I'm Thankful.

Every year we write a post on Thanksgiving Day...explaining why we are thankful and leave it at that. But this year, you get 2. The obvious post...I am thankful for my Husband, My 2 Beautiful Sons, My Family, My Amazing Clients and of course Good Health. I am thankful for vendors that keep me sane and friends that do the same. And the not so obvious post...another beautiful wedding...

This is why I am thankful:

Melanie & Beau: A Historic Wedding at A Historic Hotel

As promised... here is my 2nd Thanksgiving Day Post. As I said previously, I am thankful for my family, good health and amazing clients. I am also thankful for my "M's": My best friends Melanie and Molly whom without I would be a complete mess. We have shared every major life journey together since college... Many Many Ups and unfortunately downs as well. They were there through the birth of my relationship with my husband James, the birth of my family, and the birth of my business... the three most formative things in my life. I am eternally grateful for Melanie and Molly.

"Years from now I won't remember every weekend night

 or the things that made us laugh 'til our stomachs hurt,

 but I will always remember that you were the ones who were with me..."

Four years ago they were with me when James and I got married...two years ago we were together for the wedding of Molly and Jeremy and this year, we were able to stand next to our Melanie as she married her beloved Beau. To say October 25th was an emotional day is an understatement. Melanie had her fair share of toads in her dating life and we were all so overjoyed that her "Prince Charming" had finally arrived.

Melanie and Beau's "Happily Ever After" started with a beautiful outdoor wedding at the Gazebo on Fort Monroe and the excitement continued with a reception full of love at the Historic Chamberlin Hotel. (a definite place for a fairytale wedding). This was a very interesting wedding as myself (1 of 2 matrons of honor), the bride's mother and the groom are all in the wedding industry...and guests included some of the most sought after wedding professionals in Hampton Roads. It was really a treat to see everyone out of a "work" setting really enjoying each other's company and celebrating the marriage of Melanie and Beau.

Melanie's Mom Debbie Pence of Fluttering Flowers created all of the floral decor, Scott Hayne Photography captured the couple beautifully and the cake was created by our good friend Stephanie of Sweet Dreams by Stephanie. Of course, my team did a fabulous job as I had only one duty that day...to be the "Matron of Honor" (bride's orders).

What was my favorite part of the day? Walking down the aisle hand in hand with Molly as we prepared to watch our beautiful best friend become a wife. It was a priceless moment, one that I will never forget.

Here are just a few of the amazing images from the big day:

Antonia Christianson Events featured on a National Wedding Blog

We recently started a series for our blog called "Your Mom Is Not A..." (fill in the blank) with our first article called "Your Mom Is Not A Wedding Planner" and it was a great hit! It took me months and months to start this series because I really wanted to get a point across without insulting any of our readers.  I wanted brides and their mothers to understand we were coming from a place filled with support and understanding...and we wanted this series to help them understand the reality and stress that comes along with a complete "DIY" event.  Much to our surprise brides, their mothers, their sisters, their friends and even other planners loved the post. So much so that when celebrity wedding planner Sasha Souza was looking for guest bloggers we thought what better place than to publish our second post in the series on Sasha's blog... and we did!

Visit our latest post on http://www.sparkliatti.com/ ... "Your Mom Is Not A Florist". (unless of course, she is)

Virginia Pierside Wedding: Bay Creek Marina

With all of the damage that was done in our beautiful area last week from our nor'easter it was great to receive this in my inbox last night. A beautiful slideshow with images of the calm, relaxing bay that we are used to.



Thanks Scott Hayne Photography.

PPA Photoshoot for the FABULOUS Lissa Hatcher

Over the past few months I have become great friends with the multi-talented Photographer Lissa Hatcher. Lissa is an amazing photographer with such an edgy vibe to her work...she is well known across the nation and I was more than honored when she asked me to help her with a class she was teaching. I was really excited when Lissa told me her "vision" and I was ready and willing to help make everything come together.

I love the vibe of this image...very much like my own life. Everything is always flying around me and no matter what I try to stay as calm and collected as possible. Thank You Lissa!

I had so much fun doing this shoot with Lissa in the cold and rain and a few of my friends: Travis and Charlie from Pike Media Resource, my handsome Hubby James of James Christianson Photography, Char with Char's Floral Design...my beautiful babies and my good friend and former client Cassandra.

Jason & Tanya: A Vintage Inspired Virginia Beach Wedding

My friends Jason and Tanya tied the knot this past weekend at the Lesner Inn and let me start off by saying this...There was good times to be had by all!  My husband and Jason have been friends for many years so I knew how fun and great his friends were but I hadn't really met that many of Tanya's friends before the big day. I loved their style! They all reminded me of 40's pin-up girls!

Jason & Tanya's sunset wedding ceremony was beautiful. There was obviously an overwhelming amount of love shown as the couple had known each other since grade school. And the reception was unique and one of a kind. Their black and white damask runners were accented with "trees" made of black curly willow that held up pictures of the bride, her groom, their pets and friends. Danny Gray from Astro kept the crowd happy with his great mix of music, Dee Akright captured the couple beautifully and Kate from the Lesner Inn made our guests fat and happy with their fabulous food.

Here are a few images to get a feel for the Meehan's big day:

So Sassy They Are...

I loved Tanya's Twist on a Birdcage Veil...

Her Hankie...

Their centerpeices...they varied in height but all had images. A great DIY wedding moment...

In lieu of cards...That's a picture of their dog! Completely custom created by my staff...

Love this wedding present! Jason bought Tanya a Tiffany Necklace; It's a key to his heart!...

A friend let them use their car...A perfect end to their evening...

Our mutual friend Stephanie made their cake and it was DELICIOUS! ...

This shot was a request from me...It was definitely their style and it worked awesome with the carpet...

Here We Are. (L to R) Kelly Motley, Danny Gray (from Astro), Antonia Christianson and Rachel Paige!

We hope you enjoy your honeymoon in Punta Cana!!

Crimson and Pool Invitations...

A few weeks back we posted an inspiration board for an unconventional color scheme, Crimson and Pool and I promised an invitation suite would soon follow. One of my team members is an amazing graphic designer and she came up with the below invitation and save the date samples. I'll blog more about my new team members soon but as for now...here's just a small sample of what Alison came up with. Tell us what you think:

Save the date:

Invitation: