Butterflies, it once seemed, were doomed … in weddings, at least. How could this circa-seventies symbol, always to be found in that forlorn “bridal row” at the back the craft aisles, have a place in today’s chic affairs? Wire wings, white gauze, 10 to a pack. I mean, really!
But, against all odds, the butterfly thing stayed. It adapted. So what’s keeping them around?
A few things. One: the garden trend. It’s HUGE in this country. We’re obsessed with tea parties, garden parties, English tea parties in gardens. You could build a whole empire on that stuff (wait …). And no blow-out garden party is complete without a few sets of wings.
It’s not just gardens, either. For reasons not entirely clear to anyone, butterflies are getting downright hot here. It’s like birdwatching for 2007-2009, spawning high-ticket travel, expensive museum add-ons, etc.
Finally, there’s the symbolism (transformation, new life). Powerful stuff, that.
The many guises of butterflies in contemporary weddings.
Top to Bottom, L to R: Four perfect cupcake creations by LeCupcake (Kylie Lambert). Grass & butterfly cake by Pink Cake Box; pastel petits fours by FavorStudio. Summer mini-lanterns by MyWeddingFavors; Butterfly favor cookies at Brides.com; bridal shoes from Inside Weddings, “Garden of Love.” Placesetting with moss and tulip centerpiece & butterfly placecards from Tuscany Wedding Chapel; cedarwood invitation and bouquet wrap brooch from Inside Weddings, “Garden of Love”; butterfly escort cards on satin ribbon at Brides.com.
Back in the dark ages of the New Wedding, brides mostly “did” butterflies by sewing on a few white appliques here and there, and scheduling a butterfly release right after the vows. Since then, we’ve graduated to color, and butterfly releases have gone a bit south due to worries about their humaneness … not to mention those “bomb” releases on widely-viewed programs like Whose Wedding is it Anyway? (Doesn’t everyone want to see themselves poking oddly still bodies in a box when it’s time to sit down with the video?)
So now, butterflies are likely to show up in boho/shabby-chic settings (where shabby = vintage) with lots of pastels, or a brighter, more contemporary wedding with blocks of high-energy color. Vive la Change!
Here are a few fun trends you might see in today’s butterfly weddings:
- Sparkly butterfly brooches, pinned to the bride’s sash or the ribbon bouquet wraps.
- Clusters of butterfly appliqués sewn to flower girl gowns.
- Light-as-air vanilla cakes filled with lemon and strawberry creams.
- Jeweled bouquet picks.
- Pastel parasols, white summer lanterns and fruity iced drinks.
- Color schemes like pink + orange or yellow + pale green.
- Wheatgrass centerpieces and trays of petit fours.
- Wind-up butterflies that flutter out of cards or napkins.
Martha, as always, is full of great ideas. She has rice paper templates for edible butterflies and butterfly seating cards you can tuck on the edge of a wine glass or antique teacup. She’s dished up butterfly-studded paper lanterns (cute!) and DIY butterfly straws (check out “Summer Parties” and “Gentle Landings” on http://www.marthastewart.com/). Sensibly, she sells a butterfly paper punch, as do other craft stores, which should save you a lot of anguish. Try cutting out a couple hundred paper butterflies by hand and you’ll soon find yourself wanting to switch to another theme, like “paper punch dots.”
The best part of a butterfly wedding? You have an excuse to spend hours poring over the signature cupcake stylings of Kylie Lambert, Australia’s cupcake queen. Kylie is this very down-to-earth-sounding person who just happens to create cupcakes and mini-cakes that are literally, art. “This one was rushed,” she always says of her latest jaw-dropper, “but it came out okay.” I don’t think my eyes can stand the glare if she ever does one that comes out “great.”
