Always a Blogsmaid

Dressing Up Your Wedding Party

This past weekend we had a wedding at the Bowery Hotel filled with gorgeous and lovely looking ladies.  To keep things mellow, our bride opted to have all the bridesmaids wear pink cocktail dresses in whatever shade they chose.  The result was stunning (pictures forthcoming) and I noticed that everyone had looks that were personalized, but it still came together.  One trend that I loved: really chunky necklaces on all the ladies.  Some were beaded, some were embellished with flowers.  All of it stylish.  That made me think of Stella & Dot.  Their stuff is so amazingly fashionforward and fun, yet reasonably priced.  Perfect for a bridesmaid or guest looking to let people know who YOU are!

If you buy through this particular link, their rep has offered our readers FREE SHIPPING! WOO HOO!.

We're in New York "Weddings" (and cranky from the "Cleanse")

Every day at around 10:30 I start the discussion of "What are we going to have for lunch today?"  I think I have a tapeworm.  Seriously, though, I just love to eat.. but sometimes I over do it and (why not just come clean) my 10 year college reunion is a couple of months away, so I thought this might be a good way to jump start a pre-reunion slim down.  Anyway, we decided to do the Blueprint Cleanse.  All of us:  Mayra, Salome and myself.  It's a 3 day thing, I'm doing excavation and frankly, all I want is a P5 Panini from Jubilee. 

To take my mind off of the fact that I'm drinking nothing but green juice all day, let me share with you some good news!  We're featured in this issue of New York Weddings!  On newsstands now.  In fact, if I can toot our horn, we're featured a couple of times.  Here is the gorgeous cover and one of the articles that we're sited in.

Too Hip Groomsmen Gifts

I was out of the office for most of the day today... I had a final walk through for Max and Mara's wedding which is this weekend at the Bowery.  It's also like a college reunion for me, since many of my classmates will be there! The rest of my day was spent being on a panel at West Brooklyn Community High School's Career Day.  I spoke with two other entrepreneurs (whose businesses seemed much cooler than mine; wedding planning is awesome, but I don't know if it's cool, per se, especially to high school kids).  One of my Co-Panelists is a partner/ Marketing Manager at this awesome company called Flud Watches.  I kind of think they are the PERFECT gift for the ultra-hip groomsmen out there!  Plus, because I think like a wedding planner, the solid color digital ones are a great way to work in an accent color in those photos!!

Non-Rehearsal?

The Q:  My ceremony and reception are all in one location and there is a wedding the night before mine.  This means I can't have a rehearsal there the night before.  What do I do?  And what do I call my "rehearsal dinner"?

The A:  This is better for you!  Bridal parties never remember the directions from the night before anyway- or, more accurately, they are nervous and THINK that they don't remember, so they second guess themselves.  Build into your day time for the wedding party to arrive early- an hour before the ceremony at least.  Have them do a "walk through".  You don't need to be a part of it.  Luckily, it's very obvious where you will stand once you get to the end of the aisle :-)  This way it will be fresh in everyone's head anyway!

As for dinner, call it what it is: 'Dinner the Night Before' or "Night Before the Plunge" Dinner, or, as I've seen "Join us for a Non-Rehearsal, Rehearsal Dinner".  Don't worry about the name- it's the gathering on the eve of your wedding that's important!

The Power of Lighting

Last night Mayra and I went over to a party for the new event space at Levy Lighting, which is great for a rehearsal dinner, engagement party or birthday party. I'll be honest, we both gave up wine and beer for lent this year, so when we get to go to these event industry events, we are paying REALLY close attention to the party since we're not really paying attention to the bar! 
Last night, that worked in our favor, because Levy Lighting does some of the more innovative things in special event lighting that I've seen.  We got to chat with Ira Levy, who founded the company and said that he's found that brides are really starting to embrace lighting.  And I have to agree-even in this climate, when people are cutting budgets, more and more brides are starting to earmark some money for some uplights and pin-spots...at the very least.   And if you are bringing in some lighting anyway, why not consider a projection like this chandelier above a table of candles and escort cards in lieu of a traditional floral piece? Net-net, the cost likely works out to be similar. 
Here are some pictures of us with our friend Julia from Classic Party Rental and some of the inspiring Light Innovations over at Levy!

The Bergdorf Exclusives....

I'm an annoying New Yorker in that I love having stuff that other people don't have (or, that I convince myself other people don't have).  That said, we went to an awesome press preview this morning at Bergdorf's bridal salon.  They just started carrying Monique Lhuillier and have a number of exclusive gown that she designed JUST for Bergdorf's.  Similarly, Bergdorf's has many "Only Found at Bergdorf's" gowns this Spring, including Marchesa (of the Red Carpet and Harvey Weinstein Fame) and Angel Sanchez.
Here are some Sketch to dress pics (I always love seeing those) as well as my commentary.  Detail shots, more gowns and us making funny faces can be found on our facebook page.
Here is probably the most reasonably priced gown I've seen this season! This gorgeous Monique spaghetti strap number! The tiny florettes on top have gorgeous crystal detail.
This was my favorite.  I don't think the pics do it justice, but this amazing Angel Sanchez dress has completely curving seams so that it appears to wrap around your body.  AMAZING construction... when people wonder why wedding gowns are pricey, this is a sculptural testimony to why! 
Some more Moniques! 
The Latina in Mayra loves the bling and frankly, this dress is so stunning, I'd be looking to get invited to SOMETHING fancy so I could wear this dress again if I bought this amazing Marchesa  Naeem Khan.
And a final, fun Empire and crystal Marchesa that made me smile...

