Teaser Tuesday

What a wild weekend!!

On Friday, we woke up to the incredible news that we had won #1 Wedding Planner for Philly's HOTLIST for the third year in a row!  The contest is based on votes, so we have to send out a huge THANK YOU to all of our friends that took the time to cast a vote for us.  It's such a honor to be among the finest wedding professionals in Philadelphia that also won Top 5 honors.  If you have a chance, take a second and check out the list of winners here. 

We had two weddings this past weekend and while they were cut a bit short because of the hurricane, they were still rocking parties and everyone enjoyed themselves!!

At the Brandywine Manor House, in the midst of Hurricane Irene, Amy and Sean took their vows and had quite unforgettable night celebrating with their guests.  Although loss of electricity ended the party a bit early, we were able to get through all their formalities, snag some gorgeous photos and really enjoy a great party, courtesy of Kurt from Synergetic Sounds.  Many thanks to Kylene Cleaver for capturing these amazing images... we cant wait to see the rest!!

Devon and John's reception was held at the Atrium at The Curtis Center and they didn't let the hurricane ruin their big day! They decided to have fun in the rain and Devon wore cute rain boots and the bridal party carried umbrellas to match their color scheme. Cescaphe's staff did an amazing job as usual with the wide spread of delicious food and made their stunning cake, that was topped with a custom cake topper made to look like the couple in a gondola! EBE Rio did a great job and had the guests on the dance floor all night!

We'd also like to take some time to sincerely thank all the wedding professionals that worked this weekend.  You braved dangerous and scary conditions to help pull off amazing evenings for these couples, and your sacrifices were definitely appreciated.  We are beyond relieved that everyone got home safely and are so grateful for all you did to make these weddings successful.  Thank you for going above and beyond!!

Choosing Floral Decor

When it comes to choosing flowers for your wedding, there are a lot of things to consider – time of year, color scheme, your venue, the type of look you want, etc. You may love gerbera daisies, but if you’re planning a wedding with a vintage feel, they probably won’t work for you. 

The good news is, there are a TON of flowers out there and many of them come in a number of colors and are available for multiple seasons. However, if it turns out that the flower you want for your event is out of season, there may be a flower that looks similar that you can substitute. For example, peonies are a gorgeous flower, but they have a very short season, if they’re not available for your event, look into garden roses.  

Donna and Chad's Wedding
Photo courtesy of Sofia Negron Photography

A great way to stretch your floral budget is to choose flowers that are in season. Not only will it keep costs down, but your florist will have no problem getting it. But, if you just have to have that expensive orchid or a flower not typically in season, but gettable, use it in your bridal bouquet – it will make it that much more special and you won’t completely blow your budget by using it everywhere. 

Use the season to your advantage. If you’re having a fall or winter wedding, consider incorporating branches.  If you’re having a summer wedding, think about adding some fruit to your centerpieces.  For a spring wedding, what about wheat grass?

Jackie and Tom's Wedding
Photo courtesy of Jennifer Childress Photography

Dawn and Pete's Wedding
Photo courtesy of DollFace Studio

Also, go through each aspect of the day when deciding on your floral arrangements. Besides bouquets, boutonnières, corsages and centerpieces, where else might you want a floral touch? If you’re getting married in a church, alter arrangements look beautiful in pictures and spruce up the altar a bit. Pew decorations are also a nice touch. If you’re getting married outside, you could “mark” the end of the aisle with two large arrangements or line the aisle with tall vases with submerged or floating flowers. If you’re getting married under a chuppa or canopy of some sort, think about embellishing the poles with flowers, or using pots of flowers to anchor them. Also, don’t forget about your cocktail tables, place card table, gift table and fireplace.

