Ask any father who's ever used his 401(k) to pay for his daughter's nuptials — he'll tell you that the word "wedding" is a synonym for "spend all your money." Donna Jakulski, publisher of the Perfect Wedding Guide's Southeast edition, a book of ways future brides can spend daddy's cash, said the average Atlanta wedding runs about $25,000. But if that bride wants all the bells, whistles, linens, lights and logos that go with a high-end wedding, then dad's going to need to cash in some stocks, too. Adding unique personal touches, the new trend in weddings, can be pretty costly. "You really can't do a high-end wedding for under $50,000 because all the little details cost a lot of money," said Natalie Keene Bradley, president of Soiree, a wedding planning company in Athens. So what are the "essentials" for an over-the-top Atlanta wedding? Local wedding experts offered five of the most popular new trends for today's blowout nuptials.

Upscale kibble

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Specialty drinks such as Sean Dacey's Cool Daddy's Frozen Drink Entertainment are very popular.
JOHN SPINK/STAFF (ENLARGE)
Smaller portions are attractive and good at food stations.
JOHN SPINK/STAFF (ENLARGE)
Bright colors and elegant place settings are a standout.
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The hot new thing in wedding food is tiny and scattered. Among the trends are food stations that allow guests to mingle while wandering from place to place getting different kinds of food, said Gerard J. Monaghan of the Association of Bridal Consultants.

Local chef Eric B. LeVine said brides also want "small plates," or tiny tastings of high-end foods.

At a recent luncheon for wedding professionals, he showed off mini plates like Key lime roasted shrimp on snowpea shoots with pickled red onion confit.

"Even brides who still want a sit-down dinner are opting for six to eight smaller courses," LeVine said.

The chef said he does 80 to 120 large Atlanta weddings a year, where the food runs $18,000 to $28,000 for nibbles that will leave most men craving a burger on the way home.

The thread counts

The days of plain white linen tablecloths are so over. Brides are decorating their tables and chairs with beaded or embroidered cloth, satins, organzas and chiffons.

"People have really gotten away from white weddings," said Angie Stephens of Chair Covers & Linens, which rents tablecloths, chair covers and other decorative fabrics.

And what has that done for prices? Basic linen table cloths cost about $6.50 to $18. Exotic fabrics and prints can rent for up to $75, Stephens said

Daddy needs a drink

Open bar? No bar? Wine and beer only? Actually, upscale brides want liquor stations to go with their food stations, said Cheryl Dacey, who owns Cool Daddy's frozen drink company with her husband, Sean. Companies even invent new drinks just for the big day. And the obsessive bride who insists on color coordination can have drinks dyed to order, said Dacey.

"We recently did a wedding where the bride wanted drinks in four different shades of pink," she said.

You light up my life

Brides are taking their cues from the divas and demanding theatrical lighting for their big day, sometimes dropping $2,000 to $20,000, according to Jackie Leiby of Magnum Special Projects, under the Magnum Companies.

"I've sculpted trees, covered tents in lights, done moving patterns on dance floors," said Leiby, who did eight weddings in May.

Ceilings are draped in mini-lights, spotlights play up centerpieces, uplighting gives pillars dramatic presence and pin spotting bathes the happy couple.

"Anything they want they can do," Leiby said. "If they have the money for it."

With this brand

Bradley, the wedding planner from Athens, said her company has a graphic designer who designs logos for couples, incorporating their initials, hobbies or interests.

Kate Zimmerman of JetKat Design, who does the work, said creating the logos starts at about $300.

"It goes on everything they send out, like 'hold the date' cards and invitations," Bradley said. "Then it's used at the wedding on everything from place cards to the flowers to the lighting."