Razzle Dazzle

You cannot help your sense of style. I have found that everything I pick out for a party looks a lot like something I would use in my house. I like straight clean lines, simple artwork and pastel colors for the most part. I like things to be detailed yet simple and soothing.

One way to express your theme and sense of style is through your paper products (it sounds like I am talking about toilet paper....maybe there is a better word). Use the invitation to give your guest a sneak peak of what they can expect!

I recently found out that a pledge sister of mine, Mary V. Baugh, has her own invitation company called Razzle Dazzle. She is so talented and very creative. I instantly fell in love with her work as soon as I saw it!

I dream of having an all white office with that pink chair at my desk. I have a long way to go considering my desk is currently located in the playroom underneath the entire American Girl Collection!

I came a cross a duvet cover about a year ago that was purple with black chandeliers and I was obsessed with it. Unfortunately, it was too old for a prissy 3 year old and too girly for Tom's sports loving 5 year old. This invitation brought back my infatuation for this duvet. Maddie will totally have it the minute she graduates from the pink princess room!

Need I say anything more??? If you haven't been to Rachel Halvorson's blog, Nest Egg, go right after you finish reading my blog. Maybe I should throw her a party and use it. This invitation looks just like her.

Remember my post about feet? One of the brides had on yellow and grey shoes. This color scheme was echoed throughout her in entire wedding. This would have been a beautiful Save the Date or even wedding invitation (if you are having the small, non-traditional, Kirk/Butler type).

I HATED these things as a kid, but I HATED them more last September when I looked all over town for them! I literally went everywhere and I am embarrassed to say...I flat out failed! This might be my favorite find and in perfect timing for this year's party!!

Happy Planning!
-NB

Just Dance...

Your mother may disagree with me, but there are not any rules telling you how you have to walk down the aisle.

Check this out!

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/32122353#32122353

Happy Planning!

-NB

Fabulous Photography!

Oh My Word!!! I am more obsessed with A Bryan Photo than I was 24 hours ago and this my friends is hard to imagine! Not sure if it is because they have the coolest studio I have ever seen or the amazing coffee table books (aka albums) they put together for their brides. Bottom line they have style and talent!

This is Bryan Johnson...owner of A Bryan Photo.

I had the privilege of sitting down over coffee and bagels with my dream team of photographers to discuss the Birmingham wedding world. One of the many things I love about this group is their desire to see and experience weddings that are outside the norm. If you are following my blog and have clicked on A Bryan's link before, you have probably noticed that they capture the amazing details of each wedding! Obviously A Bryan doesn't plan the wedding but they have been lucky enough to work with some of the most talented planners, designers and brides who want their wedding to be different than the one before!

Regardless of the photographer you hire, find someone who is creative and you trust will capture the day to your tasting. Remember...this person is a professional! Let them be creative...you will like your pictures so much more!

Love this girl's short white dress! She wore this for the first part of her day and then changed into her dress. This changed up her photos and kept her portrait pictures from being the same.
How cute is this! As I bride, I would have never thought to tell the photographer to capture this photo. This is an example of letting your photographer be creative.
Great photo...but even better idea! The two things I love most rye grass and trees!
A Bryan does a Polaroid album for all of their bride and grooms during the reception. This is a fun thing to have on your honeymoon to relive the day all week!

Be sure to have your photographer take pictures of the decor. You will want to remember how everything looked. As the bride, you will not get a good look at your reception decor due to all the people.

A Bryan's work is completely worth the small fortune you will pay to hire this group of artists to capture the most important day of your life....there is an alternative. Bryan Johnson has started another photography company called 509 Photo. You can have the same great talent for a fraction of the price. Check out Chase's portfolio on 509photo.com.

With all this being said, I want to challenge you to think outside the box. You do not need A Bryan to make this happen, but you can use their experiences for inspiration!

Happy Planning!

-NB

AVO

Barrie Wilson, a legal recruiter here in town, called me today needing some last minute help with a party she was having tonight. It was "girl's night out" for her female law students and she was in need of favor ideas. Since the night consisted of nail treatments, girly cocktails and dinner at AVO...I immediately picked up the phone and called my wine rep to see what he could do. We ended up with mini bottles of champagne and bubble bath......what more could a girl want!







While I could write about my love for champagne all day long...I wanted to tell you about AVO!










I had not been to AVO before tonight (However, I am a regular at Dram) and let me tell you, I was pleasantly surprised! I LOVED the colors and the open feel to the restaurant. My imagination got the best of me and I envisioned a sophisticated rehearsal dinner with a modern and crisp decor.

Every person that worked there was over the top friendly and helpful. Every time I turned around someone was asking me if they could help or introducing themselves to me!

***NOTE: If the staff is good...you can almost bet your event will go off exactly as you wish...if not, you know they will do what it takes to get it right.

How cozy is this gathering spot!!! Someone please plan an intimate dinner. I would kill for that table!

These are the stairs leading up to AVO. How cool would it be to do a small arrangement on every handrail bracket. The opposite side of the stairs (sorry..should have thought to capture it on film) is a bare wall, so I would probably just do the arrangements up that side and leave the wall with the"art deco avocados????" alone.


There is a landing at the bottom of these stairs and I would probably do some sort of Calla Lily arrangement there. I like the idea below...obviously you wouldn't need to use a big pole, but it could be cool to have three bamboo shoots at different heights with calla's strapped to them.

