Via Twig & Thistle

Awesome, right? Instead of having a table number sign, have all of the napkins indicate what the table number is. If you’re feeling adventurous, you can even take it a step further and put each guest’s name on the napkin! There’s also a DIY tutorial for how to do these on Twig & Thistle! :)

So what do you think? Are any of you wanting something different for your table numbers? Would you do something like this?

Our family was incredibly helpful throughout the planning process and on our wedding day. My mom especially helped us stay organized and ensured not even the smallest detail was overlooked. There were many other supportive family members and friends who helped us run errands, prepare decorations, pick out attire, and complete many other tasks to make certain the day went smoothly.

What was the most important thing to you when deciding who to work with for your wedding?

When deciding on vendors, it was most important for them to care about us and the business we were giving them. We didn’t want to be just another “number” to them. We greatly appreciated those vendors that took the time to get to know us, and used their expertise to help us achieve the type of wedding we always dream of.

Did any of your vendors do anything special for you before, on, or after your wedding day that you would like to share?

All of my vendors were wonderful to work with, and it seems each one brought something special to our day. Mountain Valley Bridal helped me find the perfect dress and bridal party attire, and ordered us some extra ties and shoes last minute. Mary from the Laramie Plains Museum offered some great tips on how to best utilize the historic grounds. Boni at Dan D Party Corner special ordered sparkle organza overlays to bring a blue accent to our tables and helped us acquire some last minute tables cloths. Ruth at Fresh Flower Fantasy helped us create beautiful floral centerpieces for our tables, after months of trying to come up with something on our own. She also cleverly incorporated a piece of my Grandma’s jewelry and an airplane charm from my Grandpa on my bouquet, so they could both be with me in spirit as I walked down the aisle. Rick and Stephanie of Ardent Photography did a wonderful job capturing every detail and emotion of the entire day, and even agreed to stay an extra hour to capture some events when dinner ran longer than planned. Our family friend Janet Christenot, of Creative Wheat, used her amazing talent to create a beautiful and unique cake topper made entirely out of wheat! Finally, our guests enjoyed themselves, feasting and dancing the night away, thanks to Altitudes’ wonderful catering, Liz’s delicious cakes, and awesome music by George from Rock on Wheels.

What was your favorite thing about your wedding?

Everything! After months of preparations, things finally seemed to come together to create a beautiful, memorable day! We were blessed with gorgeous weather, and the love of family and friends, many whom traveled hundreds of miles to help us celebrate. Kurt and I tried our best to incorporate things that were important and meaningful to us into our big day. We loved the idea of a simple, but elegant wedding theme, with just a touch of country. To achieve this we choose an outdoors wedding in Laramie, Wyoming, the place where our love story began as University of Wyoming college students. Growing up on a Montana ranch, and Nebraska farm, Kurt and I are both country kids at heart. Therefore, we decided to use wheat as an underlying theme in our decorations, and even used a 50’s vintage wheat truck as our parade vehicle after the ceremony! We choose our favorite color, a Montana Sky blue, for the bridal party attire and used baby blue and ivory accents in our decorations. Ironically, blue also happens to be same color as our Yogo Sapphires ring stones, which are unique to Montana. Ultimately, all of these elements helped create a truly special day.

What is your best piece of advice for other brides?

While there’s no denying wedding planning can be stressful, don’t forget to also make it fun! It goes by fast, so do your best to cherish every minute of it. Be sure to take the time to enjoy your family, friends, and especially that one person that you’ve chosen to spend your life with because the memories you’ll make on your wedding day will last a lifetime!

Did you all catch the wheat elements incorporated into their details? What a fun theme for details! Are any of you planning on having a specific theme to your details like this wedding?

Vendors who made it all happen…

“Enjoy your engagement! There is no need to rush to the alter. I always tell brides to take a few weeks and enjoy being engaged before looking into vendors. Once you are ready to start planning, find a planner that you trust to guide you.”

- Heather, OCD Events

email: heather@ocdexperience.com | phone: 602.743.1844 | website: http://www.ocdevents.com
twitter: Follow @OCDEvents | facebook: “Like” OCD Events!

Does a “season” exist for weddings?

