Vendor Spotlight: OpulentFAVORS.com + 10% off for ABG readers!

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

OpulentFAVORS.com was a sponsor of our SATC party and provided the most amazing and unique bridal favors for our giveaways. On top of that, ABG readers will receive 10% off their purchase just by referencing "ABG" at checkout. So, if you need gifts for baby showers or bridal showers or your bridal party, hop over to OpulentFAVORS.com for great finds and a generous offer.

How did you get started in weddings? I started in the wedding industry in 2007, my interest became peaked after seeing a few planners in action & realizing that my professional career of managing large task & organizing people & events really lined up with this field as well. I then began to do research on the wedding industry and here I am! I decided to launch OpulentFAVORS.com out of my passion for retail! What can I say retail is definitely in my blood after being in Executive & Inventory Management for over 13 years and I wanted to add another component to my Opulent Brand that would really set me apart from others in the Wedding Industry in Nashville.

What do you like most about weddings? I love everything about weddings, they are such a joyous & blessed occasion and you really can express your personal style with your wedding day. At OpulentFAVORS.COM I can really assist the Bridal party various aspects of their gift giving needs. OpulentFAVORS.com provides bridal shower favors, wedding favors & attendant gifts. I believe in maintaining great customer relationships so once you are married you can continue to shop with us after starting a family for all your baby shower favors & invitations. Its a "One Stop Shop". What is your service philosophy? Always think of the customer 1st; build long term relationships; I am in the industry of serving others so I always bring my personal best in serving others with respect & courtesy! What makes you different than other favors/gift sites? OpulentFAVORS.com is different because we provide "Trendy, chic & Oh so Unique" favors! (I could not resist) Seriously, I have been very selective when deciding what actually will appear on the site. I did not want the site to look like other favor sites, so I actually have several different distributors that really have become a valuable resource for me! We also offer a range of personalized items with our labels as well as engravable gifts.

(Stainless Steel Can Koozie)

Who are your 3 favorite Nashville wedding vendors helpfulness, professionalism, style? Designs in Paper - They truly are great people and Donette gives great hugs!! They are genuine people & what a great product! getRelish.com- The name speaks for itself! Stephanie & Rebecca have so much creativity and so chic! Rhonda Patton Weddings- She is so creative, and has a gift for what she does. I've seen her in action & her design ability just comes naturally, she really can make "Something out of Nothing". What do you read/watch regularly to stay on top of wedding/event trends? Now, I must confess, I am a TV Junkie, so I TiVo everything that I can related to the wedding industry (as long as it does not take up my 60 minutes of space for The Young & the Restless....my vice) Favorite TV Shows: Platinum Weddings-Chic over the top weddings, I get so many ideas from that show. Whose wedding is it anyway?- Just a classic Get Married- for up to the minute wedding trends each morning at 6:30am Rich Bride, Poor Bride - I actually draw tips on how to deal with all types of budgets Fabulous Life/Big Fat Wedding Favorite Reading: I love Martha Stewart Weddings, I do look forward to that coming in the mail! The Knot Bridal Magazine Southern Wedding Style Grace Ormonde Wedding Style Style you Dream Wedding by Susie Coelho.....its a planners dream! Thanks to Ashley for telling me about it! What's fabulous for brides right now? For budget brides - DIY favors are always great when you are on a budget; champaigne flutes from a discount store & truffles make a very affordable gift.; As well as personalized Hershey's Minitures which cost $27.95 for 100 (See photo Photo courtsey of Foreverwedstore.com) For luxe brides - It's all about the monogram & embellishments. Luxe brides really go all out for the attendant gifts as well as wedding favors. Here are some of my faves:

Bridal embellished track suit

Embellished bride tank

Monogram coasters

Monogram candles Custom wine labels

Vanilla bath caviar

Customized glassware is always a great gift! Nonnie Waller's chocolates Which trends should brides retire? Shoe Candle Heart Candle Square leather keychain Small Pails Wedding Camera I agree with the wedding camera unless there is some interesting twist. I like the photo booth instead. Name 5 websites that you visit to stay current on wedding trends, etc? Ashleysbrideguide.com, of course! The Knot.com - is a wealth of knowledge Martha Stewart.com/weddings The WeddingBee.com Blog Emitations.com. They have all the greatest celeb jewelry trends at a fraction of the price, which could also be used as bridal jewelry! I have a few other faves but I a girl likes to keep some things a secret....I love to be unique!!! Contact OpulentFAVORS.com to order your bridal gifts and favors...and baby shower favors...if it's a shotgun wedding:).

