Try, Try Again!!!

Sooooooooo, yes, I have been a very bad blogger.  I’m sorry.  Blogging is kind of like exercising (and any of you that know me, can see that I’m not so great at that either!!)  it’s something that one can procrastinate over and all of a sudden, a year or two has passed.  I feel compelled to write though about some of the things that have been happening at Aberdeen Manor this summer, so I am going to give it another shot.  Maybe I’ll be able to establish my blogging exercise routine!!  Today I have huge resolve, tomorrow I may not, I hope you’ll forgive my inconsistencies!!  :)  I feel like I need to just dive in and quit apologizing—which is so incredibly boring—so that’s what I’m going to do.  We’ll just have to see how it goes.

Hopefully you keep up with our Facebook posts, which are much more frequent thanks to Megan and Lisa, and usually include tons of photos, which everyone loves.  We’ve had some amazing weddings, and a lot of wonderful couples this summer, and it’s been such a pleasure to be a part of their celebrations.  Over the next few weeks I hope to showcase some of these beautiful events for you, complete with photos!! 

Part of my absence has been due to all of the things we have been trying to accomplish with our website, and our beautiful new brochure.  Our website has gone through some transition to make it more “i-friendly” so that you can use it on your ipad, iphone, or i-whatevers.  :)  There have, of course, been some growing pains involved, particularly with our tux registration page.  So if you experience difficulties with any of our website, please let us know. 

The biggest change to www.aberdeenmanor.com is that we have added ONLINE INVITATION ORDERING!!  You can now browse through nearly everything that Carlson Craft offers, on our website!  You can also look through all of the beautiful papers and ideas that Envelopments has to offer.  The best part of this, is that any order that is placed online, will come through us, so that we can double check the wording and order details for you, and make sure that it’s all “shipshape”!  We’ll call or email you if there is anything we would suggest for your invitations.  AND if you are renting your 5 or more paid tuxedoes through Affairs, you will still receive that fabulous $200 discount on your invitation!!  So put your jammies on, grab your cup of coffee, or your glass of wine (depending upon the time of day!!  J)  and go shopping online with Affairs!   If you find something you love, and you want to see the “real deal”  you can always write down the number or just print out the page and bring it in to our shop.  We’ll help you find it in the albums, so that you can look at it “in person”.  Or there is also an option to order a sample online.  Basically you have all the ease and convenience of shopping at home, with all the confidence, help, and guidance of shopping in our store!  What could be better?! 

All of us at Affairs are excited about helping you with your invitations and stationery products for your wedding!  Whether online or in store, you'll always get the best of service and value. 

And just for a little inspiration and eye candy--here is the link for Carlson Craft's "Look Book"! This little ebook gets my blood pumping and my pulse racing every time I look at it!  So many awesome themes and schemes for weddings!  And everything in it is available through Affairs! 

Enjoy!  and hopefully I'll be talking with you again soon!  :)

Showered With Love

I think the best thing about being in this business is having the opportunity to have a party of our own once in a while!  Having all the resources at hand to make it really special.  I really enjoy planning parties, and carrying a theme through the entire event, from the first moment that the guests receive their invitations. 
Last Sunday we had Megan's baby shower!  Her little baby girl is due in mid May.  We started planning this in December, and my office has been totally overwhelmed with  stuff for the shower!

We chose a letterpress invitation from Spark! Letterpress Love for the shower (sorry about the white blotch, but I had to blot out some private contact info there).  It was printed in taupe and lavender, and set the theme for the entire event--bird's nests, birds, bird houses--as well as the colors--lavender, pink, soft green.  The colors were inspired by the colors of Dutch Mints--my favorite candy!  I've always not only loved the wonderful minty taste, but also the soft pastel colors of these mints.

We had so much fun planning the theme and all the little touches we could add.  My kitchen staff went above and beyond the call with the luncheon!  It was amazing!  So many cute little touches.  The deviled eggs that looked like little chicks were adorable! 

Megan was kept on a "need to know" basis, which about drove her crazy!  We didn't really tell her what the whole plan was beforehand, so it was so much fun to surprise her.  Her reaction when she saw the room and all that we had done, made it all SO worthwhile!

I'm just going to post all the photos here for you to enjoy.  It was such a fun afternoon. I can't tell you all how much I appreciate the help of everyone at Aberdeen, especially Patti, Jen and Kim!  They did an amazing job with the lunch!  Kathy was a huge help setting everything up, and Julie and Becca and Kathy did such a great job of keeping everything rolling and managing everything so that I could sit down and enjoy the shower.  We have such a wonderful team at Aberdeen.  It is so much fun to work with all of our awesome coworkers!  What a pleasure.  After 13 years at Aberdeen I still love going to work every day.

