Something Borrowed: A Lovely and Crafty Nashville DIY Wedding

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

I consider Amber of Lotus Blossom Photography a local DIY wedding expert.  She often shares Tips for Brides, including an occasional Money Saving Money series designed to help brides everywhere save money without sacrificing their dream wedding.  DIY brides love Amber because she's knowledgeable but also a terrific wedding photographer!  

A few weeks ago, she featured Amanda and Ben's DIY wedding on her blog that I thought was great!  It featured all of the elements that I love about a DIY wedding - personal style, crafty projects and out of the box creativity.  What I appealed most to me was the couple's wedding color palette -sunshine  yellow and fresh blue, their down-home lemonade beverage bar and their signage.

If you are a DIY bride or simply seeking unique ideas for your wedding, I hope theirs will inspire you to add your own signature to every aspect of your wedding.

Visit Amanda and Ben's DIY wedding on the Lotus Blossom blog for more photographs from their day.

Visit the Lotus Blossom blog for more pictures and details of Amber and Ben's DIY wedding day.

share

Posted by Ashley of Ashley's Bride Guide | Filed under: DIY & Budget Wed Finds 3 comments »

Guest Blog: Ways to Negotiate + Cut Costs for the Penny Pinching Bride

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Most people still have the misconception that all a wedding planners do is march around with a clipboard in hand barking orders to frantic wait staff and wedding vendors.  SO not true. Planners are here to help engaged couples make decisions in their planning and to take the stress of planning off their shoudlers. Most planners (if not all) will work especially with you in one of the trickiest, most daunting parts of wedding planning - vendor negotiations.  When does a bride say yes or no? How much is too much when it comes to estimates?

Hillary Capes of Your Day of Fairy Tales shares some insight in today's Penny Pinching Bride advice segment.

What is negotiation and how can it help me in my wedding.

According to Maiese, “Negotiation is a discussion between two or more disputants who are trying to work out a solution to their problem.” (Maiese, 2003) Negotiation is a part of every day life. At a stoplight, you negotiate with who will go next.  Negotiation often goes unmentioned by the American population. Unfortunately, too many people settle for what appears to be the norm and do not try and better themselves.

{...enter wedding planning}

How many vendors have you contacted and automatically not given a shot because their package included too much for you or didn't even include what you wanted? Did you try to negotiate with that vendor? Negotiation is key to making a budget wedding work.

Photography

For example: You contact the most amazing photographer in all of Nashville. You absolutely love their work and they MUST take your wedding portraits. Problem is though, their packages include WAY too much extra "stuff" and not enough coverage time. Easy fix. Contact the photographer. Tell them how much you LOVE their work and that you really are interested in more coverage time. Explain to them the reason you feel you do not need the extras in their packages and ask politely if you can do a swap out for extra coverage hours. Usually if a vendor knows that you are going to book, they will work with you to make sure you have what you want in your package. 

One easy tip is to not hire an inexperienced photographer who has never done a professional wedding. Whether it's second shooting or solo, make sure that they have done weddings. Amber of Lotus Blossum Photography posted a great blog about the difference in professional wedding photography and un-professional wedding photography. There definitely is a difference.

unprofessional photo taken by a family member

BRIDES LISTEN!!!! 

Inexpensive photography does NOT mean horrible in all cases. But, it does not mean go to Craigslist and hire the first ad you see for cheap photography because chances are that person just got that camera and can't operate it. This is THE ONE aspect of your day that you will have after it is all said and done. Treasure it and hire a professional photographer who will tell the story of your wedding day!

Flowers

Oh brides who think all florists are expensive: Newsflash! They aren't! It is all based upon the flowers you pick! I know you have heard time and time again, that it depends on what is in season and what isn't. For example. I am sure most of you have heard about the expensive price tag of roses in the early part of the year, especially around Valentine's day, but due to over whelming qualities in the summer time, the price of roses drastically decreases to about half.

This centerpiece cost approximately $25 and was done for a late April wedding.

Source: erinthacker.com

Another way to cut your florist costs is to consider the size of your flowers. A small flower such as tulips, ranaculous, or roses are going to be more expensive to make a full bouquet than a large flower such as a sunflower, stargazer lillies or hydrangea. Also, reducing the number of those expensive smaller flowers in your arrangements or bouquets is a great way to cut costs.

Catering

As a planner, negotiating catering is the hardest part of my job. One quick and easy way to negotiate the price point of your catering is man power and the amount of time they spend there. Rather than having 6 people there at $25/hour per person for 6 hours, ask your caterer if you can cut it down to 4 people for 4 hours. A majority of the time, they can still function with those terms, whilst cutting your contract price down.

