The Easiest Way To Personalize Your Wedding

1) Find ways to incorporate yourself.




At least 1/2 of your guest list will be there because they know you- they remember your cheerleading years and when you were a tomboy before that. Try a picture wall to showcase all the early years, have a favorite food make an appearance (who says fried chicken or cheeseburgers isn't wedding fare?), or make sure what you wear (shoes, dress, accessories) really makes a statement as to who you are.



2) Then find ways to incorporate you as a couple.



All of your guests are there to celebrate you each as individuals and both as a couple. Show your guests what makes your relationship. We've seen topographic maps as seating diagrams for the mountain climbers, a swing orchestra for the Manhattanites, and chocolate covered espresso bean favors because the couple met at Starbucks.


So the easiest way to personalize your day is to ask these questions: what will our guests instantly recognize about me (and him), and what will they appreciate knowing about us as a couple?


We guarantee the result will go further than the prettiest centerpiece you can find (although if you can swing that, we won't object about throwing that in too).


So how will you be personalizing your wedding?



{Photos}

#1: Chela's mother made the family's mustard recipe as favors for their September 2009 wedding.



#2: Gisela and Carey displayed baby pictures along the pergola at Woodriver Cellars at their 2007 wedding. Photo courtesy Amore Photography.

# 3: Maggie & Rex's swing orchestra set up and ready to start the cocktail hour. Photo courtesy Tana Photography.

Making A Statement

Trends are just that- trends, and some will fade fast while others will stick around for a few years. Whatever the case with the Statement Necklace, I think every gal should own at least one. Really. I think the one you choose will ultimately say a lot about you and your style and personality. In fact, I've been shopping around for one for myself- I lean towards a more simple outfit with one or two eye catching accessories to finish it off. These necklaces could be great for any occasion though- a party you're hosting (the hostess should always make a statement), your engagement party, as a gift for your bridal party, and most of all, I would love to see one of these on a bride. You're picking your dress as a reflection of you, right? Even if you don't wear it to the ceremony try wearing one to the reception to change it up a little.









{Photos}
#1&2: Anthropologie
#3: Perfect Details
#4: White Owl, Etsy

~Happy Planning!

A Designer Sight To See

We are always looking for ways to spice up your favor boxes, glam up your wine bottles, and even add a finishing touch to your desserts. Everyone's design process can be a little different, and sometimes you'll have an idea that needs to be 'cultivated' a little. This is why I personally love blogs that just give inspiration. They don't have to be wedding related at all; a font on packaging you see might turn out to be the perfect one to set the tone of your party, and those buttons you saw might even give you an idea to personalize your details of the party too.



The Lovely Package is a site that features all sorts of package design, and I love how it also features designs and art work from students. None of the products featured on the blog are necessarily wedding related, but you can gather ideas for container styles, color combos or patters, font and stationery ideas, and you might even be inspired to feature one of the wines at your reception too.







{Sources}
#1: Wrapping by student Nimrod Gavish
#2: Organic Honey design by Marcel Buerckle
#3: Wine designed for women by Reut Ashkenazy
#4: Design by student Meeta Panesar

A Love Themed Wedding

With Valentines Day coming up, we loved how these love-themed details made a statement, with nary a heart in sight (and just a little pink)!







Incorporate an unexpected color tone or combo to create elegant and fun rather than fun and cheesy.







Love birds are the quintessential love-themed item; give them a grown-up look with elegant or vintage patterns.







If pink is still your fancy, adding a stark contrast and cohesive elements like these stripes and cameo profiles grounds the fluffiness of the pink. And trust us, we know how to work with pink.





~Happy Planning!

{Sources}
Bird Pillow
Owl board via Wishpot
Love Birds via Inspired By This
Pink & Black bridal shower via Hostess With The Mostest

Looking Through The Glass

Every wedding will have some variation or combination of place cards, escort cards, menus, and table cards. Because these items are fairly commonplace- they do a great job directing and informing your guests- it becomes our jobs to find ways to make the ordinary extraordinary.

When you're looking for ways to make your wedding as unique as possible, look at other materials to add that extra pop too.



Isn't this menu 'card' beautiful? This is the brainchild of fab planner Jodi Bos, but it can easily be replicated into a DIY project. Just find a glass plate (or have one professionally cut to size to ensure the edges are smooth), add some acrylic paint and some artistic flair and voila. The good thing about this idea is if you do one menu per table (rather than at every place setting), you only a few to make (ok more like 20ish to make, but better than, say 200).



