Tip Of The Week: Escort Cards

As I was looking over things this weekend and coming up with some fun DIY ideas for wedding decor, I found a ton of creative Escort Cards!  These are a great way to put your crafty self to work!

Here are some of my favorites {you can also find these and more on my Pinterest Board}



Some Eco-Friendly ideas:

 

 Vintage:

Rustic:

 

Foodie:



 

 

How will you seat your guests?  Leave a comment and share your inspiration!!

Happy Monday everyone!

Tip Of The Week: Prioritizing

Photography by Heather Kessler Photography

You and your fiancee have your collection of ideas and inspiration, you know what each of you wants so now it's time to start putting these things in order and making your fantasies a reality!

The first thing you'll want to make sure of is that you don't lose any of these ideas.  Create a binder to keep notes, all your fun ideas and, later, all of your vendor contact information and contracts, timelines and other important paperwork.  Everything should be readily available to you.  Not only will this help you mentally, it will also keep you organized which will help you to feel cool, calm and collected.

This is also the step where you will prioritize all of your ideas to prepare to act upon them.  This is necessary to make sure you, and your wedding dreams, don't get lost in the whirlwind of wedding planning.  Prioritizing the fruits of your brainstorming session can be simplified into three categories: non-negotiable, negotiable, and neutral.

Non-negotiable:  These are the things that you WILL NOT change...no matter what!  This is the areas for the "must haves" only.  Example:  your great-grandmother's knife and server set that has been used in your great-grandmother's, grandmother's and mother's wedding.  This is non-negotiable!!

Negotiable:  This is for the things that you want but are willing to forgo.  Example:  you really want to have Cold Stone creamery available to serve with your cake.  You realize this may be quite expensive and are willing to give it up if it means you can have the ice sculpture for your shrimp appetizers.

 

 

 

Neutral:  Here are the things that you are more impartial to.  You would like to have these items, but won't miss them if you don't.  Example:  You really don't care what wines are served at dinner...

Make sure to come back next week for the most fun part of wedding planning - BUDGETING!!  (yeah, I was kidding about the "fun" part...)

How did you start out prioritizing?  Leave a comment for more suggestions. 

Tip Of The Week: Do I Really Need A Wedding Planner

Okay, so have you seen the commercial with the Dentist using a jackhammer while the construction worker watches him?  The dentist isn't doing such a good job and the construction man looks concerned.  Well, as a professional wedding planner that's how I feel when I hear about a new engagement.  Sure, there are tons of books and downloadable checklists, but how confident are you in the caterer you are going to choose?  Or the DJ...will they show up on time and play only the type of music you want to hear?  How about the decor at your reception?  Will the lighting be the right color and will all of the candles be lit when you arrive?  I can never stress enough to newly engaged couples how important it is to hire a professional.  I mean, you wouldn't want your surgeon doing your job, or you hers...right?

So my Tip for you for this week is that, YES, you should really consider hiring a wedding planner.  You don't need to necessarily hire somebody to take over the planning of your entire wedding, but at least somebody to have there the day of your wedding to make sure everything is as it should be.  Somebody that will take care of any and all problems so you don't even know there was one.  And, somebody to make sure the candles are lit so your friend, or worse yet, your mother, doesn't have to run over to your reception to take care of it!

Below are a few pictures of weddings that I have done.  Sure, things happened {like a major storm rolling in before the outdoors ceremony was supposed to happen}, but nothing that the bride, groom, families or friends had to think about.  The celebrating is all they had to take care of!

Photography by Heidi Lee Photography

Photography by Heidi Lee Photography

Photography by Heidi Lee Photography

Photography by Heidi Lee Photography

Photography by Gravidee Photography and Design

Photography by Gravidee Photography and Design

Photography by Heather Kessler Photography

 

 

Photography by Heather Kessler Photography

Photography by Heather Kessler Photography

 

Photography by Heather Kessler Photography

 

Have a wonderful Monday!

