Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Very simple post today: If you have yet to hire your wedding photographer, you are luck! Here's a great one to check out: The Collection, a fabulous wedding company comprised of Krystal, Erin and Jessica. Visit their website and blog, then give them a call. If you book by 8/30 and mention ABG - you get a free iPad to display your wonderful wedding photos wherever you go!!
The Collection photographers are incredible but the iPad limited offer makes them even more delicious!
Call them asap and be sure to check with them regarding specific offer details.
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Posted by Ashley |
Filed under: Photography & Videography
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Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Everyone is raving about Thistle Farms - from Opulent Couturier (who first mentioned the organization to me - thanks girl!) to The Thirty Something Bride, who visited Thistle with me and who shared her story on her blog today.
So why are we all in love with Thistle? Because Thistle Farms is a great Nashville non-profit that supports local women while offering great gifts for women, bridesmaids and wedding guests!
About Thistle Farms
Thistle Farms is a non-profit business for women who have survived lives of violence, prostitution and addiction. Thistle Farms creates bath and body products that are good for your body and that support and empower our sisters - from Nashville to Rwanda. All of the proceeds go directly to the women in the program for transitional living, counseling, job skills, etc. While based in Nashville (located on Charlotte Avenue), they are changing lives in our backyard and the entire world!
My Visit to Thistle Farms
To learn more about the group, I was invited to visit Thistle Farms, a day that was life transforming. The day started with a meditation session where the group of recovering drug addicts, prostitutes, visitors (like me, Tabitha, Louise and the Jonathon Campbell Photography crew), volunteers and staff shared life affirmations. Listening to their trials, experiences made us all realize that regardless of our backgrounds, our human story was the same - our lives were parallel and that self-love and survival are universal goals.
The topic of the day was secrets and how their existence keeps us imprisoned while our release frees us. After sharing my love story last month, I could totally relate. I could also relate to a group of women working together to raise one another, thereby raising humanity and the Nashville community specifically.
Pictured above: Carolyn (a Thistle Farms volunteer who invited ABG to visit) + wonderful survivors showing me how the products are made.
Words will not do my visit justice so I encourage you to 1) visit Thistle Farm yourself to learn more about the organization and unique opportunity to help other Nashvillians by introducing your church, girlfriends, fellow bloggers or out of town gift lovers to TF and 2) consider being a Thistle Farms bride/supporter!
5 ways to be a Thistle Farms Bride / Supporter!
1) Leave a comment, spread the word and we will donate!
The easiest way to support Thistle Farms is to leave a comment + spread the word! When you share today's post on Twitter or Facebook, ABG will donate $1 to Thistle Farms. How easy is that? Just share this post on Facebook or tweet the link and mention @weddinggirl and @thistlefarms and link to this article (here's the shorten link - http://bit.ly/beMN3W). Simple!
2) Purchase gift baskets for your bridal party, birthdays, new baby or any occasion where a fabulous gift is needed!
For the select few people you've invited to be a special part of your big day, consider personalized gift baskets from Thistle Farms. Filled with your choice of four fragrances (tuscan earth, citrus vanilla, lavender healing and tea tree mint), pick the size of basket filled with handmade bath and body products that fit your needs and pocketbook. Each basket will also contain a personal note from the bride and groom."
We loved this! it would be a great gift for your bridesmaid to pamper them during your hot summer Nashville wedding!
3) Give your wedding guests Thistle Farms favors - from lip balm to scented satchets
Thistle Farms Lip Balm is a perfect one to use at a wedding!...Pick from five scents of handmade lip balms (tuscan earth, citrus vanilla, lavender healing, tea tree mint, unscented – or let us choose a mix of scents), which will be attached to a keepsake postcard with the Bride & Groom’s names and wedding date."
4) Host a Thistle Farms bridal shower
Instead of a typical bridal shower, host a unique Thistle Farms Bridal Shower. Two of our trained employees will come to you, share their personal stories of hope, and tell you about our products. Sample our divine Body Polish...or smell our naturally fragrant candles. Celebrate your special day with women and products that truly say 'Love heals'.
3) Consider a {donation} wedding registry in lieu of gifts
Donating funds to a charity in lieu of giving guests favors is a very socially responsible and heartfelt way to thank your friends and family for sharing in your wedding. Thistle Farms will create a beautiful framed piece of artwork on thistle paper to let your guests know that a donation has been made in their name to the organization.
4) Buy every day products - from geranium spray (aka bug repellant) + candles to shower gel - to pamper yourself!
5) Volunteer and give of your time, love!!
AshleysBrideGuide.com is proud to support them and excited to share the many ways that EVERYONE can support this wonderful Nashville jewel. Special thanks to Carolyn Snell who is a wonderful person and the Thistle Farms volunteer who invited me to visit and to Jonathon Campbell Photography who took time out to not only capture my visit but to meditate + share this incredible experience.