All of these tips are things you should mention to your vendors when contacting them for the first time. Negotiation is an important factor into making your budget wedding come true. Hiring a wedding planner is also a good step as most planners have experience negotiating with vendors.

Happy Planning! 

The views shared in our guest blog posts aren't necessarily those of Ashley's Bride Guide. 

share

Posted by Your Day of Fairy Tales | Filed under: DIY & Budget Wed Finds, Wedding Planners & Coordinators 0 comments »

DIY Wedding Flowers + Advice From Import Flowers!

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

We like giving you the resources with which to accomplish your wedding vision.  A lot of you are DIY brides who love being more hands-on with certain details with your wedding and we're all about that too and today's post is for you - the DIY Flower Bride.  If you haven't yet, definitely stop by Import Flowers, right off Murphy Road and 37th Avenue North in Sylvan Park.  Run by Lou Farrell, Import has been providing flowers to Nashville's professional florists and flower enthusiasts for years.  But, they also serve lots of DIY brides and are there to help should you choose to take on your wedding flowers yourself.

"Ive passed this building many times and never knew what wonderful goodies were inside!" - Ashley

Lou introduced me to Jasmin Trenary, one their floral designers who has, in her three years with Import Flowers, worked with tons of the D.I.Y. brides who walked in the door. So as you endeavor to take on their wedding flowers by yourself, know you'll be in good hands when you seek her guidance.  She and the rest of the very experienced staff at Import Flowers are extremely knowledgeable and are there to answer your floral questions.  I asked her to give us some good advice for how to succesfully achieve great flowers and to get as close to a professional look all by yourself, as well as what is available for Fall weddings. 

Know your date first, it will impact flowers, colors

Jasmin advises looking through magazines and websites to figure out what colors you are going for, and when you've picked a date so they can advise you on getting flowers that are available. Try to have at least that (the date and the colors) and have that settled upon before you go into Import Flowers.  The staff there start by providing you with a list of flowers avaialble for that season or time of year.  With Fall in mind, I did ask her what flowers would be great for, say, a September wedding and the options seem to be pretty endless - hydrangeas, calla lilies, roses, mums, carnations, gerber daisies, bells of Ireland and lots of greens.

Vibrant, blue hydrangeas and some softer lighter blue hydrangeas.

Gorgeous calla lilies.

If you look carefully you'll see my new favorite lily - a goth-y, all black calla called the Schwartzwalder.  Talk about dramatic! And of course, gorgeous orange/yellow callas. I think they're called Sunset callas.

Gerber daisies and a few purple hydrangeas sneaking into frame.

"If you choose purple for your color palette, be sure to avoid going monochromatic.  Instead, pick one flower that is the shade of light lavendar and one that's a darker shade so the tones are complementary and not clashing."  Advises Jasmin, "If brides don't have a color palette in mind, I suggest they go with neutrals like greens and white."  When it comes to working with ribbons or dresses to pair with bouquets, "try to complement instead of trying to match your swatches" says Jasmin.

Other great Fall color options to try are using food rather than foliage like pumpkins or berries.  However if you're going for something less masculine and would like to use mainly flowers, Jasmin suggests the Camel rose and to try "magentas and brigheter golds vs. yellows - it's more feminine, fun and festive vs. it looking like a holiday centerpiece."

Camel rose - a softer, rust colored rose. (Image courtesy of sepaldesigns.com)

Lighter shades of hydrangeas

Jasmin showed me some succulents they had at Import Flowers that day, that she's helped D.I.Y. brides use in centerpieces and even bouquets. "They will root and grow, and are often used in Terrariums, or in living centerpieces of some variety. They can be used on bouquets too, or in arrangements that aren't necessarily "living" they're tough as nails and will live for weeks, re-root from small cuttings, and can be removed from bouquets and centerpieces and be planted."

Echeveria Agavoides succulents

As a fan of terrariums, I think living centerpieces are a fantastic idea - it's unique, they're a great way to start conversation at the table and maybe if you're feeling generous, guests can take them home to keep for much longer than cut flowers.  I'd mused that it's interesting these were catching on and Jasmin had a great point, "I think thats one reason why they're so popular right now, they fit in with the "green" lifestyle, as there is no waste from them, they continue living. As well as how cool they look."

