Light of Love

Photo courtesy of Project Wedding

 One of the big new trends for sending a couple off into wedded bliss at the end of their wedding day is sparklers.

I absolutely love the idea, its fun, its romantic and the photos always turn out stunning.

Photo courtesy of Love Promise and Ring

 Many venues though do not allow open flame and hence have banned the whole sparkler idea. I have found since this has become such a big trend though that some venues are bending the rules for this brief moment which will most likely take place out side.

Photo courtesy of Twigs and Thistle Store

If this is something you are planning on doing, or if this post alone has made you fall in love with the idea, be sure to check with the venue about their flame policy before you sign anything. Although there are many alternatives to a send off, none seem quite as "bright" as this one.

Photo courtesy of 100 Layer Cake

It is fun to be funny

Engagement pictures. A debate in itself whether or not the are necessary and once you have decided yes, they are, then what do you do.

I will post about the debate of engagement pictures soon. Its a long one and there are always a huge list of pros and cons.

Bottom line....if you DO have engagement pictures done, make sure they are YOU (have I mentioned this enough in my posts yet). This engagement shoot has gone viral all over the Internet. I think its for so many reasons...they have captured something they love, they are having tons of fun, the pictures are funny and you can also see how much they love each other!

I hope you enjoy these as much as I did! (my husband even loved them)

Photos from Amanda Rynda

the LOVE & free stuff contest

Hey everyone! I’ve teamed up with photographer Carolyn Egerszegi and videographer Nate Makes Films to give you an amazing chance to win some free goodies. If you, or someone you know has recently gotten engaged, then check out this awesome contest!

Who doesn’t like LOVE? And who doesn’t like FREE STUFF?

Nobody! That’s who!

We all love LOVE and we all love FREE STUFF.

That’s why Vancouver based wedding professionals Carolyn Egerszegi Photography, Nate Makes Films and Bailey’s Brides have teamed up to create an awesome love-filled free stuff giveaway.

You can win all of this:

1) A photo engagement session with high-resolution images on DVD from Carolyn Egerszegi Photography.

2) A video engagement session with a 5-minute film on DVD from Nate Makes Films.

3) Day of Ceremony wedding co-ordination services from Bailey’s Brides.

Total Value in excess of $1,200!

Click here to read more and enter to win!

Good luck and happy planning!

Pinwheel party

I am a huge fan of do it yourself projects. Not only are they economical, they are fun and they allow for your creativity and personality to shine through.

Planning a wedding is difficult and having numerous DIY projects on hand can make it that more complicated and add a lot of unneeded stress, but with a little timing and planning, some help from family and the bridal party any task can be done.

Pinwheels are my absolutely favorite trend right now. It would be such a simple task for fellow helpers as well, ship them some paper that you love, they can make them and bring them to you on your wedding day!

A they are incredibly simple to make and depending on the paper you use can be incredibly inexpensive as well. Here is a small tutorial on how to make them:

Now that you know how to make them, I hope these pictures will inspire you to use them at your wedding. There are so many ways to incorporate them and so many different styles. I would suggest using scrap booking paper as their is much more variation, colours and textures. Your local dollar store should sell some sheets that will be between .50 and $1.00.

Let your imagination go wild:

Hanging pinwheels to anchor a table setting

Bouquets!

Toppers for your cakes and cupcakes

Wall decorations

Backdrop for the alter

Ambiance and color!

Happy Planning!

A "sign" of the times

A new trend that I absolutely love in weddings and I feel can be used at any kind of wedding whether it be a high class affair or rustic backyard wedding, is signs. I love them.

They are a great way to add some personalization into your wedding, help your guests with directions on what to do or where to go and can even double as a thank you card for after the wedding.

You can go as professional or as DIY as you would like.

Sites to obtain a professional look, that I would recommend would be Etsy. Although I have never used this particular seller, a quick search of "wedding signs" will draw up numerous options such as the Rustic Charmer.  Remember with Etsy that some prices are negotiable and most items are up for more in depth personalization. Be sure to contact the seller directly and discuss options.

