Always a Blogsmaid

What They Did Right: Matt + Marla

We just loved Marla.  From the second she came in, she was just brimming with love. She managed to even bring out the inner romantic in Mayra, who was her lead planner.   She send staffing notes to our AAB  team that included a message "I Love this girl, Don't mess anything up!".  So, you saw a bit of the behind the scenes, but here are the real pics from Dante Williams Photography (great job!)

One of the great things that Marla did was select a location for photos that meant a lot to her- in this case Grand Central since she would always cut through there on her way to see Matt.
Also, a shot of the bouquet that I made, because frankly, I'm proud of myself :-)

They splurged on the amazing location, but it is so unique that we wanted to emphasize that great aspects of it:  in this case, we used this architectural detail to create a Chuppah.  And thought that using Wisteria branches, which had sentimental meaning for the bride, against the mirrored wall would be a great way to maximize the floral look for less.  The venue has all this amazing antique furniture that you can use, and so we purposed this table for the escort cards and later, the guest book.

The venue comes with table and chair rental.  These ivory folding chairs.  So the bride opted for these floating candle centerpieces and we chose ivory napkins and some scattered orchids on the table to tie the darker cloth (rental) into the chairs.  The up-lighting set the rest of the venue off just perfectly by emphasizing the brick walls!

What They Did Right: Natalie + Christopher

Jeff Tisman sent me this great wedding at the Hotel du Pont in Delaware.  Natalie and Christopher selected a venue in a historic hotel from the gilded age for their winter wedding.  The location, which is just gorgeous, is heavy on prints, brocades, and amazing architectural details.  It would have been easy to just do something standardly traditional, but Natalie and Christopher managed to keep it traditional, while still infusing something a little modern and edgy to their day.  Part of it was their color scheme- black, white and spots of red.  They had large bridal party, and kept it punchy by adding in these amazing anemones for the bouquets, which tied the color scheme together. (also, love the flower girl purses!).  And, for all of you brides nervous about the bridesmaids wearing different dress styles- here is an example of when it really works!  Also, I should give Jeff some props, because he's just so edgy with some of his photos, but still does great portraits.  I loved this shot of them in the kitchen area of the hotel- it reminded me of that scene in Goodfellas when Ray Liotta takes "Karen" to the Copa.
So, often people will ask how to make a hotel ballroom feel more romantic during the ceremony.  They totally achieved that here by using a pipe and drape backdrop to great affect.  Also, when people are on a budget, I hate seeing them spend a ton on ceremony decor, but here, they used some branches and candles to flank the ceremony- GREAT, ROMANTIC look.  But what I really love is the aisle decor- 1/2 of the cylinders are floating  candles, but the other half are just 1 single REALLY WIDE OPEN white rose!  But it looks so cool.
I thought their escort card table was the perfect transition from ceremony to dining.  It mirrored the branches and the candles at the ceremony, as well as the red from the Bridesmaids' bouquets.  The choice of the black escort card totally bumps this up a notch as well and it ties in really well with the patterned overlay they used in the ballroom. The chairs at the venue were sort of a grayish, but they seem to disappear in the room.  Plus, they used these great red votives to bump up the color on the tables.

And a final look at the awesome couple! Congrats and thanks Jeff for sending these! If you want to show off what you or your client did right at your wedding, email some pics over to blogqs@alwaysabridesmaid.us

What They Did Right: Bethany + Josh

When I did my shoe post I found this amazing shot of blue shoes that was done by Seattle based photographer Heather Gilson of One Love Photo.  I am totally obsessed with her now.  And I am also obsessed with the wedding of Bethany and Josh.  They Did SOOO many things right, I don't know where to begin....  They got married in a city park and then made their way over to their reception site a few blocks away.  The clearly playful couple kept the mood up starting with their attire and extended it to the kiddy members of their wedding party too!  LOVE the pink converse on the flower girl and LOVE the whimsical bubbles after their first kiss.

