March « 2009 « Better Together Events

March, 2009

Personal Place Cards

Better Together Events assisted its first shower this weekend! The design concept behind the cards was a combination of the bride’s beautiful color palette (gold and pink) with the fun aspect of a luncheon shower (polka dots and a jeweled ornament detail).

The a la carte calligraphy services is one of my favorite aspects of the business. Almost every bride I know loves choosing their wedding stationary. Once the stationary comes in though, they are faced with the decision of how to address the cards and items to make them look their best. Calligraphy is a great way to add a personal touch. The calligraphy used for these shower place cards is a modern script, perfect for a daytime event.

Congrats to Suzi, the Bride-to-Be!

fabulous frocks / flowergirls — No Comments
25
Mar 09

Tutus: Tulle Done Right!

Ahhh… tutus. What woman young at heart isn’t taken back to ballet class at the site of these sweet cupcaked skirts? (Photos courtesy of Layla Grace).

I must say I love the flowergirl tutu trend. It is a great way to let the youngsters in your bridal party be kids and enjoy the day in style, fun, and comfort.

And, call me crazy, but a tiny floral wand might even work wonders in the design of certain weddings!

ceremony / tips — 3 Comments
21
Mar 09

Planning a Multifaith Wedding

Multifaith, or interfaith as they are often described, weddings have a bad reputation of being very tricky and challenging to plan. Certainly, there are challenging aspects, but with a good attitude and open paths of communication your multifaith wedding can be one of the most memorable and touching that guests have ever attended.

One of the most difficult planning aspects of a multifaith ceremony is securing clergy people who are willing to marry you. For most Jewish brides and grooms, Reform Rabbis will be your only option, and many of them will not marry you with a clergy person of another denomination. Similarly, Catholic priests have a number of rules that could prevent them from marrying a multifaith couple. However, there are priests, rabbis, and ministers out there that will be open and very supportive to the idea. In fact, since these clergy people are far and few between, they tend to go the extra mile and really get to know you, which contributes to an even more intimate ceremony. You just need the perseverance or the help of a knowledgeable wedding planner to find them.

The struggle to find clergy and the detailed conversations that follow after you find them can actually be extremely beneficial to the bride and groom. For one, they force the couple to discuss and answer some tough questions, which have probably already come up to some extent. When you have more than one person marrying you, this means twice the premarital counseling and twice the excuse to delve into those sensitive subjects.These are really the only two challenging aspects of the process. The actual planning of the ceremony and the combining of two traditions can be very fun and personal. In short, multifaith weddings bring out the best of both worlds. You are weaving together the thread of two traditions that is representative of who you are as a couple.

musical inspirations / tips — 2 Comments
20
Mar 09

First Dance Faves

One of my dear friends getting married this May has always known what she wanted her first dance to be. For those of you less sure, here’s a helping hand with the brainstorming. In no particular order of course…

Dream a Little Dream of Me by Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald
The same covered by the Mamas & the Papas (Mama Cass had some voice…)
It Had to Be You by Frank Sinatra (also covered so well by Harry Connick Jr. for one of my favorite flicks: When Harry Met Sally).
Moon River by Audrey Hepburn
I Can’t Help Falling in Love with You by Elvis (Booted from my personal top choice because my husband refused to slow dance to Elvis.)
The Luckiest by Ben Folds (When my sister got married, I teased her mercilessly about choosing a wedding song that mentions death, but she convinced me that it’s the real deal.)
The Best is Yet to Come covered by Stacey Kent
Crazy Love by Van Morrison
When You Say Nothing At All covered by Alison Kraus
What a Difference a Day Makes by Dinah Washington (Interestingly, this song was placed perfectly in the film Run Lola Run.)
Cheek to Cheek by Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong
In Your Eyes by Peter Gabriel (Just make sure it doesn’t make you think that you’re dancing with John Cusack.)
Nobody Knows Me by Lyle Lovett (I know, you’re wondering what Julie Roberts’ ex-husband is doing on the list, but this is a really sweet song.)
Songbird covered by Eva Cassidy
Feels Like Home by Chantel Kreviazuk
La Vie en Rose by Louis Armstrong
Unforgettable by Nat King Cole
Wonderful Tonight by Eric Clapton
Someone Like You by Van Morrison
The Nearness of You covered by Norah Jones
I’ll Be There by Sade
Bless the Broken Road by Rascall Flatts or by/with Carrie Underwood
At Last by Etta James (Great song, but did the Obama’s have to dance to the same song at every single ball?)
Everything I Do by Bryan Adams (I put this down only for my mother, who made us listen to this song repeatedly during car rides to and from school.)
Grow Old with Me by John Lennon
Better Together by Jack Johnson

