Happy 2012!

January 5th, 2012

 

Hello and Happy 2012! We are so excited to get the year started off.

Did the holidays take forever, or was it just me? While I love celebrating Thanksgiving through to the New Year I am now excited to get back down to business. We hope that if you’re newly engaged you are excited to start planning your big day. If you’ve been engaged for a little while, welcome back to planning. For some of you this is YOUR wedding year and the count down has begun.

So it’s time to start setting some goals. Maybe your first goal is to find your venue, perhaps you need to book the perfect photographer. We completely understand it can be a hair overwhelming. My first piece of advice is pick your “Top Three”.

Your Top Three list should include what is most important to you on your wedding day. Maybe it’s celebrating with each and everyone of your friends from childhood to present day. Another big one is often how you look. If you’ll be donning a wedding gown you’ll want to put that on the list. From the “top three” (that I hope you’ll create with you fiancé ) you can begin to set, or revisit, your big-day budget!

 

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A day to remember.

October 21st, 2011

There are so many memorable days in our lives, not just your wedding day. As a wedding planner you might assume I would automatically say this day is the most memorable but I won’t. So many of my couples have experienced full lives before their wedding day. Joy and loss sometimes go hand-in-hand. On a day that is undoubtedly special and during a time when you bring everyone you love together it often happens that a parent, grandparent or otherwise significant person is no longer with you. I have heard speeches about how proud a dad would have been of his son or daughter. Many memories of a god parent or brother that would have been so pleased to be part of the couples big day. While there are many ways to include the memory of the people we have loved and lost (an empty seat in the front row) I particularly love the one below.

Photo by Oppenheim Photo, found via Pinterest

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Q & A… My Guests Haven’t RSVP’d now what?

October 19th, 2011

Q:

My fiance’s distant cousins, who are not being eagerly welcomed to most
family functions, are invited to our wedding.

I recently met them and they exuberantly said they were coming. Since
then…still no RSVP.

Family members have tried getting this cousin to RSVP officially.  The
due date is quickly approaching and there has been no formal yes or
no.  We chose to have guests visit our website to RSVP.

Many people don’t want this cousin there…In a desire to avoid family
drama, I am not too bummed if this person doesn’t come, but I do want
to act politely in handling this non-RSVPer.

How do we handle this?

Baffled Bride…

A:

Dear Baffled Bride,

Oh the trials and tribulations of guest lists. I’ve been engaged for thirty seconds and your sentiment already hit home.

Bottom line is you need to get their number and give them a call. If an invitation was sent you must follow-up, otherwise your guest count may feel like a surprise. I hear you about mixed feelings and family drama but once an invite is sent while the ball is in their court, the bill is in yours.

Sincerely,

C.

Image found via Pinterest. RSVP by Bella Figura Letterpress

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Where I’m at with my wedding… (update)

September 16th, 2011

Well, well, well… it’s been nearly a few months since the big announcement. I have to say that being on the other side of planning, aka being the bride, has been a bit stressful. So for those bride and grooms to be I am right there with you!

 

My first stress-or came with the ring and getting it sized. I have a full eternity band so the sizing had to happen internally. It was not an easy task. Now that the ring is officially on my finger I purchased a little sonic cleaning system from Amazon. It is certainly keeping it sparkling!

 

My first task, being the task master that I am, was to get the ever important guest list in check. Well here we are three months in and it is no where near solid. So many variables. On top of this is a family squabble about who is invited and who’s not making the list. Mr. Right is really tight with a handful of people but my list is pretty sizable. Actually I can either have a guest list of six (include my parents and bestest girl friend) or a list of 60+. Does this sound familiar, yet? Someone (who will remain nameless) threw a wrench in moments after the news broke. It was “these people are invited, or else!!” conversation. Ak- we had to squash that muey pronto. Hard feelings rose up quickly and time has not yet mended those wounds. Hence the giraffe at the front door above. I’m sorry doesn’t really cut it with this close relationship. Pushy pushy pushy… and well that’s the story folks.

