Tulsa 2015-2016
MAKE YOUR DAY PICTURE PERFECT Set the mood with food ‘Love at first site’ tulsaworld.com/weddings
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What’s in a name?
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Tulsa
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ndoor vs. outdoor? Summer vs. fall? Gold or silver? Roses, lilies or both? So many questions await the bride as she begins planning for her big day. Tulsa is blessed with many businesses and experts who know how to make a bride’s dreams come true — from what she will wear to how she can celebrate with her guests so they too will never forget.
This annual guide offers a number of recommendations for where to start in your planning process. And, believe me, it’s definitely quite a journey from the engagement to the altar, so leave plenty of time to shop, sample and scout out the best choices. Ready? Let the selections begin. — Kevin Armstrong, Section Editor
hile many brides opt to take their husbands’ surnames upon tying the knot, the popularity of such a decision has ebbed and flowed. Recent years have shown that the practice is once again gaining steam. A 2011 study published in Names: A Journal of Onomastics indicates that younger brides are more likely to embrace the tradition of taking their husbands’ names. The study found women who married between ages 35 to 39 were 6.4 times more likely to keep their maiden names than those who married in their early 20s. Some brides prefer to share the same last name as their future children, making the choice to take a husband’s name a logical decision. It also may make it easier to deal with financial and legal issues. But some brides prefer to keep their maiden names and hold onto their personal identities, especially women who occupy positions of prominence in their professions. Couples should discuss the decision well in advance of the wedding day. — Metro Creative Tulsa Weddings is produced annually by the Tulsa World Advertising Department. For more information about this magazine, call 918-581-8426. To advertise, call 918-581-8510. Cover photo by Amanda Lassiter Photography
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5 ways to make your day picture perfect
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he look of love makes every bride beautiful. She can, however, enhance the beauty of her wedding and how it looks in bridal photos by following these five steps:
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Choose an arranged marriage.
We’re talking flowers, not parentally-enforced unions. Once the bride has chosen her colors, she needs to choose the right types of flowers. And she will want to carry that theme throughout. Flower Girls owner Cindy Howard can help, from the bouquet the bride carries down the aisle to the boutonnieres worn by the groomsmen. “There’s a certain amount of my craft that is art,” the florist says. She can make it all work.
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Venture to the dark side.
That’s OK when you’re
talking about tanning. A little extra UVs are just what Pam Pinson, owner of Bahama Sun of Brookside, can do for you to enhance that portrait. All she needs is a few sessions before the big day, and you’re looking bronzed and beautiful. And while you’re at it, Pinson says, bring the entire bridal party by for an even better look.
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Speak his body language.
Brides know that not every style of dress works the same for differently shaped bridesmaids. Well, that’s true for groomsmen, too. “People want to go for everything being skinny these days,” says Tia Pope, manager
of Beshara’s Formal Wear. “What looks good on a groom isn’t necessarily going to look good on the groomsmen.” Keep each person’s body shape in mind when choosing what he and his men will wear, she says.
Rock on with heavy metal.
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Yellow gold, white gold or platinum? Those choices face every bride when it comes to wedding bands for her and him. Yellow gold reigned in the 1970s and ’80s as the favorite among brides and grooms, but platinum and white gold have become the metals of choice for many these days, says James Williams, owner of Jewels by James. Gold is softer to work with when custom designing a ring with stones, but platinum can be more durable. In the end, Williams says, it’s whatever look the bride wants that wins — as it should be.
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Lighten up and take a seat.
The last thing you have in mind is what the guests will look like in pictures. Abco Rents can handle all the tables, chairs, etc. for feeding your guests, but manager Oscar Urbina says many brides like to spruce up the party with VIP furniture. He recommends several white leather love seats for guests and LED light cubes, which can be used as tables. They will enhance your photos and your guests’ experience.
