Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Kristin of Simply Stunning Events is back to give us an update on her wedding! Be sure to check out her last post on selecting wedding colors to get a great insider’s perspective.

Guest Post: Kristin of Simply Stunning Events is a Nashville, TN-based wedding and event planner who is currently engaged.

It truly hit me this week that my wedding is a little over a month away! And there’s still so much to share about the planning process! Many months ago I made a trip down to Murfreesboro to visit one of my favorite cake bakers, Jay with Maples Wedding Cakes! He has a beautiful showroom and I highly recommend making the drive to see it. Being able to view actual cake displays makes it much easier to make decisions about the size, shape, and decorative elements.

For myself, choosing a cake baker was definitely a tough decision because I know and love so many here in Nashville but when I really thought hard about it, I just couldn’t resist Maples’ sour cream and almond cake flavor and knew we had to have it for our wedding. When I met with Jay, I still tasted a variety of delicious flavors so that we could pick a second flavor for our guests to choose from. He had vanilla, chocolate, sour cream almond (of course), strawberry, lemon, and orange dreamsicle (another Maples favorite!) for me to try.

We also discussed the design of the cake and I immediately fell in love with one of his displays. We will be doing a square variation of this gorgeous four-tiered cake. I loved that it was simple and elegant but had the wow factor with the stunning broaches.

There are a few tips to remember when deciding on a wedding cake. First, be sure you have enough cake for everyone, don’t skimp on servings to save money. It’s always better to have a little extra left over than not enough.

Be sure the cake baker is licensed and insured and has a commercial facility that has been inspected by the state health inspector.

Ask whether they rent cake stands. Some shops do and some don’t but there is almost always an extra cost to rent one. They don’t just come with the cake so if you’d like to have a cake stand make sure to discuss it.

Happy tasting!

Wednesday, September 2, 2008

I always look forward to seeing Weddings With Reese (WWR) wedding because I always hear good things from her brides about her strong execution skills. In fact, she just announced that she is giving away free day of wedding coordination via her blog. If you haven’t hired help for your wedding, you need help so this might be your shot!

Today, I am glad that she is sharing a Shelby Street Bridge wedding - which many of you are interested in. So, I hope you enjoy!

Guest Post: Weddings With Reese is a Nashville-based, wedding planner.

This wedding was very close to my heart, as Christa is my best friend! So not only was I her wedding planner (of course), I was also her matron of honor. And it was an honor, for sure. Christa is a very chic city girl, and this wedding needed to reflect that. Everything we did was to reflect the true Nashville feel. From the local musician we tracked down to play acoustic guitar for the ceremony, to the constant amazing views of the skyline, I think we hit it right on.

The ceremony on the Shelby Street Walking Bridge was the perfect setting, with the perfect weather, for the vows. As a venue you can use for your entire wedding if you so desire, I think this is sort of a hidden gem. The Titans Stadium Club provided an amazing view of the city, and the perfect place for Christa and Michaels’ 200+ guests.

The most beautiful bride!

Who is this guy!?? It was funny though!

That’s what happens when you get married on the same day as Beer Fest!

The light was perfect and Chris and Adrienne captured it perfectly.

Gorgeous!

Yum!!! Thanks Mignon!!!

Oh so sweet!

Wedding Coordination - Weddings With Reese

Photography - Chris and Adrienne Scott
Cupcakes - The Cupcake Collection

Hair and Makeup - Amy Lynn Larwig

Flowers - Caprice of The Enchanted Florist

Catering - Centerplate Catering

I cannot say enough to all of the vendors. Everything was flawless, and though I was in the wedding, and felt like I needed to “work”, I didn’t even have to!! Thank you all!

Obviously all of our vendors were AMAZING! I wouldn’t have picked them if they weren’t!

Wednesday, August 11, 2009

If you haven’t already, please take a moment to answer 6 quick questions. Click here to take my bride survey.

Today, I am spotlighting Mary Alice of A Delightful Day (ADD). We started our wedding businesses around the same time, so I feel like we’ve grown up together in this industry. I am so proud of the success they have achieved and always look forward to their fanciful weddings which are always spectacular.

All of the images below are images from real ADD weddings. While they are all unique, they have one thing in common - they’re all delightful.

Spotlight on A Delightful Day
Mary Alice, Nashville Wedding & Event Planner
http://www.ADelightfulDay.com

How did you get started in weddings?

I got started in the wedding industry in college and as a newly engaged bride to be. With my personalty, I love being involved in details and really seeing a wedding brought to life, so after working on some weddings for some friends and bride’s that arrived by referrals, A Delightful Day was born.

What do you like most about weddings?

I love all of the excitement of the planning and seeing a bride walk down the aisle to her groom, tears in their eyes and anxious thoughts, and know that we have everything under control.

What’s your favorite wedding pic/video and why? Why?

I love getting a picture with the bride and groom because they are after all why we are in the business that we’re in and we develop a relationship and connection with them.

What is your service philosophy?