Here are some photos of the shower for you to enjoy:

Apologies for the somewhat random order  of these photos!  I am a better party planner than I am a Blogger!!  :)

We served two punches, a peach-strawberry sangria and a non alcoholic fruit punch. 

My oldest daughter, Amy, was a huge help with the invitations and keeping track of the RSVP's.  She also took care of the wish cards, and the bingo cards.  Most importantly, she did the impromptu MCing of the party, and saved me from "public speaking" which is something I really don't feel comfortable with! :)

On the table as guests arrived, we had the "Wish Cards" for everyone to fill out for Kate.  It was a little idea we all had loved on Pinterest.  We have a little album for them to go into, and took photos of each of the guests at the shower to put with their wish card.  I think it will be something that Kate will treasure for years to come. 

We didn't get into a lot of shower games.  We did bingo boards for the guests to check off different gifts as they were opened.  I like that one because it gives folks something to do while the gifts are being opened.  Kacie, one of Megan's dear friends, provided some terrific little prizes for that.  Megan's mother in law, Marie, took care of the "diaper raffle" for us, and did a smashing job!

My sister in law, Kathy, helped me put together and decorate all the little birdhouse favors.  They turned out so cute.  We filled them with Dutch Mints (of course!)

Trey pin spotted the centerpieces, which really made them pop, even with the daylight outside.  He also put a lavender uplight on the trees in the corners which was a nice little touch. 

So now Megan has lots of lovely new things for her little baby!  Their living room looked like a pink bomb had hit it on Sunday night!

Thanks for indulging me, I hope you enjoy seeing our little party.  It was so much fun, I just want to do it all over again!

The Special Event--Really Special!!

This last week was a busy one for Megan and I!  We spent four days in Tampa, Florida for a conference which is put on by ISES, The International Special Event Society.  Can I just say, AWESOME!!!!!
We went to meetings and presentations on all sorts of event production related topics.  I attended sessions on floral design, general trends and directions that the event industry is headed, lighting, as well as some on the more nuts and bolts aspects of the business.  I feel like my head is going to explode with all the new stuff! :)

 This was from a class on doing simple things with flowers that don't necessarily require a florist.  This is something we do a lot!  We really got some terrific ideas for simple centerpieces, decor, aisle runners, etc.  This was an herb wreath that was tied to the bride's chair with a pretty ribbon.  The wreathes smelled divine! The little table was done with a "vintage romantic" theme.  Lots of silver mercury glass, roses, ranunculus, mums, candles.  It was lovely! The main speaker was Ian Prosser who had an entire alphabet of letters behind his name!  He also had an absolutely delightful accent and a terrific sense of humor.  Just listening to him was so entertaining!

 This class titled "Four Weddings and a Budget", discussed four wedding schemes with very expensive tables, where they showed how the table could be done more economically.  What was most interesting about this class was that the floral arrangements really drove the cost of the tables up! They showed one table where the centerpiece alone was $1200!!!!!  Not thinking we are going to see a lot of those at Aberdeen Manor!

This class was on having hard goods on hand that could be reused and repurposed.  We have accumulated quite an inventory at Aberdeen Manor.  It was fun to see some new and fresh ways of using some of the things we already have!

So what were some of the trends and directions that weddings are headed this year?  Well, according to Pantone--the world renown gurus of color--the color of the year is TANGERINE TANGO!  If I had to describe it, I guess I would call it a deep red orange.  Now since orange is probably my least favorite color, I'm sure you can guess how excited I was about this news!  Fortunately though, it's actually a pretty orange (I never thought I would say that about any orange!) and with the right accent colors it could be gorgeous!

Last year the "color of the year" was honeysuckle, which was actually a sort of dark pinky mauve.  We will probably start seeing more of it in weddings this year and next.  It takes us a while in Indiana for these things to filter in from the coasts! :)
Silver continues to hold firm as the metallic accent of choice, however gold is beginning to make a comeback.  And of course, bling, crystals, sparkly things, are all still huge in weddings.
The three big trends in weddings that we heard lots of talk about? 
First, the romantic, blingy, vintage theme is huge.  Lots of lace and ruffles, lush linens, extravagant centerpieces and florals with lots of hydrangea, roses, garden flowers, tons of candles.  soft colors or even all neutrals. 

