Non-Floral Centerpieces

When designing your reception table, you want your centerpiece to be eye catching. Most brides turn to their florist to make this happen. But thinking outside the box can be an unexpected surprise to create the sense of grandeur of your wedding reception.

Another plus of avoiding floral centerpieces is that many times you can create them yourself and stay under a modest budget. How about using playing feathers in a vase? Peacock feathers are available at many craft stores and you can also find ostrich feathers dyed in your wedding colors.

Beach themed or destination weddings can simply use sand in glass vases with a few sea shells and a few blades of tall grass. Love the water? Have a fishy-friend accompany your guests at the table in a fish bowl. (Just make sure someone takes him home!)

Let your favors take center stage by creating a colorful display of boxes filled with a treat that each guest can take away. These custom made colorful boxes are filled with your favorite gourmet treats. Instead of a separate candy bar, display fruit or confections in a Crystal Epergne as your centerpiece. You can even put different sweets on every table to change the look as well as encourage guests to mingle with each other as they snack.

Regardless of what you decide, using non-floral centerpieces are definitely fun.

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Thriller Wedding Dance

Along with everyone else, we are mourning the death of the great Michael Jackson. Although he had a questionable lifestyle, no one can deny he was a great entertainer, maybe even the best. We are happy that news and other shows are sharing a positive light on his life and celebrating him as the wonderful artist he was. We can't think of a better way to pay our respects than showing the dance that has become a wedding staple (not to mention the most genius of videos that scared me as a kid!) Michael Jackson, you will be missed!

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Inspiration Board #1: Magenta, Navy Blue & Silver

Hello lovely blog readers! We have been wanting to do our own inspiration boards for a while now, and we are happy to share with you the first. Of course all of the images and colors are from our wedding. The wedding was the inspiration for the business, after all!

When it came time to plan, I knew I wanted my favorite colors, blue and pink. I was good with Magenta, but decided to go with Navy Blue instead of my favorite "Electric" Royal Blue for fear it would turn out to be an 80's looking wedding. Silver, or Platinum as I like to think, was the perfect compliment to these colors and served as a base color when needed.

I hope you enjoy these photos and get inspiration to design your own wedding.

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Wedding Dress Trend: Silver or Gray

Coming out of the dressing room to show my grandmother and mother-in-law the dress my mom and I liked best, my oh-so-nice mother-in-law gave me a dirty look and exclaimed, "It's gray!"

No, it's diamond white with silver lace. (She did like it however, and was shocked that I fit into a size 8.)

It seems I was ahead of the trend. Many brides are choosing colors other than white for their big day. In fact, some brides are even throwing white completely out of the window and going with bold colors, or even black.

In old times, you only wear white on your wedding day if you were a virgin. That rule doesn't really apply anymore, but bride's do still value tradition. That is why varying, muted shades of dresses are the most popular.

For a while now we have seen wedding dresses come in either white, off-white or cream. But brides and designers alike have felt the need for more. With the introduction of silver in this year's wedding dress collections, it is allowing brides to stand out in an understated way.

A silver wedding dress can instantly be glamorous. Opt for a dramatically dark pewter gown or simply one with silver accents, such as the lace on my dress. No matter what you choose, you will look ravishing in these shades of gray.



All of these dresses are by Maggie Sottero.

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Don't Ask Carly About the Rehearsal Dinner

When we have the time, we love to pick up a bridal magazine and read it. It keeps us up to date on trends, let's us see what others are doing with their wedding design, and also keeps us fresh on current dilemmas brides and grooms are facing.

One magazine we often read is the Knot. The Knot's editor in chief, Carly Roney, has her own column featured every issue called "Ask Carly". It is basically a "Dear Abby" column that brides can write in to and ask their most daunting of questions.
A recent question in this column has us up in arms.

"My future mother-in-law keeps calling the rehearsal dinner the 'groom's dinner'. She wants to send out invites saying, 'Please come to dinner in honor of my son on the eve of his wedding.' I think it's rude that she isn't including me. Am I right?"

Carly's answer was understandable - but we personally think incorrect. She stated that the typical dinner before the night of the wedding is called a rehearsal dinner. But if your mother-in-law is the one paying, she can call it anything she wants.

No way. As someone that really struggled with an extremely rude mother-in-law while planning her wedding, I really have a problem with that answer. I do understand if she is paying, she has say in what goes on. But we all know if you are doing a rehearsal before you eat, it is a rehearsal dinner.

