Light up the night...or just the inside of your venue

These are such a pretty alternative to lanterns. I would love this inside as well. They also come in all kinds of colors for a more funky event. These were found at a Christmas store! Remember to think outside of the box when shopping for your event. Don't be afraid to invest in beautiful items. You can always sell them after your event. That will be another post down the road....How to sell your event!

Philly steals and deals

From Aug 5th-9th every restaurant, salon, store, you name it, that has been selected for the annual "Best of Philly", is celebrating by having sales and specials. Here are a few of our faves. Visit the site for the full selection!

Knit Wit:Receive 25% off all dresses. 1718 Walnut Street Philadelphia, PA (215)564-4760 http://www.knitwitonline.com/

Kiehl’s:Mention Best of Philly® Week and receive a free Kiehl’s lip balm. While supplies last. 1737 Walnut Street Philadelphia, PA 19103 (215)636-9936 http://www.kiehls.com/

Joan Shepp:SHOE SALE: Take 70% off all summer merchandise. 11616 Walnut Street Philadelphia, PA 19103 (215)735-2666 http://www.joanshepp.com/

The Papery of Philadelphia:$100 gift certificate towards invitations to your next party. Offer valid for one year. The Papery of Philadelphia 57 N. 3rd Street Philadelphia, PA 19106 (215)922-1500 http://www.paperyofphilly.com/

Body Restoration:Enjoy 20% off a deep tissue massage. 1611 Walnut Street 3rd Floor Philadelphia, PA 19103 (215)569-9599 http://www.bodyrest.com/

Rescue Rittenhouse Spa:Enjoy 10% off all products and services. 255 South 17th Street 2nd Floor Philadelphia, PA 19103 (215)772-2766 http://www.rescuerittenhousespa.com/

Pierre & Carlo Salon and Spa:Enjoy a free 1/2 hr. Swedish massage with KT or Tasha. 200 South Broad Street Philadelphia, PA 19102 215-790-9910 http://www.pierreandcarlo.com/

Cool Find

I think this is very cool for those of you planning an urban chic event. These are tall skinny vases that look as though they are just balancing on their own, when in reality there is a tiny magnet that goes underneath your linen, holding them upright. I would like these in a tighter grouping for a better look, but I think the effect would be great. Wouldn't take a whole lot of flowers either! And they are very affordable at 39 bucks for 5! Check out these magnetic vases.

Lovely favors

Presentation is everything folks. I think that's why we're in business! I'm on a martha kick today. These favors are so simple...fruit and candy. But it's the presentation that makes them so great! Notice the trays in each example. The create a clean line for favors to sit in beautifully. I love the cherry example for a country wedding. They look fresh picked from the farm and I'm sure this was not expensive. The rock candy one is so cute too! I even found these mini pales at a great price (8 dollars for 12!).

Pretty Drinks

After viewing Something Old Something New's post on drinks, I was reminded of this lovely idea from Martha. I love at an outdoor event when there is immediately a water service upon arrival. This is a pretty way to fancy it up. All you do it take a glass bottle you'd like to fill with fruited water. Cut a milk jug's top off and place the bottle in the jug. Fill the jug only about an 1/8th full of water and float some fruit slices. Place the whole thing in the freezer until frozen. Then repeat with another layer of water and fruit until the whole thing is full. The fill and repeat is so all the fruit doesn't float to the top. When you're finished remove the jug from the bottle and wahlah! Beautiful water service for your guests. -Amanda
***
While perusing thrift stores this weekend for interesting AND cheap goodies to use at some upcoming events, I came across a whole slew of wonderful and beautiful glassware, vases, and bottles at the local Salvation Army. The most expensive one I found was a large jug for about 79 cents. Combine a few great finds like that, free water and some fruit, and you've got yourself one heck of a thrilling and thrifty event showpiece.-Lyndsi

Martha moment and a Real Wedding

This is one of my all time favorite events I have ever laid eyes on. Yes I know it's old news to those of you in the wedding world. But in re-publishing this (from Martha), I hope at least 1 reader gets inspired who hasn't seen it! This is a great great example of the 2 elements I preach about to make a wedidng great. 1) Making it personal and about you as a couple and 2) Having continuity and consistency.
This bride and groom are both teachers and met when they were very young so they used an elementary school theme throughout. The continuity comes through in everything from the report card invitations, to the apple place cards, to the school themed portraits.

I guarantee this wedding wasn't expensive either. Since they were teachers it looks like a lot of supplies were just borrowed from the school. Use your imagination, use your own lives as inspiration and have fun! There are no rules!

Classic

I know things were slow today. We're still not fully recovered. Leaving you with a classic image/look that has stood the test of time.