We go above and beyond for our brides and aim to provide our clients with a stress-free and positive experience. Brides are so busy now with careers, family, sometimes kids, social lives, so wedding planning is something that we want them to be hands-on with, but not left feeling overwhelmed. We also pride ourselves in guiding our clients in creating a “signature look” that is unique to each couple. From colors, theme, to florals and small details, we make experienced recommendations for our clients in creating an intimate celebration that is truly their own!

What are your strengths compared to others in your category? Why should a bride hire you?

I feel that we have a interesting connection with each of our couples and that is truly a relationship that you can not only trust that we’re going to advise our clients on what is best for them, but also we have the ability to share our opinions on what has worked in the past and what hasn’t. Also, being in the same age group as the majority of our brides I feel we have the best understanding of trends, education, and experiences to help them plan the best wedding for them.

Who are your 5 favorite Nashville wedding vendors?

I love Jay from Maples Wedding Cakes! His flavors and tastes are to die for, as well as design. We love Dove Wedding Photography for their style, but also the friendship and trust that we have developed in them. Alison Bryant at Classic Party Rentals has been my calm in so many storms… what would I do without her. Rhonda Patton has such a grasp for modern design and displays that with our clients. Phindy Studios is my new favorite photography team for not only their kindhearted natures, but their artistic talent.

Who do you recommend when you’re not available/not a fit?

Kristen with Simply Stunning Events is fabulous planner that I have been able to get to know and truly trust that she will do a fabulous job when we’re not available or not a fit.

What do you read/watch regularly to stay on top of wedding/event trends?

I am a big blog follower. Some of my favorites include; Green Wedding Shoes, 100 Layer Cake, Once Wed, Southern Weddings… and so many more. I also love when I get my Martha Stewart Weddings in the mail!

Let’s discuss current wedding trends -

Which trend do you love?

I love using candles… they can truly light up a room, create a romantic space, and they are less expensive than tons of flowers.

Which trend do you hate?

Hum.. this takes some thought. I would have to say feeling like you have to follow more of a “tradition” of the garter and bouquet toss… create a tradition all your own.

Which trend are you glad is gone?

Moving past chinese lanterns.. Love the look, but I think they’ve been overused.

Trend I’m sad is gone?

Hum… another stumper… I would say creating a matchy/matchy environment. More and more are going eclectic, and I do like this look completely, but I’m a symmetrical person and even elements sometimes bother me.

What are your favorite wedding websites? Neatest wedding find?

www.oncewed.com and their fabulous DIY section!

Parting advice for brides?

Invest in a wedding planner, whether for your complete process, assistance in certain areas, or even for “Month of”, because being able to enjoy the incredible process and be a guest at your own wedding, enjoying with family and friends, rather than stressing about the little things is priceless. Invest in your sanity!

Friday, July 31, 2009

A few weeks ago, ABG hosted a night out for engaged brides at Aloft hotel and we had a blast!

Special thanks to the planning team:

Here are the vendors who helped make the event possible:

Bride invitations/planning/hosting- Sarah Elizabeth (ABG bride)

Floral design - Brocade Design Arts

Event director - Simply Stunning Events

Catering - Down South Delights

Venue - Aloft Hotel

The event - all photos courtesy of Donald Yeager Photography

Brides chatted, mingling, asked lots of questions of one another and the vendor speakers.

Thankfully, Sarah (Planning with Sarah Elizabeth) and Kristin (Simply Stunning) were my co-hosts for the night because I was at the Toast of Music City awards program.

They greeted brides in the Aloft and directed them to the courtyard for mingling and cocktails.

bride discussing florals with Brocade

Kristin of Aloft spoke about party packages. You can download the packages here for bachelorette parties, bachelor parties and bridal showers.

Aloft then offered specialty cocktails - apple and blueberry. My favorite was the apple.

We then proceeded to the private room where Aloft had the cutest gift bags for brides. The bags included Sophia wine, lotion, pens, etc.

perfect room for bridal shower, small parties

event florals by Brocade

delicious shrimp!

Down South Delights catering was setup. and Down South Delights offered a medley of food. I like simple food - my palette is very kid-like, unsophisticated, I’ll admit that. So, I gravitated to the shrimp cocktail and the dessert. Shrimp - yummy! Vanilla bean cupcakes - tasty! Lemon pudding - OMG!! I had like 6 of them - I kid you not.

very pretty

but, this was my favorite - lemon smoothie pudding

Rita of Down South Delights gave tips on catering and shared trends. The main takeaway - don’t be bogged down by rules. If you want to have dinner at 3pm - go for it.

Budget Savvy Bride

Next up - Jessica of Budget Savvy Bride. She shared some of what she learned while planning her wedding and many DIY ideas. Brides asked questions and we all discussed money saving tips. One thing that stood out was the fact that it rained on her wedding day and luckily, she had a great team that had a plan b and c. Her team, including a day of coordinator, took care of everything without letting her know anything.

Lastly, Kristin of Simply Stunning shared wedding planning advice. She discussed ways to handle a difficult father in law who is footing the bill, makeup artist/hair/beauty recommendations, and her own wedding planning.