Image courtesy of StyleMePretty.com via GreenWeddingShoes.com

Wedding Flower Tips & How-To's

Because ABG brides are internet savvy, I asked for some recommended websites for great D.I.Y. tips and Jasmin suggested WonderHowTo.com which has instructional videos. They have great how-to's,  from picking the right flowers for your wedding to creating your own centepieces.  Another site is Save-On-Crafts.com which is a HUGE resource for supplies for floral needs as well as other wedding and craft supplies that will make any D.I.Y. bride giddy with glee.  The internet has tons of wedding sites with flower inspirations but bear in mind that it's always best to get a second opinion - bring pictures of what you like to your meeting and Jasmin and the Import Flowers team will be able to tell you if what you are looking for is available, and if it's not they can work with you to find alternatives to achieve the same look.

Import Flowers carries many varieties of flowers.  With a large front area filled with buckets of flowers to their three coolers of roses, lilies and varieties of gorgeousness I can't name, you have so many options from which to choose so make sure you give yourself a lot of time.  The best part is, they never rush you, and are always at the ready to answer your questions. 

Roses in every color of the rainbow!

DIY Flowers Pros & Cons

"It can save money to do the flowers yourself and it's really really fun for some people" Jasmin told me when I asked what the realistic pros and cons of DIY flowers are.  "However, it's a lot of work, a lot of phyiscal, tiring work to do your wedding flowers on your own."  She also pointed out a few more things to keep in mind like 1) Keeping the flowers fresh till the day of your wedding: Do not refrigerate the flowers.  Keeping them in an air conditioned room is enough. 2) Transporting flowers  - "it's best to build and put everything together there. After teh ceremony or reception, check with the venue to see what the policy on flowers are. Some churches will use the flowers the next day for their service.  Check with your caterer or relatives to see who can help remove the flowers after the reception.  If you rented the vases, the rental company will have their own return policies so check with them as well and plan everything."

A huge thank you to Lou Farrell, Jasmin and the wonderful staff at Import Flowers who let me snap pictures and talk to them when I came by.  You can find Import Flowers online at their website.  Don't hesitate to give them a call, or just stop by and have a look - you'll be amazed what you'll find for your Fall wedding, and your DIY floral needs!

share

Posted by Tabitha | Filed under: Details, Design & Florals, DIY & Budget Wed Finds 5 comments »

Classic, Elegant DIY Nashville Wedding: Melissa and Jack

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

You really don't need a huge budget to have a great wedding and achieve a classic, elegant look. Melissa and Jake are here to share their wedding day and tips, which include splurging on their photographer of choice - Myrick Studios - and DIYing everything else!

Bride ~ Melissa Haynes (Strei)

Groom ~ Jack Haynes

April 16, 2010 at 6:30 pm

Ceremony ~ Church of the Redeemer

Reception ~ Richland Country Club

Guests: 130

What was your wedding style?

Our goal was to capture modern elegance with the colors, the music, our attire, decorations, etc.

What were your colors? Why did you chose them?

We went with black, scarlet and ivory. We both love those three colors and felt it would help us capture the look we were going for. Although, they might seem a bit heavy for a spring wedding, the colors worked great for our evening wedding.

Did you have a theme? What was it?

We didn't have a specific theme although we wanted to keep a modern yet classically elegant look and feel throughout.

What did you use for inspiration? {magazines? blogs? websites? etc.}

Several bridal websites were a HUGE help when looking for flower bouquet ideas, table decor, hair styles, etc. Wedding Scoop:

What was your budget?

It started out at $10,000. We ended up spending $11,000.

What was your wedding WOW factor? {What did your guests love?}

Honestly, I've heard from almost every guest who attended that they're favorite moment of the day was when Jack surprised me by singing to me at the reception.

What did you give as favors to your guests?

Neither of us felt it was very important, so we decided to save some money and just skip favors.

How did you personalize your wedding?

We were able to get married at the church we attend together, had musicians that were also family members, chose music for the wedding and reception that were meaningful to us in our relationship. . . Since we're both huge football fans, we chose to walk into the reception to the Monday Night Football theme song. We also chose to have stations of heavy appetizers set up at various places around the room rather than a plated dinner. We wanted to keep people moving and mingling.

What did you give your bridesmaids and groomsmen?

I gave my bridesmaids jewelry and Jack gave his men Under Armor fitness gear.

What was your most special moment of the day?

Walking down the aisle to meet my groom and Jack singing to me at the reception.

Did you have kids at your wedding? What did you do for them?

We only had a couple of very well-behaved kids attend, so we really didn't do anything out of the ordinary for them.

Did you Do It Yourself? Or, did you leave it to the professionals?