I think this is the perfect time for your fiance' to step up and let the mother-in-law know that this is a celebration for the two of you. There should be no excluding the bride unless it was at a private event for the groom that the bride will not be attending. Let her know if she absolutely wants to have a dinner in his honor another time, she can do so. But the rehearsal dinner is NOT the time to do it.

I know this may cause stress between family members, but that is the chance you must take to start to have a solid family relationship. Otherwise you will always struggle and be unhappy with putting up with her rude comments and actions. Just trust it will get better over time. Believe me, I know.

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“Damask Traditions” Frosted Glass Tea Light Holder with Kate Aspen Signature Charm

Taking elegant wedding favors to a whole, new dimension—the “Damask Traditions” Tea Light Holder brings style to your reception tables and radiant memories to your guests. Just picture these gorgeous thank-you gifts at each place setting, and you'll know.

Features and facts:

• Elegant, black, damask-style pattern surrounds the frosted-glass tea light holder
  
• Tea light holder measures 2 ½ ” h x 2” in diameter
  
• Clear gift box is accented with rich, black grosgrain ribbon and bow and signature, silver-finish Kate Aspen gift charm
  
• Gift box measures 2 ¾” h x 2 ¼” w x 2 ¼” d
  
• Tea light included
  
• Sold in sets of four
  

Price:
1 - 5 sets of 4 $9.45 each
6 - 11 sets of 4 $8.25 each
12 - 23 sets of 4 $7.90 each
24 or more sets of 4 $7.20 each

Please visit our Favor Shop for this and other favors.

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Carla & Brandon's Save the Date Magnet

In a previous post, we had shared the story of Carla & Brandon including how they met and became engaged. (see Once Upon a Time for post) Now we would like to share their Save the Date Magnet we created for them.

They chose this standard design Save the Date Magnet with photo to inform guests of their upcoming nuptials. They changed it to their colors and a custom font. It was 3.5" x 4" and came with magnet carrier cards and their return address printed on the envelopes. We also did guest list addressing for them, stamped and sealed them, and sent them off to their guests.

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Reviews of Wedding Television Shows

Recently the popularity of weddings have expanded into more peoples homes than just to the bride and grooms. New television series are popping up everywhere and it's no surprise. Weddings are creative, fun, and often have a bit of comedy and drama. Perfect for the small screen. Here are our reviews of three popular wedding shows that are on the air now.

Get Married on Lifetime
We are fans of Get Married's website, and are also looking forward to their new magazine that will be out soon. Yet we have to give the tv show a thumbs down. It is hosted by the "world renowned" Collin Cowie and Deanna Pappas. The tv show is basically an advertiser's showcase and kind of a waste of time. They don't really highlight anything new that you haven't already seen in a magazine or catalog. We watched it for a few weeks (it is on Mon-Fri), hoping to see new ideas for wedding invitations. Instead, we saw the same old crap that we would never want to get inspired from - unless it was for our grandmother. On top of that, Collin Cowie has a very thick accent and is hard to understand.

Hitched or Ditched on the CW
This show plays on unstable couples and forces them to make a decision. A friend or family member nominates them to have their dream wedding in one week. The wedding happens no matter what - the couple gets to decide if they want to say I do or not at the ceremony. I must admit, we like this show, but it is very mean. It puts a lot of stress on a couple that already has problems. It also only gives them one week to decide their future together. I can only imagine the devastation the bride or groom feels when they say yes, but their partner says no.

My Big Redneck Wedding on CMT
Ok, yes, this is our guilty pleasure. But anyone who has ever seen this show probably understands and feels the same way. Self proclaimed "rednecks" get their wedding and preparation filmed. It has Tom Arnold as a host, and he has some great one-liners. One wedding had a mud pit. Another made a beer bong out of a toilet. (I know, right!) Another launched potatoes wrapped with their invitation on a paper plate at guest's houses. It is just too funny of a show not to watch. If your ever feeling stressed about you wedding planning, watch one of these episodes. It will have you laughing all the way to the alter.

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Engagement Story: Sarah & Jon

How they met...
Jon and Sarah met on March 15th, 2008 at the Southwest Nostalgia Drag Races. They were part of the same circle of friends, but Jon was rarely around due to his job. He is a United States Marine and was stationed in California at the time. That day he was racing his 31 Ford Coupe and Sarah couldn't take her eyes off of him.

