2009 Wedding Color Trend Alert: Mimosa

Friday, January 16, 2009

What's hot for your Spring/Summer wedding?  Mimosa!  Yummy right?  If you are a bride who is still trying to finalize her color palette or just want to stay in the know, check out this recent blog by Designs in Paper!

share

Posted by Ashley of Ashley's Bride Guide | Filed under: Inspiration & Trends, Invitations & Paper Goods 0 comments »

Unique Invitations for Your Unique Wedding!

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Want a custom invitation that inspires and complements your wedding?  Relish is a must-consider!  Invitations tell your guests what to expect from your wedding - from color to style to personality.  And with Relish, you are in the driver's seat, picking the colors and embellishments that you want to set the tone for your event.

Today, I am honored to share the keypad with Stephanie of Relish, who will share the hottest colors in weddings dresses, cakes, flowers and invitations! Hopefully these weddings will inspire you to dream in color, as only Relish allows us to do.

Guest Post: Relish is web-based, build-your-own invitation company.  Their website allows you to build a fabulously custom invitation to match your event - perfectly!

You've dreamed about your wedding day perhaps for your whole life. I was personally not that way, but as soon as I said yes, the dreaming began! I have always had a creative spirit and my wedding was my chance to show who I was (and yes, who my husband was) in each and every detail of the day. As with many wedding professionals, it was after my own wedding that I begin to think of entering the wedding industry. I think that comes from being a bride who has trouble finding those things which represent her for her big day, those things which will express the tone of their wedding the way they want. Invitations were a big part of how I set the tone of my own wedding. I have been a graphic designer for years so it seemed like an easy place to start. I began to envision the whole day and what would suit us as a couple. I decided I wanted a cute picnic themed reception. I wanted sheer green ribbon in lots of places, so it made sense to put it on my invitations, since that would be the first look our guests got of our special day. I must admit that at that time, even I had trouble thinking too far outside the box with my invitations. I had worked in printing for years and had used "The Books" to help brides get ideas for invitations. I hated that my ideas didn't fit nice and neat into "the book" way of thinking. Now, a short 4 years later, I am the CEO and one of the designers for Relish (getrelish.com). It may sound strange for me to say this about my own company, but I truly wish I'd had Relish when I got married! With Relish, my partners and I have tried to really come out of "the book box" with our paper designs. We have created many designs for different types of brides. If you want something more formal (like what most books have), you can get that with Relish, only you can still customize it to you. If you want something more crazy - you can do that as well! The most important thing about customizing your own invitations is that they are unique to you and your special day! Do not limit yourself in any aspect of your day. Dream in color, think BIG... and then you know - try to put it all into your "budget". Here are a couple photos from my own reception. To the right is a photo of an invitation I designed on getrelish.com and you can see how well it would have tied in to our wedding theme. (*NOTE: You can also have Relish adjust the colors of their patterns to custom match your exact color scheme)

So, it may be too late for me to send those out now, but below are some great photos of this season's color trends which are used in the dresses, the flowers, the cake, and then of course the invitations! You could continue the colors and theme into the rest of your wedding stationary, your reception linens and all the other little details!

Black & White is always in style and very classy. Also, you can pair it with any color to get a unique look!

Bright Yellow is such a fresh color to see everywhere this year! Paired with Bright Whites and Garden Greens, it is beautiful, especially for Spring & Summer!

Fuschia / Hot Pink is very in this year. It's great paired with Dark Purple, Wines & Black as well - it's so much fun and creates a very unique look and feel to your day!

Aqua is another one of the fun, bright colors we are excited to see a lot of this year! You can go with a Dark Turquoise-Aqua (seen above) or a lighter, Sea-Green Aqua (also used in this invitation). You can pair it with Fuchsia, Lime Green (as seen below) or Dark Purple.

Lime Green is so bright and fresh, especially for Spring & Summer! Pair it with Hot Pink, Garden Green, Yellow or Aqua (as seen in previous photo).

