Monday, December 19, 2011

Pittsburgh Wedding Planner | Client Love Notes {Nina & Craig}

"We want to thank you for everything you did to help our dream wedding become a reality. You were so fun and helpful throughout the whole process. We appreciate all your hard work and patience :-) We pray you continue to have great success because you truly are one of the best. Thanks again to you and your staff for everything!"

Love,
Craig & Nina Wade

Photo Credit: Paul Meyer Photography

Sunday, December 11, 2011

Pittsburgh Wedding Planner | Hues of Love {Purple Inspiration}

Modern brides can not get enough of purple and its multitude of shades! While browsing one of our favorite floral and event designer blog's, Karen Tran, we found this fabulous reception for the purple-lovers and we are swoon :-) Note how the basis of this design is white but the hues of purple throughout (lighting, linens, stationery) add the perfect pop of color, completely bringing this design to life! Photo Credit: Boyd Harris via Karen Tran

Sunday, December 4, 2011

Pittsburgh Wedding Planner | Spotlight: Claire Hudson Photography

Claire Hudson Photography is expanding into the Pittsburgh market. We had a chance to chat with Claire and totally clicked with her personality and style. Fresh. Modern. Elegant; her portfolio is awesome! We love that she offers a package for every bride because she wants to make herself accessible. We love meeting other wedding professionals with great passion and talent!! Looking forward to working with Claire-she's one to watch :-) Here's more about her....

{Tell us a little about yourself and services}
I am a 22 year old photographer based outside of Philadelphia, PA. Growing up in a family of artists, I have a BFA and a fine art approach to wedding photography. I have been photographing weddings for four years and can’t imagine doing anything else, which is why I invest so much of myself in each wedding I photograph. When shooting a wedding, I keep my approach relaxed and natural so as to capture real moments as they happen, not create false memories by being intrusive.

{When did you fall in love with photography?}
I remember walking into my first wedding as a second shooter, heart racing and a huge smile on my face. I had no idea what to expect, but the instant I saw the bride’s face light up as she stepped into her wedding gown...I was smitten. I fell in love with love, as it were, because the joy of a wedding is infectious. To be able to capture those beautiful moments in that first wedding made me addicted to wedding photography and from that point on there was no turning back.

{What is your #1 piece of advice to brides?}
Walk slowly...and I’m not only talking about your walk down the isle. Remember to breathe and enjoy the day, because it will fly by. If you remember to relax and take in every moment to it’s fullest, your weeks of planning and anticipation will pay off. Your vendors are there to assure your day goes perfectly, so don’t worry, just enjoy!

Photo Credit: Claire Hudson

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Pittsburgh Wedding Planner | Bold Bouquets

Long gone are the days of the traditional white flower bouquet. Today's bouquets are getting more bold and spunky with haute color combos, shapes, and unique textures. Often times flowers are no longer the main focal point and/or eliminated all together. Stylish, cHic, and modErn brides are adding different elements such as feathers, plants, leaves, berries, ribbon, lace, jewels, buttons, beads, brooches, and more to create their perfect bouquet! Some brides just want to do something different for herself and bridesmaids and we love it :-) Check out these fabulous bouquets! Be Inspired!

Photo Credit: Google Images

Thursday, November 17, 2011

Pittsburgh Wedding Planner | Red Carpet Runway Feature

Red Carpet Runway provides the best custom event carpets and backdrops in the business. From celebrity events to corporate functions, this brand does it all. We're excited to share their feature of one of our favorite bashes yet! Check it out here!

Sunday, November 13, 2011

Client Love Notes

"Shayla is a lifesaver...I know that the title of my review is a big statement but it is true. I had to hire a new wedding planner two months before the wedding. I was pretty stressed about having to do this, but upon meeting Shayla, I knew she was the right woman for the job. My husband and I did most of our own wedding planning, but we needed a planner for day-of coordination, our stationery suite, and all the little details that we didn't want to manage. Shayla listened to all of our requests, is very detail-oriented, and was tremendously reliable. She is a great wedding planning professional. A huge difference from our experience with our previous wedding planner. I cannot say enough positive things about Shayla and the services that SHE provides. My family loved her and saw how much she made our big day run so smoothly. I would highly recommend Shayla and her team for any of your special event planning needs. Not only does Shayla do an amazing job with all the planning and execution, she had one of her other event planners at SHE on site at our reception to provide additional assistance. SHE is amazing!"

-Rich & Mary Marmura
{10.01.11}

Photo Credit: Dianne Adrian

Friday, November 11, 2011

How To: Spunk Up Your Next Social Affair

So because we can't help ourselves we add flair to any social gathering that we can :-) For owner and principle planner, Shayla's birthday (that happened to fall on Halloween weekend), we decided at the very last minute to do a play on the infamous Cirque Du Soleil for her birthday celebration. Any party or gathering is SO much more FuN aNd ExCiTiNG with a theme and there are so many good ones to come up with! It's also really simple and cost-effective to do and the memory will be priceless. Here is the skinny....

{Set the tone}
It all starts with the invitation.
{Small touches make great statements}
The decor and color scheme must bring the theme to life. Note the fun stationery, props, balloons, banners, etc.
{Coordinate the food and beverage}
Get creative and have some fun with this! Note the popcorn & cotton candy :-)
{Dress The Part}
Have a theme-appropriate attire request for your guests. Hence, the birthday girl as the ring master and her guests Minnie Mouse, Jennifer Beals, Superwoman, Raggedy Anne, The Pink Lady, 80's baby, and more!


Photo Credit: Rebecca Photography

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Cost Saver: Menu Band

Stationery plays such a key part in your overall wedding design. We are crazy over custom stationery! But we know it can add up quickly once you print your save-the-dates, invitations, envelopes, table numbers, menus, programs, escort cards, and more! Instead of a traditional 4x6 menu card at each place setting, check out this cool menu band! It will definitely trim costs and save a few trees :-)

Photo Credit: Project Wedding

Sunday, October 23, 2011

E-Session Sunday

We are tagging along for an e-session for one of our 2012 couples with the fabulous Jenni Grace Photography today! Nowadays couples and photographers are getting so creative with fun engagement sessions. We love to see the final images! We always encourage our clients to take a change of clothes and any fun props (signs, books, balloons, frames, pets, etc.) that really help show their personalities! Highlighting the date is always a key part of an e-session. For today's urban/city shoot, we made a cute date sign incorporating their wedding colors and are bringing along some frames for funky head shots. We were googling (a guilty pleasure) and found some super cool save-the-date shots.....Be Inspired!

Photo Credit: Google Images