We wrapped up the event with more mingling. I found out that a lot of the brides are blogging.

Sarah, Cat, me, Chelsea, Jessica

Here’s a pic of most of the bloggers - we’re a fabulously cheesy bunch! Check out their blogs.

• planningsarahelizabeth.blogspot.com/
• simplystunningnashville.blogspot.com/
• thebudgetsavvybride.com/
• jesslehry.wordpress.com/
• downsouthdelights.wordpress.com/
• donaldyeagerphotography.typepad.com/
• brocadenashville.com/
• littlemisssouthern.blogspot.com/
• abrideinboots.blogspot.com/
• bigspoon-littlespoon.blogspot.com/
• the2smiths.blogspot.com/
• youretheanswer.blogspot.com

Friday, July 17, 2009

(Today’s blog is a continuation of a blog post from yesterday.
Click here to see Part 1 of this Hollywood Hot Pink, Nashville Wedding.)

Today’s Guest Blogger:
Dawn Schenkel, President of Premier W.E.D., a Nashville Wedding & Event Planning Company

□ FEATHERS! - Such an important part of the entire design…Laura’s invitations were designed by the fabulous Southall Eden Paperie, Shannon O’Kelley. Shannon accomplished the Broadway feel that Laura requested and she added a feather with a pink jewel and gunmetal wrap to the outside to pull all the elements together. (Even more detail…we chose a square jewel for the invitations because Laura’s engagement ring had a square setting.)I found beautiful feather arrangements through a company I use for wholesale event décor. Premier W.E.D. staff spent many hours assembling the 15” white ostrich feathers for over the top dinner table arrangements.

□ FLOWERS! A Village of Flowers, Dora Bowling-lead designer for this wedding, met with us to create that lush, hot pink feel that Laura loved. I think VOF used over 4 cases of carnations to create the square bases that I designed for the feather arrangements to sit atop. It was something that I felt was necessary to bring them up to a comfortable height for the seated guests, but it brought the element of “pink fluff” that Laura loved. At the ceremony….I talked Laura into doing lacquered branches that were HOT PINK. Of course matching her linens and her custom painted bar. VOF created two 7ft tall arrangements for either side of the foyer of the Woodmont Christian Church adorned with prisms and tufts of hot pink peonies. Davis Lighting Design-Jason Davis added the wireless LED lights into the base of the branches so that I could get the glowing effect from my design.

□ I commissioned artist Ellen Summers to create the NY skyline that I had painted & hung behind the buffet.

□ Last, but NOT least….I couldn’t have captured the before and after with out the help of one of my favorite photographers KEONI KEUR of KeoniK Photography. He flew to NY to shoot Laura for her bridal portraits. I had asked that while he was there that he shoot classic shots of the city (taxis, etc.) in black and white so that I could blow them up and use them as art with in the event space. Those shots were my absolute FAVORITE! The wedding day pictures were amazing as always but limited by light and time with my sweet client being over an hour late to the church. (Hey…can’t judge…no one wants to be rushed on their wedding day and yet somehow they always are!) Even still…Keoni managed to take some really edgy and yet refined shots of the couple. He was able to capture the classic side of Jason and the urban side of Laura.

Event Challenges
□ Set up time…..to turn One Eleven into the Old Hollywood/NY glam space that I had designed and Laura had dreamed of was a battle against the clock. One Eleven required my staff and vendors to leave the premises the night before by 5pm and that was limiting. However, it is rare to find a venue that will allow you time at all the day before with out a hefty fee. Of course both days of set ups a key vendor was late and that was a crucial factor in the other vendor’s schedules.

□ Wind….The evening of the wedding was a perfect night except for the winds that blew across the oberservation deck where several of the feather arrangements not to mention candles were toppling over. Tye with A Village of Flowers worked diligently on securing the arrangements to the tables with no luck. A last minute change was necessary to the overall design and drapes with in the space had to be readjusted. Mother Nature…

□ Music…The entertainment agency for the band had burned a disc of the important songs (father daughter dance, first dance, etc.) and when it came time to introduce Bride and Groom…the disc didn’t read on their mother board. Luckily, the lead guitarist had a back up. Ooops! That wasn’t working either! In a complete panic, we were scrounging for a lap top or a wireless service and realized we could download the music straight from iTunes on our sound guy’s iPhone. Thank you God for iTunes! With in a minute, we had downloaded 4 of the special requested tracks and we were ready for the Bride and Groom!

All weddings are a process of ups and downs. I think perfection is what the client dreams of when imagining their special day and absolutely what a planner strives for. However, it is never perfect. Did I mention never? The end result should be perfect and that is what matters. This wedding was just that! The families and the bride and groom were gracious and kind and had a wonderful evening but behind the scenes of getting that perfection? Well, let’s just say I took a long vacation when it was over but I’d do it again tomorrow if asked! I am truly blessed to LOVE my job and the amazing people I work for.

Congrats to Laura and Jason!