuxedos, with custom-made shirts (try Thomas Pink) and Hermes silk ties.
The Fare
Have a signature drink for your cocktail hour -- vodka and lemonade or chocolate martinis -- served on shiny silver trays. Your tuxedo-dressed waiters should offer appetizers on trays-consider sushi, tapas, or other easy-to-eat foods such as duck with caramelized onions, tuna wrapped with roasted red pepper, and prosciutto with melon. A seated multi-course meal served on fine china is a must. Start with a regional or seasonal soup that's poured at each place setting. Serve both fish and meat-lobster and filet mignon are top choices. Perhaps have a multitiered wedding cake just for your family (or just for show) and, instead, serve a variety of desserts -- white chocolate-covered strawberries, creme brulee, and individual chocolate and pecan tarts. You'll need a fully stocked bar for sure, and you may wish to consider serving different fine wines or champagnes for every course.
The Flowers
This is where you will really make your impact. One hundred dozen roses arranged in platinum vases on custom-made linens and overlays-that should do it. But honestly, a glamorous gala would not be complete without exuberant, extravagant displays. There are many ways to achieve this: use overflowing candelabra and topiaries as centerpieces, and accompany each arrangement with tall tapers mixed with smaller votives in glass cylinders. Colors that are kept monochromatic (all whites or various shades of whites), as well as color combinations that range from sexy jewel tones to boisterous hot hues, will all have the same affect -- so long as there's abundance. When it comes to flowers, it is always about quality, but, when it comes to glamour, it's also about quantity.
While you can never go wrong with roses, you don't have to limit yourself to one choice of bloom-arrangements that feature a variety of roses but include green amaranths, grapes, leaves, seeded eucalyptus, berries, and hydrangea evoke drama. When you run out of flowers, add texture with various vines and branches.
The Music & Entertainment
Are you planning to set up 76 trombones to lead the big parade? You've got the idea, then. "Glamour is created through subtle dramatic moments," says Martel, president of Martel Productions in New York City. "You can have violins greet guests at the sidewalk, or on a grand staircase if there is one, and walk them up to the entryway of the reception hall where a quartet is playing, so that from the moment the guests arrive, they can visually sense a wondrous event."
Envision a musical group that will send notes through the roof, maybe something with a horn section that will astound all of your guests. You can start the evening with a string orchestra playing smooth tunes during dinner. Or perhaps you will request a soloist, a harpsichordist, or cellist who can take the stage when your band takes a rest. You'll want to hire anywhere between an 8- and 15-piece band that will usher in an evening of dancing and play your timeless favorites from jazzy artists like Nat King Cole and Charlie Parker to smooth soulful singers, like Marvin Gaye and James Brown.
For additional live (but clean) entertainment, you can hire belly dancers or an a cappella singing group for a pre-dinner delight. You may even hire a local theater group to perform a couple of favorite, fabulous Broadway hits from shows like A Chorus Line, Chicago, Fosse, or 42nd Street in between courses.
The Gratitude
Since you've chosen to go over the top, go for great gifts. Ideas for the wedding party may include pashmina shawls, pearl necklaces and earrings, or small handcrafted jewelry boxes for the ladies, and a small box of imported cigars or initialed platinum flasks for the men. As for favors, send all your guests home with a little something special -- chocolate truffles or personalized chocolates are always a favorite. For something more outrageous, give guests individually boxed versions of your wedding cake. Chinese paper folding fans, with their sophisticated, graceful look, are becoming popular today. By personalizing each wooden handle with each guest's name, these favors can double as place cards. Match your star-studded wedding with a sparkling gift for your sweetie. Give the groom some diamond cuff links; give the bride a star in the sky (yes, believe it or not, you can "buy" one) and name it after her.
Greeting Guests
Even when you're going all out, it can't be just all about you. Fabulous brides treat guests to the finest in hospitality, with gift baskets overflowing with scented soaps, bottled spring water, gourmet teas and coffees, some fresh fruits, figs, or berries, and delectable chocolates. Prove you're thinking about the comfort of your out-of-town guests by pampering them. Reserve rooms ahead of time at various chic hotels or cozy bed-and-breakfasts around the city. You should provide transportation to and from the airports-some hotels may have their own services, but you may want to reserve some cars ahead of time, just in case.
The Lasting Impression
You know you are going to have a fabulous, almost famous, getaway in a classic car (who can pass up an antique Rolls-Royce?), so prepare your guests for the final scene. Make sure they are equipped with small silver or gold buckets full of rose petals they'll toss in your honor as you leave the party. You'll want to sip wine and eat chocolates as you head for your honeymoon suite; ask your caterer to put some delectable delights in the backseat of your getaway car. But before you make your quick escape, have one last showstopper -- a fireworks display, with a grand finale of two intertwining hearts or your initials spanning the dark night sky.
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