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Posted by Ashley | Filed under: Guests, Gifts & Favors, Wedding Resources 0 comments »

SATC Party Highlights: How to Spoil Your “Favor"ite Guests

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Every fabulous chick knows that your guests have to leave your party wowed by your yummy treats. so, as you think about gifts and goodies for your wedding guests, consider some of my SATC loot. Favors - many thanks to Opulent Favors, Designs in Paper and Cakes by Shara who made sure my guests left with full, happy hands Opulent Favors carries unique bridal shower, baby shower and wedding favors. For our party, the provided a ton of great gifts, including cute SATC tees (big hit) and bridal favors. I especially loved the bling ring keychains.

Designs in Paper created the neatest buttons for our guests. The buttons read "I'm a Carrie" or "Still looking for Mr. Big". For your event, you can have them make just about anything. I know that Fabuless bride just got her "beach theme" wedding invitations from Designs and Paper and they are doing custom confetti. Point is - they can do anything. Just let them give you ideas. (Keep it easy:). giveaways galore. now, i dont expect you to have giveaways but they made sense for my party.

Cakes by Shara made fashion forward, shoe and purse cookies and amazing chocolate and strawberry cupcakes. There were over 100 of these goodies but they were gone before I even got a chance to get one for myself. I was so looking forward to a chocolate cupcake (which I requested). On top of being super yummy, they were adorable!

Tasty treats - boy were we thankful for food and drinks provided by 8 Lavender Lane, Uptown 162, Edible Arrangements and Rent-a-Rita 8 Lavender Lane worked with our SATC theme (good trait in a vendor:) and served up the characters' favorite foods - including mini-hot dogs and quiche. All of the food was butler-passed, which I alway think adds a touch of class. Classy they were. Special thanks to Kym of A-LIST weddings magazine for her help in securing 8 Lavender Lane. We almost didn't have a caterer as we learned the day before the event that our scheduled caterer was no longer available. Thanks 8 Lavender for your help!!

Edible Arrangements is a great addition to a party or shower and are great to send in lieu of flowers or candy. I love fruit and have been a fan of this unique idea every since I drooled over their store in Orlando 2 years ago. So glad they finally made it to Nashville. Helen - of the Brentwood location was our contact so contact her for your party needs.

Uptown 162 provided delicious food too. These grilled veggies were a crowd favorite.

Rent-a-Rita what more can I say - simply delicious! I am such a fan; they are a must have for any party...if you want to have some real fun. Available virgin or extra strong (which must have been what we ordered!).

Pictures above are courtesy of my friends Don Yeager, Harmony Designs Photography and Ace Photography. Thank you! More highlights tomorrow...

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Posted by Ashley | Filed under: Bridal Shows & Events, Cakes & Catering, Guests, Gifts & Favors 0 comments »

Fab Friday Finds: Nashville’s Hippest Hotels & Event Spaces

Friday, June 6, 2008

Friday, June 6, 2008 As I sit stranded at Tampa's airport waiting on my 920pm flight to depart, I am for a second frustrated after hearing that it has been delayed from 920pm to 1045pm then kind of ok after learning the airport offers free wi-fi. So instead of arguing like everyone else (literally, the folks to my left and right are arguing and security is on the way - no kidding), I am going to blog. Over the last few months, I have discovered the chicer side of Nashville. Now, I am not going to diss our amazing city; it is amazingly hospitable and clean, the traffic is nothing like Atlanta or LA and it is a safe place for kids. It has tons to offer but for those city chicks (like me) finding contemporary, sassy spots for out of town guests and bridal parties...well...it hasnt been easy. But, that is changing - fast! I thought I would do a quick run down of some of the most chic, up-and-coming options for Nashville event venues. Over the next few months, I'll expand because Nashville is adding more options for the "city, urban" bride to be. I am sure there are many more out there so if I leave one off - PLEASE comment on this blog and let me know who/what/when/where. Some of these offer space for ceremonies and receptions others are great options for sleeping rooms, especially if you are welcoming big city folks from Chicago, NY, etc or even small town folk who want to feel like they are in a "big city". Here's my list of the city's hottest hotels. Drumroll please... aLoft - new hotel that's like a W hotel. If you haven't stayed at a W, my friend's call it "the place where all of the beautiful people meet". We were completely in awe as we saw the gorgeous guys opening our doors at the NYC W hotel. OMG! Anyway, aLoft opens this fall and Kristen is in charge of group sales. The spot doesn't offer a reception space (too bad) but it's in a great location (Cool Springs - near the mall) and is ultra-modern.

