Broke-Ass Bride: Bridal Blogger

A great bridal blogger came up with a great idea...to tell her love story in terms that we could all understand...In a little "ditty" Fresh Prince of Bel-Air Style. This is Hilarious, Witty and Just Plain FUN! You should check out this great bridal blogger for daily inspiration http://www.brokeassbride.com/

Babies Galore!

Baby News Surrounds me...in both my personal and business lives. I have quite frequently in the last few months received numerous phone calls and emails from clients excited to share their new baby news and all of this excitement is overwhelming. I thought I'd show a few images of my cute couples that are now even cuter parents.
Mr. & Mrs. Brett Schadle:

Mr. & Mrs. Thomas Platt:

Mr. & Mrs. Brandon Stokes: (who also happens to be a friend of mine for the past 12 years or so). And the newest members of the "Parent Club"...they welcomed baby Brody Lee last night.
And Of Course...2 more loved ones that received amazing adoption news on the SAME day! My Sister & Brother-in-law and the soon to be official adoption of my newest nephew... And one of my very (VERY) favorite special event musicians received a beautiful new baby girl as well.

Photos from Del Haven Studios, Keith Cephus Photography, James Christianson Photography

Things I love: ETSY!

I love ETSY! Anyone that knows me knows this. Plain and Simple. Here are a few fabulous wedding related items that come from the amazing artists at http://www.etsy.com/.

A great dress for a "Grand Exit" created by "CarolHannah"
A Modern "Ring Bearer Pillow" by the fabulous "PalomasNest"

Take off your veil and wear this beautiful yet fun headpiece for your reception designed by "PowderBlueBijoux"

And this could possibly be my favorite...a custom Guest Book created to match your wedding with your choice of over 300 fabrics by the very talented "TheHandmadeBoutique"

A Happy Bride...

I saw this clip on CNN earlier this week and thought i'd share it with our readers...

Your Mom Is Not A Wedding Planner: Part 1

I have been debating whether or not to write this blog post for quite some time... a year or more honestly... and each time I go to write it I debate whether or not people will understand the importance, the thought behind it and this simple fact: I am not writing this article so that you automatically come and ask me about my services (while yes I would love that...this was not my thought process)...but so that you hire a licensed, insured planner, at least on your day (if not as a full service option). OK, so now that I am done with the disclaimer I will continue...

I hear "NO" alot in my profession. Point Blank, "NO." Which is fine, except for one thing. I think every woman deserves the day she has always dreamt of...this might be the romantic, daydreaming 5 year old in me...but nonetheless the way I feel. I have heard many friends, sorority sisters, former co-workers and even present clients say that they would just have their friend coordinate their wedding day (or their mom, or their sister, or their cousin...you get the point). So, I thought I'd explain one simple thing when it comes to event planning: You can absolutely plan your wedding by yourself, with the help of loved ones and recommendations from random friends, but when it comes to your wedding day you want all that hard work to play out as you have planned. You want your well choreographed performance to be just as well directed...and while your friends have been there throughout the planning process they are only ready to direct a performance where nothing goes wrong, where "Plan A" is all that you need...but what happens when you get to Act 2 (or the reception) and the power is off at the reception venue, your wedding cake is molded and your caterer doesn't bring enough staff to serve 50 people let alone 250 people (all things that have happend this past wedding season)... then your poor misguided "mistress of ceremonies" is to take the blame, for everything that has gone wrong...only because she was stuck in a position where she was ill-prepared. She was ready to go with Plan A, but unfortunately, she needed plans A, B, C & D.

While we are on the subject of misconceptions and overwhelming your friends, let's talk about your caterer or "on site wedding coordinator"....Please don't be fooled when your beautiful venue tells you that they offer a full service or "on site coordinator", "YES, this is too good to be true!". This person is great for things like making sure your food is served warm or possibly setting your already created centerpeices on the table, but they will not help you with the above "situations" that might occur. Now I know you are thinking that these are extreme sitatuions, but these were all situations at weddings where the bride decided at the last minute (within 3 weeks of the wedding) to book a "month of coordination" package...and each of them stated how truly glad they were that there was someone other than a loved one to handle these nearly disasterous situations.

Meg & Jon: The Slideshow

Erin & Trip: A Wedding Day Sneak Peek

Each year we have a few "last minute" clients that realize they need the services of a planner later than sooner...and each year these clients have a last minute revelation for much different reasons.

Erin & Trip are one of those clients who came to us just days before their wedding day...They had a dream wedding planned in Maryland and after their ceremony location fell through they decided to move the wedding to Erin's hometown...Virginia Beach. I am glad to say that everything came off without a hitch because of the dreamteam of vendors she chose to work with. Catering (and the yummy cake) from the Silver Palate was great...and Joanie and Marcy were AMAZING to work with. Photography from the always handsome James Christianson Photography and his staff of friends/amazing photographers, Trey Tesoro and Beau Womble .

I also wanted to mention Erin's Amazing Dress that was donated to her from Maya Couture during a special promotion for military brides. She looked phenomenal and you could tell that she felt that way too. Thanks MAYA!

This fabulous wedding took place at the Contemporary Art Center of Virginia during what was supposed to be a large " Tropical Storm"... Thank Goodness the only storm we saw all weekend was Erin & Trips friends tearing up the dance floor. Here is a sneak peak image of this beautiful couple leaving the reception... Notice the 42 lanterns hanging from the rafters of the Contemporary Art Center and 3 foot long sparklers (seriously).

Check back soon for more great images!