It's Wedding Day...

It's wedding day for Shannon & Clay, they will be celebrating their nuptials at the Buttes Resort in Tempe.

Tracy Kreck from Photographic Passions did their e-session as well as will be our photographer for today. I can't wait to see this wedding thru her lens.

Well off to the festivities!

All the best & 'til next time,

Upcoming Bridal Shows in the Phoenix Area this Week...

We've got a busy, busy week ahead with bridal shows here in the valley, check out:

Phoenix Bridal Show
Sunday, October 4th
10am to 3pm
Cardinals Stadium

East Valley Bridal Affair™
Sunday, October 4th
11am-4pm
The Windemere Hotel and Conference Center
5750 E. Main Street
Mesa, AZ 85205


OR Plan ahead for next week…..


Tre Bella Open House
119 W. Main Street
Mesa,AZ 85201
Wednesday, October 7th
6:30pm-8:30pm
For more information call (480) 677-1387

Please RSVP by Monday October 5, 2009. Come and tour our beautiful venue and enjoy cocktail and hors d'oeuvres.

Here are some tips for attending a bridal show:

• Register and purchase your tickets before the show in order to save a few $$$
• Wear comfy shoes, resist the urge to wear your cutest and go for the comfort factor
• Bring along a few friends or close family members, not the entire bridal party, you want to have the opportunity to chat with the vendors in order to get a feel for their personality and style (you get to see the vendors after a long day on their feet, possibly a rough load in and set up and with a lot of people up in their grill - potentially similar to the conditions on your wedding day - how do they present themselves?)
• Bring along a larger tote bag - of course you will most likely get the standard paper bag at the door or from one of the tuxedo rental companies, but often these tear after being loaded down with all of the marketing material you will pick up and the handles can seriously cut into your hands after a while!
• Come prepared with labels that include your Name, wedding date, complete address and e-mail address
• Bring along a pen and note pad, as well as post it notes, if you see a florist's designs that you like or taste a wonderful cake, make a note or put a post it on that vendor's brochure, that way when you get home and you are perusing the mounds of postcards and flyers you will be reminded of your likes and dislikes
• Don't bring along your checkbook - I know every vendor is probably going to hate me for this one, but as a wedding consultant I want you to make sure that you are choosing the right vendors for your wedding. Take the time after the show to visit with a few vendors from each category, check out their websites, ask around and educate yourself on each vendors offerings and qualifications before signing on the dotted line.

If you want to stop by and say "Hi", I will be camped out in the Arizona's Finest Wedding Sites & Services booth on Sunday, October 4th at the Phoenix Bridal Show, helping Terri hand out some magazines. I also hope to catch the open house at Tre Bella on Wednesday evening, hope to see you somtime this week!

All the best & 'til next time,

Profound Words...

Freakin' Fabulous Friday - Soup

Well we are almost to the end of our dining etiquette portion of our Freakin' Fabulous Fridays series, where we are highlighting some of the key points from Clinton Kelly's book Freakin' Fabulous.


Next on the menu, SOUP!

First tip: Hold your soupspoon, with the handle resting on the tops of your fingers and held in place with your thumb, NOT with all fingers grasped around like you were holding a baseball bat. Now you probably wonder why I would mention that??? And the answer is - because I have seen it done!


Secondly: Next the spoon enters the bowl closest to you, scooping away from you. You then sip (NOT slurp - that tip is from the Mom in me, sorry! Once a Mom, always a Mom) from the side of the spoon. Lather, rinse, repeat - oops wrong lesson. Anway repeat the process until the soup is gone.


Third Tip: If you want to get every last drop (BTW totally acceptable and a huge compliment to the host/hostess/chef) you will tip the bowl away from and scoop up the last tasty drop.


Lastly: If your soup is served in a soup plate (a very wide rimmed, shallow bowl with a plate underneath - typically used at a formal dinner) it is acceptable to leave the spoon resting in the bowl as it would be difficult to place the spoon on the plate underneath. If you are at a luncheon where a soup bowl is used when you have finished this course, you would rest the spoon on the plate below.

So, now that you have been following along for a few weeks, Are you feeling more confident and Fabulous?



All the best & 'til next time,







Featured Resource:

Paloma Blanca Trunk Show

Paloma Blanca has been servicing brides since 1937, offering expert fit, high quality fabrications, and attention to detail. Each of their gowns show their long-standing commitment to providing each bride with her dream dress. Visit Destiny's Bride and view the newest collection from this design house as they begin their first ever trunk show season.

