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!

"Pretty in Pink" Erin and Bo -- April 2, 2011

I think if I had to choose only one color for every wedding, forever more, it would be pink.  There is just something so "weddingish" about pink!  It's feminine and frilly and of course it is the "girl" color!

Erin chose to use soft, pastel pink with ivory for their wedding colors.

Wedding programs gave the guests a run down on what was going to take place, as well as who the participants were. 

Pew bows with hydrangea and roses on every other row were repurposed across the head table for the reception after the wedding, along with the table arrangement which was placed in the center of the head table, and the two side arrangements that were positioned behind the head table.  The flowers were done by The Flower Cart in Chesterton.  As usual, an awesome job!

Aberdeen Manor provided the balloons for the balloon release.  They all stayed in the coat room until after the ceremony ended, when our servers took them over to the chapel and gave them to the attendants to pass out to the guests.

Three little flower girls took their job VERY seriously!  So cute!  Their petal gowns (from Affairs) were adorable, especially with the pink organza sashes.  One little flower girl was older than the other two.  She was able to lead the way and help get the little ones down the aisle.  It was a HUGE help. 

I know you are wondering--well, the groomsmen wore champagne vests and ties, and the groom wore ivory.  None of them were required to wear pink!  (although, we have some beautiful pink vests and ties, and personally, I think it's a very becoming color on most men!)

The balloons were passed out to the guests after the ceremony as they left the chapel, with instructions to wait to release them till the bride and groom stepped out and released theirs.  It was a beautiful sunny day, and the guests didn't mind waiting outside the chapel.

After greeting all the guests, the new Mr. and Mrs. Casey stepped out and released their balloons!

Absolutely beautiful!!  (And contrary to popular belief, the balloons freeze in the upper atmosphere and turn into dust.)

A beautiful placecard table awaited the guests' arrival after the ceremony. 

Their cake was simple and elegant, with pink spray roses decorating the tiers, a sparkly "C" on the top!

 Their tables were decorated with alternating centerpieces.  Half were tall, like on the placecard table, and the other half were low bowls with huge pink roses--the size of teacups!  Beautiful!

 Bo and Erin opted for the "Crystals and Candles" ceiling decor, as well as a gobo heart shining above the head table.  Magical!  And of course, it snowed over their first dance!  Mike the DJ commented afterward: "Well folks, let's hope that's the last snow we see for this season!"

A magical evening for a terrific couple!  If you want to see more photos of Bo and Erin's wedding you can go to Bella Photography's website.  They have a terrific montage set to music of their photos from the wedding.
http://weddingsbybellaphotography.blogspot.com/2011/04/wedding-of-erin-and-bo-april-2-2011.html

Peacocks, Plumes and Plenty of Colors!

Have you ever really looked at a peacock feather? There are SO many colors to work with! Eggplant purple, teal, green, chocolate brown; they are SO beautiful!
Peacock feathers do have their disadvantages though. The peacocks drag those long, long tails around behind them, all folded up, and then when they get really ticked at another peacock, or they see their lady love peahen, they fan it out ala NBC. Consequently they are one sided, because the peacock doesn't really care what the view from the side or back is, he is only concerned about his tail being visible to whomever he is facing.
This makes for some unique problems when it comes to using these gorgeous jewel like feathers in floral arrangements and bouquets.
We have used them flat on the placecard table, under a fitted glass, with wonderful results. We have also done this on the cake table, and it looked amazing. It just doesn't work though to put a few feathers in a vase. It takes some special talent to make them work.
Our wedding this evening really showed what you could do with peacock feathers to use them to best advantage.

Not all of the tables had tall arrangements, there were roughly 5 per side of the room, and then the remaining tables had our tall hurricanes with a pillar candle, and votives around them.  The black aquarium rock in the vases was also used in the hurricanes which helped to tie the two designs together.  Personally, I'm not fond of tall arrangements on ALL of the tables, it can be really overwhelming!  This was the perfect number--visual impact, interest, and not at all "too much".  I also liked the use of the pampas grass plumes in the arrangements.  This grass grows wild all over Northwest Indiana, and many times you can pick it along the side of the road.  It's a beautiful filler with the peacock feathers and gives the arrangements a lot of volume and substance without the cost of additional fresh flowers. 
The bridesmaids wore black gowns with teal sashes, and the groomsmen wore black tuxes with teal ties and vests. It was a very elegant look.
The bouquets and boutonnieres had fresh flowers with peacock eye feathers and sword feathers mixed in. Just enough to nod to the peacock theme ( you don't want to SCREAM it! Peacock feathers can easily be overdone :)

All in all, Ryan and Jessica did a terrific job designing their wedding! It was done with style, elegance, and just the right amount of pizzazz!  And, it never hurts to have a stunning and elegant bride as the centerpiece!

Congratulations you two! It was a beautiful evening for a delightful couple!

Elena and Bart December 19, 2009

Ok, well the pictures won't move for some reason--sigh. So I guess we'll just have to talk about them in the order that they were downloaded. I'll tell ya, I have to get all these photos off of the desktop of my computer! It's running soooooooooo slooooooooow!

So, Elena and Bart. What a terrific couple! Elena is from a very large, and very close Philipino family--and they are definitely up for any party! Bart's sister, Jolene was married here at Aberdeen last spring. She and her husband, Larry, were both attendants. Everyone, including me, had such a great time.
Bart and Elena have the distinction of being the first couple to have a photo booth at Aberdeen Manor! I was excited to see how it all came off. The guests REALLY enjoyed it! It was set up in a corner of the ballroom and manned by a couple from the company that took care of setting up a "guest book" with photos of the guests from the booth, on which the guests provided little messages. The guests also received copies of their photos to keep. It was busy all evening! This booth was quite large, so groups of guests could go in and take a picture. Of course, as the evening went on the photos got crazier!
Elena and Bart are both involved in environmentalism, and this was reflected in their wedding decor. Natural twigs and greenery decorated the tables. The cake topper was adorable! Two little love birds among some twigs. So cute.

They took advantage of the free dance lesson from Transaudio, and threw in some smooth moves for their first dance. The crowd, and their photographer, loved it!

Here are some photos of their tables. The chocolate brown bichon tablecloths really looked amazing and set off their elegant and simple centerpieces perfectly.

What I loved about this reception was that it was "seasonal" without screaming "Christmas!" Their red roses in the bouquets, and evergreen and cranberries on the tables, just sort of whispered it.

The cake was so beautiful. The twigs were real twigs that had been dipped in chocolate and sugared. Sugared cranberries also decorated the little groupings up the sides and on the top.

Best wishes Elena and Bart! We are all so glad that we'll see you, and your families back this summer for Matt and Kara's wedding!