Candi and Jeff 9-6-09

Early Sunday afternoon we had a small ceremony in the Chapel for Candi and Jeff. Candi came from Texas for the ceremony and arrived in town on Thursday!
They were having a smaller affair, for about 90 people, and their reception was going to be at a local restaurant that's owned by a friend.
They used some really powerful colors! Fuchsia, bright green, and orange! Wow! It packed some punch! Flower Cart did a beautiful job with the flowers (as usual!) I thought the chapel looked amazing!

Don't you just LOVE the moss balls scattered all across the platform? They really made it interesting!

Here's a close up of one of the floral arrangements on the side. Those colors really sing!

Following the ceremony, the couple released the guests row by row. The guests gathered outside the door, and when the last guest went out the door, Candi and Jeff and her son, Bryce, rang the bell and then went out to the waiting hummer limo through a cloud of bubbles. The guests went on to the restaurant for their reception while the wedding party went to do pictures at Taltree Arboretum.

It was such a pleasure getting to know these two, even though it was brief. They are really a delight, and a lot of fun. I'm sure their reception was a blast!

Congrats Candi and Jeff! Stay cool down there in Texas!

Leslie and Josh 9-5-09

Another busy weekend at Aberdeen Manor!

Saturday evening, Leslie and Josh had their ceremony in the garden. What a perfect day for the garden! The temperature was perfect, the sky was blue with just a dusting of fluffy clouds, just a light breeze (not good for the unity candle; it seemed to stay lit though.)

Two VERY serious flower girls left the little trail of petals down the aisle. They were absolutely intent on getting them perfectly placed. Everyone had a little chuckle over watching them!

Leslie decided to use our newest cake plateau. You can see it above and in the previous post. Her cake looked absolutely beautiful on it.

We now have six plateaus to choose from. One of them we have to get photos of yet. It's a low round, probably 24 inches across, and a mirror sets into it. So it's a silver edge with a mirror for the cake. Very pretty. We've had it quite a while, just haven't used it and gotten a photo, so nobody really knows about it. So now you know! I'll put our fake cake on it and take a picture, that might work.

Leslie and her mother planned a beautiful wedding and reception. Her invitations, programs, and menu cards were all done by Affairs, and came from Envelopments Everything coordinated, one to the next. They were done in shades of ivory, tan and a deep victorian lilac that matched the bridesmaid gowns perfectly. We also provided matching victorian lilac favor boxes that were filled with some decadent little truffles and tied with the narrow ivory ribbon that was used on the invitation and the programs.

We used a special square napkin fold to showcase the very elegant menu card. They also decided to use our ivory bichon tablecloths which added a beautiful shimmer to all the tables.

The flowers were done by Flowers with Jazz. They used some high, some low, some with our cylinder vases, it mixed it up nicely and looked great. The shades of lavender roses, blue larkspur, bright green bells of ireland and Kermit mums , along with pale pastel lisianthus, were stunning in the tall arrangements. The hydrangea were tipped with dark blue to blend them in. In the cylinders they used white dendrobium orchids, and the other tables had low arrangements in clear square containers of hydrangea, roses, and lisianthus.

Dinner was delicious. Hors d'oeuvres during the cocktail hour were followed by a combo plate of bistro filet and pecan crusted chicken. Yummy! Their cake, from Strongbow bakery, was both white and chocolate.

Transaudio's DJ Mike was on the mike, so of course, the events moved smoothly from wedding to reception and on through the evening, like a well oiled machine.

Congratulations Leslie and Josh! Fabulous wedding, wonderful couple! All the best for a wonderful future together, you two!

We move on to Sunday! However that will be a separate post, because I am finding that every time I download a photo, the spacing changes! It's very frustrating!

The New Cake Plateau!

Here it is gals! Our new SQUARE plateau! Beautiful!

What a great weekend!

This was just one of those wonderful weekends when we all really enjoy working!

