There are many new trends in food as well as the continuation of earlier trends.

creative commons: Canadian Film Centre 

1. Higher quality food.  Brides and grooms are used to eating good food in restaurants; they expect that same quality in what they serve their guests.

2. Family style food.  Instead of a seated, served dinner or a buffet, many couple are opting for family style dining.  Food arrives at each table on large platter that are passed around.

3. Midnight snacks are still very popular.  Some of the newest foods are traditional street and fair foods such as fries, pretzels and sliders.

4. Cake - tiers are uneven heights.

5. Farm to table.  Many couples enjoy visiting their local farmers markets as well as local diners and cafes that include local foods.  They want to offer this same freshness to their guests.

6. Small bites. Plates with a 1 or 2 bite serving of different foods.

7.  Culturally diverse menu.  The menu may include foods from different countries or simply from the couple's hometowns.

8. Custom cocktails.  Retro inspired recipes at the bar as well as signature cocktails.

creative commons: Thomas Hawk 

Sarah and Ricky wanted a beautiful wedding for their out of town guests as well as an amazing and fun reception.  

The couple decided to skip the first look and wait until the bride was walking down the aisle.  The adorable ring bearer announced the brides arrival.

The white and gray color scheme kept things simple and elegant.  The soft baby’s breath along with the draping and lighting, created a beautiful romantic feel.  

Nooks were created in the corner of the rooms using pews and coffee tables.

Guests were treated to dinner from a food truck and a “midnight” snack.

Instead of the traditional wedding cake, there were 5 separate cakes each with a unique flavor.

After a great party with lots of dancing and celebrating, the bridal party and couple left on a trolley after the wedding was over.

Vendors -

Venue:

Houston Station

Photographer:

Beauty In Art

Caterer:

Smoke Et Al

Florist:

Fresh Weddings by CarryAnn

Rentals:

Southern Events

Lighting & Drapery:

Nashville Audio Visual

Cakes:

Dulce Desserts

Transportation:

F.A.D.D.’s Party Bus

DJ:

Expressions of Music

Officiant: Unforgettable Ceremonies

Here are some of the new trends in invitations and stationery.

• Shapes including circle and square invitations.  
• Bolder colors with jewel tones as well as colored envelopes
• Higher end finishes - embossing, gold foil, and laser cutting. 

(Laser cut wood invite)

• Playful response cards such as mad lib
• Hand drawn or illustrations
• Boxes instead of envelopes

(Boxed invite with pocket for inserts and RSVP cards)

• Unique materials such as metal and wood. 

(Double sided wood invite with twine)

Wishing you a day filled with love....

....because every love has a story

Recently, CareerCast released the list of my stressful jobs of 2014.  #5 is Event Coordinator.  Here is the full list:

1. Enlisted military personnel
2. Military general
3. Firefighter
4. Airline pilot
5. Event coordinator
6. Public relations executive
7. Corporate executive (senior)
8. Newspaper reporter
9. Police officer
10. Taxi driver

CC Skley

Many of these jobs include putting your life in danger or protecting the lives of others.   However, event planner has been on this list for years based on physical demands, travel, deadlines, and more criteria.  I have my own reasons why.

• We take on the stress of planning so that you don't have to.  Deadlines, what deadlines?  
• We are responsible for the planning, design, logistics and execution of any event we manage.  That is a lot of decisions and task lists. 
• High stakes - Not many people realize the amount of work that goes into planning and managing an event and weddings, some of which are once in a lifetime.
• If something goes wrong, we try to our best to fix it whether it was our fault or not. 
• While it looks glamorous, we are usually busy with meetings and appointments and then spend 10-15 hours onsite the day of the event.  
• Bridezillas...enough said!
• Making sure that your event looks good, reflects your business and stays within your budget. 
• The unexpected...Murphy's Law, weather, power failures, transportation breaks, sickness, accidents...plague, famine, locust....
•  Unrealistic expectations.  TV, Pinterest and blogs have set brides up for failure; the price tags for those stunning events are rarely revealed. 

Last night I got to attend the Open House for the new Columbia Event Space - Guitar & Cadillac Hall, located in downtown Columbia, TN.   This space is operated by Puckett's Restaurant.

The space has beautiful exposed brick, wood floors and exposed beams.  Here are a few of the highlights from last night.  This interesting light fixture hangs over the stairs when as you walk up.

The unique, handcrafted bar and sign add a perfect feel to the space. 

Last night, the space was filled with multiple unique lighting fixtures from the exposed bulbs over the stage, the long hanging lights as well as the wrought iron chandelier and 3 custom pieces over the food. 

I love this lounge furniture from Southern Events. 

The grits bar...with lots of add-in.  So yummy!

Biscuit and jam bar....my favorite.  They had both buttermilk and sweet potato biscuits as well as 7 toppings including bacon jam, chocolate and nuts as well as fruit spreads. 

With 8000 square feet, this space can hold corporate parties, weddings, concerts and other events.  I would love to plan an event in this space, so talk to me.

While a large part of my job involves interacting with brides, I also invest time in continuing my education.  Whether through retreats, workshops. classes or networking meetings, I am always working to improve.

I thought I would share a glimpse of some of my recent activities.   I frequently attend networking meetings and events to meet new vendors, learn about new venues and locations as well as new wedding information.
Last fall I joined the Nashville Wedding Planners Group for a weekend retreat with celebrity planner Tara Guerard.  She flew from Charleston to Nashville to talk personally with the planners about managing weddings and running our businesses.

