Shelley and Rich 3-27-2011

What a great couple! We had such fun planning their big day! I don't think I ever saw Rich without Purdue logowear somewhere on him! Boiler Up!
Peacock blue was the color. Black bridesmaid's gowns with a teal sash.

The flowers were done by Lemster's in Valparaiso.  Beautiful!  I'm not normally a fan of dyed flowers, but there is something about the hot pink dendrobium orchids dyed blue that I just love!  They are so different and so pretty!  And of course, they go with the peacock color scheme perfectly!

Peacock feathers are what I would call a very "strong" theme.  It is easily overdone and can become garish if you go too crazy with them.  Shelley did a great job of "nodding" to the peacock without being consumed by it!  A few feathers, mixed with the flowers, kept the whole thing under control. 

Beautiful placecard table--simple, elegant, and welcoming!

Their cake was lovely!  Linda Monroe did an amazing job with it.  The peacock feather shapes were done white on white, traced onto the cake.  Again, a nod to the peacocks not a full on assault! :)

I've seen "peacock cakes" that were hideous!  Some with the actual bird in full color draping down the cake--argh!  This was lovely, and their sparkly "B" on the top was just the right touch.  Feathers around the topper were considered, but we decided that real bird feathers on something you were going to eat didn't sit really well.  Better to keep them off the cake.

 No, this wasn't a photo of the dinner!  This was the "salad course" that our staff made for the kids at the wedding.  Gummy Bears on the Beach!  Don't miss the little Sixlet beach ball!  Too cute!

We had the inaugural run of our snow machine!  Awesome!!  The crowd loved it!  There were so many ooo's and ahhhh's you would have thought it was REALLY snowing in the ballroom!

All in all a beautiful wedding for a wonderful couple!  Many good wishes Shelley and Rich! 

24 Days!!!!!!!

So, can you just imagine planning your wedding with the WHOLE WORLD WATCHING?!?!?!
On the one hand, the pressure would be intense!  On the other, how exciting to know that every little thing you do for your celebration is going to set trends for at least the next 10 years, maybe longer!
Kate's gown has been a subject of big speculation.  Her favorite designer is Issa in London, and many think they will be the chosen designers.  The gown is going to be copied by every gown company in the world.  They'll all do their take on it, but it will be the trendsetter. 

All this royal wedding hype takes me back to July 29, 1981 when Charles married Diana.  We all got up in the wee hours of the morning to watch the pre-wedding reports.  We didn't have a VCR yet, so it was watch it now, or miss it!  My, how things have changed!  My Megan was just a little over 4 weeks old!  We all waited breathlessly to see what Diana would be wearing.  The glass windowed carriage came out from Clarence House, followed by mounted horsemen.  It proceeded to St. Paul's Cathedral, the entire route lined with throngs of people, shoulder to shoulder, cheering and waving as the carriage passed.  Many waited through the night for just a quick glimpse of the beautiful Lady Diana, soon to be the Princess of Wales.  They were the fairy tale couple.  She was demure, shy, and heartbreakingly gorgeous, Charles, well; not so gorgeous, but despite his less than handsome looks he had a few things going for him too. :)
I will never forget when Diana stepped out of the carriage!  That train!  It went on for miles!!!!!  She started up the stairs of St. Paul's and that train just kept coming and coming and coming!!!  It was ginormous! Here is the official description of it:

"Diana's wedding dress was a puff ball meringue wedding dress, with huge puffed sleeves and a frilly neckline. The dress was made of silk taffeta, decorated with lace, hand embroidery, sequins, and 10,000 pearls. It was designed by Elizabeth and David Emanuel, and had a 25-foot train."

Today we look at this gown and our reactions are a little different.  It's overdone, huge, and WAY too elaborate and big for today's standards, but in 1981, boy, that was some dress!  I have always felt that the gown was kind of a metaphor for her life at that point.  It engulfed her, consumed her, overwhelmed her, kind of like the monarchy, the notariety, and the whole business of marrying a prince.  Poor Diana, she was so young, only 20, so naive, so innocent.  A crystal ball would have done her a lot of good.
I watched a video of the wedding on YouTube last night,

I couldn't help noticing how Charles barely looked at her as she came down the aisle.  He looked down, he talked to one of his attendants, he was definitely not the smitten groom, mesmerized by his beautiful bride!  Of course, hindsite is always 20/20 but still, the signs were there, we just didn't choose to see them.  Years later we found out that he wore a pair of cufflinks that were a gift from Camilla at the wedding.  The ROGUE!!!  I guess he did it for England, but still, I don't know that I can ever forgive him for breaking her heart.