We had a baby shower on Saturday for Katie, one of my all time favorite brides. Katie was married last year on that horrendous Sunday in September when we had about 14 feet of rain, and there was flooding everywhere. She and her husband had planned such a lovely wedding and reception, and a number of their guests just couldn't get there because of the closed roads and flooding. Katie was a trooper though, and those who did make it for the reception had a fabulous time. They had "coffee guy" (as we lovingly refer to him) come and serve specialty coffee drinks after dinner, it was like having Starbuck's come to your reception! Really fun!

But I digress!

So Katie and Tom are having a baby boy, who will have a chocolate and light blue nursery, so of course, that was the theme for the shower. And, by the way, the sun was shining all afternoon. :)

I really wanted to get some pictures, but with Amanda and I having to man the shop all afternoon, there was just not time. We were swamped!

I love doing the baby showers for "our gals"! That's one of the reasons we offer discounts for baby showers for "alumni", we love having them come back!

They had a lovely lunch with chicken salad (our special homemade secret recipe!) a three berry muffin, and black bean and corn salad. Yum! After the lunch was served Katie sat in the rocker that my grandfather made and opened her gifts. So many beautiful gifts and pretty things for the new baby!

Following Katie's shower, the Aberdeen Team jumped into action to reset the room for the wedding Saturday evening. The wedding party arrived and did photos in the garden, and because we had the tables all set and ready to go, it was a quick turnaround.

The ballroom looked stunning! Vanessa and her mom had spent a lot of time with us planning all the colors, flowers, decorations and such. Her colors were black, ivory, and red. The Flower Cart did an amazing job, as usual, with their flowers.

Our black bichon tablecloths looked amazing. I love those table linens. We have so many colors now, and all of them look so beautiful.

And Linda's cake! It was incredible! I've seen a lot of wedding cakes over the years, but this one was outstanding!

The crystal trim on each layer was SO pretty. They also had their initials on both sides of the cake which looked so classy.

Here are a couple shots of the horse and carriage that took Vanessa and Aaron for a spin around Aberdeen after they had greeted all their guests:

That's Bob, the horse, looking all cute with his little feather hat on for the wedding. Buggies and Things does a great job. Bob is very gentle and calm, the perfect horse for doing a wedding. Dick Stephens, the owner of Buggies and Things, calls him a "deadhead", which seems a bit condescending for a horse who does such a fine job! :)

Aaron and Vanessa had our favorite DJ's, Transaudio, so they took full advantage of their free choreographed dance lesson! It always makes for some terrific shots for the photographer. This was an excellent dip Aaron!!

It was what we call an "A-Team" wedding! Vendors from our favorites list, that all work together like a well oiled machine. Awesome! Thanks Aaron and Vanessa! It was so much fun working with you to make this beautiful day happen!

So Sunday, we returned for a wedding shower for Jill, who is having her wedding with us in October! I LOVE having the showers for our upcoming brides! It's always nice to know that we will be seeing them again. It's great for the guests too, because they have a chance to come to Aberdeen and when they come for the wedding they already are familiar with how to get here.

Their meal was an absolutely fabulous spinach salad, that was topped with crumbled bacon, shaved parmesan cheese, grilled chicken, tomato wedges, and red onion. It was awesome!

It was served with a wedge of garlic toast. The smell was incredible!

We're looking forward to their wedding in October, they are a lovely couple, and it will be a fun affair.

So that's our weekend in a nutshell. Hope yours was as much fun as ours was!

Gown Shopping! Still looking for your opinions!

A little while back I asked for feedback on what your experiences were when you looked for your wedding gown. I don't get out much you know, and a lot of gals ask me about shops and where to go.
Have you had good experiences? Bad experiences? Where are you all going to find your gowns? What have your experiences been?
Help me out here ladies!!!!! :)

Busy Weekend at Aberdeen Manor!

Aren't these pretty? Friday evening's wedding used navy blue as their main color. They also had programs for their wedding and table numbers that matched the placecards. It was very pretty. Their ceremony took place at the Valpo University Chapel.

The palette was very simple, very elegant, as were the bride and groom. It was a beautiful evening and a delightful mix of guests from all over the world. They were having an Indian ceremony and reception on Saturday! (It wasn't with us though because they had well over 300 coming for that one.)