YES, there may be a busy season and a not-so-busy-season for weddings, depending on the area. The truth is, the times that these occur are different everywhere. Here in Florida, busy season is March-June and then September-November. Clearly, that’s when the weather is the best here (In my opinion, anyone who gets married in the months between May and October here in Florida is NUTS!). Up north, I can tell you it’s very much the opposite. So let’s say that YES, wedding seasons do indeed exist for each market. And now on to part 2 of this discussion, what you really want to know…

Photo by ELV photographer Josh McCullock Photography

Do “off season” discounts exist?

This is a tough one. It’s not quite as definitive as a season being determined by the weather and time of year. And like I said before, when I asked around, the answers from wedding pros were totally split. So I’m going to say that it just totally depends on the person you’re dealing with. It also depends on the TYPE of vendor you’re dealing with. A photographer or a service-based professional may be less likely to offer an “off season” discount because they’re doing the same amount of work no matter when and where your wedding takes place. On the other hand, a venue or someone providing a rental product might be more apt to give a discount because of the “off season”. (I think it’s safe to say that these statements also apply to the whole Friday wedding discount thing.)

As a wedding pro, my own answer in regards to giving an off season discount? That would be a big fat NO. Because service is service. A wedding is a wedding (YOUR wedding at that!) and I’m not going to work any differently just because I don’t have a wedding every weekend of that month. Yes, I know the argument of, “Oh well if they don’t have anything booked, they want to make money don’t they?” But the reality is that wedding professionals know that there are busy seasons and slow seasons. And if they’re experienced professionals, they plan and prepare for that. Most actually take their family vacations, attend conferences, or work on personal projects during “off season”.

So with all of that said, my wedding planner alter-ego needs to say that you should never expect an “off season” discount for that very reason- service is still service, no matter what.

Photo by ELV photographer Robert Madrid Photography

Whenever speaking in terms of money for weddings, I always like to put things in context of another “normal” situation (Since for some strange reason weddings are often seen as being “outside” of normal situations).

If you’re at a restaurant on a weeknight and it’s empty (Sidenote: surprisingly, my husband and I went out to dinner Tuesday of last week and it was packed!), do you ask for a discount on your food? Or do you get your bill and tell the server that you want to pay $10 less than what it costs?

Probably not, right? So in all honesty, why would it be okay to do that for your wedding?

I’m sure some of you have experienced special discounts for “off season”- I’m not saying they don’t exist. I’m just saying don’t bank on it. Don’t choose a wedding date just because it’s during what is said to be the “off season”. Choose your date because that’s when you want- and if it happens to be during off season, then I guess you’ll get to test the theory!

Alright, so now that you know what I think of “off season”…. brides, have any of you had any experience with “off season” discounts? Wedding pros out there, what do you think of off season? I want to hear all of your thoughts on this!

What (or who) helped you most in your planning process and/or on your wedding day?

I planned the whole wedding by myself without a planner and loved every minute of it! My best friends helped and then also being in the wedding industry as a Cupcake Company I had a good idea of what i wanted as soon as I started planning. We really lucked out and pretty much went with the 1st vendor we met in each category.

What was the most important thing to you when deciding who to work with for your wedding?

It was important that we had the same vision. I wanted the wedding to be a big fun celebration! My husband and I dated for 7 years before getting ready so by the time it happened we just wanted as fun a night as possible.  We picked vendors who knew how to capture a good party and make it as FUN as possible.

Did any of your vendors do anything special for you before, on, or after your wedding day that you would like to share?

 Yes. My photographer made an incredible album and then when we picked it up she also made a christmas ornament out of some of our favorite pics

What was your favorite thing about your wedding?

My favorite thing about my wedding was the venue. We had the ceremony, reception and a late night dance party there. One World Theater was an amazing place that kept getting transformed through the night. We had our ceremony outside overlooking the hill country at sunset. Then there was a cocatail hour upstairs in the theater with cool lighting a bar and passed apps. Then we all went back downstairs and the Celebration Hall was set up for the reception with tables, buffet, cake and cupcakes set out. Then under the tent was a Black and WHite checker dance floor with white hanging chinese lanterns. THe tables all had large colorful center pieces with giant ostrich feathers. Absoulute stunning. THen we had a fake exit for all the family and then we went back up to the theater that had been transformed into a club with dj and lights and danced til 2in the morning. The BEST part was at the late night we had 20,000 Napkins to throw up in the air to make it rain. We had done this at the clubs in miami for my bachelorette party and i knew it was a must to make our late night dance party like the clubs in Miami…total Success!!!