Another popular theme, was the country/shabby chic direction.  Antiques, wildflowers, milk glass, mason jars, handpainted signs, homemade jam for favors, you get the idea.

The third trend we saw mentioned quite a bit, was Urban Sleek.  Lots of clean lines, minimal fuss, sharp contrasting color palettes, really, totally opposite to the other two trends! 

Of course the one thing we all agreed on was that when it comes to weddings, there are no rules!  And the trends and themes of weddings all get mixed and matched on a regular basis.  What is important is that all the elements hang together.  So you might be shooting for an urban sleek sort of wedding, but you love the "bling" so maybe you would have circles of faceted ribbon around the sleek cylinder vases on your tables. 

Another hot trend is the David Austin garden roses.  SO beautiful!  And they smell awesome!!

Take a closer look at the one in the center--that's called Green Eyes.  They are amazing! 

It's so different!  Here's an even closer look:

Isn't that an interesting look?  Can you see it in a very modern bouquet?  Or mixed with other flowers in a country bouquet?  I thought at first they had somehow stuck a green Trix in the middle of a white rose!

When push comes to shove, you go with what you love, and somehow it all ends up working together.  That's what's so much fun about weddings and being in "the biz"!  We get to play with all these themes and colors, designs and ideas--I LOVE MY JOB!!!!!!

There is so much more to talk about, but I'm concerned that all these photos are going to stop up the download, so I'm going to stop for now and see if this works.  I'll write more about the conference tomorrow! As if all of these fabulous sessions weren't enough, they had a huge trade show!!  OH MY!!!!  So there's lots more to report!  Stay tuned!

Ahhhhhhhhh!

After some terrifically busy weekends, and weekdays too for that matter, I finally have a day "off" to sit in my jammies all day (as in, it's 2:30 in the afternoon, and yes, I am still in the jams!)
So, what do I do on this golden day?  I read a beautiful book about EVENT PLANNING!!!!!  For the last 5 hours I have been pouring over an absolutely fantastic book---"Art of Celebration--New England".  I have stuck at least 20 markers into it, with notes written on them about the inspirations and ideas that the beautiful illustrations in this book have given me.  It's part of a series which includes a book for Georgia, Chicago, Northern California, Southern California, New York City, New England, South Florida, and maybe one more that isn't coming to me right now.  Oh, it's Washington D.C.
THESE ARE AWESOME BOOKS!!!!!!!  So many fabulous ideas for flowers, decor, lighting, food, linens, chair ties; you name it!  Obviously, the events featured in these books are gazillions of dollars.  They are, for the most part, REALLY high end events, but the beautiful thing is, so many of their ideas can be scaled back for the common man--or woman!  So many things can be done on maybe a slightly less grand scale, but still will add some great punch and spark to YOUR event.
I have these books at work, in my office, and I would be THRILLED to share them with anyone who would like to come by and look at them.  I'll even be happy to loan one out to you, just like the library, if you want to take it home with you and check it out.
An aside note:  There is a stationery designer in Boston by the name of Kelli Parker who does some truly lovely things with invitations and paper pieces for weddings and social functions, who was featured in this book.  I looked up her website, and on her blog she is having a contest to give a copy of this book to some lucky person!  Well actually, she already had the contest and nobody entered!  so maybe if a few people go to her blog and "enter" she'll give it to one of you!
And yet another aside note:  In one of her blogposts she mentions that the Dessy Bridal company is using Pantone colors for their gowns, and Pantone has an entire site dedicated to bridal colors and design.  You can order swatch colors, create mood boards for different combinations or for the colors that you have decided on; all kinds of fun things.  So if you are taking the day off today too, check it out!

Sorry, I have to get back to my book now, I think I should get dressed  before dinner time. :)

FORE!!!!! Tips for your Wedding Outing

Making your “wedding weekend” special involves a lot of planning, for you guests, your wedding party, and the two of you. Depending upon the day and time of your wedding, you may have “down times” during the weekend that you want to fill with some organized activities for some or all of your guests.
One of the activities that is mentioned often is the idea of having a golf outing for the golfing members of your guest list. This can be great fun for the groomsmen, or larger groups that might involve some of the guests.  It's a wonderful "mixer" for guests, relatives and friends that might not know each other.  There's nothing like a round of golf to make strangers into lifetime friends! 