She contacted him on Myspace a couple of days later and they exchanged phone numbers. Their relationship grew the more they talked and he started coming home more, even if it was just for the weekend. They had a wonderful summer together just hanging out and falling in love.

How he proposed...
In August, Jon was transferred out to the east coast so they were not able to see each other nearly as before. It was a hard move, but their relationship was now strong enough to survive a longer distance. He took leave in December and came home for Christmas. This was a special time for them because it was the first time their families met and spent the holidays together. Little did Sarah know, she had an even bigger surprise coming!

They spent Christmas Day with their families and afterward went over to a friend's house for a birthday party. As they were leaving, Jon said he had another present for Sarah. She hugged him and remembers his heart was beating so fast! Even when he reached into his pocket and pulled out the ring box (which was wrapped), she had no idea what was inside. He had her untie the ribbon and take off the paper. He then took the box back and opened it up to reveal the beautiful solitaire diamond ring that they had looked at months earlier. He told her that he already had her parent’s permission to ask and now he just wanted to know if she would marry him. Sarah stopped crying long enough to tell him yes!

The details so far...
Sarah and Jon will be getting married on Friday, September 8th, 2009, here in Phoenix, Arizona. Their wedding colors are Tiffany Blue, Black and White. Sarah has chosen our "Furry Monogram" in her wedding colors and as a flat card to keep her costs down. We will post a photo of Sarah and Jon's wedding invitation after her guests have received them.

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"Capture the Moments" Mini Satin Photo Album

We had a great time at the Bridal Show this past weekend and wanted to spotlight a favor that a ton of brides saw in our booth and liked. We ordered this photo frame and used it in our display as a place card holder by inserting the name card in the front.

"Capture the Moments" Mini Satin Photo Album

Help your guests keep their special memories safe and vivid forever with these sumptuous photo albums, each one tied off with an exquisite satin ribbon. Every album provides space for ten pictures – two on each side of its five pages – and showcases the most important photo in its window cover. At the start of the celebration, the albums welcome your guests to their place, if a place card is inserted in lieu of a photo. The album is available in formal black sure to fit any color and design schemes. Albums measure 3 3/8” square.

Price:
1 - 23 $2.90 each
24 - 47 $2.50 each
48 - 95 $2.40 each
96 or more $2.20 each

These are available in our Kate Aspen Favor Shop here.

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Invitation Timeline

When should you order your invitations? Well, we think you should start the process early so we can help you with your wedding's theme. That way we can carry it through all your printed pieces, starting with your Save the Date. Besides that, here is the traditional timeline of when to schedule your consultation for invitations.

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Social Etiquette - How to Handle Guests Who Invite Themselves to Your Wedding

It never fails. You write your guest list, consider your budget, and begin making cuts. Then someone you didn't plan on inviting to your wedding starts talking about how they can't wait to attend the event.

When planning our wedding, I actually had a coworker tell me she couldn't wait to come and wanted to know if she could bring a guest. First off, she wasn't dating anyone. So this guest would be just some random she would have picked up at a bar. Second, I wasn't planning on inviting her anyways because I did not know her very well at the time. (She had just started to work with me a few months before the wedding.)

In such circumstances, the best course of action is not to have bad manners in return. Most of these people do not realize they are being rude, and do not consider the cost of adding more people to the guest list (and often have not planned a wedding themselves to know the pressure and stress you are under!)

Instead, try to stay gracious and tactful. Let them know you can only invite enough people that your budget will allow, which may only be your family and closest friends. End with it is unfortunate because there are many people you would like to invite but will not be able to.

This simple statement can help you dodge this awkward situation, and hopefully avoid inflating you guest list - and your budget.

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Visit Us At the Bridal Fashion Debut June 7

This Sunday, June 7th, we will be attending the Bridal Fashion Debut in Phoenix, AZ. We have been upgraded to a large corner booth and have some exciting designs to share with everyone. Please be sure to stop by and let us know you read the blog!

Arizona's Biggest & Best Bridal Show!
Over 600 of the Valley's top wedding professionals to help you plan your wedding. All In One Place, All In One Day!

Phoenix Convention Center Sunday, June 7, 2009
Order Bridal Show Tickets Here!

High-Energy Runway Fashions! Hottest Bridal Trends!
FREE subscription to Modern Bride magazine!
A bridal gown given away every hour!
Taste and compare wedding cakes and catering.

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