We loved how these etched glasses had a duo role as favors and escort cards. Find glasses with each guest's initial and add your escort card to the glass. The idea can be fairly inexpensive for smaller weddings or parties (see below for resource ideas, or if you're super crafty, try etching them yourself).



Finally for a more playful note, have your specialty drinks fill in for the escort card.

Note {For those of you that are new to the Soiree Blog, we like to start the week off with something inspirational- it can be a picture, a quote, a real wedding or party, or just a great idea to be inspired with.}

{Sources}

To Buy: If you are thinking about having the etched glasses, try places such as Final Cut, Bed Bath and Beyond, or Beau-Coup.

Photo #1: Courtesy of Jen Kroll

~ Happy Planning!

Congratulations To Our Winners!

Thank you to our readers that helped us choose who would win our Mikasa "Cheers" flutes from the Bridal Extravaganza last weekend. As an added twist we wanted to reward one of the voting brides-to-be with a surprise as well; the lucky gal will win David Tutera's brand new book, The Big White Book Of Weddings: The How To Guide For The Savvy, Stylish Bride.


So, our winners announced:

Congratulations to Megan for winning our flute giveaway! This was Megan's answers to our questions:

Favorite part of planning so far: Seeing it all come together..
Least favorite part: The process of trying to get it all to come together!

Our readers sympathized with Megan's love/hate relationship with having lots of good ideas but trying to find the right ways to implement them.

Now for the winner of our voting prize. We used Random.org to choose Joanne, who also voted for Megan:


I have to go with Megan, too. I stay up nights because of all the ideas running rampant through my head, so I can sympathize.



Congratulations you two! Hopefully the right ideas will pop out so you can have a fantastic time planning your wedding.



Megan and Joanne, please email blog@weddingsbysoiree.com with your addresses and we'll get your prizes off to you.



Thanks to everyone who participated again!



~ The Soiree Girls

Cheers! Mikasa Giveaway Finalists + A Surprise..

As promised, today is the day we'll present the four finalists for our Mikasa flute giveaway we held at the Bridal Extravaganza. We had over 50 entries, so instead of leaving the decision up to ourselves we turned to Random.org to pick the lucky four.

Before we announce, a little background on the giveaway (and a little warning of a long post):

- One stylish bride will become the owner of Mikasa's "Cheers" flutes, valued at $59.00 .

- Rather than have each bride simply drop her name in a basket, we got to know each lovely a little better- by asking what their favorite and least favorite part of planning their wedding has been so far.

So now that you know the background, here's what you, our readers, get to do:

* Vote on your favorite finalist, based on her answers to our questions.

* Since we love giveaways, our readers, and stylish brides, if you vote you're automatically entered into another giveaway just for you. The winner will receive a copy of the brand new hardcover book by celebrity wedding planner David Tutera, The Big White Book of Weddings: A How-To Guide For The Savvy, Stylish Bride.



* Rules are as follows:
- Leave a comment here with the name of the finalist, and why you chose her.
- 1 entry per person, please.
- If you are a finalist for the Mikasa Flutes, by all means, please vote for yourself (just once).
- Voting and giveaway for the book ends Thursday Jan. 7th at 5:00p MST .
- Winner for both the flutes and the book will be announced on Friday Jan. 8th at 8:00a MST .
- Contest for the book is available for any US participant.

So without further adieu, our Mikasa "Cheers" flutes announced:

# 16: Rosemary

Favorite part of planning so far: Finding the dress!
Least favorite part: Having to go to school while planning.

# 25: Megan

Favorite part of planning so far: Seeing it all come together..
Least favorite part: The process of trying to get it all to come together!

# 28: Bridgette

Favorite part of planning so far: Picking the invitations
Least favorite part: Picking the cake!

# 29: Kelly

Favorite part of planning so far: Finding the dress!
Least favorite part: Getting all the addresses for the guests.

Okay there you have it- our finalists for the lovely flutes. Voting starts officially today. Good luck, and have fun!

~Brandi

Choosing The Right Planner For You

Setting a goal is not the main thing. It is deciding how you will go about achieving it and staying with that plan ~ Tom Landry


Any city you live in will host a variety of event planners. We are a unified body of organized, detail-obsessed individuals and are part of an industry that will forever go on, as long as people are getting married! And as each year blooms new engagements, planners will develop new services as well as new planners entering the scene as a whole. Brides will see words ranging from consulting, to coordination, to design. Some planners are designers, some designers are only that. No matter what, in each of our own ways, we are all planners. How do you tell the difference, and which type of planner is right for you? This post is derived in part from talking to brides this past weekend and hearing how overwhelmed they were to take on their weddings, and part from just wanting to clarify the differences between a coordinator and a designer, and/or both:

Designer:

A designer will offer services ranging from concept design ( think sketches, pictures, ideas, and a blueprint plan for making it happen) to full-scale design (initial concept design and then full implementation of the design, such as decorating the event).