Bright "Tangerine" Orange is another fresh color for this year! It works great in the Summer and into the Fall. Pair it with bright Whites, Peach (for Spring), Fuchsia, and nearly any shade of Green. As you can see, the possibilities for a unique wedding in 2009 are endless!  And it can all start with your unique invitations! Check out www.getrelish.com this week. We are offering a special deal to AshleysBrideGuide.com readers. We are extending our 20% Bridal Show special exclusively to you girls for the remainder of January!!! Just enter this special Coupon Code in the Checkout area of our store: ABGJAN09 - 20% off is a huge savings so don't miss out! PHOTO CREDITS: Dresses provided by Cherished Memories Bridal Flowers provided by Fresh by Carryann Cakes provided by Cakes by Shara Promotional Photography provided by Jessica Rai Photography Personal wedding photos by Laurie Carpenter Photography

share

Posted by Ashley of Ashley's Bride Guide | Filed under: Inspiration & Trends, Invitations & Paper Goods 0 comments »

Cute Cups for Your Wedding Day

Monday, January 12, 2009

paperkuts Studio, a Nashville stationery shop, just got these super cute bridal cups. They are foam cups that have monograms or cool sayings on them. They come 10 per sleeve/16 ounces and retail for $6. They are really cute and I can get other sayings, etc. Contact Kim to order yours!

share

Posted by Ashley of Ashley's Bride Guide | Filed under: Details, Design & Florals, Inspiration & Trends 0 comments »

When the Planner Plans: I’m Engaged, Now What?

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Today, I am excited to introduce a new feature called "When the Planner Plans", by Kristin Carolan of Simply Stunning Events. Kristin got engaged a few months ago and I was so excited to hear all about her wedding plans. So, I was honored when Kristin offered to write a monthly article about her wedding plans - from start to finish. I always wondered if wedding planners practiced what they preached. Would they follow these stupid etiquette rules when they planned? Who would they hire? What neat aspects would they incorporate into their wedding day? Now, we'll find out:). Over the next few month, she will give us the inside scoop on her wedding plans, her planning process, etc.

Congrats on your engagement Kristin and Brian! Thanks for sharing your journey with us.

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

Choosing a Date

When I got the ring on my finger, I was just like any other bride, I was excited...first things first - I needed to choose a date. I had been dreaming of an October wedding and figured with five Saturdays in October 2009, one had to work! Unfortunately, the 31st was out since the children at my wedding would feel gypped out of trick-or-treating. The 10th and 24th were out due to venue availability and I was already attending a wedding out-of-town on the 17th. The 3rd it is!! Yay! On a whim I decided to call my friend Adam at the Hilton downtown to make sure I could block off plenty of rooms. Turns out, the International Bluegrass Music Association (the what?) was holding their annual convention and nothing was available. So much for my October wedding (sigh). I was bummed for a few days then realized that there was nothing wrong with September and in the end it didn't really matter.

As a "bride planner" to fellow Nashville brides to be, remember to cover all your bases and always be flexible! Here are my recommended steps for choosing your date?

1) Consider a season or month you prefer. Spring and fall weddings are obviously the most popular but there are perks to winter or summer weddings as well. For one, you can often get deals from vendors during the off-season (November - March) and summer weddings can be very convenient if you have many children or college age folks invited since they won't be in school.

Inspiration by Season

Winter Inspiration Board from Wedding Bee

Fall Images from Nashville's own, Kate Crafton

Spring/Summer Inspiration Board by Snippet & Ink

2) Check with venues. If you have a preferred venue already, check the availability since the decision could be made for you if they only have one day open.

3) Check with key family and friends. Be sure to run your possible wedding date by those who will be in the wedding as well as immediately family members as to avoid any conflicts. It's always possible that an important person in your wedding party may have a vacation planned or be attending another wedding.

3) Check with hotels. Before you shout your wedding date from the rooftops, double-check the hotels in the area! This is often not thought of until much later in the planning process, but you could be in a lot of trouble if you book everything for your wedding only to find out your guests will have no where to sleep because a large convention has taken up all the hotel space in Nashville.

Yes, it could happen, trust me!

share

Posted by Ashley of Ashley's Bride Guide | Filed under: Inspiration & Trends, Real Nashville Brides, Wedding Planners & Coordinators 0 comments »