RM Online - Elegance is back for '90s weddings

Formal weddings are back with a splash. That may not be news to party rental store owners, but there are several aspects of weddings not traditionally associated with rental possibilities that leave the door wide open for accessories to add the touch that customers will remember.

"The more formal, old-fashioned weddings are definitely back," says Frank Pasquale, owner of Spin-Tech Corp., a maker of wedding accessories based in Hoboken, N.J. "The event has become an image, and people are trying to project that image into their homes [for garden weddings] and reception halls. It's a colorful, continental look - the look of a Buckingham Palace wedding, the look of Hollywood in the '30s and '40s."

What has happened is that the country's major party planners who drive the market have moved to doing high-end, megabucks projects. They create an atmosphere for an event, and these are reflected in today's bridal magazines.

And since Americans always seem to want what the other person has, brides' mothers look at the magazines and say, "'I'd like my daughter's wedding to be like that,'" Pasquale says. "Pretty soon that's what people begin to push, and it becomes a trend."

Sandy Butler, president of Chace Candles, Albuquerque, N.M., agrees that formal, event-oriented weddings are back. "Weddings of the late 1990s seem to stress elegance with a touch of drama. That elegance carries over into the reception as well," she says.

But perhaps one of the most significant wedding trends, which lends itself perfectly to add-on accessory rentals, is beginning the theme or decor of a wedding long before the "I do's" take place.

"One of the things we're seeing is that church ceremony decorations have become much more important to the overall event," Pasquale says. "They may have had some flowers on the pews in the past or something, but the reception is where the event took place. Today, the event starts at the bride's mother's house and carries through, in some cases, to a party after the reception."

Accessories that are really hot right now for church decoration include pew lights with several floral stands along the pews. In addition, altar pieces, which used to be a custom piece for larger customers, are also gaining in popularity, Pasquale says. "We're seeing more altar pieces 6 feet tall, with antique silver finishes and room for flowers."

Spin-Tech's line of beverage fountains, which a couple years ago was almost exclusively bought by the rental industry, started catching on with event planners who have started to use gold. "The richer feeling caught on here, too, and within three years we started getting orders for gold fountains," Pasquale says. "We've accelerated the process, and now we make eight finishes."

The coasts are into antique silver, gold and copper finishes. The Midwest is a little bit behind trend; gold is just peaking in popularity.

The trend toward elegance has also hit garden weddings, which are definitely not just backyard ceremonies anymore. A lattice arch and a gazebo are must-haves now, and the more decorative the latticework, the better.

"Lattice is much more ornate now, whereas it used to be more decorative," Pasquale says. "Again, people want that look and image they see in the magazines, and it behooves us as manufacturers to help magazines create those events and atmosphere."

Rental dealers: take a look

There are a couple of new products Pasquale thinks are perfect for rental, yet few companies stock them.

"High-end disposable silverware and cups are really big right now, as well as hand-held, disposable food trays that are compartmentalized," he says.

The latter are perfect for garden weddings, where balancing food is always a difficult task, he says.

These plates have holes for holding cocktail glasses, and are just perfect for rental, Pasquale adds.

The other product is temporary, roll-out floors. "Everyone has the hard dance floors, but these plastic, snap-together floors are being used all over the place - but not by rental dealers," Pasquale says. "I think they're a natural, though."

Butler also recognizes some emerging trends that have meant changes in candle accessories. The bride and groom of today often have a larger family unit than in days past - more of an extended family, and they want all these people to participate in their wedding.

"The unity candle arrangement of a pillar candle and two tapers, which many rental stores carry, is not designed for mothers, fathers, stepmothers, stepfathers, etc.," she says. "To keep the unity candle tradition and to allow the entire family to participate, a candelabra with a number of candles, or a collection of candles in single candleholders is often used."

Candle trends add new rental possibilities

Second weddings are often as lavish as first, but tend to be more casual, Butler says. At these weddings, colored candles tend to be used. "The traditional standing wedding candelabra are often replaced with single candles in individual candleholders or in tall tabletop candelabra. Sometimes votives are used in ornate votive holders," she adds.

For the reception, the biggest selling candles - and the ones best suited for rental - feature some of the latest safety and slow-burning technologies.

"Taller candles definitely seem to be the choice for weddings and receptions," Butler says. "The candle size of favor is the 15-inch and the 24-inch models. The 8-inch candle is selected for the wedding aisle candelabra because it is easily lighted without removing the glass hurricanes used for the candelabra.

"In the past, many customers have selected the 212-inch wax refills for their Never Burn Down Candles. Now, refills with longer burning times, typically 312 to 412 hours, are preferred," Butler adds. "Although these refills cost more, they give the bridal party additional candlelight for photographs and for the reception."

Pasquale also indentifies some new candle trends. The company's new liquid light candle eliminates cleaning problems for rental dealers, and it is extremely popular, he says. "It is the only candle Walt Disney World will use, and it is also used exclusively in places like Buckingham Palace.

"The reward for the rental dealer is that there no more wax problems at all - no more putting the candelabra in a cooler and cleaning later," Pasquale adds. "It also meets all fire codes because it is self-extinguishing. This allows the rental dealer to put aside (with a little planning) all questions a customer might have when it comes to safety."

The traditional-looking pillar candle is actually a candle tube or shell and there is a replaceable oil-filled cartridge that goes on the top of it. A follower goes over the top of the refill tube, so that if the candle topples, the flame would be snuffed out before it touches the ground. The shell is made of hard plastic, so it does not need to be replaced with every event; you just replace the little refill cartridges. It comes in white or ivory from stock.

"The great thing for rental dealers is that they can now make sure candelabra remain clean," Pasquale says. "We also rent candelabra to another company we own. We tell our customers that if you don't use our liquid light candles, which we provide, that we'll charge for every one that comes back with wax on it. We're trying to teach that to rental customers as well, because it takes away the cleaning burden. Rental dealers can send these out, get them back in, rinse them off with a paper towel and send them out again."