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Weddings are an affirmation of love, caring, family, friends and hope for the future.   They are the perfect opportunity to show a couples love, affection and gratitude by giving their friends and family a day they will never forget.  It is a compliment to everyone who attends your wedding and reception to plan out a beautiful, fun, interesting event.  Attention to the details will make the difference.  Remember it is the little details that create the biggest impression.  Start by collecting ideas that capture the mood, feel and style you want to convey.  Pictures from magazines, scraps of fabric, paint samples from your local hardware store, colored ribbons, maybe even a poem, single words or phrases.  Anything that gives you inspriation to leads you to sum up the look and mood of your special day.  Having a clear sence of what you want to achieve before you start will help you with the hundreds of decisions you will need to make when planning your wedding.

The journey toward any celebration can be overwhelming by the huge number of planning and design decisions that must be made.  Then, once the design concept has been chosen you have the task of pulling everything together to make it work.  There are some basic rules that I want to share with you.  They will help you with making these decisions.

1. Don’t worry about “Trendy” The most successful events focus on basic classic details not the latest fad.  Classic is always beautiful.

2. Simple details are not the same as cheap details.  Simple does not need to be minimal.  You can make a simple design by limiting the types of materials but giving an abundant effect by repeating the design many times.

3. Focus on the event environment and design the elements of the event to suit the setting.  Your design for a garden party will need to fit the garden concept while a roof top terrace will lend itself to an entirely different design vision.

4. Design your event to make your guests comfortable.  Never sacrifice the comfort of your friends and family just to highlight a design element. 

5. Limit your design elements to three choices.

6. Know what is important to you when designing your event, then stick to your priorities.  If your priority is fun and dancing then put your efforts towards finding the best dance floor and band you can afford

7.  Worry about providing a gracious, comfortable event rather than making a huge impression and you’ll find the results worth the effort.

8.  Your guests will never notice that you used five flowers in your arrangement instead of three.  What they will always notice is if you skimp on service.  This is part of making the event comfortable.  If your guests are well taken care of they will have a great time

In the past 30 years I have helped hundreds of brides and corporate clients plan and design the decor for their events.  During this time I have been the lucky Event Planner that gets to participate in the celebrations of some of life’s greatest milestones.  Weddings, Birthdays, Memorial Services, Anniversaries, Corporate Galas, or a party to honor a special achievement, each and every one a special occasion and a cause for celebration.  Staging and decoration these events is an art form.  In essence, you don’t plan a party as much as you design it with the venue as your stage.  This room becomes the canvas on which you will apply your ideas and vision.   Experience has taught me to trust my instincts, to conceptualize, then design the event.  Start with a color palette, choose the room layout, select the size tables or cocktail furnishings, choose the linens, flowers and design elements.  Compliment everything with the most overlooked element, lighting.  Then when you select the menu it will be the last element that ties the decor together.  Choose the caterer carefully and make sure that the one you select is not only wonderful with the food but also comfortable with tablescapes that compliment the menu and pull everything together for a spectacular event design that will inspire all that attend.

Whimsical….Opulent…Romantic?  Choose your style and then let your imagination run wild.  Give your event planner many ideas and options and allow them to create a design that reflect your personality to its fullest.  Your inspiration might come from a sparkling waterfall, a simple red fall leaf or the elaborate water fountain outside your favorite building, perhaps you saw a cascade of orchids with bold colors in a fabulous vase with a different shape, whatever your inspiration, strive to create a tablescape that sets the tone for the entire event with a single glance.  Start with the simple shape of the tables and add lush linens, several layers of color and fabric texture are very much in vogue right now.  Find linens with rich trim and unexpected color combinations to add interest and an element of surprise.   If the room is large and opulent then use arrangements that sore above the table.  For a room that has low ceilings try using long and low arrangements.  When given a choice use seating options that add variety and interest such as benches, ottomans or a combination of chairs and couches.  Shake it up and add throw pillows in bright complimentary colors. Floral arrangements don’t need to be made of only flowers.  Add colored jewels on sticks, colorful summer fruits and vegetables or add herbs and other natural materials. Look for elements that will differentiate your event from all other and remember that everything does not necessarily need to match.  Mix up the china, glassware and silverware for an eclectic affair, just keep it simple to keep from becoming too busy.

You may choose Magenta Cattleya Orchids, Gloriosa Lilies, Tulips or Yellow Cymbidium Orchids wrapped in a cuff of Rhinestones or Satin Ribbon with Mother of Pearl Trim for your wedding bouquet.  Your wedding planner can guide you in the right direction to help you select not only the perfect flowers but the perfect florist too.  These days the wedding bouquet is intended to be bewitching, enchanting with undiluted beauty.  It is easy to accomplish  the creation of an enchanting bouquet thanks to the abundant variety of blooms that are available year round from all over the world.   Choose flowers that reflect your style and personality then choose the most talented florist that can compose the perfect bouquet that makes a striking statement as you walk down the aisle.  Nothing quite captures the delight of romance and the magic of your special day the way flowers do.

