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Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Absolutely stunning Parisian wedding photos

It's no secret that I love, love, love Paris and anything Parisian or French (the food, the wine, the clothes, the architecture, the romance...). When I stumbled upon Noah Hawthorne's images from this couple's Parisian nuptials, I fell in love even more! There really isn't much to say aside from "WOW."
Enjoy, Aleah








Sunday, April 25, 2010

4 fun and easy summer favor ideas

Why not put a twist on the centuries-old tradition of wedding favors and give guests something a little unexpected? We're loving creating DIY-favor setups as they give guests a fun activity and a cool favor they'll be sure to use and remember.

1. Signifying warm summer nights, collect mason jars and create a DIY-lemonade stand. Guests can fill mason jars with a gourmet lemonade mix, add fun accoutrements like striped paper straws or sprigs of rosemary, and take home a cute printed recipe card to make a vodka rosemary lemonade drink for those hot summer nights. Image from Getty Images

2. Sure, this isn't a new idea, but we see guests really swoon over photo booths. A photo speaks a thousand words; give your guests the ability to dress up and act goofy in a photo booth and take home a copy of their snapshot. Dress up the booth with a cute summer backdrop and summer-time props. Image from SummerPicnicWedding

3. Have Grandma's apple pie recipe? Give each family or couple a pie-in-a-jar to take home and enjoy. Fill a mason jar with the ingredients needed, cinch with a fun checkered summertime ribbon, and attach Grandma's recipe. If you're having too many guests to make this doable, fill short mason jars with homemade jam. Image from iStockPhoto

4. Like to play outdoors? Give guests customized frisbees to take home for summertime play! We have clients who are doing this for their July wedding and it's just such a fun idea! Check out Myflyingdiscs.com to personalize your frisbees!

Monday, April 19, 2010

Destination Wedding Planning, Part II

In our Monday Coffee post last week, we laid out some tips to consider when thinking about a destination wedding. Once you've decided that saying I Do in a tropical or destination locale is right for you, think about this when starting the planning process:

1. When you are looking at hotels (the majority of destination weddings are held at resorts), think about how many guests might want to stay at the hotel. Talk with the hotel about what kinds of perks they will offer you and your guests based on the number of guests that stay. Often times this is a free room for you or an upgrade.

2. Talk to different airlines. Many airlines (like Alaska) have perks or free tickets for brides and grooms who bring a certain number of flyers on their planes.

3. Plan ahead for your rehearsal dinner as well. If you take a pre-wedding trip to the destination, check out all possibilities for other activities like snorkeling, shopping, dining, and even locations for your rehearsal dinner or other welcome activities for guests. Again, negotiate with these places and restaurants for any perks based on the number of guests you bring them.

4. Again, negotiate. Many resorts have pre-picked wedding packages that very well might not suit you. Don't hesitate to ask about swapping their in-house photography package for a larger reception dinner for your guests. Resorts want your business and are likely willing to be flexible with what they offer.

5. Know what is required. In Mexico, for example, you will need to have a blood test approved before you tie the knot. This can be done at your resort by their on-site doctor and is simple, but you will likely need to be in Mexico at least three days before your wedding.
As always, Happy Planning!Aleah + Nick

Sunday, April 18, 2010

Inspiration: Yucatan Peninsula

Whenever we travel (or do anything!) I look around to get inspiration. It comes from flowers, people, clothing, buildings, the ocean, and virtually everywhere I look.

I wanted to share a few photos of inspiration I snapped on our recent trip to the Yucatan Peninsula. You can see that my mind was focused on all of the gorgeous tones of blue - aqua, turquoise, navy....I hope you enjoy!


The water on Isla Mujeres
Stay tuned for Part II of our destination wedding planning tips and some tropical vision boards based on this inspiration.
Cheers!
Aleah

Monday, April 12, 2010

Monday Coffee: destination weddings Part I

We just love destination weddings and happen to be typing this Monday Coffee post from our deck on the Yucatan Peninsula. I thought it would be fitting to offer up a few quick tips to help you determine whether a destination wedding is right for you:

1. Location, location, location: deciding on a location should be based on a few key elements. Where do you love to travel to? We see the most popular destination wedding locales as tropical settings. Consider the type of hotel; will your guests be comfortable and is the hotel affordable? What are the amenities like? Think about the close proximity to airports, towns, and other activities. Select a location that has great reviews for both service, restaurants, a gorgeous setting, and stellar wedding services.

2. Keep in mind that a destination wedding very well might not be less expensive than an in-town wedding. If your guest list grows and you take into consideration travel expenses to-and-from several times, the costs can elevate. However, if you do it right you can end up saving a great deal of money.

3. Will you be happy not having a 200-guest wedding? Chances are if you invited 200 guests to your nuptials in Costa Rica they couldn't all attend. But keeping it simple can feel so good and celebrating with your close family and friends in a tropical (or other) locale can be the best type of celebration. Consider whether you'll have a hankering to throw a post-wedding bash when you return for those who couldn't make it.

4. Along with #1, really be sure to know what the hotel offers you for your wedding. We have seen our fair share of destination venues that simply have you pick your flowers or cake from their standard "look book" and don't stray too much from offering those designs. If you're fine with this then this type of venue provides a level of simplicity. If you still want to have a unique design, look, and feeling, be sure to relay this to your coordination team (or the on-site staff); as many destination hotels will still provide that level of simplicity but will bend over backwards to create a stunning look that isn't like other weddings.

A snapshot from last night's gorgeous wedding at the Omni Hotel

5. Ask the hotel how many other weddings might going on during your wedding weekend. Though this is a great question to ask at any venue, destination or otherwise, we've seen many destination hotels say that they might have 5 or 6 weddings going on at one time. While this might be okay for some people, most of our clients want their wedding to be the only big show that day.

6. Finally, consider the level of privacy you want and find a venue based on what they offer. Think about a tropical destination setting; you very well might have people walking by as you are saying "I Do" in their bathing suits.

Stay tuned for Part II: Hotels love weddings and as a result will likely offer you room upgrades, perhaps free nights depending on how many of your guests stay.........................

Saturday, April 3, 2010

Dress fun for the ladies!

I thought it would be fun to dedicate today to all of you ladies looking for some lovely, chic, and fun confections for spring! I've whipped up 4 different color combinations featuring some stunning Spring 2010 dresses from Vera Wang and J. Crew. All of these combinations are inspired by some of our lovely current brides so I hope you enjoy!


This palette was created for one of our darling summer brides who wants to keep her wedding look understated and soft. I love these silver rings from Ringoblog and this sea foam ethereal dress from J. Crew Taryn, $395, and this Chloe organza light ivory linen from Wildflower Linen

The texture of this stunning Vera Wang Dovima dress would look stunning with Isabella blush linens from Wildflower Linen and a combination of textured blush and lavender roses. This was created for our bride who wanted a classic, sweet look. *rose photo from theknot.com

For our funky bride who wants a unique, out-of-the-box look, I pulled together this vibrant Chloe eggplant organza linen from Wildflower Linen with this chic $58 single pearl strand necklace from Ann Taylor and an adorable $180 Juliet dress from J. Crew.For the last look of the day I wanted to share a whimsical style I put together for a fun and carefree bride. With a simple, yet gorgeous wedding dress she is able to punch up her look with color or some fabulous jewelry.Curly willow peacock linen from Wildflower Linen, Whitney gown from J. Crew $395, and crystal supernova necklace from J. Crew, on sale for $98

Enjoy! Aleah