Coordinator:

A coordinator is often described as an event manager or even a project manager. This person is hired to coordinate the various vendors and to distribute the plans and wishes of the client. They are in effect, coordinating the entire team of vendors to make the wedding or event as smooth as possible.


Planner:

Some may differ from my opinion, but I believe a planner is slightly different from a coordinator. For instance, I see a coordinator as someone who takes the plans and implements them; and a planner makes the plans. Hence the "Day of Coordination" packages- the bride has effectively planned the event, and is now handing the plans over to make sure they are implemented properly- and the On-site Coordinators at many venues.

Planner/Designer:

Some planners have the unique ability to be creative and extremely logistic- a little mixture of left brain/ right brain tendencies. These are the individuals that will not only help creat the plans of the wedding, but will design the decor and theme of the wedding as well.

So Which Is Right For You?

If you're looking for someone strictly to design the theme and decor elements of your event, look to a designer. However, oftentimes a design firm is paired with a planning firm to round out the effects of the event.

If you're looking for strictly coordination or a little combo of planning/design, keep these tips in mind:

* Make sure you click with this person. I guarantee you will see your planner as much, if not more than your groom on your wedding day. You have to be comfortable and feel this person gets your vision perfectly.

* Ask them whether or not they will be handling only the plans or helping to design the concept of the wedding as well. It is perfectly fine for someone to tell you they will only handle the plans- after all, it's best for them to do what they do best.
{As a side note: Soiree is considered a planning & design company- we have the resources and capabilities to do both.}

The more in-tune with your planner's services and capabilities you are, the better your planning process will be.

Do you have any other questions you'd like to ask regarding the differences between planners and/or planning in general? Post them here and we'll answer them for you.

Happy Planning!

A Bridal Show Recap

First, let us start off with saying we had a fantastic weekend at the Bridal Extravaganza and we were thrilled to have met so many excited couples. It was a long weekend though, with set up starting on January 1st. In addition to our booth at the show, we were also invited to design a separate space of inspiration for brides. That was right up our alley, even if we only had about 6 days notice...we think our fairytale theme came out beautifully in spite of the time crunch. In case you weren't able to make it down this weekend, we wanted to recap some details of the show for you.



Here we are ready to get started on Saturday. That's Kelsey, Kim, and Samantha. By the way- welcome Kelsey and Samantha to the team, they are Soiree's 2010 interns.



The main table inside our booth. I have to say I love these girls- they all worked painstakingly for the last 3 weeks or so on these fabric and tissue paper flowers for the booth. All were hand cut and featured tulle and satin, and each had to be hand-sewn. You know you have a great team when they don't blink an eye at my crazy ideas...like making hundreds of flowers in a matter of weeks. We also decided to do something unique and forgo the linen. Instead we made a ribbon runner down the middle.



Hopefully you got one of these if you did make it to the show. And yes, we tied almost 250 ribbons. The effect was beautiful though.

Then there was our design space. We had a blast putting this together. It all started with the linen- a pinky-purple pintuck linen from our very own Cloth Connection (Soiree is an exclusive account member).



We paired moss, butterflies, and tulips to make a mod fairytale theme.



Our own Shanna created the place cards and table card to finish off the table.



On of the things we love to do is to mix unexpected ideas into a design. We wrapped our napkins with moss wire, and added a strip of burlap to our favor boxes.



Since the table was full of vibrant pinks and purples, we left the ceremony inspiration a more monotone palette. Green moss, twigs, and a pop of bright green balls at the top of the arch complemented the table perfectly. The bamboo chairs, courtesy of Brown Rental, finished off the entire look.



As a whole, we were thrilled with the results, and thought the "design space" idea was a great addition to the show this year. What were your thoughts?

Finally, we can't forget about the giveaway we had at the booth. One stylish bride will take home 4 Mikasa "Cheers" flutes. As an interesting twist, we actually asked all of our participating brides two questions about the planning of their weddings; and as another twist you all will actually be able to vote for the winner here. We'll post the finalists on Wednesday January 6th, and the winner will be announced on Friday January 8th, so stay tuned!

We hope you had as much fun at the show as we did, and hope you picked up lots of great ideas about your own wedding day. We also hope, if you're new to the Soiree Blog, that you'll keep coming back for more inspiring ideas, practical tips and planning advice, and just to get to know us a little better.

Happy Monday, and happy planning!

~ Brandi