Have a great weekend.

Real weddings

This is the last of my Mel Barlow installation. He really does a great job and I love his focus on detail. I love this event. It's rustic without trying too hard. It just fits in well with the surroundings. I love his white suit, those leaf place cards and her bouquet. I love everything about this really.

and fyi, it's Friday. I'm dragging a little today. 1 too many margaritas.

Martha Moment and DIY!

This is great. I love anything that is beautiful and not overdone. Imagine this....
Beautiful vintagey outdoor wedding with a long wall or even an indoor wedding with a long window pane. Line up gobs of these mason jars in different sizes and shapes and use one type and color of flower (pink peony in this example) and line the whole wall in them maybe even buy some of the very small ones and throw some votives in the mix as well. Oh I am picturing it and just loving it. I hope it looks as good in your head as it does in mine. Mason jars are easy to buy cheap in bulk too. Take a look at this site that I found. Do it and send me pics! please.....
This inspiration pic is from Martha, who else would it be?

Venues and a Real Wedding

Lyndsi and I work out of Philadelphia, so this is a local post to all of you Tri State area girls. I can vividly remember about 10 years ago going on a Photography field trip with Lyndsi to this spot. Since then I've been back at least 5 times. I remember telling Lyndsi that one of us has to get married there one day. Well I'm married so that leaves Lyndsi! I can totally see her wedding here one day, even though she wants something a little different. This space is so incredible. It's just miles of open garden with huge sculptures all throughout. I'm guessing that is why it is called the Sculpture Gardens! This is in New Jersey and it's free on Sundays to tour around. I would love to do a wedding here for a client one day. It's just stunning. Enjoy Heather Waraksa's pics from the wedding. Thanks to StylemePretty for introducing me to the photog!

Sale!

Kate Spade is having a summer sale with an extra discount 20% discount for friends and family. Found these shoes. I love the square rhinestone ones and wanted them for my wedding! How great would those flats be to change into for your reception? Use the code Summer07 at checkout.

Lighting post of the day!

I hate when I do this. I find something cool, save it and forget where I found this. If this is your picture or you know where it is from, please let me know. I love that there are 2 tones of lighting at the same time for the event. The purple is for the dance floor. It's not recommended to use pin spotting on candle lit tables, but here it looks like they used gobo lighting which creates a really nice romantic effect. And I always love rectangular tables!

More uses for great wallpaper!

Remember the post we did earlier with the beautiful retro looking wallpaper? Here is another awesome use for it. I found this via Decor8's blog from a Martha posting and I had to give it the Event spin. There is a warning that no one is sure how these would hold up to long term heat with a lightbulb, but I think they are awesome by themselves. Imagine custom lanterns in the paper you are using throughout your wedding invites, menus, programs, etc? So great! Detailed instructions on making these babies here.

Non Flowers

So I know I've been hoching left and right about cutting your floral budget and adding to lighting. Florists please don't hate me! I love flowers I do! But I wanted to give you some ways to do this. Something as simple as candles on a mirror or a colorful bucket filled with anything, does the trick. Here is a design tip. Pick one or two things (candles, pinecones, etc) you can get cheap and do it everywhere. It looks more streamlined and it's hard to go wrong. Now I see these two images above pictured with some blue and white lighting... and bam! professional grade event. These are from Martha's Real Simple.

Real weddings

This lovely wedding comes again from photog Mel Barlow. I love the rustic elegance. I think one of my favorite details are the stiched table numbers. It just fits the look so well. Perfect balance of country rustic chic. The candles give it some class too. Just wanted to share this very pretty wedding.

Poll results!

I wanted to comment briefly on the poll results. We took this poll to see where brides were allocating their money last. The results do in a way make sense to our reader demographic. If you are reading this blog you are most likely trying to look for design help, save money, etc. And you most likely don't have a designer working for you already.

That is why the number 1 thing you wish you had but couldn't afford is a Lighting designer!

Number 2 (breaks my heart) is an Event designer/Coordinator!

Just a few comments and a little advice. I would highly reccomend you take away from your floral budget, as low as it may be, to hire lighting. 100 roses could impact a few tables. a lighting wash changes your whole room. But you know how I feel :-) Example above courtesy of Kenny Pang

In regards to hiring an event designer: A good event designer should also function as a coordinator. What I mean is that a great event is great on the design side but also on the business side (budgets, timelines, contracts, etc). And by investing in a good designer/coordinator you should be saving money! This person should execute your vision for less money that you could on your own. Please consider hiring someone. It's good for our industry and it's great for you as long as you hire the right person/company. It shouldn't be considered a luxury. It should be a necessity for you to plan your event as efficiently and in the most cost effective way you can.

thanks for participating in the poll!