(Wedding featured on Style Me Pretty)

One other thought....I think it would be fun for all of your guest to have a cocktail on Dram's patio before heading upstairs to the dinner. There is a balcony at AVO, but it might not hold all of your guest. If you aren't up for a pre-party cocktail, what about having a party afterwards. You could always assign the "after rehearsal dinner party" to a group of your parents friends. Have them rent a one man band and host an open bar for you and your friends who did not attend the rehearsal dinner....(actually, tell hostess to call me and I will make the suggestion....THE BRIDE SHOULD NEVER TELL HOSTESS WHAT SHE WANTS THEM TO DO!)

The only challenge I thought of was parking....Don't you worry about that, I will figure out the logistic.

Happy Planning!

-NB

PS: My sweet spell check is driving home from Mobile. I was too excited about AVO to wait to post!

Happy Feet!

What is it about people's feet and shoes? If you are planning a wedding or an event...think about coordinating every detail down to your toes.

I love all the yellow and gray....do you think she found the shoes first and then planned her wedding around them??? They are a perfect match!! (Style Me Pretty, does an amazing job of capturing the details...check it out!)

You can tell so much about a person by looking at their shoes.

Take the gather challenge....try and guess where the wedding took place, the personalities of the bride and groom and the overall theme all based on the shoes of the bride and groom!!! Thank you A Bryan Photo for the wonderful shots!

Amy and Chad


I cannot remember where I found this on A Bryan....Where's Waldo...let me know if you find out whose they are. I really just wanted you to see these socks!!! Since I cannot point you in the direction of the correct answer...my guess is this groom has sense of humor and is very outgoing!

Ingebeth and Matthew

Meghan and Mihir
(Favorite wedding photos of all times...so far!! Don't you love A Bryan!)

Happy Planning!

-NB

Champagne and Cupcakes

The garden party was a successful gathering and I could not have asked for a more beautiful back yard! While the evening started with me slipping down a flight of concrete steps, it ended with everyone having a great time. For those of you with a weak stomach, I decided not to post pictures of my arms and elbows (just think if your arms were filled with blue powerade!) For those of you who do not know me very well...falling comes with the party. No worries, I have my own insurance!

This lighting project could not have been done without Ricki, the yard man! We dug a hole, put up the post and strung the lights on Saturday morning. (I wish I had Ricki all the time, but I am afraid I would have to learn more than just Hola in Spanish).

I served a champagne punch (white rum, champagne, pomegranate juice and mint) as the signature drink out of tall frosted cylinders...... my Grey Goose vodka idea was too sweet!

For decoration, I hung blue ribbons from the table umbrella and glued hydrangea buds to the ribbon. I copied this idea from Carole Sullivan's Ball of Roses masterpiece.

I moved a table out of the Rhone's kitchen and used it as the bar as guests walked in. I love bringing inside furniture outside!

Since guests were to enter the party through the garden and not the front door of the house, I wanted to put an arrangement to lead everyone in the right direction. I paired up an artichoke and hydrangeas for each arrangement and put lights under each vase to give an illuminating effect.

**If you are having a house party and do not have time to get it all together, let GATHER do the work . I am offering a house party package that will allow you to rest, get your nails done and buy a new party dress instead of running around buying ice, picking up flowers and panicking about getting everything done! However, please give me advanced notice if you have concrete steps..I can always plan my wardrobe around a good pair of Nike Shocks!

Happy Planning!
-NB

More than just a cocktail

I spent the morning doing a little research on the speciality drink we will serve at this weekend's garden party. I was blown away by all the great cocktails Grey Goose has on their website! You must check it out!!

Let me know which one you think we should serve for Randi's Garden Birthday....and if you are really feeling good this morning, let me know what fun glass you would serve it in.

email gather

Happy Planning!
-NB

Happily Ever After....

I hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July weekend! I sure did! For some reason I spent a lot of time thinking about creative things guest can throw as the bride and groom leave their reception. I guess this thought came from being around sparklers all weekend, who knows.

(Photo captured by A Bryan Photo)

If you are the traditional bride you might want to stick to a food item...rice or birdseed. This tradition dates back to ancient Rome or maybe even further. The food or grain represents plentiful crops....AKA lots of children!

If you are the non traditional bride or the bride who doesn't necessarily wants LOTS of children, there are so many different things guests can throw or hold! Why do the same old thing.. rose petals or bubbles. I have to confess, I would choose something that makes the best pictures.

I love these colored puff balls. Way to go Laura and Josh Hausen! (Josh is a professional photographer with A Bryan Photo...of course he had something that made a good photo!)

I think it would be really cool to have your guest hold solid color balloons. The strings would need to be no more than a foot long so they make the photo. You won't have anything in your hair, but your pictures would be cool! I would really like for your guest to let the balloons go as you walked by, but I do not think my environmental friends would appreciate that!

I also like the idea of waving flags. You could wave stylish solid color flags that match the colors of your wedding. However, if you get married the weekend before the 4th....You should definitely wave American Flags!

This particular picture of flag was from a wedding Jo Gartin did. She had the guests wave the flags as the couple kissed. Pretty cute idea!

(Brides: Before you get your heart set on something, be sure to check with your venue. They might have rules for what they allow and what they do not allow).

Happy Planning!
-NB