 

By the way… I am having an amazing time on Pinterest. Gorgeous photos and inspiration abound. Click here and let’s follow eachother!


 

 

 

 

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Simply Sweet-DIY Flower Bracelet

September 15th, 2011

Add a beautiful and personal touch to your wedding with these adorable flower bracelets! They are fairly simple to make so DIY brides- check out the video. These floral accessories are sure to make an impression with your guests and you can bet that it will make them feel extra special since you made them. We love that just about any lady can clip it to their wrist during the ceremony and move it to their hang bag during the reception (super tip Sarah)!

Our friends Sarah True, of True Event in Connecticut and Elysium Productions created this great video. Add in some great photos from Justin & Mary Photography and a spotlight from Style Me Pretty and you are in for a treat. Good stuff!

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What’s up with Bridesmaids in White?

September 13th, 2011

Did you see us featured in a new mystyle.com article??? Check it out! http://www.mystyle.com/mystyle/b7621_ask_style_whatrsquos_up_with.html

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An Exotic Touch

September 6th, 2011

The traditional wedding is always beautiful and elegant, but what about adding that exotic touch that makes ones wedding unique and extra fabulous? How about adding some moroccan into the mix? the smallest details can make the biggest difference. It’s all about taking the traditional, white wedding to the next level.  The moroccan culture is all about bright, rich colors. Combine the traditional wedding with a splash of moroccan color and style.  Such an easy task, timeless results. Add some life to your table display by adding several colorful moroccan tea cups around the table, containing small, lit candles. Add colorful, sequined moroccan pillows to chairs and couches. You can add matching colorful tablecloths to reception area tables, or even to the main dining room tables on top of the regular tablecloths.


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Q & A: Live Wedding Coverage!

August 9th, 2011

Q: Many very important people in my life cannot make it to my wedding for various reasons.  I’d like them to see the wedding live, how can I make this possible?

A: This is a common issue, with a simple fix! Many videographers have the capabilities to Skype or provide a live stream of your wedding! This way the people you love near and far can see your wedding live and as it happens.  Ask your videographer how you can set this up.  Keep in mind you will want to be seen and heard, so go over your options of compatible microphones and lapels.

 

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How Pinteresting!

August 2nd, 2011

We are completely smitten and practically obsessed with a new site that was introduced to us by our great friend Suz of She Paperie! Pinterest is a fabulous image search engine that allows you to find details, dresses, designs, and virtually anything else you are looking for.  Instead of Google crawling the web and populating loads of random images you will be ushered into a new era of quick, relevant and beautiful images. From there you can “pin” them to a vision board, share them with your friends and ask them to weigh in, picture-by-picture. This site allows you to create inspiration boards for any occasion, but we are particularly jazzed about it for our brides! Happy Pinning!

 

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Ooo La La!

August 1st, 2011

There are many occasions where shapewear is necessary..especially in a wedding gown! Maybe you didn’t lose the entire 20 pounds you had hoped to lose before your special day.  No one wants to actually feel like they are wearing shape wear under their ultra fabulous white wedding gown, right? We found the answer. Sassy Bax is a shape wear line that makes shape wear sexy! Feel just as gorgeous underneath your gown.

Photo Credits: Sassy Bax

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I Want My MTV!

July 28th, 2011

Every bride comes to a point in the planning process where they have to consider what kind of videography coverage they would like for their special day. You sift through samples of 8mm, digital, cinematic, and video journalistic styles yet some still find themselves underwhelmed.  You yearn for something different, something edgy, unique and creative… and then you find Rock and Roll Hearts.  They fascinate you with their music video inspired editing techniques and turn your special day into a unique music video that documents a couple in love.

We especially love the video above because it takes place at one of our favorite Malibu wedding locations, Stone Manor.

So our question is, what song would you pick for your music video?