Julie and Ryan's Wedding
Photo courtesy of Sandor Welsh Photography

Nicole and Josh's Wedding
Photo courtesy of John Shetron Photography

Idit and Jordan's Wedding
Photo courtesy of 217 Photography

Don’t be overwhelmed by the number of places there are to accent with flowers. You certainly don’t have to use flowers everywhere, but if you want to, you can reuse some from earlier in the day, later on. For instance, your pew decorations can become cocktail table arrangements. Or your bridesmaid bouquets can become table décor. 

And when it comes to choosing your centerpieces, think about the reception room. Is it a grand room with high ceilings? If so, low centerpieces may not be your best option. If you’re having an intimate reception in a smaller space, you may not want to go with grand centerpieces. 

Do some research and figure out what you like, but be flexible and find a florist you trust. If a flower you want isn’t available, they’ll be able to give you other options that work with your look and budget.

-Becky

Teaser Tuesday

Fall wedding season is almost back upon us so we're back to busy weekends filled with fabulous weddings! This past weekend we had one wedding on Friday and two on Saturday, read on below to find out about what we were up to!

Jena and Jason had a wonderful wedding day that began with a ceremony at the quaint church, St. Joseph's on the Brandywine and ended with a rocking reception at Waterfalls.  The aqua and brown color scheme was perfect for all the beachy details the couple included.  Table assignments were written on sand dollars arranged in a bed of sand, the centerpieces were candles, sand and shells and each place setting was topped off with a cute starfish lollipop.  We put together an awesome candy buffet to keep guests on a sugar high while Pat and Collin from Synergetic Sounds kept them on the dancefloor.  Special thanks to Misty Dawn Photography for capturing all the great images and being so fun and awesome to work with!

Pam & Scott were married at the Please Touch Museum on Saturday.  The happy couple was married under a beautiful Chuppah in a traditional Jewish wedding ceremony.  Guests enjoyed a night of celebration while eating delicious food by Max & Me catering and dancing to tunes performed by Milan 77.  It was a perfect day! Thank you to K&K Photography for this storyboard!

Sarah and Mike were also married on Saturday at Mike's family farm in New Jersey. Sperry Tents provided the spectacular tent for the backyard and The Pod Shop created beautiful and lush centerpieces that complimented Sarah and Mike's navy blue and green color scheme. Mark from Synergetic Sounds did amazing job and kept the guests on the dance floor all night!

Keep your eyes on the blog for the full blog posts of these weddings!

Must Have Monday

I love different ideas for classic wedding "staples" so when I found this hollowed out book that is in the shape of a ring, I fell in love! It would be perfect for pictures of your wedding rings and great alternative to the traditional ring pillow. I also found a tutorial on Martha Stewart Weddings on how to make your own hollowed out ring bearer book. To see the tutorial, you can go here and to find the seller on Etsy that made this book, you can go here. 

Featured Bride Friday

This week's featured bride is Devon, who's getting married next Saturday! Read on below to find out more about big day!

Names of Bride and Groom: Devon and John

Wedding Date: August 27th, 2011

Ceremony Location: Old St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Philadelphia

Reception Location: Atrium at the Curtis Center in Philadelphia

How did you and your fiance meet?: We met in Venice, Italy while studying abroad during our first year of law school. We had gone to school together for an entire year but had never met until we bumped into each other in a piazza in Venice while both running late for our abroad program welcome lunch. 

Tell us about the proposal: We were in Punta Cana for a vacation with John's parents and about three days into our trip, John asked me to go for a walk on the beach at sunset. I was feeling a little grumpy for some reason and didn't want to go, but eventually I agreed to go after I finished the crossword puzzle I was working on. Little did I know how much I was making John sweat as I couldn't understand why he kept telling me to look in the back of the book for the answers I didn't know! Finally we went down to the beach and as we were walking, he asked me to stop and look at the beautiful water with him but I once again foiled his plan as I sat down so he couldn't get down on one knee to propose. Finally, after getting back up to continue our walk, he was able to get down on one knee and propose!