Then (talk about crowd participation) the couple armed their guests with signs and streamers for a love parade to the reception.  Talk about a memorable moment!  And check out how cute the signs are!!!
At this point, I don't know if I would even care about what happened at the reception, because we already had such an awesome time....but they seemed to have had a festive party with a photo booth, dessert table and more.  Congratulations on really bringing the guests into your party!

Real Wedding: Table for Two Please

This is the ultimate in guest list reduction... Whenever you wish that the two of you would just run away together, use Lauren and Tyler as your inspiration.  Once the couple realized that their guest list would have been nearly 500 guests, they decided they only two people they couldn't cut from the list were the only two people they would invite- The Bride and Groom!  They created a fantasy wedding at Angel Orensanz just for two and hired some of the best wedding vendors to make the day happen for them.  The had Kabuki performers, a small band from Elan Artists and even a petit and exquisite cake.  They had Olivier Cheng cater the dinner, Preston Bailey handled the event design and they had my favorite officiant, Alma Daniel perform the ceremony. Tomorrow I'll post the amazing video shot by Anna of Open Eye Media but here are some of the still shots by the amazing Mel Barlow.

What They Did Right: Jean-Marie and Chris

I know that these days, I get a lot of brides writing in with questions and concerns about how to have your wedding be lovely, but without overdoing it.  Robert Wagner of R Wagner Imagine Photography came by to visit with one of our clients here the other day and showed me some pics from Jean Marie and Chris' wedding.  This is a great wedding to look to whenever you start to sweat the small stuff, as it's probably one of the most simple, lovely weddings that I've seen.  Clearly they spent a lot of time seeking out the perfect venues for their ceremony and reception and then they let nature speak for itself.   Robert said "What I liked about this wedding was the choice of location and the use of abundance of nature near by, everything was performed outside, the ceremony under a large oak, flowers where picked that day from the field and there were fields of flowers on adjacent lots."   How awesome of a DIY project is that?  Centerpieces and bouquets picked from right next door????  It's Eco-Chic and Sanity Saving.  Also, I love that their reception was lit with all of those twinkle lights- it has the same open air feeling as the rest of the day, but with the romance of a dance in Our Town, or that scene in Big Fish.  I know it's simple, but I just loved this wedding and how comfortable the couple was with letting the big picture speak for itself!

In case you are wondering WHERE on earth such scenic fields exist, it's a mere 100 miles from little 'ole New York on the North Fork.  The ceremony and reception were held at the Inn at the Blue, which is across the road from Lavender by the Bay and next to the field of wild, stunning Dahlias.... Can you imagine the amazing smells that day???  If you want to share your wedding and what you did right with us, please shoot photos over to blogqs@alwaysabridesmaid.us

What they Did Right: Kami and Paul!

The absolutely wonderful Cappy Hotchkiss sent me photos from this awesome May wedding that she shot down in Naples, Florida at the Ritz Carlton there.  I loved it for a few reasons.  Despite the beachy location, the bride and groom picked a fun and punchy color package!  I love typical tropical looks, but the bold reds and greens emphasized another side of beachy: the cool greens of the trees and the bright colors of the flowers (in this case orchids and roses).  Additionally, I  love that, in honor of the Bride's Pakistani heritage, they BOTH mendhi'd each others initials onto their palms. And, of course... well, the monkey!  They both called each other Monkey and loved Sock Monkeys and so, from start (the escort cards) to finish, their monkey was there.  I'm sure you'll find some other sweet details about this New York couple's wedding that you'll like... like the lemons at the cocktail hour, the napkin fold, and the simple, but lovely menu card.  All in all, a treat for the afternoon.

Personalizing a Formal Space: Vivian and Armand

After our last Kudo's post, I asked any of you readers to send in your weddings if you thought you deserved some Kudo's.  Well, Vivian sent me these photos of her lovely wedding to Armand.  Both of them are medical residents, who met and were living in Chicago while they were planning their LA wedding.   I thought their wedding deserved Kudo's not only because they planned themselves from such a distance, but because they managed to personalize a gorgeous, but formal reception venue that could have been cookie cutter without adding some personal touches. But, first things first.  Here is the reception, which was held at the California Club in LA. Photos by Daniel Chin Photography.
 
