Tempting to the Touch

Touch is no doubt the most ignored of all of the senses in wedding design. But if you think through the experience of your guests at the wedding, they are actually touching a number of decorative elements. Consider adding fabrics and textures that contribute to your wedding design scheme.

• Offer plush guest room towels. Unless your reception is at the Ritz, the likelihood that your hotel isn't invested in premium quality bathroom linens is high. Augment their usual offerings with something that speaks to the import of the day. Add plush, fabric-weight paper guest towels. They can me printed with your script initial. (Your initial in the women's room and his in the men's.) Or choose another tactile element to emboss the towels with your new monogram.
• Involve guests with your guest book. Another element that most of your guests will touch is the guest book. Consider covering a store-bought guest book in a red dupioni silk for your November wedding. Having an April garden wedding? Cover a guest book in a plaid pastel Shantung or a sheer organza over pressed linen. And don't forget the pen. The contrasting feeling of the cold metal fountain pen and the delicate fabric of the guest book will crate subtle, tactile intensity for your guests.
• Consider the feel of your programs. Your guests will leaf through your program before the ceremony, during your wedding, and as they remember your wedding years from now. This is often one of the tokens that they take with them. Use fabric or paper with captivating texture to create tactile interest. Visit your local fabric store and craft store and "look with your hands." Go through the aisles touching things. You'll find things that you may not have paid attention when you were only looking with your eyes.