Because our budget was so small, this was definitely a DIY wedding, and it turned out amazing.

If you did DIY, what was your favorite project? Why?

Jack and I had a great time checking out all of the different reception venues. Amazingly, we almost always agreed completely throughout the whole process.

Wedding Vendors:

Planner: Me!

Cake: We were planning to just serve cheesecake that we bought from Sam's Club (which was amazing, by the way) because neither of us felt like we "had" to do the traditional wedding cake. However, Jack's has an aunt who used to cater, and she made us a beautiful and delicious cake as a gift. So, we had both!

Caterer: Our reception was at the Richland Country Club, and they also catered the food. Although, Jack and I only had time to eat a few bites, everyone raved about the food and beautiful presentation.

Photographer: After doing a ton of searching online and elsewhere, I came across the website for Myrick Studios. I was immediately so impressed by what I saw there. His artistic eye and amazing talent were exactly the type of photography we were hoping to have for our wedding. Myrick was so much fun to work with on the day of the wedding. Not only was he organized and efficient, he also made the time so relaxed and fun. Once we got our pictures back, I was even more elated by our decision to hire him. He captured so many special moments so beautifully. Honestly, they are absolutely incredible. I would recommend him to anyone!

Videographer: This is my one regret. We chose not to spend money on a professional videographer, and I now kind of wish we had. We had a video camera set up at the front of the church; however, it wasn't in an ideal location and missed some of the important things (i.e. walking down the aisle, etc).

Stationery: Our invitations were designed by Rachel Jasper of Rachel Jasper Design. Rachel is a good friend of mine and did the designing as a wedding gift to us. They were gorgeous!

Bridesmaid Dresses: I actually let my 2 bridesmaids pick them out since I wanted them to wear something that they felt comfortable in. They ended up finding a great dress in Indianapolis at a special occasion store there.

Rings: Jack bought my ring at Genesis Diamond in Green Hills. Since he wanted a little more "rugged" looking ring for his, we chose a Tungsten ring for him from an online website. Both were fantastic choices!

Music: My brother played piano for us, my uncle sang as I walked down the aisle and my friend Kyle played violin, guitar and sang. For our reception, we hired Nashville Party Authority to DJ. Blair did a fantastic job setting the right mood for the moment.

Decorations/Detail: We kept the decor in the church quite simple with 2 bouquets on pedestals and some greenery and candles in the windows and across the front. For the reception, we purchased red roses from Import Flowers to use on the tables. We also purchased vases, candles and rocks from Hobby Lobby and black sheer fabric to complete the look.

Bridal Gown: I purchased my gown at  The White Room in Lebanon. They were so helpful and accommodating, and I found the dress of my dreams for a great price!

Tuxes: Our tuxes were rented through Men's Wearhouse in Green Hills. We were also very happy with their selection and service.

Accessories: I actually borrowed the pearl necklace I wore from my sister and found some matching earrings to go with it at Kohl's. Yes, I am a great bargain shopper.

Flowers: Our flowers were designed by Belles and Buttercups. Devon was a joy to work with and saw my vision right from the start. She was also so willing to work within our budget and still help us achieve the look we were going for. The flowers were gorgeous and exactly what I was hoping for.

Transportation: Jack surprised me by borrowing his friend's car for the day. We drove away in an incredible black Aston Martin. Wow!

Gifts: We registered at Bed, Bath and Beyond and also set up a honeymoon registry. They were both fantastic choices. With the honeymoon registry, nearly our entire honeymoon to Cancun was paid for.

Who were your favorites? {the ones you would highly recommend to your best friend}

I have so many. I would most definitely recommend Myrick Studios, Richland Country Club, Belles and Buttercups, The White Room, Rachel Jasper Design and Genesis Diamonds.

Wedding Rewind:

What would you do differently if you could start back at the beginning?

Probably hire a videographer or at least ask a friend that is good with a video camera to shoot

What do you consider the biggest waste of time and/or money?

Honestly, we were so careful with our budget, I really don't feel like any of it was wasted.We printed way too many wedding programs and had a ton left over.

What do you consider the best value for the service and product?

Myrick Studios and Belles and Buttercups

What was the neatest thing you found for your wedding?

My husband.

What was your biggest {and best} splurge?

Again, we were really careful with how we spent our money; however, we did spend quite a bit on the printing of our wedding invitations. The finished product was definitely worth it, though.

share

Posted by Ashley of Ashley's Bride Guide | Filed under: DIY & Budget Wed Finds 4 comments »