What is your best piece of advice for other brides?

Don’t stress out. Make it fun! It should be an exciting happy time and event to plan. If you’re stressing out you don’t have the right mindset…remember that its a party to celebrate you and your new life!

And of course I had to end the post with a photo of a delicious looking cupcake- which now means I will be wanting a cupcake all day. ;) A big thank you to Laura for sharing her wedding insight with us, and to Cory Ryan Photography for sharing the gorgeous photos too!

I think my favorite thing about this whole wedding is all of the gorgeous florals! The black paired with all of the brighter colors brings in that modern style really well too. So what do you all think of this modern elegant wedding? Do you love the bright colors and the style of everything? Any of you planning a modern, elegant wedding too? :)

Vendors who made it all happen…

From Valerie: “I wanted to illustrate the various ways a bride can incorporate this trend into her day.  Everything from linens, florals, and attire, to the favors, guestbook, and signature cocktail, the possibilities are endless.”

What awesome inspiration for how to incorporate ombre into all elements of the wedding! I think my favorite detail is all of the votives- it’s a small element, but still has a big effect. A big thank you to Sapphire Events NOLA and all of the other fabulous vendors who put this inspiration shoot together!

So lovely ELDers, what do you all think of the ombre look? Are any of you planning on incorporating it for your own weddings?

Vendors who made it all happen…

Photo via Captured by Jenny

Choose meaningful music

You can walk down the aisle to whatever you want so choose a song that you’ll remember for years to come. Likewise, play songs that mean something to you and your partner during the prelude, the processional of the wedding party, and the recessional. My husband and I wanted to do something fun and unexpected when we walked back down the aisle so we chose California Girls by The Beach Boys. Our guests loved it.

Photo via Elizabeth Scott Photography

Include and honor your loved ones

You can do this by the traditional Lighting of the Candles {typically done by the mothers} or by presenting flowers or tokens of appreciation to your parents. Or you can do something entirely different. Light candles in remembrance of loved ones, dedicate a reading, ask your families to stand to give their Declaration of Intent {including them in the task of upholding your marriage as well}.

Photo via Meg Sexton Photography

Write your own vows

Either ditch the traditional vows altogether and write your own or recite the traditional vows and include a personal statement while exchanging rings. I go back and forth on this one. There’s something very sacred, and romantic, about repeating the same words spoken by couples for centuries. But there’s also something so personal and intimate about promising to love your partner in your own words.

Photo via Rae Leytham Photography

Get creative

We all know about the unity candle. And the sand ritual. Traditionally, after reciting the vows and exchanging the rings, the bride and groom participate in a joint act symbolizing their new union. I love the significance of that! So why not get creative with it? Any suggestions?

………………

Former brides, how did you make your ceremony personal to you and your groom? Brides-to-be, are you including any fun and unique elements of your own? Share in the comments! I’d love to hear.

xo-Kristine

Why do you see yourself as being Modern, Vintage, Classic, or Eclectic?

I fall more into the modern/classic camp personally but pride myself on being able to help my clients bring their wedding vision to life regardless of their style. Whether they are having a traditional garden party, a multi-cultural celebration, or an eclectic affair that includes a carnival for their younger guests, I can really help them do whatever they envision- or some version of it- while maintaining their budget.

What is your favorite wedding detail you’ve ever seen or created?

Something I’ve done for a few couples that they have LOVED is surprised them with extra decor & details at their seats or sweetheart table. A big favorite has been a framed photo of their dog(s) so when they sit down they have a little reminder of their furry friend! Another favorite was when I used an old window as a ceremony program. The bride didn’t want traditional paper programs but liked the idea of having something that showed guests who was in the bridal party, etc. so I used scrapbook paper to back the windows & chalk markers and sharpies to write the info.

What is your favorite store or brand?

Kate Spade is my very favorite brand! But as far as everyday shopping, I spend a LOT of time and money at Target, Hobby Lobby, IKEA, and HomeGoods!