A new take on engraved

I am LOVING this. JUST LOVING this. I have to first credit one of my favorite fellow Philadelphia bloggers OhJoy! for this great find and I wanted to share with all of you. This is a new company in North Carolina called Oslo Press, custom designing invitations on thin slabs of wood. It looks just wonderful. I would love to get one of these in the mail. Imagine your rustic vineyard wedding or your backyard barn wedding with these! Above are some of my favorites. I really love the envelope too with the red design. Of course, they aren't cheap. But if you're spending the money anyway, these make quite the impact.

Bridesmaids with style

So you're about to pick the dress for your bridesmaids. You want them to look chic, stylish and beautiful. You also want them all in the same dress. OK. Done. But please, listen to me closely. Stop there. Don't force the shoes, don't force the hair, don't force the jewelry. 1) they are not robots 2) it won't look as stylish 3) they may not be your friends anymore after your wedding. People are afraid that if they don't insist on every detail and accessory, they won't look good. I'm here to show you how it can be done. One service SocialDesign offers is wardrobe styling. (Lyndsi was a menswear consultant for Neimans). But if you're doing it on your own. Give your girls a color range, pick one dress and let them have fun with the rest. Here I chose brown, red and gold. Everything is either from Jcrew or Forever21. Oh, those awesome shoe clips in the 2nd pic are from Absolutely Audrey. Cheap and good!

Real weddings

Destination weddings can be great for the easy going bride and not so great for someone who needs a little more control. That is unless you are paying a planner/designer to take a pre-trip to your destination. You're pretty much going to get what you get once you get there. I found this gorgeous wedding on the blog of the fab photog Mel Barlow. Gorgeous couple! What I love about this is how they used the sky as an accent color. I love how the chartreuse linens contrast with it. And I was wearing a chartreuse jacket the other day with a red bracelet and thought that this would be a great palette for an event! The cupcake showcase is awesome with that punch of red in there. I love the modern look of this beachy destination wedding.

Lighting post of the day!

Before: nice enough, some lanterns, blank modern clean space.

After: energy, party, lively, fun!

Nothing is wrong with the before, it's just the transformation that makes this great. The guests know that it is now time to party. The space is absolutely transformed with the red wash of light.

Pot at your event

Thanks knot friends for the pic. Lyndsi and I did something similar for a client once and it was so awesome. She wanted something in between rustic and mansion/historic. We found a great deal on pots from ACmoore and got terracotta markers. This is so easy and so cute. It makes a table look really great and it's a green/functional favor. I really love placecards with escort cards. (One being the ones already placed at a table and the others being the ones guests pick up on the way to the tables). Seems redundant but it's a nice detail that makes tables look pulled together.

Lots of luck!

Just a small post to wish our good friend Jillian lots of luck with her civil union! She just had her bachelorette party this weekend. Girl, you rock! You're so fab. Kisses!

Exploring Ethereal

Sorry for the delay in postings today. What a busy weekend!

Lyndsi and I met with a bride this weekend who had really great inspiration. She also was collecting a book of images and I absolutely loved the aesthetic. She described her vision as "Anthropologie Ethereal". Which I just love. I haven't seen this look done well in a long time and I think it has such amazing potential. I picture the eclectic natural feeling of Anthropolgie mixes with empire waists and flowy fabrics. It can be really stunning! So I visited one of my fave blogs who really embodies that style to a T: Gypsy Purple. The images below are credit to her. This is someone of an inspiration or mood board for the aesthetic. So dreamy. Enjoy!

Lovely things.

I'd like to leave you with something lovely for the weekend. Ok small critique...not a fan of the chair ribbons, too much. Othewise. The contrasting color palette is great. Love the runner. Love the room (woods and browns). Flowers could use a little work. Ok we're being to critical. It's pretty. Gosh! Compliments of Grace Ormonde. Have a wonderful weekend!

xx
SD

Cozy Chic!

Having a winter wedding? Don't want to go the super formal, snow, candle, ice, blue route? Try this awesome idea. Build the event around warmth. Sweaters, yarn, quilts. Stay with me on this one... Right now I think FreePeople is doing a window with giant yarn balls. I think it's so kitschy cool. This photo came from one of my blogging buddies (if it's you let me know!) Imagine them in your colors either in giant piles on tables or hanging from the ceiling. Martha, my buddy, Stewart, featured an awesome invitation with just a simple string of yarn strung through the paper (see below). It was so simple and so lovely. It had that comfort country feel. Put your bridesmaids in cute cardigans and wear a little white cashmere one yourself. You can even put little flowergirls/ring bearers in cute scarves and gloves. I love this take on winter. If you like country chic thing, this is the way to go.