Congratulations Stephanie and Abhishek! Beautiful wedding!

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Saturday evening, we AGAIN had navy blue as one of the main colors! The fuchsia and oranges with it though, gave the whole affair an entirely different attitude!

Emily and Dustin are both dental students, and their favors reflected that! So cute! Bags of gummy bears, banded with the little rubber bands used for braces, and a nice new toothbrush tied into the ribbon around the bag!

Their groom's cake also went with the theme:

How cute is that?

The inside was red velvet cake "To look like the pulp of a tooth." Emily said. Too funny!

Such a beautiful wedding, and such a nice couple. The men all wore the beige linen suits that are so popular this summer--perfect for a garden wedding! Their shoes were navy blue keds with fuchsia trim!

I have to say that I see a lot of beautiful wedding gowns, but Emily's gown was absolutely stunning! So different! The skirt was a mass of fluttering chiffon "leaves" (I don't really know what to call them!) This photo is a little bit on the yellow side because of all the incandescent lights. It will give you an idea, though, of how this gown moved. It had the look of ostrich feathers all fluttering around--really cool!



So congratulations to Emily and Dustin! It was an amazing evening!

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Sunday's wedding was in the afternoon. It was hot and humid, however since the wedding was in the air conditioned chapel, nobody seemed to mind. Kelly and Tom took pictures in the garden after the ceremony, and also after their reception ended at 5. It was the best of both worlds!

Their cake was really pretty, with sugared fruit decorating it. A nice change from flowers. The sugared fruits went beautifully with the eggplant purple and ivory they had chosen for their colors.

Tom and Kelly booked their wedding three months ago, in May! It was elegant, personal, and everything that a wedding that was planned over two years might be! It only goes to prove that we don't need alot of time here at Aberdeen to plan a beautiful wedding!

Kelly chose to make her trip down the aisle unaccompanied. Then Tom walked up the aisle from the front and met her about halfway, and walked the rest of the way to the front of the chapel. It was very sweet. They didn't have any adult attendants, just a flower girl (who had amazing hair!) and ringbearer.

Kelly and Tom released their guests themselves, and greeted everyone. The guests went out to the stairs of the chapel to wait for them. The newlyweds rang the bell in the steeple, and then proceeded out the chapel doors to the applause and cheers of all their guests. Everyone had a group photo taken on the chapel stairs, and then went to the ballroom to start the party while a few last minute photos were taken. Kelly and Tom had chosen to do all their pictures together before the ceremony, so they were able to go and enjoy the cocktail hour along with their guests.

Many years of happiness Kelly and Tom! It was a joy working with you this summer!

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So there you have it--our busy weekend in a nutshell! I could go on for days about our weddings, this is just a few of the highlights!

It was a wonderful weekend with three lovely, elegant, personal weddings. Each different in its own way, and each with its own special touches.

This is why I love my job! :)

Incidentally, I am going to try to offer a little recap like this every week. If I could figure out a faster way to upload photos it would make it much easier. (Amy? Any ideas?) Right now, it's very time consuming. I'll try though, I promise!

Just in case you missed it!

A couple of weeks ago, I sent out an email to all of our clients' email addresses. I am finding, in talking with some of our clients who have called since then, that we might not have the correct email, or for some reason they didn't receive this.
This letter contained some important information that will affect plans, so I am going to publish it here on my blog as well, with the hope that everyone will see it one way or another.

If you didn't receive the following, you might want to double check with us to make sure that we have your correct/most used email address on file.

So just in case you didn't receive this, here it is again-------

Dear Friends,

I hope that this note finds you all well, happy, and busily working on the plans for your upcoming weddings!

We have been making some big improvements here at Aberdeen Manor as well as some necessary changes, and I thought it would be good to let you all know about them. As ever, if you have any questions, comments, or concerns about anything, feel free to email me, or call me, any time! I am here for you to help you in any way that I can.