Find out where you can pick up their awesome wedding products via their website or via their Thistle Farms wedding blog post.
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Posted by Ashley |
Filed under: Bridal Showers, Luncheons, Parties, Guests, Gifts & Favors, Inspiration & Trends
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Monday, August 23, 2010
We open the week by shining our spotlight on a new addition to our fine photography community here at ABG. Please welcome The Collection, a group of three very talented photographers whose passion is wedding photography. The brainchild of Peter and Whitney Carlson of Dove Photography, The Collection will add more talent to our ever-growing pool of wonderful photographers from which you can choose for your wedding and special day. We're really excited about this and we hope you are too.
Fabulous Giveaway: ABG Brides, if you mention this blog post and book your photography session with Erin or Krystal by Monday August 30th, you will receive a free iPad courtesy of The Collection!
Meet The Collection: Nashville's Newest Photography Studio
Ashley: this picture makes my heart sing!
Number of Years in the Business:
The Collection is a brand new studio run by professionals who have been working in Nashville's wedding photography industry for over 6 years.
How did you get started in weddings?
Krystal Mann started her photography career at the age of 14. She spent much of her time photographing musicians until one of her musician friends invited her to photograph his wedding. She instantly fell in love with weddings and opened her own wedding photography business. Krystal ran her wedding photography studio for over 6 years until she was invited to join The Collection. Similarly, Erin Lee started her photography career photographing musicians. When approached by the owners of The Collection, Erin quickly discovered her love for wedding photography. Although Jessica has only been photographing weddings for a year, she has had a considerable amount of training over the years from her older sister Whitney Carlson of Dove Wedding Photography. Before being hired by The Collection, Jessica photographed weddings for a year with an Atlanta-area photographer.
What do you like most about weddings?
We love the joy and excitement that is involved with wedding days. Every bride's wedding is completely different because every bride is a unique individual. It is so much fun to see all the different ideas that our brides come up with for their wedding celebrations.
What does the name “The Collection” mean?
The name comes from two ideas that make up our business. One comparison is that a display of art pieces is known as a “collection”. We photograph each wedding as a work of art. We are providing a service, but we do not see ourselves as service providers as much as we see ourselves as artists. The name also comes from the fact that we are a collection of photographers and not a studio owned and run by just one photographer.
What is your service philosophy?
The collection exists to bring superior images, along with trusted service, to a variety of brides. When working with a photographer from The Collection, you can trust you will receive excellence in service and the highest quality for your investment.
The Collection is not a co-operative of photographers, but one trusted photography studio supplying a variety of creative and artistic photographers.
What are your strengths compared to others in your category? / Why should a bride hire you?
We have a full-time, in-house, staff. Our studio manager is dedicated to giving every bride prompt and thorough service. Our staff of photographic editors maintain the highest quality possible while ensuring the on-time delivery of your images. Working with such a dedicated team allows our photographers the freedom and energy to focus on what's most important: photographing your wedding.
Who are your 5 favorite Nashville wedding vendors – helpfulness, professionalism, style?
This is such a hard question because there are so many great vendors to work with in Nashville. If we narrowed our list down to the five vendors that we have worked with the most, it would be: Historic Cedarwood, Maples Wedding Cakes, Nashville Event LIghting, Fresh by CarryAnn, and recently our photographers have been photographing a number of weddings at Country Music Hall of Fame. Each of these vendors are considered some of the best in Nashville and will not disappoint.
Left: Fresh Carry Ann. Right: Maples Cakes
A wedding photographed at Cedarwood
Lighting by Nashville Event Lighting
Who do you recommend when you’re not available/not a fit?
Because we have three photographers on our team, it will be hard for you to find a date that The Collection is not available for your wedding.
What do you read/watch regularly to stay on top of wedding/event trends?
We subscribe to style magazines like Vogue, Lula. Some of our favorite blogs are Style Me Pretty, Hundred Layer Cake, Southern Weddings Blog, Poetic Home for style inspiration, and of course Ashley's Bride Guide keeps us up on the scene in Nashville. We love looking around Etsy.com for inspiration. We also attend multiple conferences per year which focus on wedding photography. Of course visiting with brides and other wedding vendors is one of the best ways to keep up with current trends.
Let’s discuss current wedding trends - Which wedding trend do you love?
We love centerpieces that incorporate organic and natural pieces like ferns, moss, wildflowers, branches, and other wood pieces.
What wedding trend do you dislike the most?
When brides feel confined to tradition when planning her wedding day. Each bride is a unique individual and should remember this wedding is hers. It should be as unique as she is, even if it does not fit the "normal rules" of a wedding.
What is your favorite wedding find?
