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So, Engage09 happened not too long ago on Grand Cayman Island, bringing together the creme de la creme of the wedding industry. Due to it’s huge response rate, there will be an encore presentation; an intensive version of the event in Las Vegas this October! Oh, how I wish I had the $1500 to attend… Here are some photos from the previous event, taken from the Weddingbee blog!

Lorraine and David were married in May at Barton Hills Country Club in Ann Arbor. Lorraine used a lot of branches in her decor, and wanted her Curly Art bouquet painting to reflect the wedding. The inspiration, in fact, came from her invitation graphic!

I wanted to also share some of the detail that goes into creating these paintings, so a few closeups will follow!

This painting is very different from what Betty has done in the past - and she let me know how much she loved doing it!

Congratulations Lorraine and David, it is a beautiful painting! It really does look like your invitation has come to life!

Anne and Brian were married last Friday at the Martha Mary Chapel in Greenfield Village. They personalized the most amazing vows, I am so happy they had a Mike Staff videographer present to capture them! Their officiant did a wonderful job; he typically works at the Chapel but does do off-site ceremonies and I will absolutely be referring Pastor Fred in the future!

Chair covers (black spandex), centerpieces, altar arrangements and personal flowers were provided by the amazing Fabulous Events. I love that the tallest centerpieces were wedged between bamboo poles! It looked incredible and Anne could not have been happier when she walked into the room!

Carolyn Almassy was our contact at the Westin at the airport, and she did an amazing job with everything! The staff there is wonderful to work with as well, it makes me excited to come back in October! They were quick to change out some of the more faded black tablecloths for me, placed the menus into the napkins, and did a great job with some quick additions at the end. The grand entrance was very carefully planned by Anne, Brian and their DJ - as they entered through the curtained-off dance floor under a spotlight (all lighting provided by The Lighting Guy) to a variety of music to get the crowd excited for the evening ahead!

Their cake was created by Zingerman’s with gradients of silver, edible blue gems, and a horseshoe on top! Anne and Brian also included Zingermans bars as some of their favors (each table received their own type of favor!). Music for the evening was provided by DJ Urban Kris from Mike Staff (he did a wonderful job!), and all paper products were courtesy of Kristie from So In Love.

Last but absolutely not least, the very talented Dionne from The Shooting Gallery photographed the day with some help from her husband Joe. The above photo is a sneak peak she sent me, and I cannot wait to see the rest! I have the privilege of working with Dionne again this weekend

While in California last week, I also stopped by the California Gift Show and L.A. Mart at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. It was so much fun thinking outside the box, meeting wholesale vendors, and getting new and unique ideas for future weddings!

One of my favorite booths was that of True Birds, a California-based company that does awesome hair accessories! If I could have my own little wedding boutique and office space in downtown Ann Arbor (yes, a dream of mine!), I would definitely offer their pieces to my clients!

Another favorite was Bo’s Art, a company that creates absolutely stunning hand bags from steel mesh! They also have bracelets, belts, earrings, and card holders. I would just love walking into meetings carrying a steel mesh purse though!

I do LOVE letterpress, so I was very excited to find another great letterpress company, DeLuce Design.

It was a lot of fun looking at all the new products (including Christmas, which I don’t want to think about right now!), hopefully next year will be bigger and better!

I was so excited to see Jenny & Art’s professional photos posted on the lovely Kara Purtell’s blog! Their wedding was back on June 13th at the Farmer’s Market in Ann Arbor, and I just love their photos!

The ceremony was held at the Matthaei Botanical Gardens in Ann Arbor.

They used so many wonderful details to make the wedding a reflection of who they are. It was beautiful!

Congratulations again you two!

The other day, I had a meeting cancel because the venue had promised a prospective client that they would be there to handle all the planning necessities as well as the day-of wedding tasks. I was very surprised after hearing that - but when you look at many venue websites, they do claim to offer such services. In reality, this is (about 99% of the time) just a claim to make them seem more attractive to you in the first place.

What might be some reasons why venues claim these services?

1. They receive kick-backs from vendors whom they recommend
2. They want to maintain control of all aspects of the wedding, even though it may not always be with the bride’s best interest in mind
3. They want to stand out from the competition, and claiming to provide planning services does create added value
4. They feel threatened by wedding planners (which is silly, we are there to make things better!) or new vendors

Now, here are some opinions on why venues really should recommend at least a day-of coordinator (many southern California venues require a coordinator - I love that!)