Whatever you choose, have fun with the first dance! It’s a special moment, so enjoy it!

bridesmaids / fabulous frocks — No Comments
16
Mar 09

J.Crew Maids… Simply Stylish

J.Crew has done wonders for wedding fashions. Future blogs will be dedicated to how they can help with dressing the men in your wedding party and the little ones as well, but this one is all for the bridesmaids. This season, the designers at J.Crew have really stepped it up – of course it doesn’t hurt when the First Lady dresses herself and the First Kids in your clothes!

The fabric is divine, everything from cotton cady to silk tricotine, silk taffeta and silk chiffon. These fabrics look rich, in stark contrast to some of the rayon/cotton jersey dresses on the market. Like always, the colors and palettes pop and provide many opportunities to match the overall wedding color scheme. One of my favorite colors is this tea rose in the Cecelia short dress above. This is one of my favorite silhouettes in a smoothe silk tricotine.

These satin high-heeled sling backs would go great with the dress above, and they are on sale -even better! I know this comment will bring on some mocking from some special people in my life, but these shoes make my heart go pitter patter a little… the sweet color, the Italian design. Relatively affordable shoes do not get better than this if you ask me!

This color is another fave in the Spring collection, and I love the cut and design of this dress. The shoes above would also work well here.

What’s great about these designs is that brides can pick a palette and a fabric and let each individual bridesmaid select the silhouette.

The one major issue I have with J.Crew’s wedding collection is that most of their dresses only go up to a Size 12, rather unrealistic for the average woman. Still, if those limited sizes do happen to work for you, the prices are reasonable, the quality is supreme, and your bridesmaids will be happy in a dress they can definitely wear again!

stationary / tips — No Comments
13
Mar 09

Merci Beaucoup!

One of my clients recently asked my advice about thank you notes. Since, like most event planners, I have a borderline unhealthy relationship with stationary and spent way too many hours agonizing over the font of my website content, I decided to tackle this question as my first blog entry.

To celebrate your engagement and your wedding, your friends and family will shower you with their good wishes and blessings. They’ll give you gifts, throw parties in your honor, and assist you with all the things leading up to the big day. Thank you notes are a must to show your appreciation; it is important that they be personal and from the heart. Thank you notes are also important because they are the last item loved ones receive from you post-wedding, so it is your last chance to formally thank them with a personal touch.

To really give them a unique feeling, think about having custom cards printed with a monogram of some kind – perhaps the first initial of your last name, the monogram of you and your fiance, or your two first names together. Check out these personalized thank you notes from Silhouette Blue on Etsy.com. The cards have sweet designs are are perfect for sending out meaningful thank yous. This one in particular caught my eye and reminded me of the children’s book The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein.

The cards come in all sorts of colored cardstock and inks as well to coordinate with your overall theme.

Keep in mind these handy tips as you start to receive gifts and think about drafting thank you notes.

No matter what, poor handwriting and all, you must write a handwritten note. The effort speaks volumes to your appreciation of the gift. Make sure you mention the particular gift and why you are appreciative of it.

I know Emily Post says you have a year to write a thank you note, but try to send them out as soon as possible, ideally within 3 weeks of receiving your gift.

Have an Excel Spreadsheet of all your wedding guests. Whenever you receive a gift, add it to the spreadsheet along with the date the thank you note was completed. Every month, schedule an evening of thank you note writing. Feel free to drink wine and thank at the same time!

Ignore the bridal magazines and do not take your thank you notes with you on your honeymoon. 1) You won’t write them. 2) You will have more time and energy to focus on them when you get back home. Also, remember you can always hire a wedding planning service like mine to help you with addressing the envelopes so that you can focus your precious time on penning the thanks!

Happy Thanking and because the French always say it better, “Merci!”