Wedding Inspiration with a Brooklyn Edge

By

You have may have noticed Brooklyn is spreading. There’s the Brooklyneer on Varick Street serving “Brooklyn fare,” Red Hook bakery Baked selling its brownie mixes on Williams-Sonoma’s website, and the fabulous Union Market is opening an outpost on Houston and Ave A. As the Brooklyn trend grows, Brooklyn’s brand is becoming clearer. According to most of us, we have all the fun and serve the best food in town. It only makes sense that the borough-as-trend has made its stamp on the wedding world.

Vané Broussard, an interior designer and founder of the Brooklyn Bride blog, started off blogging to organize ideas for her own Brooklyn wedding. Over the past few years, that personal scrapbook has grown into an incredibly popular resource and inspiration for brides all over the country. She took a moment to chat with me about the blog.

I read that your blog began in 2007 as an online scrapbook for your own wedding. How did posting these ideas on a blog help you plan…as opposed to keeping them private?
Keeping them public vs private really wouldn’t have made a difference for me, but I figured if I had been looking for modern inspiration, then other brides would probably be as well. Why not share the wealth?

Your blog is dedicated to covering “modern weddings.” How would you define a modern wedding?
To me a modern wedding isn’t foofy (is that even a word?), ostentatious or gilded Trump-style. It’s clean, takes inspiration from the design world, and has a sense of fun, humor, and doesn’t take itself too seriously. I love seeing weddings with lots of white and pops of bright color (no pastels!)

A neon look conceived by Vané, and styled by local vendors for her site

Are you noticing any new trends in 2012 that you particularly like?
I’m LOVING that neon is finally taking its place in the wedding world….we’re seeing it crop up in accessories and invitations, and now I’m just waiting to see it get applied more at the reception!

What is the best piece of advice you can offer to folks who are currently planning a wedding?
I always say to hire vendors you trust…if you pick the right people whose aesthetic you really love, just know that they’ll make your wedding everything you want it to be! There’s no point is stressing out the day of…that’s for you to enjoy with friends and family.

Who are some of your favorite Brooklyn wedding vendors?
Oh man, there are just too many to name! If I had to name a couple, then Nine Cakes and One Girl Cookies for yummy cakes of course, Paperfinger for calligraphy, Lion in the Sun for invitations, dresses by Samuelle Couture, and flowers by Blossom & Branch or Seaport Flowers. [Ed. Note.: Many of these vendors will be at Wedding Crashers at the Green Building on March 4!]

Do you have any favorite Brooklyn event venues? Anyplace off the beaten track?
I had my wedding at Stage 6 at Steiner Studios and really loved its modern space & views of the city! But I also love the Green Building, and Smack Mellon. Weddings at restaurants are pretty unique, so iCi in Fort Greene is just perfect for people who really want a blank space because its all white.

Although your blog is titled the Brooklyn Bride, I notice you don’t exclusively cover weddings in Brooklyn.If a wedding takes place someplace else, what makes it a ‘Brooklyn’ wedding?
I feel like its really a Brooklyn “state of mind” that I’m looking for, and that can be had anywhere! You don’t necessarily care about trends, you’re artsy and take your inspiration from the design world, you’ve got an edge and your wedding shows it!

Interview by Lee Ann Westover

Leave a Reply

  • (will not be published)