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How Big is Your Diamond? (and other inappropriate questions)

July 26th, 2011

 

I’ve been engaged for three weeks. Three really fun, fantastic exciting weeks! I am still just wanting to hold onto every moment. What I’m not trying to do right now is plan my wedding. Instead I am holding off on making those moves and just enjoying the new title.

That being said the rest of the world rushed right into planning my wedding. In some ways it is lovely and flattering and in other ways it’s just too much.

If you’re newly engaged, planning your wedding or married I bet you are with me on some of those questions that people bombard you with moments after you make your announcement.

“So when’s the wedding?”

“Oh you must have everything planned since you do this for a living!!”

“How many carats is the ring?”

“I cannot wait to see you walk down the aisle.”

“Will your niece be in your bridal party?”

EEK.

Okay so here’s the etiquette. You really should not be asking how big anyone’s ring  is. I have come up with some quips that put that in perspective pronto. They are not P.C. and I won’t actually say them unless I’m pushed. Let’s just summarize by saying that if you ask how big my ring is I should be able to ask your bra size. I know- B.A.D.- right?!?

The one thing that makes a bad comment worse is to point out someone else’s poor etiquette. That’s a no-no. So the better response is either:

“I’m actually not sure but isn’t it beautiful!”

White lie if you do know but better than a knee jerk response that you might regret later. 

-OR-

“We aren’t making plans just yet. I am just so happy to be engaged right now!”

If you are pressed for an invitation into your wedding party or your wedding here is an option to dissuade “wedding crashers”:

“We are just not there yet.”

If you may want them there by your side you can of course add “I’ll keep you posted!”

 

*My next post will be about taking care of your sparkly left hand ring. This is a new area information for me so I consulted the Engagement Ring Pros!*

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Let the FUNDS begin!

July 22nd, 2011

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THE proposal… the ultimate proposal!

July 7th, 2011

First it all starts with the proposal. Yes, I knew it was coming. Well, sure anyone who’s in a relationship for a period of time and is serious might say they knew it would happen. For years the ultimate pressure teaser for my beaus was “so you’re dating a wedding planner” followed by the wink/grin nudge.

My Mr. Right knew that the dreams were big and he really blew my mind with what I think was the ultimate proposal. What are the ingredients for an ultimate proposal?? Well for me it included planning, sneaking around my antenna and of course the surprise. Here’s how it went down…

While we had been considering a vacation at some point this year it seemed like a terminally doomed idea with our schedules. Come the end of May I certainly didn’t expect a couple of free weekends in June. With the small window Mr. Right said “let’s just make it happen!”He knew I was anxious to see my best friend and her baby boy in Sweden so the location was easy to dial in. Having been to Sweden many times I was instantly excited to share my favorite home-away-from-home with him. Little did I know he was already in cahoots with my best friend and my mom.

The BIG day’s adventure was a picnic outside of the castle in Linkoping, my best friends favorite spot (and location of her to-die-for wedding photos several years prior). The photos tell the rest of the story.

 

Tomorrow’s blog will be about those first questions that every engaged person gets thrown moments after the proposal… “so when is the BIG day?” This and other tricky newly-engaged etiquette tips!

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I’m Engaged!!!

July 6th, 2011

Since starting in the wedding business nearly twelve years ago I have known (okay, hoped and dreamed) that the day would come that I could announce to the world “I AM ENGAGED!” Today is the day that I am joining my clients in planning a wedding of my dreams with the man who stole my heart. I feel lucky, jubilant, mesmerized (I have a left hand ring!) and catch this… nervous. Yes, even though I am the girl who created her first wedding journal at fifteen and has planned weddings for hundreds of others I find myself nervous. So my plan is to share all that I am building and planning for myself and my Mr. Right with you. Step-by-step, big inhales and exhalations, let’s do this together.

Here’s the plan weekly- if not more often- updates on where I’m at “in the process.” First up (tomorrow) details on the proposal!

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©2011 beautiful day