This event is by appointment only.

Where:
Destiny's Bride
6166 N Scottsdale Rd.
Suite 609
Scottsdale AZ 85253

When:
Aug 28, 2009 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
(3 day event)




All the best & 'til next time,

Lora & Dane's Black & White Damask Wedding - Part 3 "The DIY Details"

Lora was such a crafty bride, there were so many DIY projects that I needed to devote an entire blog entry to cover all of them. So I am going to keep the boring words to a minumum and let you enjoy all of the details that made their wedding a personal labor of love. As with Part 1 "The Ceremony" and Part 2 "The Reception", all of the photos are courtesy of Michelle Meyer Photography, she did such an amazing job of catching all of the little details. Thanks Michelle it was such a pleasure working with you!

The ring bearer's bow tie and pillow.

The garters & her own bouquet.

Dane's tie, all of the boutonierres and corsages. Lora also painted the damask design on the black tub that contained their personalized water bottles.

This is probably my favorite of all the details that Lora incorporated, instead of a plain index card, she even included the damask motif and the words "I Do" on the cards that contained their personalized vows.

The fan ceremony programs and all of the table runners.

If she didn't paint the damask motif on one of the candles, she embellished it with ribbon. Lora even made her own veil which she removed after the ceremony and replaced it with her DIY fascinator and I'm sure saved a bundle on that little number alone.


I have to admit when Lora told me in our initial meeting that she was making a lot of the décor herself, I cringed just a bit. You see sometimes when brides take on so many of these details and DIY projects, they occasionally will get stressed, not finish and have a meltdown as the day appoaches. But that was not the case and to my delight everything turned out amazing. It was like Christmas morning as I opened box after box of all of the decor items! If she wasn't going to Med School, I would probably try to hire her to help out around here, she truly made their wedding gorgeous with all of the details.

I'm gonna miss you Lora & Dane, good luck to both of you in Med School and I wish you all the blessings this life has to offer!



All the best & 'til next time,

Lora & Dane's Black & White Damask Wedding - Part 2 "The Reception"

Well we are continuing with Lora & Dane's June 12th wedding celebration, if you haven't already read it, check out Part 1 "The Ceremony".


They started off their reception with all of the customary special dances on the black and white dance floor. Everyone loved that it was a welcome departure from the dated parquet dance floor, a BIG impact for just a few dollars more.














Here is Lora with her Dad, Tom, they had some really special moments just the two of them, both on the walk down the aisle as well as during their dance to Rascal Flatt's "My Wish". In fact, I found myself needing to go find something else to attend to, as I started to get a little emotional myself!






Dane and his Mom, Christy, had a little more fun with their dance. I don't think their was an inch of the dance floor that they didn't cover. While the Father-Daughter dance was really touching and emotional, the Mother-Son dance was upbeat, fun and what a way to get the party started!































In order to keep costs down, instead of a full dinner reception they had a dessert reception with all of the goodies you could imagine! Chocolate covered strawberries, fruit & cake kabobs, cream puffs, cheescake bites, chocolate truffles, as well as a family recipe of a frozen Torte that I was told was too die for, not to mention a ton of other sweets. Good thing I was too busy to nosh on some of this delectable goodness, I think I put on 10 pounds just looking at the dessert buffet.

The pièce de résistance was the absolutely gorgeous white & black damask cake provided by Monica with Sugar and Bliss Bakery.










Thanks to Steve with FX Entertainment the dance floor was full the entire night.

To add more entertainment and lots of smiles to the evening's festivities Lora & Dane brought in a photo booth provided by Phoenix Photo Booths. There was a line all night long!

Lora and Dane planned almost everything, she was so organized and made my life so easy. I came in as her Day of Coordinator, but one of the things she was having difficulty finding was a unique form of transportation, they didn't want the standard limo. After chatting with Dane about the slim number of choices of classic cars (especially in the summer), I suggested London Luxury Car and to my delight found out that Dane's family would get a kick out of the choice due to their occasional trips to London. So, the evening finished off with Lora & Dane being chauffered off by none other than Miss Lisa Schifano.

Come back tomorrow, as we feature all of the DIY projects and amazing details that Lora incorporated into her Black & White Damask Wedding!

All the best & 'til next time,







All photos provided by Michelle Meyer Photography.