Tip Of The Week: Drink Stations

Happy Monday morning to you!  I hope you all had a fantastic Mother's Day with your families - I know I did!  I also hope that you got a lot of your wedding planning taken care of.  For those of you getting married this summer, make sure you are rereading your contracts and verifying things with all of your wedding vendors.  You should have your flowers chosen, venues for sure, decor figured out, and you should know which drinks you will have for your pre-ceremony and cocktail hour drink stations.  I bet most of you didn't even think about this - did you?  I HIGHLY recommend, at least, a pre-ceremony drink station.  Your guests will start to arrive about 1 hour prior. If your celebration day is outside, they will start to get parched, especially if it is a hot day. 

There are a number of ways you can go about setting up a drink station.  Here are a few of my suggestions:

1. Set out a simple cooler or some galvanized tubs full of water bottles and a table with some wine bottles, openers and glasses.  This is fast, easy and very economical.  Though you may not have put much time and effort into this, your guests will really appreciate it.

2. Hire a couple of bartenders through a catering company.  Purchase some wine, champagne, water and soda.  Set-up an 8ft banquet table, put a nice linen on it, a couple of simple flower arrangements {even just one flower head floating in a vase}, and have the bartenders greet and serve your guests.  This is still a very economical way to go about something that your guests will look at as quite eloquent.  Hiring bartenders for 1 - 2 hours is pretty cheap...

3. Do you have an old canoe, or some wheelbarrels?  Fill them with ice and drinks, put up a chalkboard telling your guests to help themselves and voila!  A fun, unique and appreciated drink station.

4. Buy, rent or borrow a few dispensers.  Make lemonades, iced teas and flavored waters and fill them up!  Add the fruit to the drinks for a little extra ooomph.  Spread glasses on the table and there you have it.

5. Are mason jars your thing?  Fill a bunch up with a signature drink with a super fun name.  Pre-ceremony you could have a non-alcohol drink and your cocktail hour could have both drinks with alcohol and drinks without.  Put a fun straw and a cute ribbon and label with your monogram on the jars and it is a perfect "Signature Drink Station".


Some things to keep in mind are:

1. If you want your guests to "help themselves" make sure there is a sign somewhere that will let them know this.

2. Give all of your drinks a fun name.  I mean, a dispenser with "Lemonade" is not quite as fun as a lable that reads something like "Marital Mimosa" or "Sassy Sangria"...just sayin...

3. Place your drink station in an easily accessible area.  This is where your early arriving guests will most likely "hang out" so keep it nearby.

4. You don't have to do a lot to the area, but do dress it up a little.  Even just to add a linen and a flower in a vase {you can buy some flowers at the grocery store and borrow vases from friends and family if you need to}, is all you need to do.

5. Always make sure to have water on hand.  Not everyone likes soda, and not everyone will want to drink alcohol right away, but water will quench peoples thirst.

6. Designate someone to keep an eye on the ice situation.  If it is going to be a hot day, it would be a good idea to have a few coolers around specifically for ice bags.  It should be this person's responsibility to make sure the water is dumped and fresh ice is added.

Are you having a drink station at your celebration?  What are you serving up?  How are you designing it?  Please leave a comment and share your ideas.

Wedding Registry: Giving To Charity

How fun, right? Going out to your favorite department stores and picking a gorgeous set of china, your favorite {great quality} back-yard games, the 500 thread-count sheets... Fun I say!! 

But, when you're done with all of that, how about a little bit of giving.  After doing some research I came across a few charity sites that allow you to do a wedding registry, shop at a few places that will donate a percentage of the sale, or purchase "gift cards" for your attendants to allow them to donate to the charity of their choice.

One website that I recommend is

www.JustGive.org 

There is a link on this site that will lead you to another great one for wedding registry...

www.idofoundation.org

Are you not sure what to do for your wedding favors?  Consider, perhaps, a Charity Favor Donation Place Card. 

www.weddingshop.theknot.com/donation-favors.aspx

Do you still want to have something more than just a note at your guests seats when they arrive?