Another option would be DIY. There are many sites that have the templates already there for you, its just a matter of saving the templates and tweaking them to add your own personal touch. Some sites that offer such things are, Martha Stewart Weddings in the template section, Kiss the Groom (who has a kissing tree template) and last but not least, my favorite, The Wedding Chicks (be sure to scour their website for much more free goodies and templates!).

No matter which way you choose remember that this is a great opportunity to have some fun and a great way to add your own personal touch.

To pom pom your wedding

Pom poms.  I remember them when I was little, they were entirely to much fun to play with and I loved all the colours, so imagine my surprise when I started planning my wedding and I noticed poms poms in so many wedding pictures.

 I loved them they seemed so whimsical, cute and brought some colour to a venue. I thought it was a great way to have "fun". I made two of them to see what they would look like and had planned on using them going down the aisle.

 

I was not impressed and was worried it looked a little to "DIY". My bridesmaids soon nixed the idea and I  moved on. Here is the look I was going for:

Gorgeous! My only concern, and as a wedding planner would like to advise to all my brides, is the consistency and placing of them. To little, to big to small or random, can come across as scattered, un kept and disorganized, please be sure to keep the consistency when making something like this.

Now every bride has their own personality and tissue poms poms are inexpensive, easy to make and look great, but to put your own twist on it and to break free from the trend, why not try making them with something different like:

Coffee Filter pom poms

Doily pom poms

T-shirt or fabric pom poms

 

 

 

My favorite, by far though is tulle. TULLE. Its fairly inexpensive but you have to use much more material to make them. They turn out much more softer then the tissue paper, look much more expensive and classical and have a soft romantic look to them.

 

Either way, what ever you choose should reflect your personality, whether it be through the materials you use, the colours you use or how you hang them (be careful about low ceilings and rooms with now windows!).

Tutorial on tulle pom poms

Tutorial on tissue pom poms

Mad for bunting

Well wedding season has sprung again and all the new ideas for wedding trends are popping up like crazy.

An old trend, that was popular when i was getting married (you know...way back then in July of 2010) was bunting. Its an incredibly time consuming task and I simply did not have the resources (aka man power) and time to grapple such a task, but I wish I had.

It would be great for any wedding:

 A more high end wedding

Backyard wedding

and can be sued to add your personal touch and flare

I mean, if its good enough for Princess Catherine and Prince William, its good enough for us commoners right?

Now back to all seriousness. Bunting is an amazing way to incorporate the colours of your wedding or play on the elegance you are trying to obtain or playfulness even. It by far one of my favorite accents to a wedding and for a DIY kind of bride it is a great way of showing how much time and love has gone into your projects.

If you decide to take this route, make sure you make it your own. Unique. Should it be through the choice of colour or even the shape. Remember though, this is a huge project so start early.

Here is a link to a great site on how to make the bunting yourself. It will give you 10 how to steps as well as a video! click here to begin your journey!

Hope this has inspired you. Happy planning!

The colour for 2011

Its official! Pantone has announced the "it" colour for 2011.

Ready folks, its:

What a gorgeous colour!! Its a truly versatile colour that can be used during any season of wedding planning. An accent colour in the winter or the main colour in the summer.

Image courtesy of Borrowed and Bleu

                                                       

Happy Planning!

Damask Weddings

In September I worked with my first bride at my first wedding. It was fantastic. I will follow up on that wedding in more detail when I receive some of her pictures.

For now I would like to touch on the newest wedding trend. Damask. This was the theme at the wedding I worked at in September. Her accent was red and it was an absolutely gorgeous wedding. Damask lends a very classic and elegant touch to any wedding.

The obvious idea for damask would be for an elegant and formal affair but working in the wedding planning business, I have discovered a few things. Everything in moderation can be done anywhere and anytime.

A damask themed wedding in a ballroom could also be transformed into a smaller more intimate back yard wedding

and remember, its always in the details

Although the going trend right now is black and white damask, which makes it more apporpriate for a winter wedding, remember, damask can be ANY colour which can fit to your fall, spring or summer wedding. Do not ever let the idea of "whats in" or "appropriate" stop you from having your dream wedding.

Happy Planning.