1) The first great thing that Vivian and Armand did was to select a venue that has a distinct character/ in an "all inclusive" venue.  As a couple whose schedule was tight, were planning from a distance and wasn't going to work with a planner, one of the greatest decisions they made was to select a venue where food, furniture and service are all included.  It eliminates the number of decisions to make.  Additionally, they chose a location with a distinct decorative look, which, when making decisions from a distance, can be a real assest.... it makes it easier to assess what will "work" in the space and what won't. 

2) They personalized the day.  Despite selecting a location that had a distinct character to it, Vivian and Armand added simple, thoughtful details to claim the space as their own... without fighting the look of the location.   To bring in some aspects of their day to day life, and to personalize the venue, Vivian and Armand worked on creating their own table number signs, named after landmark buildings in and around Chicago.  This was an awesome way to bring a bit of home to each and every table.


As an added personal touch, the bride wore a Mantilla made by her Grandmother.

3) They looked to their culture as a source of inspiration.... And saved money!!! Rather than have a standard wedding cake, Vivian and Armand looked to Armand's French heritage as a source of inspiration and opted instead to do the striking, very unique and much more affordable Croquembouche...one Vanilla and one chocolage.  The croquembouche is the French traditional wedding dessert and literally means "crush in mouth" (Thanks Vivian!)
 
4) They decided where to spend their money and stuck with it!  Vivian decided that splurging on ceremony decor wasn't a priority to her and she'd rather put the money towards her reception.  When decor budgets are tight, always remember YOU are the main attraction of the ceremony AND it tends to only last for 40-45 minutes.  It's easy to make simple statements go a long way at a ceremony site.  Here Vivian opted to rope off her pews with a decorative fabric, forcing guests in through the side aisle AND adding some warmth to the ceremony site.
 
Thank you so much for sharing your gorgeous wedding Vivian!  And, brides, don't forget to send in your wedding pics if you think the wedding deserves some kudos!

What they Did Right....

I was browsing one of my new favorite blogs Stylish Events, when I saw a wedding shot by Karen Wise (who I love) at Studio 450 (where we work all the time, except NOT on this wedding!).  So, it inspired a new category called Kudos, where we'll look at really pretty, real weddings and showcase what the choices were that made the weddings so darn lovely!  (Also, I'm sick today, I have a sore throat which prohibits me from talking, but it's inspiring a TRUCKLOAD of new thoughts). Case in point, Carmelita and Dan. 

They had a gorgeous wedding but clearly made some smart design choices to help keep their budget in check.

Ok, where do I begin!  First things first:

1) They chose a definitive Color Pallete. They weren't afraid to be bold and they made bold linen color choices.  The Pink stands out AND it enabled them to use a simple cotton linen. 

2) They picked seasonal flowers. The wedding was in July (it seems), and they have a few large peony arrangements flanking the ceremony, but they weren't overdone.  They could do this effectively because of their great color selection in the room.

3) they opted for a simple, but stylish Chuppah.  Rather than something covered in a lot of flowers they had a hand held chuppah. This allowed them to incorporate some friends/ family into the ceremony AND saved them money on a huge, floral chuppah.

4) They selected rentals wisely!  They splurged on charger plates, but it was a wise design choice since the green totally enhanced the room (and the soup!)

5) They opted for reasonable, but boldly colored centerpieces.  Again, they were seasonal, they worked with the rentals and the room and weren't overdone. 

If I haven't mentioned it before, one of the reasons I'm so into Stylish Events blog is that they really show weddings done by real people on real budgets and done well!  I hope you'll check them out and enjoy!

ALSO, dear brides, please feel free to send me your photos from your wedding gone by if you think it deserves KUDOS! Let others learn from your success!