Antonia Christianson Events

Video Blog with Natalia

Every Wednesday at z104 Natalia posts a video blog. This is one that we did last week together, we had the best time. Keep checking back for more video blogs to come.

This is the second post about Natalia and Joe out of the many I am sure to post in the future. They came to me as clients in November and we are planning a May 2009 wedding...so we have quite a bit to go in the planning process. While in college I was a film and photojournalism minor so I love a great picture and the below shots are definitely amazing. My good friend and fellow wedding professional Kelly Lee with Captured For Life Photography took these amazing shots in downtown Norfolk yesterday. Joe is a Norfolk firefighter and he proposed in downtown Norfolk so this was the perfect city to capture their love. Joe and Natalia are a beautiful couple inside and out...and these pictures definitely show it.

Event Themes

One of the first things I work on with my clients when we get into planning an event is the "Theme." Now, I know when many people try to come up with a theme for their event they automatically start thinking of cliche' events such as a beach theme, Mardi Gras or even something you might hear of for a high school prom like "a night under the stars." But when I start working on an event I think of something more subtle. For instance, check out the below pictures of these invitations and save the date cards. You might notice the liner of the envelope, the beautiful scroll on the invitations or even the small band of shimmery paper that runs along the bottom of the save the date...these small details can soon be the theme of your event.

The invitations that you see pictured below are for a beautiful wedding at the Chrysler Museum of Art in June. My client Leah and I came across these invitations while meeting with my good pal Kim at RSVP and were both instantly struck with an idea...let's include the beauty of this great shimmery paper throughout the entire wedding. So with this thought our theme was born...

We first sent out the "save the date cards" which included a simple band of the special paper. Next, we met with Gloria at Cuisine & Co to pick out our menu....and of course our linens. We kept with the elegance of this ivory/champagne color in our specially ordered "Ivory Plaza Suite" tablecloths with ivory satin napkins. We picked romantic soft colors to go with the ivory paper...so we also had Gloria include hints of "Willow (a soft green)" around the venue. Our next theme meeting was one of my favorites...we met with Char at Char's Floral Designs to create the bouquets, centerpieces, and floral accents that would help tie this entire event together. I can not wait to see the blush, willow and ivory creations that are going to make this wedding complete. Every detail from the brides gown, to the pillow cushions on the Chivari Chairs, down to the beautifully simple wedding cake are going to encompass the elegant and simplistic idea. A simple paper that will subtly set the mood for this romantic museum wedding...I can't wait to see how my good friend Keith Cephus captures this wedding in just a few short weeks. And too think...it all started from a simple invitation.

Nikki & Brandon

Brandon, z104's Shaggy, and Nikki were such a great couple to work with. I have known Brandon since high school and was honored when they chose me to help plan their blessed day.

Part of the reason this wedding was such a success was because of all the great vendors, and friends, that Nikki chose to help with the details of her wedding. We started off the day at Rudy and Kelly where Emily Painter did an amazing job with Nikki's hair. Her beautiful golden locks looked straight out of a fairytale. Nikki had seen Emily's work at a fashion show so when she told me who she wanted to do her hair I was surprised...because of all the hundreds of great stylists in Virginia Beach this one happened to be mine. From Rudy and Kelly we went to the church where Molly Reed Waters met us to do Nikki's makeup. It was perfect!

We purposefully scheduled Nikki's day without any time to spare...the longer she waited the more antsy she would have gotten and Brandon was as calm as could be throughout the entire day. She walked down the aisle to the traditional wedding march and looked breathtaking the whole way down. The ceremony went off without any hitches and they were off to the reception. Walt and Dennis from Image Lifestyle Photography deserve an award for how fast they got through all of the post-ceremony wedding shots. They were great and fun to be around!

The reception was great. Alot of dancing, alot of food, and alot of old friends.

Nikki's flowers came from Norfolk Wholesale Florist, Her centerpieces were created by Antonia Christianson Events. An old friend from high school's mom created the beautiful (and tasty) 5 tier wedding cake. And of Course...no wedding would be complete without a great dj, or 3! Brandon works in local radio, so he was kind of spoiled in the entertainment department. His brother, DJ No Request, Playboy and DJ Baby Dru all did an amazing job.

Thanks to Debbie Pence (a great florist in her own right), Merissa Pence and my husband James for assisting me with setup.

The below pictures are ones that my husband took at the reception. I will be posting some from Image Lifestyle Photography in the next few days. Also, if you would like to see footage from this event check out Sky 4 on Cox Cable on April 23rd at 6:00pm and 11:00pm. The wedding will be shown on ZooTV.

Official Wedding Season

Tonight marks the first event of the 2008 wedding season...and boy am I excited. And Ready! I have had everything packed up since Wednesday just waiting for the rehearsal and wedding to come. This wedding is definitely a culmination of many great minds.

I have had the great opportunity to work with quite a few old friends while planning for the 2008 wedding season and I am already deeply entrenched in the 2009 season. Being a born and raised beach girl really helps in this business. I know this town (and it's surrounding areas), vendors, locations and "hidden secrets" like the back of my hand.

I'm off to a wedding rehearsal...but i'll post notes and pictures from this weekends exciting events soon.

A Kind Word

One of the best parts of being a business owner is hearing kind words about your hard work after you finish a "job." I received a letter yesterday from a "mother of the bride" which really brought a smile to my face...

I am the "mother of the bride" and I have nothing but praise for Antonia Christianson Events. My daughter got engaged in February and chose to get married in September. We decided that we would need a wedding planner about two months later. After meeting with Missy, my daughter thought she would be a good choice for the big event. Missy was the perfect person to help plan the wedding. She was punctual in our meetings, prompt in returning emails and always pleasant and interested in how the wedding was progressing. If questions were asked about wedding vendors, Missy always researched and came back with a choice of answers.

The services we requested were mainly for the day of the wedding. I do not know what we would have done without her! She was a true lifesaver! On the day of the wedding, Missy arrived early and jumped right in, setting up and arranging, checking on everyone and taking the pressure of "worry" out of "what should we do next". Organization is a major issue when getting married and Missy had the wedding day so well planned, everything fell right into place. One of the traits I appreciated about Missy was her positive, calming attitude. When everyone else was getting wedding day jitters, she kept a smile on her face and helped calm the situation.

Some people think having a wedding planner is an unnecessary expense. The "father of the bride" was one of these people. But after seeing the terrific job Missy did, he decided Missy was a great investment in the wedding! If we had another wedding, we would use her again in a heartbeat.

Thank you again Missy for everything you did to help make our daughter's wedding so special!

Paula Barrett
Sterling, Virginia