First, my daughter, Megan, has decided to resign her teaching position and come on board full time with us. Megan has worked with us for 10 years on weekends and over the summers and vacations, so she is very familiar with all the goings on at Aberdeen. Megan has a wealth of experience with weddings and events, and is a tremendous addition to our Aberdeen family. Jim and I are both very excited to have her!

Second, we have had some other staff changes lately. Connie Ransom left at the end of May to take a job with Porter Health Services. I’m sure many of you will miss her crazy sense of humor!
Michelle Mercon, who has been with us for nearly six years, will be leaving in October to student teach. I think it’s the fates getting even with me for taking Megan away from teaching! I know she will be a wonderful teacher though, and I am happy to see her expanding her horizons and pursuing something she loves. We’re all going to miss her!

Third, we have been rearranging the hours for our shop in order to accommodate our clients schedules more easily. On June 1st we made some big changes. We now have what we are calling “open hours” when anyone can walk in, for whatever reason. These hours are on Thursdays from 12 to 8, and Friday and Saturday from 12 to 5. With this change we can make appointments outside of our “open hours”, during the mornings, afternoons, or even during the evening! With most of our couples working days, we felt this would make our time more “user friendly”. We encourage you to make an appointment if you want to come look for tuxes, invitations, veils, or even if you just want to do a little “wedding checkup” to make sure you are on the right track. Call us at 465-7130, or email me at dfyock@affairsinc.com and we’ll get something arranged. This will also enable us to give you our full attention to help you with your needs.

Fourth, after long and painful deliberation, we have decided that offering childcare is just not feasible. We are using it on average about 6 times a year, which, when we have nearly 100 weddings per year, is very infrequent. We have a lot of difficulty getting staff to man the childcare area because of the infrequency, and it is a large amount of space to devote to something that we rarely use. Unfortunately it just isn’t working. In addition, our insurance carrier has informed us that it is a very big liability area, and they have advised us against offering childcare to protect ourselves from the possibility of a lawsuit.
If this causes you a hardship, I sincerely apologize. I will be happy to help you try to figure out an alternative, just let me know how I can be of assistance.

Fifth, our next “Taste of Aberdeen Manor” will be held on November 15th from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. This will also include a vendor show with some of our vendors from our favorites list. We normally have about 18 or 20 different vendors who attend and are there to talk with you about your wedding plans. It’s a great opportunity to not only try lots of different menu items, but also to meet and chat with many vendors in all different areas. These are only vendors from our favorites list, so you can book any of them with confidence!

Sixth, keep in mind that we offer some really nice perks for ordering your tuxes and/or invitations through us. Our tuxes are less expensive than anywhere in the area, and we offer the usual groom’s tux free with 5 rentals. We also make sure that everything fits perfectly, and the guys can leave their tux at the end of the reception, which they REALLY like! We have a wide range of invitations, for every budget and style, and we have some really nice deals in that department too, so come by and check it out!

Lastly, I would like to encourage all of you to subscribe to my blog at http://aberdeenmanor.blogspot.com so that you receive all the updates and latest information on what is going on here at the Manor! Whenever we make a change, or have something exciting to report, or even if I just get the bug to write about something, I try to put something on the blog right away. I also have been trying to find some time to post a few pictures and some comments about some of the weddings we have had, which might be of interest. If you don’t want to read it, you can just delete it, but if it IS something you need to know, then you’ll have it! Feel free to comment on anything you read there, either publicly, or to me personally at my email address above.

Keep in mind that we are always glad to see you, and you are welcome to stop by, just keep those new hours in mind. If your grandma is coming to town on a Tuesday and you want to show her where your reception is going to be, just give us a call and we’ll set up a time. If your groomsmen are all going to be in town on a Monday night and you want to get them all measured—give us a call! Want to look at invitations? Give us a call! We are here to serve YOU! We will be happy to do whatever we can to make your wedding planning as smooth and carefree as possible.

I look forward to seeing you all over the next few months. The weddings that are the most fun for us to do are the ones where we have had an opportunity to really get to know the bride and groom! I hope to have the opportunity to get to know all of you better.

See you soon!

Sincerely,
Denna