What advice do you have for a newly engaged bride?

To try to enjoy the planning process (and obviously hiring a planner is a great place to start!) and learn to “let go” of some of the little things to make your life easier. For example, I had a bride who was very specific about the vision she had & her mother didn’t always agree with what she wanted, but the cake was extremely important to the MoB so the bride basically let her mom handle the cake design, style, etc. as long as it “fit” (which it did). Mom & bride were both happy with the outcome and it relieved some stress on the bride to know that mom had a hand in the decision making. I also highly recommend the occasional date night with your fiance to hang out and do anything BUT talk about wedding plans. It’s a good way to decompress & recharge from all of the planning/thinking!

What is your favorite thing about weddings?

Watching the bride & groom enjoy their wedding and reception and knowing that I had a hand in making it happen and making sure it’s stress free!

What qualities do you possess that enable you to work well with brides and grooms?

I’m extremely outgoing and tend to make friends with all of my clients! I feel that clients who are a good fit for me trust me, my opinions, and my expertise and therefore are more relaxed throughout the process.

What steps do you take to ensure that your clients will have amazing wedding days when working with you?

Initially I do this by recommending & referring the best vendors for my clients’ budget, style & personality. I make sure to go over a detailed timeline with them and answer as many questions/concerns that they have before the wedding day so they don’t have to think about all the little things and what happens when, etc. I always try to fix any potential issues/problems that pop up without them even finding out about them and do my best to make sure that, in addition to the couple, that VIPs (parents, grandparents, bridal party, etc.) is happy & comfortable throughout the day!

I hope you all love Sweet November Events as much as I do! PS- Kate Spade is one of my favorite brands too! Be sure to go check out the Sweet November Events ELV listing to see more of their work!

Sweet November Events

email: erica@sweetnovemberevents.com | phone: 704.692.4934 | website: http://www.sweetnovemberevents.com
twitter: Follow @SweetNovEvents | facebook: “Like” Sweet November Events!

location: Charlotte, North Carolina | type: Event Planning | style: Classic, Eclectic, Modern | price: $$

What (or who) helped you most in your planning process and/or on your wedding day?

I picked up a great wedding planning book (Wedding Planning Made Easy from WedSpace.com).  This helped me take on projects one at a time and saved my sanity.

What was the most important thing to you when deciding who to work with for your wedding?

 I really wanted to work with people who understood my vision for the wedding.  I wanted to have an event that was rustic, and intimate.  I looked for people who listened to me and did not try to talk me out of things that were important to me, such as surprising my groom with a non-traditional wedding cake.

Did any of your vendors do anything special for you before, on, or after your wedding day that you would like to share?

My photographers (Jennifer Martin Photography) were amazing!  They worked with us every step of the way and they truly understood the style of pictures we were looking for.  I also really appreciated the baker (Mikey’s Café & Bakery) who met with me several times to create a fantastic wedding cake that was perfect for us.

What was your favorite thing about your wedding?

I absolutely loved taking the first look pictures.  It was so nice to slow down after the chaos of getting ready and spend some time together.  We were both left speechless after the first look and I will never forget that feeling.

What is your best piece of advice for other brides?

Pick a few things that are important to you to focus on and don’t get too carried away with the details.

Isn’t everything just so beautiful? And how about the reception INSIDE the barn- so cool! I love all of the wood elements too- makes me want to go up to the mountains! I’ll bet you never would have guessed that this wedding was in FLORIDA, huh?! A big thank you to Leigh for sharing her wedding day with us, and to Jennifer Martin Photography for sharing the gorgeous photos too!

Now I’m curious- how many of you are having a rustic wedding? I know when I was planning my wedding, rustic weddings were pretty popular. Raise your hand if you’re a rustic bride! :)

Vendors who made it all happen…

Adorable, no?! I’m a sucker for dogs in photos- you all know that by now! ;) I love those letters that they used too… perfect to use at the wedding as decor! That’s a great thing to keep in mind for your engagement photos- if you want a prop of some kind, either use something close to your heart (puppy dog!) or something that you can use again at your wedding! :) A huge thank you to Kate Triano for sharing this session with us! Oh, and don’t forget to check out her ELV listing to see more of her amazing work!