Welcome and Favor Bags

I love all the goodies over at Wedding Chicks but this bag definitely caught my eye following my my blog post from last week.

LOVE is LOVE!

Be sure to check out all the great bags in the Wedding Chicks shop (and you definitely can't beat the prices!).

Source: shop.weddingchicks.com via wedding chicks on Pinterest

WEDDING TIPS: When should I book my floral designer?

We have discussed it before but the wedding planning process can be a daunting one. Knowing when to meet with and book your vendors is part of the challenge. Here's my advice and a bit from my friend and NYC wedding and event planner, Roey Mizrahi of Mizrahi Events.

Here are a few questions you may be asking yourself.

• When/how should you choose your floral designer? 
• When should you have your first consultation? 
• How long will it take to receive the first draft of a proposal? 
• How many revisions will be made before the final design? 
• When should you see a sample? 

The time table for choosing wedding vendors can be based largely on how early you begin the planning process but according to Roey, "based on the average year-long engagement, the florist, photographer and band should be researched and interviewed about 8 months before the wedding". I couldn't agree more with Roey as she points out that "interviewing floral designers allows clients to find a designer that no only matches their aesthetic and accommodates their budget but truly honors, and most importantly understands their vision".

A few more tips to on booking your florist:

• Already know of a designer with work that you love? Call them first and schedule a meeting.
• Don't know where to start? Ask around and get referrals. 
• Do some research and choose your top three to schedule a time to meet.

After you have scheduled your meetings gather inspiration so you can share what love, hate and everything in between with your potential designer. You should receive a first draft of a proposal within 7-10 days of your meeting. A follow-up conversation with one or two round of revisions and you should have a well defined creative vision to base your decision on.

Samples and fine tuning of the design will follow. Some designers require a signed proposal before the presentation of samples or will charge for it. In my case, when I charge for a sample (which is rare because I typically have a signed contract before that) I will deduct the cost from the invoice once the contract is signed.

You should be fairly confident that you are going to choose a designer before wanting to see a sample. You want your vendors to be straight forward with you in terms of pricing and delvierables so try not to "shop around" with no intention of choosing that designer. Nothing is worse than presenting a detailed sample to have your ideas taken somewhere else to be produced!

A good designer will present you with a portfolio and initial proposal to give you a true sense of their talent. Choose based on talent, creativity and experience BUT in the end, choose someone you TRUST. All the creativity in the world won't matter on the day of your wedding if you can't be confident that they will deliver on all of their promises.

Love is love is love.

More than half my life I've had the pleasure of having a third brother, not by blood but certainly by love. He is one of the most loving and generous people I know. He is the godfather to my son and much to the dismay of my other siblings is his favorite uncle.

I was thrilled to witness as it became official in the eyes of the law, at least in New York State. I was honored to be a witness as my brothers, one by blood and the other by love were able to be married.

I help plan and style so many weddings every year but this simple ceremony in the courthouse surrounded by the closest family and friends was by far the most meaningful. Now the law recognizes what I've known for the last 22 years, love is love is love.

Real Wedding: Stephie & Chris

Everyone loves a good down home backyard wedding. But do you know what is even better? Having it right over the bridge at Bubby's in Brooklyn! Stephie was so fun and easy to work with. She had a million DIY projects going on even while I styled and designed most of the decor. She involved her family and friends in on the action and it ended up being such a beautiful and heartfelt wedding.

Loved the color and varying styles of bridesmaids dresses. The olive green was used throughout the design and paired with orange tones.

Vintage (aka "old") window frames strung with jute twine and mini wooden clothes pins were used to hold escort cards.

A combination of mason jars, brown bottles and moss covered containers were used to hold a mix of roses, dahlias, gomphrena, bush ivy and asclepia. Single stems of ranunculus and viburnum berry filled the individual vases running the length of the table.

Sweet Treats were courtesy of Bubby's (famous for their pies!), cake from Momofuku milk bar and homemade whoopie pies by the couples aunt.

These programs were designed by a bridesman and printed by the uncle of the groom.

I especially loved the sweetheart table with the Mr. and Mrs. signs found from Little Wee Shop on etsy.

Hand painted table numbers on slices of birch bark.

Handwritten menu on a vintage mirror. Homemade granola, bbq rub and sauces made by Stephie and friends.

 

Best of luck to Stephie and Chris on a happy life together!

*Most images courtesy of Henry Shoots

Real Wedding: Sarah and Michael

I designed a wedding Memorial Day weekend at the Bellevue Hotel in Philadelphia. It was the second time I worked at the hotel but this time the reception was in the Rose Garden room rather than the Grand Ballroom. While both are lovely spaces I liked the slightly more modern feeling of the 19th floor and the Rose Garden room which was also much better suited for this smaller wedding. I'll post the professional shots as soon as I get them but in the meantime here's a peek at the personal flowers, my favorite thing to design for a wedding.

 I really loved this bouquet!! Lush, romantic white peonies, "Garden Snow" spray roses, "Juliette"  garden roses, mini succulents and peach calla lilies. The ombre peach and ombre gray ribbon were the perfect compliment to the bouquet.

 Let's just say corsages are really not my thing, I'm usually not a fan but I loved the way this turned out. I'm so happy that I didn't try and discourage the bride from her original vision for the bridesmaids. Okay to be honest I did try to change her mind, at first.

Here are my three reasons why: 1) smashed, 2) wilted and 3) beaten, all of which can happen to the flowers while they are swinging around the wrist from the old school elastic wristlet traditionally used to make a corsage. 

But not anymore, these corsage holders allowed me to create more of a flower bracelet, held snugly in place. Picture those "snap" bracelets you had as a kid. You can either tie the ribbon in bow as seen here or leave the streamers to hang from the wrist.

 

So for now I guess I'm a corsage convert...for now.

Academy of Arts & Letters

I was thrilled to donate flowers to a fundraising event to benefit The Academy of Arts & Letters held at Kai Studio in Brooklyn. There was no design direction other than the "disco" theme reflected on the invitation. I went with black glass vases and a combination of white dendrobium orchids with gold manzanita branches. I thought it was a perfect combination of elegance and glam. I hope the event was a huge success!