Aerial - Elissa is the sales manager at Aerial and City Hall. She emailed me and said "35% off venue rentals for June, July and August at Aerial and City Hall-Book your last minute reception or rehearsal dinner now! Free event coordination included at aerial and city hall always!" Be sure to contact her if you are interested. This is Sparkplug's wedding venue as mentioned here.

City Hall - Have heard good things about this spot. I also heard a rumor that it might be converted into an Urban Outfitters. A Delightful Day did a blog on the spot some time ago, which you can read here. Seems like a neat spot. But, I will admit - I'd love to have an Urban Outfitters in Nashville:).

Hotel Indigo Nashville - I've heard that my buddy Randall is no longer there (which is a shame b/c he was really cool) but the venue still is! Check out my post on the hotel here.

Lot7 - I haven't visited but Rhonda introduced it in her blog a few weeks ago. Visit their site for more. Events 1418 - great for ceremonies and receptions. I especially love the rooftop space that overlooks downtown Nashvile (and the Hustler building:). Plus, it's owned by The Bake Shoppe / A Catered Affair so it's a great one stop for the yum. I also love the exposed brick. Hotel Preston - While I don't care for the location (in terms of surrounding ambiance), it is a sleek spot that's very close to the airport - easy access for out of town (plane riding) guests. Update: Take 121 - Sparkplug (from our message board) just commented about Take 121. How could I forget! That's where we had the 27 Dresses Bridal Break. View pics of space on my blog here. (Sparklug - Do you ever sleep girl - you read today's blog before I could wake up to edit it!) Also - there's another new spot across from Take 121 - Hillary - what's the name of it??? One Eleven - Tiffani of Creative Design reminded me of another neat spot. Global Cafe is another neat venue spot. Rhonda blogged about it just this week.

Flight's about to takeoff! Gotta run. Be sure to check back on Monday as I'll share the highlights from the SATC party!!

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Posted by Ashley | Filed under: Guests, Gifts & Favors, Wedding Resources 0 comments »

Looking for Fun in a Box? Just add a Photo Booth

Monday, June 2, 2008

Monday, June 2, 2008

I am not the girl I use to be. I realized that as I drag myself from the bed, still exhausted from 2 straight weekends of hosting parties - 1) my dads 65th birthday and 2) a super fun SATC party. Expect details galore on the SATC party over the next few weeks. For now, I don't have a single picture (believe it or not) but anxiously await pictures from Don Yeager, Harmony Designs Photography and Ace Photography. I'm hoping they bump me up on their edit list so I can get pics on this amazing party to you asap. (pretty please?) I take that back. I do have one picture that I think does a great job representing the night. I snuck away from the welcome table to take this quick set with my sister. (I'm fab 1 on the left and she's fab 2 on the right.)

Picture this (no pun intended)...friends, moms and sisters were lined up at the booth all night long. (That's what I call a great party attraction.) In fact, when the cuties from Relish, Rebecca and Stephanie grabbed me to take a pic, the line was so long that we couldn't wait. The girls were so excited about the booth that I simply couldn't imagine cutting line to get ahead of them. I didn't want to cause a riot at my own party! Make a note - if you are planning a wedding or just about ANY event, add Photo Booth Nashville to your list. There are a few options out there for booths but I have only worked with Amy and Jeff, so I can tell you - they are amazing people and they will take care of you. Amy, as I mentioned before, is a recent bride and they are a fun and professional couple and started the photo booth company after searching for a booth for their wedding day. They now offer Nashville area brides a great alternative to the "cameras on the table", one that will offer your guests an active station - which is what weddings area all about these days - a fun celebration of your love.

The photo booth is absolutely a must have if you are having a party - from a wedding reception to a birthday party or even a corporate function, photo booths bring out the fun in everyone. It's amazing how folks "instantly" bond after spending 10 seconds in this magical box. I am not quite sure what happens but there's some team building that goes on as you first "think" about how to make fun pictures and somehow between the first pic and the last - you realize that life's not about thinking but living and enjoying all the laughter in between. That's certainly what happened with Christine of Wedding Dish and I hopped into the machine. We started like - what are we going to do in this box and then we got super silly and just rolled with it. (Here she is holding our pic!)

I really could have stayed in this booth all night, snapping pics with all of my friends. I can't wait to see my pic with Christine and can't wait to see your photo booth pics! Contact Amy or Jeff to learn more about Photo Booth Nashville. (Hint - their contact info is on the picture above.) Tell them Ashley said hi! Oh - I almost forgot - Photo Booth Nashville also gives you a CD of all of the pics so you can cherish the memories forever!

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Posted by Ashley | Filed under: Guests, Gifts & Favors, Inspiration & Trends 0 comments »