Try this:

www.trufflesforacause.com

Are you planning to do something for a charity for your big day?  Share with us what you are going to do.

Happy Wednesday!

Tent Weddings: Tips and Ideas

I absolutely love tented weddings!  To me, they are a blank canvas that you can transform into whatever you can dream up.  These are also the most difficult weddings to plan.  There are so many things you need to know and think about to make everything go smooth.

Here are some tips and ideas for you to help keep the big surprises away.

1. Check with your city's sound ordinances.  Make sure you know when the music needs to be ended and any laws on serving alcohol.  If you are having your wedding at your home, I suggest to, maybe, bake some goodies and deliver them to your neighbors informing them of the upcoming nuptials.  You know, an ounce of kindness goes a long way!

2. Have a contigency plan for inclement weather.  If your ceremony will be held outside the tent, be prepared to move it under the tent if necessary.  You could easily set up a little draping to separate the two areas if you wish.  This could also include umbrellas for your guests, or making sure you can move to an indoor place if needed.  Watch the weather channel!

3. Hire a professional.  Find someone that has done outdoor weddings before.  This is your best bet.

4. Make sure to announce on your invitations that your are having an outdoor wedding.  Your female guests might choose to forgo the heels for something a little flatter.

5. Prepare the site for bugs.  This could include a spray, but a fun little trick I learned is to use "fish" cat food.  Put it around the perimeter of your area and your stinging pests will be more interested in that than what you have going on.  Citronella candles and bug zappers are good options too.

6. Don't forget about restrooms.  Even if you are having the celebration at your home I would guess you really wouldn't want a few hundred people tramping through your house.  There are some pretty nice "Restroom Trailers" available that offer a larger stall for the bride with a large dress. 

7. Make sure you have enough power.  Talk with your band/ dj, caterer, restroom company and lighting to ensure you won't have a black-out.

8. Verify that there is enough parking for your guests and that it is well lit.  You could set up "painters lights", luminaries, or hand out flashlights for favors.

9. Keep your guests comfort in mind.  Set up a beverage station with ice cold water available.  Use your programs as fans and maybe even offer sunscreen or mosquito wipes.

10. Consider using a sunset as the backdrop for your nuptials. Keep the sun at your guests back rather than in their eyes {they'll appreciate it!}.

Are you having an outdoor wedding?  Do you have any tips you'd like to share?  Leave a comment and let us know.

Getting To Know Your Planner: An Interview With Shelly

I was interviewed by Wedding Lovely last week.  This is a website provided to help you with your wedding planning, so, naturally, they interview a planner!

Take a look at how it went.

Getting To Know Your Planner

Life Is Sweet ~ Please Take ATreat

Creating a candy buffet, dessert buffet, pie table or adding plates of cupcakes are some fun additions to give your guests something to remember.  I would love to tell you that I have "a favorite", but the truth is, I love all of these ideas!! 



Here are some ideas for your buffet:

1.   Follow through with your color scheme if you choose. 
2.   Go monochromatic for a dramatic effect
3.   Use all chocolate candies or multiple flavors, shapes and sizes
4.   Dress your candy buffet area up.  Add flowers, paper pom-poms, ribbon, signs, or elegant table covers.
5.   Make your buffet whimsical, elegant, simple or elaborate
6.   Use your candy buffet as the "favor" for your guests.  Have some nice bags {or lunch bags dressed up with a personalized label} for everyone to fill up and take home.
7.   Make sure you have scoops for your candies.  You don't want hands all over everything.
8.   Use boxes under the jars to add dimension to your table.
9.   Label your candy jars with some fun names, fun shaped labels and ribbon.
10. If your buffet will be against a wall, put up a backdrop of sorts to make it a focal point.


Here are some of my favorite inspirational pictures of the ever popular Candy Buffet.  mmm...

This is a beautiful scoop from the David Tutera collection at www.koyalwholesale.com

Did you have a candy buffet at your wedding? Let us know what you included.