Did any of you get your gowns at Bergdorf's? 

I Wish I Lived in HotLanta..... I could have a free wedding.

If you lived in Atlanta and were getting married you could win a really REALLY nice, all expenses paid, $70,000 wedding.  Seriously.  I mean, in this economy, that's incentive to move. (kidding.....sort, of ;-)

StudioWed Atlanta, along with CBS Atlanta and AtlantaOccasions.com, have come together to giveaway the wedding of a lifetime for one deserving couple! Valued at over $70,000, the wedding will take place at Atlanta Botanical Garden and includes catering, photography, and more! Deadline to enter is April 1st (which, since I'm gearing up for the NY Magazine show, is right around the corner. For contest details and to register, please go here.

Your amazing wedding of up to 80 guests would be held in January of 2010 and all you need to do is send in a cute photo and write a 500 word essay.  Here is the lovely venue!

A Change in Tone

The Q: This past weekend, my fiance admitted that his drinking is out of control and joined Alcoholics Anonymous.  We're getting married on May 9, so we're less than two months away.

We had planned a pretty standard cocktail reception with lots of food, wine, beer, a signature cocktail, DJ, dancing, etc. but now we are not sure fiance will be ready to face that kind of celebration and stay sober.  It's important to both of us not to serve alcohol at the reception.

We sent out invitations a few weeks ago that call for "cocktails, heavy hors d'oeuvres, and dancing" following the ceremony.
First, should we change the whole vibe of the reception so it's not as awkward not to have alcohol?  ie, no dancing, maybe other activities instead, more like a BBQ than a cocktail party?  I don't want our guests to feel like it's a boring party because there's no alcohol.  Wedding is at 6, reception 6:30ish.  Our venue would work for either option.

Second, how can we change our plans and let our guests know in the simplest manner?  Or should I just let word of mouth spread the news on the day?  We do have a wedding website and included the address with the invitations.

The A: Hi! First, I think it's really amazing that your fiance is dealing with this before your wedding and that you are doing it together.  This is what marriage is really about.  I think it's great that you are being so very supportive as well and flexible about your plans.

That said, I think that your instincts are right and a cocktail reception with no cocktails might be a little odd.  If you have the flexibility with your food, I would definitely consider moving to the BBQ format.  If you can't change your cuisine, maybe you consider another activity added to your reception after your formalities- maybe you make the last hour after cake cutting a Karaoke party. Also, don't cut out your DJ, because you can still dance with or without alcohol. I do it all the time. 

To answer your second question, I think the only real reason that you need to really let people know is so that they change their attire.  I think if it isn't going to be a cocktail party, people may dress a little differently, especially if you go the BBQ route. 

So, that said, I would change the wording on the website and say something like, "we've opted for a more casual affair, so come dressed to kick back at our BBQ after our ceremony" Or if you stick with the cocktail style theme, just remove the words Alcohol from the "heavy Hors D'oeuvres" line.  I'd also start a word of mouth campaign as well. 

Either way, I would suggest that you still create a signature, non-alcoholic beverage that you serve when people arrive. It will still seem festive. 

I hope that that helps! I wish you much joy and happiness as you get closer  to your big day and sending my prayers to you and your fiance as he works through this process.

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!

A Day in the Life..... Matt + Marla (Behind the Scenes)

This weekend we had an awesome wedding at the Metropolitan Building for Matt + Marla.  This was an amazingly efficient use of budget for a really lovely affair that had tons of warmth and personality.  They splurged on this unique space, but really then allowed the space to speak for itself by using some uplighting and keeping the floral to a minimum.  In fact, it was such a minimum, that we helped the bride out by setting up her floating candle centerpieces, creating a branch arrangement for the escort cards and making her bouquet. 

Probably the most challenging part of the day was setting up their chuppah area and figuring out the elevator decorations we'd thought of- only because it involved ladders AND the fabric on the chuppah structure was dustier than a rat's nest! Seriously. Here are some of our Before shots... the rest of which can be found on our ALWAYS A BRIDESMAID Facebook page. (we'll be posting shots from our weddings throughout the summer there, so please become a fan!)


We got to the space around 9:30AM and I quickly got to work on the bouquet, while Mayra and Kimmy and Raquel started setting out the centerpieces and changing the fabric on the chuppah. 

We knew we wanted to decorate the elevator, which involved more ladder work, but it creates such an awesome fantasy effect, it's totally worth it.  The Met. Building is in the middle of LIC, and people often arrived confused if they are in the right place ("really, a wedding here?" ) So the elevator thing calms people's nerves.  Plus, Kimmy was able to work on her fear of heights issue.  By 3, when the caterer arrived and the staff got set up, we were pretty good to go (except for my winding rose petal path to love, which we set up later.)

More of the amazing pics that Dante Took later!