What is the overall theme of your wedding?: I am not too big on going over the top with a theme, but we are trying to incorporate a lot of Venice, Italy throughout our wedding since we met there by doing things such as our Gondola cake topper, gondola ice sculpture, and tables named after our favorite places in Venice.

What has been your favorite part of planning?: My favorite part has been spending time with our family while planning all the details of the big day. We are both so close to our parents and it has been great getting their input in combining my family's Catholic-Irish-Italian-German traditions with John's Russian-Jewish ones. 

What has been your fiance's favorite part of the planning?: Meeting with the Priest and Rabbi to go over the ceremony, picking out the gifts for our registry and booking our honeymoon!

What are you looking forward to most on the wedding day?: Walking down the aisle with my Dad and seeing John for the first time at the end of the aisle. 

What is your fiance most looking forward to on the wedding day?: Seeing my beautiful bride walk down the aisle towards me and taking our vows to love each other forever. 

Which vendor has been your favorite to work with?: All of my vendors have been absolutely great but I felt an instant connection with Erin the moment we met her. We didn't even meet with any other wedding planners as I knew she was the one right off. Erin, Lisa and TJ have been so great and really make me feel like I can have a stress-free wedding day!

I also love Natalie Pagano (Hair by Natalie) and Emily from Cheekadee. They both make me feel like I will look gorgeous on the big day!

What is your biggest worry about the wedding day?: Trying not to cry too much when my Dad walks me down the aisle and during the father-daughter dance. Because I am so close with my Dad, this part always gets me the most emotional at other people's weddings so I know it will be emotional at mine!

What makes your wedding unique from all the others?: I think our wedding is unique because we are tying so many traditions together on our day. Our ceremony is at a Catholic Church but we are still having a Rabbi co-officiate and are breaking the glass and signing an interfaith Ketubah. Also, culturally we have such different backgrounds, so we are trying to honor John's parents who were born in the Ukraine but intersperse it with my family's Italian, Irish, and German roots.

Give three words to describe what you imagine you'll feel like the day AFTER the wedding: Excited, ecstatic and exhilarated! 

Where will you be spending your honeymoon?: Sandals in Antigua!

Get to Know Proud to Plan: Annemarie

Photo courtesy of Jennifer Childress Photography

Tell us about yourself:

Currently, I work as a meeting coordinator for an association management company based in south Jersey. In 2006, I graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Public Relations. Two years later, graduated with my Master's degree from Seton Hall University with a focus in event planning. 

Recently I became engaged to my best friend and love of my life. We are in the final stages of planning our November wedding in Sea Isle City, NJ. 

Where do you live?:

Clarksboro, NJ

Give us three words that best describe your personality:

Energetic, outgoing and generally the-ish

How did you get involved in the event industry?:

A long time ago in a land far, far away I started planning small events in college and my interest quickly grew. I then planned client appreciation events for a financial planning firm while pursuing my Master's Degree. Fast forward to today and I can honestly say- I love what I do!

What's your favorite part of a couple's wedding day?:
The reveal- I tear up every time!

When you're not doing events, what do you do?:
I am a public speaking, Adjunct Professor at Burlington Community College and I waitress part time in Sea Isle City, NJ.

Do you have any hobbies? Or what do you do for fun?:

I love to travel. There is nothing better than spending free time walking around a new city or even an old one. 

Fun question, If you could only eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be and why?:

Ice cream! You can mix just about anything into ice cream and it tastes amazing!

A Thank You Note

We just received this wonderful thank you note from Lauren and Ed, who were married two weeks ago! Stay tuned to the blog for their full blog post!

Dear Proud to Plan,

We cannot thank you enough for all you did to make our wedding day unforgettable.

TJ, the paper goods were beautiful and matched PERFECTLY with our invitations and colors! We received many, many compliments from our guests. 

Erin, knowing you were there every step of the way was so comforting.  I can honestly say that I (and my parents, too!) enjoyed every single second of our wedding and I know that's due in large part to you! A special thanks for all of your help at the end of the night with my father-in-law.  He's on the mend, thankfully, and Ed and I definitely have an appreciation for the "in sickness and health" part of our vows!

