For those of you looking to do something just a little different on your wedding day, or add a touch of vintage, think about using toile as accent pieces, or a “main event” of your decor, such as in your linens or part of your invitation suite.

Toile can replace damask, which has been all the rage for several years – and toile can be a little more saucy, sassy and unexpected than damask, which tends to come off more formal and heavy.  I feel like toile is often overlooked by brides as a viable pizzazz, though it’s true it does lend itself to a more vintage wedding.

Originally, toile (pronounced ‘twahl’) simply means “cloth” in French.  A factory southwest of Paris, near Versailles, started creating the classic prints from wood blocks in the 1760’s.  Because of Marie Antoinette’s interest in the pastoral lifestyle in the 1780’s, the idealistic views and idyllic scenes shown in the patterns were incredibly popular with her…and therefore, all of France.

For your own wedding, you can use a lighter pattern, such as an ivory with a pink pattern, or a more dramatic one like black and white – there’s endless mixes and options that can inspire.  Finding a few yards of exquisite toile can be used sparingly in the wedding, such as on escort cards, scanned and applied to menus and ceremony programs, and generally create a subtle, underlying theme without being too obvious.

The main issue with pattern in weddings is to keep it as an accent.  It’s very easy to overpower the senses with a strong pattern you love – but with all the other things going on, from flowers to dresses, you don’t want to give an illusion of claustrophobia or chaos.  Pattern in weddings, as a rule, should be somewhat understated.

So whether you use your toile of choice in invitations, favors, fans, shoes, linens or even on the cake or on pillows you toss on lounge furniture – find one that speaks to you – you’ve got several thousand choices!