Wedding Wednesday- Planner/Coordinator or Not?

One of the reasons for starting this blog was because I coordinate weddings every now and then on the side.  I love it- it's what I wish I did all the time!  Thus far, I've just randomly picked up a wedding here and there.  I've done a few DIY projects for one bride and did set up and the day of coordination for the reception.  This summer, I'll be doing another wedding (both ceremony and reception).  Because of all this, I wanted to stay in the loop on what's popular, and up and coming in the wedding/party planning world. 

My question for you all is did/would you have a Wedding Planner?  Maybe just a Coordinator?  Or did you do it all yourself?

For me, I loved doing our planning ourselves, but I felt like I definitely needed a Coordinator to "run the show" and let me enjoy my wedding.  I know others enjoy putting the whole wedding in someone else's hands.

If you choose to have a planner or coordinator, what did/do you look for in your planner? 

Thanks for sharing your thoughts and helping this kind of/want to be planner!

My Life Monday- Budget Centerpieces

This past weekend, I've been helping my mom come up with some great centerpieces for my sister's outdoor vineyard wedding.  We had a few specific details we wanted to include and a few things to keep in mind.

1.  We needed to be budget conscious and use as much of what we had as possible.

2.  We wanted to be in keeping with my sister's style and ideas for the weddings (although she's a pretty hands off bride) and make it "her own".

3.  We needed to stick with the color scheme already established (blue/yellow/accents of gray).

4.  They needed to keep proportions with the tables already picked out.

These are the items we had to work with (previously used at my wedding):

(sorry, couldn't find a picture of ours on the computer, but you get the picture)

We started out by trying to use both of these vases, alternating per table, but it was tough to do so and make it unique for Liv (my sister).  It was also getting pretty expensive to try to fill the vases (long story, but I originally bought them to use as more of a hurricane vase instead of to actually fill with flowers at our wedding).  Anyway, after lots of thinking and scouring my brain of all the ideas I've seen done by all the clever bloggers out there, I pitched the faux milk glass idea to my mom.

Basically, we're going to thrift for vases about the same size but clear and hopefully with some "texture" and spray paint them white to look like antique milk glass. 

I think this will perfectly compliment their garden/vineyard wedding.  To go inside, we've decided to order bulk garden roses (more than likely) in yellow and blue hydrangea.  Originally, we were trying to avoid hydrangea since I had them and we were using the same vases, but now, they're back in play (for a beautiful and bulky flower).  I think it will be beautiful.  We're still going to use the tall vases (planning to try spray painting them too.  In them will be curly willow branches and a few of the same flowers at the opening.

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We're going to plan to use the larger vases used at my wedding elsewhere.

So, what do you think?  Can you picture the centerpieces?  Hopefully all comes together according to our plans.  Did you do any great, budget-friendly centerpieces?  Or did you/ will you go all out?

Trendy Tuesday- Wedding Cakes- 2011

For Trendy Tuesday, today, I'm going to showcase just a few of my favorite wedding cake trends for 2011!

First up, chocolate lovers rejoice! Chocolate wedding cakes are big this year! Yum (and still so pretty)!

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Next, if chocolate isn't your thing, consider adding a pop of color to the reception with a brightly colored cake!

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As a Southern girl at heart, I've always been a sucker for a classic monogram, but instead of on top, this year's trend is to include it into the cake design.

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Finally, while they're not the new kid on the block, cupcakes are still big in 2011, adding [what cake be] a lower cost option that also encouraging socialization among your guests.  Who said cupcakes are just for kids anyway?

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What's your favorite cake trend past or present?

-Jordan-

Something Blue

As I was working on my sister's wedding, I noticed that royal/navy blue are big colors in weddings right now. I was amazed at how many great bridesmaid dresses and special touches came in the blue color scheme.  Here are a few images of beautiful blues...

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I hear this trend could be inspired by the upcoming Royal Wedding.. What do you think? Do you love to bold blue?

Cute, Classy, Crafty Bridal Shower

This weekend, I hosted a bridal shower for one of my friends, and got the opportunity to do some fun planning a crafting!  It was lots of work, but I had a blast doing it!

Here are a few details of our "tiffany blue"/aqua and black, classy bridal shower!

The Menu:

Tortilla Roll-ups

Spinach and Artichoke dip/Pita Chips

Chicken Salad Bites (Made by yours truly)

Cheese Tray

Pasta Salad

Chocolate Fondue (with fruit, marshmallows, pretzels, and graham crackers)

Strawberry Spritzers

Cake (the BEAUTIFUL cake was a gift from the M.O.B.)

The Games:

So everyone could get to know each other, we started out having each lady introduce herself, tell how she knew the bride, and tell a funny story about the bride and/or give a piece of advice.  As we did this, we all added a bead to a necklace for the bride to keep!

The came "Going to the Chapel" song lyric game.  The fill in the blank game was lots of fun and broke the ice for everyone!

Finally, we wrapped up with the traditional "How Well Do You Know the Bride?" game (oldie but goodie)!

Afterwards, we settled down for some cake and gifts!  The Bride got lots of wonderful gifts including 3 salad bowls... anyone else having trouble with their Target gift registry?

Crafty Decor:

Yarn Covered Wreath with Fabric Flowers decorated the front door

A "Bride" Banner for the Living Room

Tissue Paper Balls to hang above the buffet table

It was a wonderful party (although a lot of work), and I'm so glad we were able to give it to her!   

What was the best shower you've ever had, hosted, or been to?  What made it great?

Ground Rules

Since this blog has a very different purpose than to capture our lives, and because I'm kind of a planner at heart (clearly), I thought it  might be good to have a weekly plan for this blog.  Each day will have a general topic, and, of course, I can choose to interrupt the plan as I want (which seems only fair, since it's my blog and all).  So, here are my thoughts:

My Life Monday- This is where I'll connect anything going on in my life (as it relates to the subject of weddings/events) to the blog.  For example, if I host a wedding shower over the weekend, I might showcase it on My Life Monday.

Trendy Tuesday- This is where we'll talk trends in events!  I would also love to hear about any trends you've seen, so please feel free to share!

Wedding Wednesday- Clearly, this will be focused solely on Weddings (as opposed to all the other celebrations).  This could be anything from a vendor to featuring a great wedding.. the possibilities are endless.

Thursday Thoughts- There's no method to my madness here, it could be anything really.. this is my place for randomness.

Weekend Link Up- While I don't normally blog on the weekends, if I have something I've made or put together worthy of sharing with others, I plan to link up with the various weekend link-ups!

There you have it! New posts coming soon!