Custom hand-made signs by Chocolate Butterbean (chocolatebutterbean.com).
Yummy wedding blog to add to my bookmarks! Ok, What's your favorite TV show and why?
Every single one of our staff (except Krystal) loves LOST. We do not know what we are going to talk about on Wednesday mornings this year, now that the series is over.
What advice would you give to brides on the wedding planning process in general?
Hire an experienced event planner. The biggest wedding regret we hear from brides and friends is they did not hire a planner. It will save you so much time and keep you away from stress. If you are a DIY bride, at the very least, hire a day-of coordinator. There is no reason you should be conducting on your own wedding day. Expecting your family or bridesmaids to fill this role rarely works out.
When it comes to finding a photographer. Don't base hiring your photographer on how much "stuff" comes in your package. The two most important things to base your decision on should be the quality and style of the photography as well as the personality of the photographer. If you do not get along with your photographer you will remember that every time you look at your photos. If you end up not liking your photographs, It won't matter how big your album is our how many prints you are getting. All these items will be worthless to you if you can not enjoy the art that is printed on them.
I'm thrilled and really looking forward to featuing more of The Collection! View their photography blog for more of their weddings.
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Posted by Ashley |
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Friday, August 20, 2010
Happy Friday everyone!
We hope you've enjoyed our recap of Nashville Premier Bridal Show as much as we did visiting with the vendors and finding new ones to share with you all. Today's final installment of the week covers fantastic wedding cakes from our top Nashville bakers, caterers that get our appetites revved up and new wedding venues for Nashville brides!
CAKES
Signature Cakes by Vicki
The first booth we noticed when we walked into the hall was Signature Cakes by Vicki. Ashley and I get really excited when we see her cakes. They are, to say the least, works of art. Almost sculptural, how painstakingly detailed each cake is covered with sugar flowers that look almost real and ribbons that look like they're actually made of silk. They're exquisite in taste and look and are just irresistable.
Those aren't real flowers, but sugar flowers hand shaped and made by Vicki.
That green ribbon just softly cascading down the sides of the cake and the details - amazing!
The Bake Shoppe - TheBakeShoppe.com
Absolutely just swooning over The Bake Shoppe's cakes. And not just because of how good they taste but also at how stunning they are! Their cakes were very contemporary, set up in a dessert buffet style by color scheme. Yellows, purples and greys - three fabulous colors for Fall each a complement to the next. My favorite? The low, round cake with the grey applique. I get so giddy when I look at it!
Bright, festive bursts of yellow! Also that cake stand is so pretty!
I'm in love.
Each color had variations: cupcakes, smaller cakes and taller cakes in the same scheme.
Crumb de la Crumb
Still absolutely giddy over cakes, Crumb de la Crumb's booth was also surrounded by sample seekers and, just like us, awestruck passers-by. Their style is classic, very posh cakes with a few more contemporary ones in the mix.
Ashley's fell in love with the cake on the right. It was simple but had touches of bling.
I love the square cake - the dots look like pink champagne bubbles!
Cakes By Rebecca - CakesByRebecca.com
It's such a skill to decorate cakes. And to cover them with such ornate details is cake decorating at a whole other level! Cakes by Rebecca blew me away - from the sugar flowers to the patterns to the shape of her cakes! So pretty! And it's so simple but isn't that chocolate wafer cake so fun!
Interesting how the white cake to the farthest right has a slightly taller top tier - that difference in proportion makes it stand out!
WEDDING / EVENT CATERING
Bucca di Beppo - bucadibeppo.com
Um, have you had their tiramisu? SO good! If you want to feed your guests hearty, delicious Italian food either for your rehearsal dinner or wedding, do consider Bucca di Beppo in Cool Springs.
Down South Delights
We just heart Down South Delighs Catering - long-time friends of ABG, we had to stop and say hi and check out their stylish tablescapes. Catering companies have also taken on the role of decor and event design that incorporates food into the overall look more so than just shoving it onto chaffing dishes to look so out-of-place.
VENUES
We came across a few new venues that look really promising. It's nice to know that venue options are increasing beyond the usual places, as much as we love all those places! A change of scenery, a different back drop, that all gives brides a chance to really flex their creativity muscles and gives them a great chance to achieve their vision for their weddings.
Kings Chapel - KingsChapelLife.com
Historic King's Chapel, just 15 minutes from the Cool Springs area boasts beautiful, free open space. The chapel itself has a beautiful interior that's classic chapel that could lend itself to a really romantic ceremony. Gorgeous hardwood floors, wooden pews - it's just screaming to be decorated with flowers. They now also have a clubhouse that has a state-of-the-art kitchen for your caterer to work from, and the clubhouse itself is perfect for dinners and wedding receptions.