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Have FUN feeding your wedding guests
eceptions are all about having fun and celebrating, and there’s no better way to set the mood for your post-vows party than what food you choose to serve your guests. Whether you’re serving a full-course dinner or just hors d’oeuvres, the snacks and desserts that accompany them allow you to get really creative. How about, for example, cotton candy at your wedding reception? Brad Perry, owner of the Corn Popper, has had customers order cotton candy to match a bride’s wedding colors. The colorful confection was then placed in a wine glass at each person’s table setting, and when the guest was ready, the wine was poured over the cotton candy to create a unique drink. While you’re getting sweet on that idea, consider offering your guests a different kind of bar selection: a popcorn bar. Perry sells more than 32 flavors of popcorn, from the traditional buttery variety to chocolate- and caramel-coated kernels that will keep your guests busy snacking while the bridal party’s snapping photos. Cookies are another popular choice these days, says Cookiedoodle owner Bernadette Feickert. Instead of displaying them in apothecary jars as you might with candy or popcorn, she can
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offer you displays with pedestal plates. It’s the ultimate expression of having fun with food: eating your dessert before dinner as your mother always told you not to do. Want to take it up a notch? Try serving French macarons or cupcakes on that dessert bar. Your guests will love you for it. The designs these culinary artists can create with any form of pastry will amaze you. That includes cake balls (adorned with a bridal dress and tuxedo look) and cookie lollipops (keep your guests from sporting a crummy look). Cookiedoodle also bakes everything from the six-tiered traditional wedding cakes (yes, they will safely deliver it) to ornate favor cookies at each place setting. And don’t overlook the groom’s cake. Anything goes, Feickert says, when it comes to creating a custom look. Her staff has created guitar cakes, alien heads and recently built the bust of a groom’s favorite character in “Planet of the Apes.” You don’t even have to wait until the wedding day to have fun with food. Cookiedoodle offers a lingerie-shaped cookie for bachelorette parties. Let the fun begin!
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‘Love at first site’
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t’s that moment when a bride enters a room,
a garden or sanctuary and immediately sees herself getting married right there some day. She just knows this is the place. The location feels so right. And it shows in her expresssion. Jonnah Renfro knows the look. She’s seen it countless times as events coordinator for Skyline 60, the tallest place in Tulsa where you can hold a wedding ceremony and/or reception. “You can tell in the first couple of minutes if this is it or it’s not,” she says. “It’s that ‘ohmy-gosh’ look. They’re in love with it.” Skyline 60 sits atop the CityPlex Towers, 600 feet above 81st Street and Lewis Avenue, and offers a beautiful panoramic view of the city and beyond. The recently remodeled venue can comfortably accommodate 75 to 400 guests for a wedding reception. Kacy Hughes, event sales coordinator at the Gilcrease Museum across town, also has seen a bride’s eyes grow
wide when she walks into the space among the art treasures and decides her search is over. “You get a pretty good idea when you’re doing site tours,” Hughes says. “I pretty much know right away if they’re going to hold their wedding or reception here. There’s definitely a love-at-first-sight look.” Gilcrease offers more than one picturesque setting for saying “I do.” The Victorian Garden affords a view of downtown Tulsa and outdoor seating for up to 200 guests, while the museum’s new Helmerich Center for American Research provides a dazzling indoor setting for a ceremony, followed by a reception inside the museum’s Vista Room with floor-toceiling windows. All bookings allow guests to wander through the collection of artworks spanning several centuries. If you’re looking for something more down to earth in terms of cost and size, then the Blue Cottage Events Center in Jenks might be the venue that finds a soft spot in your heart. “I specialize in the small, intimate wedding of 50 people or less,” says owner Kay Greer. “That’s why they call me. I fill that niche.” She can accommodate a ceremony and reception for up to 50 people inside the little blue Victorian house in Jenks or outside in the garden area. Brides also should keep this venue in mind for bridal showers, wedding rehearsal dinners and other pre-wedding events. One of the big advantages is customers can bring their own food or choose their own caterer.
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