Here are my TOP 10 TIPS to consider when you arrange your outing:

1. Consider the time of your outing very carefully. Keep in mind that it will probably be a little longer than your usual round. Don’t schedule things too close to rehearsal times or other activities where the bride might need you to attend! The last thing you want to do is tick off the bride right before the wedding! Of course, if the bride plays golf, there's no reason to exclude her or her attendants from the outing, but most brides and bridesmaids prefer to use this time to get the mani's and pedi's taken care of, and maybe have a nice lunch together.  It's nice to make the offer to the girls though.

2. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure—take a change of clothes with you and your toiletry kit, just in case you do get caught short of time and need to change at the course to save time. And make sure that your groomsmen follow suit! Be prepared for unexpected delays.

3. Consider the format. Especially if you have some duffers, think about a scramble format to speed up play and make it more fun for everyone. If you have a couple of non golfers in the wedding party, they can always be designated cart drivers, or score keepers if they don't want to be left out of the fun.

It’s nice if the groom has an opportunity to spend some time with everyone who participates in the outing. This can be done a number of ways, but one of the easiest is to have the groom play a couple holes with each foursome. Particularly if you use a scramble format, having a fifth player for a couple holes shouldn’t slow down play. So if you have 16 people playing in addition to the groom, or 4 foursomes, the groom would play the first 4 holes with the first group, then drop back and play the next 5 with the 2nd group, then after the turn, play the next 4 with the 3rd group, then drop back and finish up the last 5 holes with the 4th group. Of course, the number of groups you have will determine how many holes he joins in for. If you have a small outing, you might have two foursomes. Maybe you could put the groom in one foursome and the best man in the other, and they could switch at the turn, so that the groom gets some time with everyone.

4. Be respectful of other golfers. Try not to slow down play. Keep the alcohol under control, so that you can participate in other wedding activities later in the day.  In a word guys, don't be stupid. :)

5. It’s fun to provide a little goodie bag for each of your golfers. You can get as crazy as you want to with this one! Custom embroidered golf towels in the wedding colors, imprinted tees with the bride and groom’s names and wedding date, imprinted golf balls, golf shirts, caps; you name it! Bag tags, pencils, umbrellas, T-Shirts, divot repair tools, the sky is the limit! Obviously, you probably don't want to do everything, but a couple of nice imprinted items in the "wedding colors" with whatever theme you are using, help to add a little festivity to the day. You can also include a small snack, a bottle of water, maybe a short written explanation of the format, some wrapped hard candies, a damp iced wash cloth if it's a hot day, whatever . Assemble everything in a small gift bag that can be placed on the cart for each golfer before the round begins.

A quick note about personalizing and imprinting;  Decide what you want to imprint and how many, then find companies that will do multiple items if possible to save on set up costs.  For example, I have linked the clothing items above to http://www.queensboro.com/ which is an amazing site to purchase small quantities of caps, shirts, and lots of other items in small quantities at great prices.  If you have a "wedding logo" or motif that you want to use, you'll be paying a set up charge, either in the cost of each item or in a separate set up charge.  Also consider the shipping charges into the total cost.  If one company does multiple items, your shipping will probably be less than if you purchase from multiple companies.  There are, of course, many companies that imprint and personalize items.  I've had good luck with the companies that I linked, however it never hurts to shop around!

6. Green fees can be a bit of a touchy subject. Some grooms pick up the cost of the round for their participants, others expect everyone to take care of their own greens fees. It kind of depends on the budget. Some grooms include the outing for their groomsman as part of their groomsman’s gift. In any case, however you decide to handle it, make sure that everyone knows in advance whether they are paying their own greens fees and how much it will be so that there are no nasty surprises.

7. Provide prizes for the winning foursome.  Extravagance isn't necessary--it is, after all, the crowing rights that are important here!  Some fun things for prizes: a golf umbrella, a putter or driver, coupon for a free round in the future, a golf shirt, golf glove, cooler bag, you name it.  Remember that you need to think about having 4 of a prize if you have a scramble, as the winners will be the foursome and not necessarily an individual. 

8. Games on the course are fun, a prize for the longest drive, longest putt, closest to the pin, can spice things up.  The first group out can place the signs and the last group can pick them up as they go.