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Happy New Year!! And Congratulations! You just got engaged and now its time to start creating the ideal wedding.  One that’s fun, beautiful and one that is uniquely you.  As you begin this exciting journey to get you and your fiance down the aisle your wedding planner will be your guide to make sense of the ideas and inspirations you’ve collected.  You will have a million little details and decisions to make before this adventure comes to a close.  The more photographs and notes you can provide to your wedding planner the more able they will be to provide you with expert advice and design ideas that fit your event.  You will be faced with decisions you probably haven’t even thought of or anticipated yet.  Many of these decisions may even come as a surprise to you.  Details from the shoes you plan to wear, the icing on your cake, the size of the cake, do you want a grooms cake, the wedding jewelry, the wedding gown, bridesmaid dresses, flower girl attire, flowers, the ceremony, the reception, the sign-in book, the guest list, the weight of the invitation.  The list goes on and on!  Today’s most sought after wedding planners know where to find answers, know where to find inspirations and know who the vendors are that you need to turn to to create your dream event.  Most importantly, they know how to make the right decisions and that will make your wedding day a dream come true.

After you have selected your wedding planner the most important detail after you become engaged will be shopping for the most beautiful wedding jewelry you can afford.  Once the excitement of the big day is long past the wedding jewelry will be a daily reminder of the fleeting moment when you said “I DO”.   Set your wedding jewelry budget and then stay within your comfort zone and personal fashion style, remember you will both wear this treasure for many years to come,  day in and day out.  Choose a Jewelry Company that you are familiar with and that you trust.  Today there are some of the finest jewelry company’s available on line and with fantastic websites.  When you take advantage of these sites you have the advantage of more choices and designer selections at better prices, some are even duty free and most offer free shipping and hassle free 30 day return policies.  Check out Diamonds International, Blue Nile, Bright Diamond, Ice.com, Sea of Diamonds and Diamond.com just to name a few.  Happy Shopping!!

I love, love, love Hydrangea’s.  I love their shape, I love their colors And I love their look. Hydrangea’s are round, bushy heads of fabulous multiple little scent free blossoms.  Did I say that I love their colors?  Hydrangeas are found in several shades of blue, pink, purple, green and white.  This garden favorite is perfect for any occasion and any type of floral arrangement.  Bunch them together in every shade you can find them in and then add a lovely mix of smaller blooms such as freesia, stephanotis, lily of the valley or another of my all time favorites, peonies.  You can mix them with deep red roses, tropical-hued orchids or vivid bunches of calla lilies for a great big splash.  As a wedding planner and event decorator, I like to decorate the event with extra blooms in unexpected places. These flowers are the perfect solution for touches of color here and there and make such a nice impression. 

As the owner of a Wedding and Event planning company we are bracing ourselves for the huge number of phone calls and e-mails that are the traditional end to the holiday season and our start of the new business year ahead.  Everyone gets engaged over the holidays and everyone starts out their wedding planning with an appointment with their potential wedding planner.  At least the smart bride and groom starts there. I have been in this business for 30 plus years and I know most every vendor, event venue, cake baker, engagement jeweler, invitation and stationary store, florist, photographer, etc, etc. in the greater Austin area and many in other areas as well.   I know who does what they advertise that they do and I know who doesn’t.  Unfortunately there are many that don’t deliver what they are selling.  A well seasoned wedding consultant will save you a great deal of money (usually more than their fee), stress and frustration and direct you around these wedding obstacles as you plan the biggest event of your life.  If you are on a limited budget at least take advantage of a planner that offers a guidance package.  This is usually a couple of consultations and vendor recommendations to keep you on the right track.  Have a great time planning your wedding and Happy New Year!!

Its just a few days till Christmas and I’m rushing around taking care of last minute details for our big Christmas Party.  I can’t seem to stop party planning even on the holidays.  I just spoke to my caterer and guaranteed my guest count and finalized my menu.  Since I didn’t call the florist in time I plan to do the flower arrangements myself.  I’m not a trained florist so I only arrange flowers for myself.  Since I’m the designer today I plan to use my favorite flower  It is the Iris which was the emblem of the gods to the Ancient Greeks, a regal symbol to the Pharaohs of Egypt and used in the beautiful art works of Monet and Van Gogh.  If you ever plan to purchase irises for a flower arrangement buy only irises when their buds show a little color, otherwise they will not open.  Irises that are already in flower will not last very long and are only worth buying if you need immediate colour.