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Live Journal

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Is anyone else out there a fan of the wedding planning group on Live Journal? Well I am. This has to be the nicest most helpful bunch of brides on the net, none of the snarky juvenile garbage that you find in some of the other wedding communities. If you have ventured into the communities at the Knot.com then you know what I mean.

You can follow them as they plan their weddings right along with you. The comments are almost always both amazingly helpful and supportive. You may only post or add comments if you are a member of the community. It’s open to all and you can join here.

The tag cloud for this group is huge; I mean there must be over a thousand* tags in it. It runs nearly the entire length of the first page of the archive. So if you can’t find something close to what you are wanting to know you must be looking for something really off the wall. I didn’t find a search feature though. If you know where there is one, let me know. *Ok so I’m a geek. I just ran a word count on the tag cloud and it’s only 996.

There are even links to other more specific communities like Bridal Weight Loss Support and Wedding Makeup.

Whether you are a bride or a wedding professional this is a must read. Just keep it nice.

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Note to Brides

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I had a wonderful time last week connecting with a group of fellow wedding professionals. As always, the conversation turned to work and you my dear brides were high on the agenda.

My friend Peter, denizen of all things rental, got off on a riff about phone messages.

“Please Christine” he said “remind them to leave me more then their first name and a convoluted message about their event”

Peter is right. It used to happen to me all the time. I used to get messages like this.

“Hi Christine. This is Sarah and I wanted to let you know that we wanted the first tier to have the raspberry filling on the lower and uppers spaces and the orange/apricot in the middle space and please make the top tier in chocolate only but if you could put a bit of amaretto in the soak the would be perfect.”

Great. No problem. Be happy to oblige. But which freakin’ Sarah are you and when are you getting married???? Yes I know, just use caller ID to call her back. Great plan if I knew what time she called. I can get a bunch of calls in one day and isolating the right one can be a trick.

As much as we like you to feel that you are the only bride we have, it simply isn’t true. If you are calling your wedding planner you can probably get away with the above message, but any other vendor is likely to have multiple wedding on any given weekend. Add to that the reality that we will be working with a bride for sometimes up to a year and you can see that we are often juggling 50 or more brides at one time.

Any time you must leave a message on voice mail for one of your vendors, please help them out by leaving a last name and a WEDDING DATE. Most of us file things by wedding date so that will help a lot. Also leave your last name. I clearly remember one weekend that I had three Ashleys. Unbelievably two of their cakes were almost the same. It tended to get a bit confusing.

We want to do the best job possible for every one of our brides, sometimes a bit of clarity helps.

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Habitat for Humanity

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Last Sunday just before the crack of dawn, they assembled. Groggy from weddings and parties the night before, the members of The Tennessee Wedding and Events Specialists Association traded their pearls and heels and other wedding day finery to don jeans and muddy work boots. Did I say muddy? Make that extremely muddy. They turned out in mass to pitch in on the build of a Habitat for Humanity house.

Each year TWESA picks a philanthropic cause to champion as a way to give back to our community. This year we chose Habitat and are we ever glad we did. It turned out to be one of the most rewarding experiences we have ever participated in.

We were involved in one of the biggest build days in Nashville history. There were sixteen houses going up simultaneously. TWESA managed to break a few records for build teams. We had the most participants show up for a build ever and we hung the cabinets in the kitchen in 90 minutes; usually a four hour task. Woo Hoo! What can you expect; we are after all a bunch of over-achievers.

Add to that the amazing job our caterers did. Now think about it, when you put the finger on some of the top caterers in the city to feed a hungry work crew they tend to go a bit over the top. So much so that we started inviting the work crews from the surrounding houses to join our feast. They thankfully accepted.

To really get the full picture, check out the images a couple of our photographers took for us. (Now you just knew these guys wouldn’t be able to leave their gear at home) Dave Pavol was our official photographer; you can view his images here. David Wright joined the mix. That is his image above and there are more on his blog.

If you are a member of a wedding related organization let me know about your philanthropic works. I’ll spread the word.

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Thank you Miss Peacock for Speaking Up.

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I found the following comment from Miss Peacock over at Wedding Bee this morning.

”Since the VW salon would not allow me to take pictures, I asked these very unhappy 14 year old girls to model the dresses for me. They all showed up without washing their hair or putting on make-up, but since I was on a time crunch, I let it slide. They were also so hungry that I was worried they would eat me.”

Boy did she nail it! I have to tell you that seeing these models in person is sometimes pretty startling. While Miss. P’s comment is directed at the runway models for Vera Wang; the ones that have always disturbed me the most are the ones that Monique Lhullier uses. One season I sat in her runway show thinking that if these young ladies are that damn miserable why didn’t they just quit. Are they some kind of indentured servants? What are the designers trying to achieve with this undernourished junkie look?

In defense of Miss Wang, the models I see at her salon runway show don’t have that heroin junkie look. They also however, don’t have boobs either. I have sat at table in her showroom with both buyers and other members of the press and the comment always goes something like this:

“Pretty but can that gown even be cut to accommodate real breasts?”

It is a sad commentary that so many of the couture gowns are designed for the models rather than real American women.