Please pass along our sincere thanks to Nicole and Becky for all of their help as well. 

Again, thank you so very much for being a special part of our day!

Love,
Lauren and Ed

Photo courtesy of Barton Paul Photography

Kaylan and Dan's Wedding

In May, Kaylan and Dan were married at Deerfield Golf and Country Club in Delaware. The girls started their day with hair and makeup done by Jessica and Bethany from Gloss Salon. Everyone looked beautiful and their hair and makeup stayed in place throughout the night! The huge tree they were married in front of, complemented their lavender and purple color scheme. Sweet Peas did an amazing job with the bouquets and centerpieces. The bouquets and centerpieces were mixes of white, lavender and dark purple flowers and the centerpieces were placed in silver vases that really made them stand out. To follow their color scheme, we created a swirl design to use on all of their paper that we provided. We did their chair signs, programs, seating chart, place cards, table numbers and other various reception signage! Kyle from Synergetic Sounds did a fantastic job getting all of the guests on the dance floor and kept the party going all night! Their cake, created by Liz Marden, is one of the prettiest cakes I've seen in a while and was adorned with white butterflies. Thank you to Lloydlee Heite for letting us use these images!

Congratulations Kaylan and Dan!  

Different Types of Card Boxes and Card Catchers

It’s an unfortunate truth, but it has been seen many times before: wedding gifts and cards being stolen by a guest or staff at the wedding. To save yourself the headache and worry, card catchers or boxes are a simple solution! Although there are many card catchers you can purchase online, card catchers are one of the many easy DIY wedding projects you can do yourself! So roll your sleeves up, get out the glue and try your hand at a few of these card catcher ideas. 

Tiered Boxes 

With a few cardboard boxes, some fabric and decorative ribbon, you can create this tiered box look. Go above and beyond and try to match the look of this card catcher with the style and design of your wedding cake. Just remember to make a hole for the cards to slide into.

Tiered card box from Kaleigh and Katelyn's Sweet 16

Image found through Google

Stacey and Justin's Wedding
Photo courtesy of Sofia Negron Photography

Bird Cage 

If you are going for a more elegant or vintage look, bird cage card catchers might be the perfect accent to your gift table. Purchase a bird cage online or at a craft store and add ribbon and even a ‘card’ sign so guests know exactly where the cards should go.

Rachel and Matt's wedding
Photo courtesy of Ethan Yang Photography

Mia and Wyatt's wedding
Photo courtesy of Vantage Pictures

Mailbox 

Your guests will be sure to know where to put the cards when you have a mailbox as a card catcher. Keep it simple or doll it up – or even use a real mailbox that can later be used for your first home.

Image found through Google

Image found through Google

Picture Card Box 

Picture card boxes are easily made out of four framed photographs. Use a lazy susan or revolving mechanism to allow guests to rotate the box to see all four photos. Feature your engagement photos or your parents’ weddings photos for an added vintage touch.

Our black frame card box at Angela and Matthew's wedding
Photo courtesy of Dollface Studios

Our gold frame card box at Kirsten and Matt's wedding
Photo courtesy of Misty Dawn Photography

Our silver frame card box at Devon and Mike's wedding (coming soon)
Photo courtesy of Ryan Estes Photography

Suitcase/Luggage 

Old suitcases or vintage luggage also make a great statement as card catchers. The large space and open access allows guests to easily place any size envelope into the suitcase, but also doesn’t allow for as much protection. The good thing, easy cleanup at the end of the night! Simply shut the box and you can easily take it home or up to your suite.

Casey and Will's wedding
Photo courtesy of 217 Photography

Image found through Google

Other Simple Ideas Check out these three ideas too. A simple wooden box, log card catcher and a dollhouse replicating your home.

Image found through Google

Image found through Google

Image found through Google

-Caitlin