Tara took time to take photos with us....

Reaux Photo

Earlier this month,  I was at a week-long convention at Opryland with The Special Event Show, a conference for event professionals.  This annual event offers classes and workshops as well as an exhibit hall and galleries filled with new trends and designs.  I took so many notes and photos to improve my business, execute events and make planning easier. I can't wait to share them all with you.  

Having a little fun in the exhibit hall.

That is over 40 hours of continuing education in order to make me a smarter business owner and better event planner.

As technology get better so does its ability to make wedding planning easier and offer new options and ideas to couples.

Shopping:

Lover.ly  makes it easy to shop and plan.  Search by color, style, popularity or keyword.  Filled with beautiful images, it is easy to find the perfect items for your wedding.

WeddingtonWay   is the way to find apparel for your bridal party.  Search real weddings and let your bridesmaids collaborate on which dresses they love (or will never wear again).

Planning:

While these 2 aren't new they are still great tools.

Evernote - this clipping service works on your computer, browser and phone.  Take notes, save contacts, snap pics of contracts and share with others.   -  Read my review of Evernote

Pinterest - While vendors love seeing your pins, here is another way to use Pinterest. Create a secret board and when you see things that inspire you, take a photo and upload it to this board.

Allseated - This free site lets you manage your guest list, RSVP and seating chart.

Personalize your Wedding

WedPics - This service lets you create your wedding app, share it with your guests and everyone can share their photos with you.  Guests can upload from their phone or later from their computer at home.  Simple!

Personal hashtags - Many couples are creating and using a hashtag for their event.  Just search first to make sure that it is unique to you.

Charging stations - Having a charging station for phones and tablets at your wedding allows guests is easy.

What ways have apps and technology made planning easier for you?

George Burns once said: "Happiness is having a large, loving, caring, close-knit family in another city."  That is especially true for weddings.  Here are a few tips to help you cope:

• Communicate Well – make sure every knows when and where they are supposed to be.   You don’t want dozens of people calling you to find out the schedule.
• Agree to a Truce – Avoid conflict by talking to family members who are known to argue.  Ask them to be civil for one day.
• Keep them apart – Make sure to keep people at separate tables if you know that they hate each other….or maybe even separate hotels if you want to keep the craziness away from you.
• Have an escape word – If you know that you will be overrun with relatives talk to your fiancé and bridemaids beforehand and create an escape phrase.  When you use it, they will know to help you escape.
• Be immune – People may say things about you, but don’t take it personally.   Stay immune to what is being said and you will stay calmer and happier.
• Let it go - Recognize that not everything is within your control and that’s OK.
• Be realistic – Sometimes the biggest letdown isn’t your family but reality.  Your expectations and dreams can be really hard to live up to.
• Focus on the good stuff – If you focus on what everyone else thinks or wants, you miss the good stuff – each other.  

As you plan your wedding, you may be constantly asked, "What is your wedding style?"   Vendors will ask you this questions because it helps us visualize your dream wedding.

Looking at blogs, Pinterest and wedding photos can help you determine what wedding are a good fit for your personality.

Think about the items that inspire you...maybe you love flea market finds or maybe it is sparkly tablecloths.  Each of these can help you narrow down the feel and atmosphere that you want to create at your wedding.

You feel is more that a particular pattern or motif.  If you love chevron stripes, that can be incorporated with many different feels and styles.  Here are some ideas to get you started:

Step 1

- Think about how you want the wedding to feel

• Modern or Clean
• Whimsical or Fairy-tale
• Barn or Rustic
• Collector or Flea Market
• Glamorous or Sparkly
• Zen or specific world culture
• Retro or Vintage
• Casual or Beach
• Elegant or Refined
• Old World or Traveler
• Organic or Natural
• Backyard, Old-fashioned or Homespun
• DIY or Handmade

(Don't be limited by this list.  There are plenty of other options such as Punk, Gothic, Shabby, Bohemian, etc.  The Style Dictionary   has more.)

You can combine 2 or even 3 of these into a beautiful event.  Maybe you want to use a specific world culture to influence the food such as Caribbean. You use the vivid colors from the region for the linens and flowers.  But you want it to feel more like an elegant 50's nightclub so you add chandeliers and vintage dresses.

Step 2

- Will the location impact the feel?

Saying you want an outdoor wedding can mean a lot of things...beachy, woodsy, mountains, backyard....

Your location can influence the atmosphere or simply just be a location.   Getting married in a shaded grove of trees could give you a casual, organic, homespun, rustic, flea market or whimsical feel depending on what you wanted to create.  Getting married in a hotel ballroom doesn't lend itself towards a rustic or beachy wedding as easily as other locations.

Step 3

- Have you been inspired by a motif, icon or pattern?

Are you consumed by looking for chevron stripes or perhaps peacocks have caught your eye.  If this is what started your wedding inspiration then it should be easy to create a feel based around it.  However, if you want to include a particular pattern or image, make sure it blends with your feel and location.   Also, don't spread it around to everything or it can feel smothering.

(Read more about Determining your Wedding Style )

Hint:  When talking to wedding vendors if you can't describe what you want,  is there a book or movie or other cultural icon that evokes the time and feel that you want.

Not sure about creating the perfect atmosphere for your guests?  Talk to me; I offer design services that will help you tell your story.