At the same time that these designers are cutting for an almost boyish figure the popularity of breast augmentation surgery is on the rise. The result of these two distinctly opposite trends is that more and more brides that wear something like a size 2 in street clothes are having to order their gown in a size 12 or 14 to accommodate their bust. There is no way under the sun that these gowns can then be altered that much with out losing precious details.

I have said it before and I will keep saying until the WIC gets it. Stop designing for your models and take a look at the real women all around you. Climb down out of your atelier and go for a walk. One more thing, while you’re out there…eat a freaking sandwich, you could use it!!!!

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Oooooooooooo! Candy

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Are you having a candy buffet at your wedding reception? I think they are a lovely idea and I just ran across Candy Warehouse. What is cool about this site is that you can shop by color. Pink and orange wedding? No problem.

The secret to having a gorgeous candy buffet is for it to look abundant, like Willy Wonka set it up himself. Uh, ya…that can get pricey. Here’s a few tricks that might help.

Take a cue from the pros that do gift baskets, use fill on the large containers. Those pretty tall glass cylinders hold a heck of a lot of jelly beans but not if you take a smaller, shorter glass cylinder and place it inside, upside down first. Then you only need candy to fill around and above it. Unless you have 300 people at your wedding they would never have reached the bottom anyway.

If you are using baskets fill the bottom 1/2 with leftover Easter grass then put a piece of cardboard that you have cut to fit and wrapped to match on top before you add the candy. Remember, you are going for the look of abundance, not the real thing.

Group your containers close together and use lifts under them to add height at various levels. You can either wrap sturdy boxes in pretty fabric to match or drape all your lifts in tablecloths like caterers do. That helps with the look too. (Next time you are at a catered buffet sneak a look under the linen. You are likely to find such unlovely things as dish racks and milk crates)

Add some large things like Lollis and ribbon candy to expand the look. You won’t by any means need one of these for every guest, think of them as accents.

Use your guest containers as a part of the display.

If you happen to order any PixiStix or Sour Patch Kids you can always send me your leftovers. Teehee

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Design Center

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Check this out.

That is the Monumental Affairs Design Center.

“Located at Hyatt Regency Washington on Capitol Hill, this newly designed boutique offers a unique location for anyone — from the newest bride-to-be, to the most seasoned Washington DC event planner — to make the necessary selections of china, linen, floral arrangements, invitations, entertainment and more for their catered affair, in one convenient location. The rich décor of the room showcases the most current linen styles and china patterns, in a colorful and inviting setting”.

Well, it about time! Why should you have to run all over town to put together the pieces of your wedding? A meeting at the linen vendor, followed by one at the rental firm, followed by one at the florist … but wait, will the flowers work with the linen? Back to the linen rental. Oh hell…I give up!

I have seen a couple of enterprises like this start up in the last few years. There is a lovely one in Marquette, MI of all places called the Wedding Emporium.

What a concept, event and wedding planning in one relaxed comfortable place. Shouldn’t it have always been this way? I mean, aren’t you busy enough without spending hours every week traipsing from appointment to appointment?

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Wedding Bouquets

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Is it just me or is anybody else getting bored with the hand tied bouquet trend?

When they first came on the scene they were a refreshing change from the more contrived bouquets of the 80’s. It seems that in recent years everyone has forgotten there are other styles of bouquets.

Depending on your unique body type and the cut of your gown there may be better options. So here is a brief overview of some of the different bouquet styles.

Presentation: Think beauty queen. Designed to be held in the crook of the arm they have longer stems and often a more relaxed feel. These can have the look and feel of having just left the garden or the sleek simplicity of a few simple calla lilies.



Cascades: Long and tear drop shaped they can help elongate your overall look. Either loose and flowing or tight and symmetrical depending on the style of you wedding.


Posy: These can actually encompass any round bouquet done in a holder. What makes them different from a hand tied is that the stems are cut and stuck in a holder with floral foam. Not only are you losing the weight and girth of the stems but your blooms will stay fresh longer thanks to the water filled foam.

Pomander: A round ball of flowers suspended on a handle or ribbon. Carried in front it provides a spot of color them slip it over your wrist when you need both hands. A fresh and clever alternative to the same old thing.

Now there is a bride with a handle on things!

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Tents

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It’s getting to be that time of year where everyone starts longing for the great outdoors. Along with that come dreams of an outdoor wedding. Now you know as well as I do that you are going to be told over and over “Better have a Plan B” since we all no what a fickle hostess Mom Nature can be.

Well why not just start with Plan B? I have found that many of the most beautiful events I have seen are in tents. Why, you ask?

Simple. You can control almost every aspect of the décor from shape to wall color to lighting. Are you dreaming of a wedding bathed in cool blues and shimmering whites but every banquet hall or ballroom is a mélange of gold and burgundy? No problem. Longing for an upscale lounge but the only offerings are a rustic lodge or a church hall? Build it and they will come.

The point is that you can create your dream event venue just about anywhere if you start with the bare bones of a tent.

Now, you will notice that nowhere in this post did I say that this was a low cost option, because it isn’t. Depending on where you set up your tent you will probably have to bring in everything, including even a second tent for your caterer in some instances. If however you were planning an al Fresco event you would have had to do most of that any way.

Enjoy these tasty examples. I embedded links in most of the images so you can go do a bit of exploring on you own. Have fun.

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