Despite the unhappy ending to their fairytale, it was an incredible wedding. I hope that Wills and Kate will have a much happier ending to their story. I think the fact that they were friends for a long time before they dated, and also that they have dated for so long (eight years as opposed to the six months that Charles and Diana dated) will serve them well. They are both much older than at least Diana was when she was married. This seems to be a general trend that we have seen for a number of years, and I think it's great. Waiting to marry till you are in your late 20's, early 30's, seems to be much more the norm now.
The hype then was many times what it has been for William and Kate, if you can imagine it! It will be exciting to see what new trends and traditions come from this royal wedding. Jewelry stores are already seeing a surge in engagement rings with colored stones other than diamonds.
I'm looking forward to seeing it all, and seeing all the fall out afterward! Are you going to get up early and watch the wedding live? Or are you going to record it and watch it later?

Saturday Evening, Amanda and Jon, March 19, 2011

 Basic uplighting added an amazing pop to the Ballroom.

 A few spectacular arrangements, strategically placed had SO much impact!  

 Beautiful Amanda with her lovely mom, right before they went down the aisle.

 I love the way that the twinkling lights under the head table shine through a veil.  It's such a pretty shot!

Lovely couple, great wedding!  Congratulations you two!

Michelle Minzey and Earnest Smith 3/19/2011

 Pretty centerpieces!  Imaginative use of the containers we have here at Aberdeen

 I particularly liked this one!  The petals submerged in water filling the tall hurricane vase looked amazing!

 And then their was their awesome cake!!!  Done by Designer Desserts in Valpo.  Absolutely elegant!

 And what's even better than a beautiful cake?  A beautiful cake filled with butter pecan flavored cake!  Oh my gosh!  The scent was amazing!  The reports are that the taste was even better!

 Lots of children at this wedding enjoyed their colorful, playful candy table!

You can see by the looks on their faces that they are looking forward to that butter pecan cake!!

Beautiful wedding!  An afternoon that will be remembered for a long time by their guests.

Congratulations you two!!!

Rob and Gina 3/18/2011

Here are some pictures from one of our recent weddings.

Gina and Rob 3/18/2011

Gina and Rob, they got engaged at Mackinac Island.  Rob proposed with a Cracker Jack box that he had carefully snuck the ring into!  They wanted to bring some of these elements into their celebration.  So they used postcards for the hydroboats that take you to Mackinac as their guestbook.  A pretty, vintage box held pens and invited guests to give them their good wishes on the postcards.  They then would deposit them in the little mail box.

Their favors were boxes of Cracker Jacks, with a prominent sign "Ring not included!" 

Their ceremony, in the chapel, was designed to incorporate their children and recognize their place in the marriage.  Each child was presented with a medallion commemorating the event.

They chose to have a head table which was a round, with all of their children and the two of them.  Their best man and matron of honor sat close by at rounds with their spouses.  They opted for the basic uplighting--ten uplights around the room in pale green.  The effect was amazing!

Their colors were pale green and chocolate.  Favors were boxes of Mackinac Island fudge.  I always like to see couples that feed each other the wedding cake and do it respectfully and gently.  I think it says something about their relationship as a whole. 

They did an awesome first dance, starting out with a traditional slow song and then busting into a rap that had the crowd howling!
All in all it was a really special wedding!  Lots of thought and preparation paid off in a celebration that was personal to the couple, and very special to their guests.

Congrats you two!  Many happy years together!

Wedding Themes

There are many different avenues that can be explored when planning your wedding. Are you going to incorporate how you were engaged, where you met, your hobbies and interests? You don't have to have a theme, but having one can create a cohesive feel from your invitations to your wedding favors.

A "theme" does not have to be "fishing" or "Chicago." It can be a monogram that starts on your invitations and then is replicated on your wedding cake and personalized gobo. It can be a color or flower that your guests see repeated on all of your wedding stationary from the save the dates to the thank you cards as well as the cake and centerpieces.

I thought that this was an ADORABLE wedding theme for two people who met in elementary school. It could also be used for two teachers getting married. It's elegant, classy yet personal and so very much the couple.

Song Ideas

If you need help deciding on a song for your wedding, look no further than weddingchannel.com. Be it your first dance, recessional, processional, father-daughter, Wedding Channel has an entire section devoted to helping you select that perfect song. One of my favorites has to be "Make You Feel My Love," although I've always been partial to the Garth Brooks version...

http://weddings.weddingchannel.com/wedding-planning-ideas/wedding-music/slideshows/best-last-dance-songs.aspx