9.  Photographs of the event are always a wonderful keepsake after the big day.  The photos can be included with your wedding weekend photos, or assembled separately into a book or album to reminisce over in years to come.  Some photos to be sure you get:
a nice intro shot of the clubhouse or the sign at the entrance
one of each foursome with the groom
detail photos of any special items you provide for the outing--imprinted items, goody bags, shirts, etc.
carts leaving for the first tee
Teeing off photos
Action shots on the course
pictures of the prize winners with their prizes
19th hole shots as everyone enjoys a cool drink after the round

10. Most importantly, HAVE FUN!  Let the details take care of themselves the day of your outing.  If you have planned carefully and covered all your bases, you should be able to relax and enjoy the company  and companionship of all the people who love you and are thrilled to spend this time with you.  As with everything having to do with weddings, it's all about you and your guests, and the joy of being together at this happy time.  Everything else is window dressing.

The Course at Aberdeen, and their manager, Chad Hutsell, are anxious to help you with your outing plans. Aberdeen is very convenient to the Manor, for those of you having your weddings with us. It is a beautiful track, with lots of what Jim calls “interesting little golf holes”! Their pro shop is staffed with folks who can hook you up with anything you need, and they will make advance tee times for wedding outings so that you can make sure your timing is good. Aberdeen also has some nifty discounts for our wedding outings!! They have beautiful practice facilities, with a huge driving range, putting green, and chipping area. They also have a top shelf locker room with showers and locker storage in case you need to change clothes after your round.

Give Chad a call at 219 462-5050, or send him an email and get your outing plans started today! The Course at Aberdeen will help you make your wedding outing a fabulous event, and a special memory of your wedding weekend in the future!

Mike and Danielle--5-7-11 The French Connection

 I just love these two!  They put so much thought and attention into all the little touches that make a wedding personal and special.  They were engaged in Paris, so of course, they used that as a kick off point for a wedding that had touches of France all over. 
Mike and his mother danced to a rock and roll song and really cut the rug!  Mike said he knew he would be all weepy if they did a slow dance, so they used a song from Pulp Fiction and really busted a move!

 Mike and Danielle did the choreographed dance that is offered by Transaudio, their DJ, and the crowd loved it.

 Cupcakes with a small layer for them to cut at the top were served instead of traditional wedding cake.  Cream filled cupcakes by Chesterton Cake Shoppe were a huge hit.

Cute cute cute!!!!

Each table number had a French statement related to love with the translation. Their centerpieces were wine bottles that were cut to go over candles in a holder, tres chic!

We had great fun setting up the favor table for them!  We used some glass shelving to set out the Orangina on several levels, and give the table some dimension.  Mike spent hours wiring a little Eiffel Tower with twinkle lights.  They also had yummy little shortbread cookies with the Eiffel Tower pressed into them that were dipped in chocolate (oh hurt me!) These were in little glacine envelopes in a basket for guests to help themselves.  So cute. 

So you ask, "How did they get so many people out there for the garter and bouquet? 

It was a terrific idea!  They put a lottery ticket with the garter and also with the bouquet, and invited ALL the ladies, married or single, and then ALL the men, married or single, out to try to catch it.  Nothing like the hope of a winning ticket to get everyone out on the floor!!  It was very clever, and Mike and Danielle figured there wouldn't be many "singles" at their wedding reception, so this was a great way to get folks out there.

All in all it was a wonderful wedding for a terrific couple!  We had so much fun planning it with them!

Congrats Danielle and Mike!  Nos meilleurs voeux à vous!

Fifteen Minutes of Fame--Youtube Style

Well if you haven't figured this out yet, I am trying all the little blogger bells and whistles like uploading photos, uploading videos and such. This is really pretty easy!


At any rate, about those 15 minutes of fame. Have you seen the following YouTube video?


Well, as Paul Harvey would say (and I know that most of you have no idea who Paul Harvey is but that's another subject for another day) here's "the rest of the story":

Michelle who is our bookkeeper and "shop person extraordinare? and her husband went to San Diego to this wedding, and THEY filmed this video! Michelle put it on YouTube so that their friends could see it, never having any idea that it would go viral the way it has! She was excited when the hits went over 100,000! To date this video has had 8.5 million hits! Go figure. It has been really fun when people have told me about this video or sent me a link for it to say "Oh yeah, I know all about it, Michelle put it on YouTube."

The couple in the video, who are also named John and Michelle, just like our Michelle and her husband John (is that too funny?) appeared on Ellen Degeneres Show, The Today Show, Entertainment Tonight (or one of those video People Magazine Shows anyway) and apparently a couple other more local shows in California.

They really did a fab job with this dance, it was terrific! I'll bet they are getting kinda sick of doing it by now though. :)