1. We make sure the venue has all the details they need before going into the big day, including vendor arrival times, setup information that will change their schedule, room layout changes etc.
2. We make sure the kitchen is informed if the bridal party is running late, ensuring that food is hot when served to guests
3. We find your toasting flutes after all glasses have been cleared, we make sure your cake set is washed and returned to you, and we make sure all your other items get packed up so the venue doesn’t have to throw things away or store them until you can pick them up
4. We make them look better - when everything runs on time, smoothly, and controlled it will also be attributed to their wonderful work

The venue may think they can handle coordinating your wedding, but when they say that they are really just showing their ignorance to all the aspects involved in making your day run smoothly. Before discrediting the value of a planner, ask yourself, or your venue, the following questions:

1. Who will make sure my timeline is realistic and accurate, from the few days before the wedding (nailappointment, rehearsal, rehearsal dinner, lunches etc.), to the morning of the wedding (hair and makeup logistics, arrival of vendors) to the end of the night? Usually venues only deal with the times involved in meal service.
2. Who will make sure I don’t forget anything for the wedding?
3. Who will make sure all items are set up correctly, including favors, candles, photos, guest book, linens, candy buffet, card box, flutes, cake table decor, head table decor, etc.?
4. Who will make sure the bride and groom don’t see each other before the ceremony? Or, if they are doing a reveal, who will make sure both parties are ready to go and set up correctly? (if a photographer is shooting solo, having someone else there to help them do this is very important)
5. If you are not getting married in a church that has an on site coordinator, who will line everyone up, make sure the bridal party is ready and knows how to stand, makes sure you get tissues when you need them, and make sure all the music is cued correctly?
6. Who will make sure all your vendors arrive on time and are providing exactly what is specified in your contract?
7. Who will alter the timeline if needed based on uncontrollable events?
8. Who will make sure the mother of the bride is not in the bathroom during the first dance?
9. Who will fix your bustle when all your girls are having fun, or have forgotten how, or need a sewing kit or safety pins to make it happen?
10. Who will serve YOU the entire day, making sure that YOU are happy and that things are turning out exactly how YOU want them to?

The answer is - your planner will. A planner is not just there before the wedding to make sure you have everything set and ready to go, they are there with you throughout the day to make sure it happens how you want it to happen, so that all you take away are wonderful memories.

Delegating those tasks to 10 different people will only ensure that something falls through the cracks. Hoping that your venue will have time for all of that while at the same time making sure the staff is doing their job, that food is going out and that things are being cleared, is absolutely unrealistic.

In Pasadena, CA there is a small shop called The Soap Kitchen. Run by a mother and daughter team, they make their own soaps in-house (you can see the “kitchen” from inside the shop!), cut it and package it right there. They have a line of favors called Soaplessly Devoted, or you can contact them to create the favor of your dreams! All orders over $100 also include free shipping - an easy mark to surpass when ordering enough for all your guests!

In addition to adorable favors, their soaps and other beauty products would make wonderful gifts for a friend’s birthday, so a male friend or colleague, as a housewarming gift, or just because. They have pre-made gift sets, or you can create your own!

One favor I think is adorable is this monogrammed mini soap. This would fit into any purse or pocket at your party!

This one is great too - use the soap as a place card! That way, you kill two birds with one stone (the other being your favor), and it is something that everyone there can use. Make sure you don’t remove the ingredients list however - just in case someone is allergic!

I just returned from a trip to California, and while I was there, decided to check out an ABC (Association of Bridal Consultants) meeting in Orange County! The meeting was held at the Surf and Sand Resort in Laguna Hills, which of course meant breathtaking views of the ocean!

The meeting began on the terrace, overlooking the ocean. We were served appetizers such as mango chicken, sushi, and lettuce wraps. Those were washed down with champagne, pina coladas, mojitos and a few other yummy concoctions (my drink of choice was the pina colada)! From there, we were escorted to the ballroom, where we were greeted with wonderful centerpieces from Lavender Hill and linens/chairs provided by Fusion Linens.

Dinner began with a salad of proscuitto wrapped grilled peaches and greens, followed by a duet entree consisting of citrus chicken breast and kahlua pork wrapped in filo (heavenly!), BBQ scalloped potatoes, and jalepeno and cheddar corn bread. During dinner, several of the local chapter’s members spoke on the benefits to other vendors (halls included) of recommending wedding planners - of which I will be blogging about soon!

After dinner, we were again moved to the lower level outside the hotel lobby, where an ABC gobo lit up the entire wall of the hotel. Coffee and tea were served with Fry Girl donuts, an amazing late night treat!

One of the major differences from Michigan meetings - 163 attendees, over half of whom were vendors and not wedding planners! It was a great experience, and hopefully on my next visit I can check out what ABC - Los Angeles has to offer!

Yao & Chris were married on June 20th at Island Park in Ann Arbor. I was so excited when Yao emailed me a link to her slideshow from photographer Linda Wan! I love love love all the emotion in these shots! Disclaimer: the above shot was taken by me, not Linda! I just don’t have one of hers yet to use… Enjoy the show!

I was SO excited to see Amy & Ryan’s invitations on Gourmet Invitations’ blog today! They are amazing, Amy could not be happier, and I just know their guests are going to LOVE them!

Amy’s colors for the wedding are lime green, black and hot pink - but none of the greens were working for her so that will be a surprise color for the wedding day.

I just love the monogram they are using! Since the food will be served as stations, no meal choice was required on the RSVP - that will definitely make their lives easier over the next few months!

This has got to be the best hot pink color ever! I love what it does for the rest of the set.

Address wraps are my favorite way to go about addressing envelopes - they are easy to do, you can add a graphic, and it allows the use of dark envelopes.

Finally, these coasters are just amazing! Not only are they circular, they are also letterpressed! Tifany, you did an amazing job on these, I am excited to see the rest fo the extras!

Amy and Ryan - congratulations!