Dan's Papers - April 4, 2008 - Wedding Trends

Location, location, location. No, we're not discussing real estate, we're talking about weddings.

"Destination events are in - Ireland, Spain, the Caribbean. People are going everywhere, as long as it's accessible to some degree," said wedding and party planner Lynette Renee of LRT Events in Westhampton.

But hold on - the East End is a world-class destination in itself, according to Christine Merser, co-owner of Water Mill Party. "More and more brides are renting a home for the week, housing their entourage and using the yard as a tent wedding location," she said. "Look for more and more tents this summer and know that behind each one is a happy bride who might not be from the area."

The recent bridal expo hosted by Water Mill Party highlighted this trend - in fact the fair itself was held in one of the trendiest type of locations - Martha Clara Vineyard.

Dozens of couples have already booked their wedding at Martha Clara for this year. The ceremony and reception can be held inside the barn, which - with decorating - becomes transformed into a party space according to how the bride and groom request. Or either they can be celebrated outside, next to the vineyards. Brides even get their choice of red or white - near the merlot field, which can hold up to 500 people, or the chardonnay field, where as many as 1500 guests can toast the couple and mingle.

Not surprisingly, the vineyard's wedding schedule gets more crowded in the autumn because it's harvest time, according to Nancy Bartow, location manager.

The number of wedding planners is growing to meet the demand, and the demand has created some converts. Renee used to be strictly a party planner, but all the wedding activity helped her move into this area just recently. Being a party planner is fun in itself, she said, but being a wedding planner plays to the fantasy in everyone. "Who doesn't want to be a part of a great event? It just feels good to work with them - you want to help them create a dream," she said.

Tents usually, but not always, go with an outdoor wedding - vineyard, beach or lawn. Besides being pretty and defining the center of festivities, tents do what all tents have been doing for thousands of years, including saving many a wedding from uninvited weather. And of course something has to go under all those pretty new shoes as they dine and dance. Couples are becoming innovative with the flooring, according to a spokesman for The New York Tent, located in Bohemia. "One client recently chose a black and white marble floor to enhance the 'Gatsby' theme," he said. "Others have chosen a maple hardwood floor. Probably the most popular is the use of custom carpeting, which is available in many colors to complete their look," he added.

Photographers are as plentiful on the East End as are beautiful scenery and subjects, and many are turning to wedding photography. Brides are as lovely as ever, but they are getting older, according to photographer Krista Sildver. She said no longer are most of the brides she photographs in their twenties, but that "they tend now to be in their thirties and forties." That makes life easier for the photographer in several ways, Sildver added. "They're not as child-like about the planning. I'm dealing with adults."

She said clients come in all varieties and income brackets as well. A "mixed" marriage can mean "socially diverse," and self-sufficient professional women don't have to feel the need to "marry up," especially in second weddings, she pointed out. Recently, she did photographs and published them in a bound book for a woman doctor who was marrying a construction worker. "It was a beautiful wedding. One of the attendants was his little girl." Prices for Sildver's bound leather wedding books range from $3,000 to $5,000.

Brides don't have to be too young, and food doesn't have to be too old. Caterer Peter Gato said the sit-down, four-to-five course dinner is nice, but "People are going more in the direction of heavy cocktail, light local buffet, or even a complete reception of tapas and passed appetizers."

He said salsas, Indian spiced rubs, chimmi churri and mojos are new, and guests love them. "People are more so 'foodies' than ever before." And pour apres, he suggested, "What about a little take-out bag - like mod's with a fresh grilled slider and a bag of fries for the ride home? Or the great barista making espressos to end the evening?"

Caterer Miche Bacher of Sacredsweets works with organic and local ingredients. "My brides and grooms have really embraced my 'slow locavore sustainable' philosophy. I am seeing more and more couples who are considering the cake as a flavor piece, as opposed to a simply something they have to have for the sake of tradition. They are tending toward a 'composed dessert,' one that harmonizes with the rest of the meal." What could be newer than a cake with a fresh basil sauce and vanilla ginger sable, for example?

"One bride chose to go 'retro-American' and serve a slice of strawberry shortcake with a triple chocolate cookies and vanilla milkshake shooter," he said.

The list goes on, as do other caterers. Like Peter Gato of Food for Forks, the wedding division of catering at the Seafood Shop in Wainscott. The choices of food are endless.

As are the choices for flowers. They can range from formal arrangements of ivory roses and peonies to romantic color combinations of lilies, scarlet roses, orange blossoms and hydrangeas. Whichever of the hundreds of possible combinations, one secret Rebecca Jens-Johnson, owner of Moments In Time floral design in Riverhead gives out: "You can choose and order your flowers as late as two weeks before the wedding. In fact, it's almost better that way, because we'll know which varieties are great at the time."

Of course there is the music, the tableware, clothing and the list - and expense - can seem endless to the couple planning the wedding. It all comes together for an elegant event no one will forget. But there is the less glamorous end of outdoor weddings, said a spokesman for Miller Portable Services in Calverton, who was handing out cards and teeny bottles of hand-sanitizer at the expo. "The tents have become so elegant that any vineyard or back yard instantly becomes a catering hall...which brings us to my supporting role of luxurious portable bathrooms."