Picture source: KingsChapelLife.com
Photo source: Joy Marie Photography
Cajun Lake Lodge - CajunLakeLodge.com
Located in Burns, TN Cajun Lake Lodge is a "unique event venue and country getaway" near the Montgomery Bell State Park. So you know it's going to be really picturesque out there. You could have your wedding by the lake out in the open, or you could use their pavilion for an indoor set up. It looks like it could be a lovely place for a garden party wedding. (Pictures from CajunLakeLodge.com)
CJ's Off the Square and Southern Events
I have a feeling classic red is going to be a big color for weddings. CJ's Off the Square and Southern Events (SouthernEventsOnline.com) shared a booth and decorated a table in a stunning country-chic theme. Very summery, beautiful colors, with little birds and gerbera daisies for accents. It was visually wonderful and such a great sight with which to end our day at the bridal show.
Lillie Belles - LillieBelles.net
Lillie Belles in Franklin has created a one-stop-shop by teaming with Garden Delights for event coordination and florals, Sara Gibbs Studio for photography, cakes by Classic Cakes and catering by Constant Craving Caterers. This ensures a full-service venue for your event or wedding!
Cakes by Classic Cakes
What a day! We had a blast; the show just proved to us that we are surrounded by wedding professionals galore. Do you think there are any we might have overlooked that you thought is worth mentioning? If so, share your favorites in the comments section below.
Have a great weekend everyone!
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Posted by Tabitha |
Filed under: Cakes & Catering, Wedding Venues and Locations
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Thursday, August 19, 2010
We are barely halfway through our list of great Nashville wedding vendors from the big bridal show. There's much more to come and today, we'll highlight more invitations, a few videographers and photographers.
WEDDING INVITATIONS
Customization was the theme with invitation design companies and it's so exciting to see how creative couples are getting, working with designers to come up with something that's uniquely theirs.
Designs In Paper - designsinpaper.com
The birds were part of one couple's wedding theme. DnP created several elements for this couple's wedding - from invites to table numbers.
It's always a pleasure to see Designs In Paper. They are so passionate about what they do! They had so many really cool save the dates and invitations and paper goods for their brides on display and it was hard to pick the ones we loved because, well, we loved almost all of them.
We featured Courtney + David's Nashville wedding recently. This is their rehearsal dinner invitation, which had a BBQ theme. Don't you like the choice of typeface used for this bbq themed invitation? Just perfect.
My favorite is the Nashville/St. Louis save the date, "A Tale of Two Cities" announcement above right.
Izzy and the Bean - IzzyandtheBean.com
What a cute name for a company! I really like stationery that uses nature-inspired line art. It's really simple, yet creates a great depth to the design.
Picture source: Izzyandthebean.blogspot.com
PHOTOGRAPHY
Evin Photography - EvinPhotography.com
Evin of Evin Photography has a really great photography style, capturing the more vibrant side to a bride and her groom. She's got a great demeanor, and is probably really chill and great to work with. It was so much fun seeing her at the show and seeing a special friend of ABG's there helping Evin out as well!
The Budget Savvy Bride and Evin!
Shanna Mahoney Photography - ShannaMahoneyPhotography.com
Shanna had just returned from a wedding at some exotic beach resort complete with white sands and azure waters where she photographed a wedding. It says a lot when a couple is willing to have their photographer fly out to their destination and clearly, Shanna does work is worth that investment.
VIDEOGRAPHY
It's nice to see that videography is a popular option with couples. Everything is now produced in a way that you want to watch your video over and over. Videography companies are getting really tech savvy and videos can be accessed online so sharing it with your friends and family is just a simple click of a mouse!
Baughman Media Works - bmediaworks.com
Decked out in their signature red, Baughman Media Works' booth had screen after screen of wedding footage that made me all misty-eyed just watching. They manage to capture the most intimate moments, and get the coolest shots of a wedding day!
First Dance Pictures - FirstDancePictures.com
This was the first time I'd seen First Dance Pictures and when I checked out their videos on their website I really enjoyed what I saw.
Dynamic Video - dynamicvideoweddings.com
ALWAYS a pleasure to see the lovely Jennifer Fritz of Dynamic Video. They had a camera strategically placed at their booth that followed people who stopped or passed by. Sneaky!
AndyCam Weddings - AndyCamWedding.com
We can't forget AndyCam who does both videography and photography for weddings. We really are surrounded by talented vendors and brides are lucky enough to be able to take their pick!
Bridal shows really are great resources for brides. It can get overwhelming but it's really worth the research especially if you're a very hands-on bride. Hopefully our recaps will refresh your memory of the vendors you met that day and you get to work with the ones you like soon!
All images, unless credited, are property of Ashley's Bride Guide.
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Posted by Tabitha |
Filed under: Invitations & Paper Goods, Wedding Resources
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