Focus on the Furniture

A mother of the bride (who has already married off two of her girls) asked me...."how much do I need to spend on flowers for this wedding." For her other girls, it was more about the flowers than the overall decor of the wedding. She had spent thousands on flowers for both weddings and they were absolutely beautiful. However, this time it is going to be a little different.

This daughter is more in to interiors and details than huge flower arrangements. Her focus is on the fabulous chairs and french country farm tables!

Happy Planning!

-NB

TRU LUV

I would be lying if I said that the planning that goes into a wedding is all fun and joy, but I can say that at the end of the day, the bride is marrying the man of her dreams and nothing else seems to matter. I have to brag..it is a pretty cool to be up close and personal with so many wonderful couples on the happiest day of their life.

(photo taken by Elizabeth Messina..Style Me Pretty)

Brides, give me one minute and "stop to smell the roses."

There is nothing better than...... TRU LUV!

In case your eyes are little old and tried like our editor's...

look closely at the engraving on the boat to see why we chose this photo.

I love you Tom Butler. Thank you for your endless hours of wedding talk and editing!

Happy Planning!

-NB

Inspiration of the moment....

I have a true love for escort/place cards and seating charts. I am not sure why, but I get so excited when I find neat ways other planners have told their guests where to sit!! How cool is this photo below? It reminds me of being a teenager and writing myself notes on my bathroom mirror!!

I am pretty pumped that I actually purchased this exact mirror for my new studio. Oh yeah...I haven't spilled the secret yet. Consider this a hint... I promise to post more on my NEWS soon!

Next rehearsal dinner I book...consider this idea taken!

(photo by Elizabeth Messina)

Happy Planning!

-NB

Gather Event: Heart to Heart Gala

One of the great things about my job is getting to work on a variety of different events. I recently had the pleasure of working with an incredible group of people who make up an organization called A Team Ministries. A Team Ministries helps families of children with cancer. They provide lodging, meals, support, etc. A Team has not been around long and the board members needed help putting together their first fundraiser.

Coach Chizik and his wife Joanna are involved with the organization and actually came up with the idea and vision for the event. They wanted to pair up a professional artist with a child who is battling cancer and have them both create a piece of artwork based around their relationship. The artists and the children established such a bond during their time together that the artwork turned out to be far more special than anyone imagined.

Joanna wanted the night to glow, so I hired my friend Andy Tolar with Design Productions to transform the traditional Shoal Creek Country Club into a modern, artistic gala. She also wanted it to be a special night for all of the children involved. If a limo and red carpet wasn't enough, we had Coach Chizik greet each child as they got out of the limo to enter the party.

Coach Chizik spent the first hour of the evening mingling with guests and signing footballs for anyone and everyone.

The focus of the decor was the lighting, but you cannot have a party without flowers. Linda Bearden from Flower From the Heart was kind enough to donate the arrangements. They were so beautiful and unique!!

We wanted to make sure the guests got to know the artists and the children behind the art. Jason Wallis was kind enough to take head shots of everyone so that we could display their bios on easels before the auction began.

Since we were having an auction of only 11 pieces of art, I immediately called the auction pros with Granger, Thagard and Associates. It was very important to me that the auction not look or feel like a "first timer," so hiring a professional to run the auction was a must! This was the best decision I made. The auction was fast paced, energetic, exciting and fun! Oh, and I guess I should also mention, we raised $60,000 in 45 minutes. Not a bad night!

Sherry Jackson was our emcee for the night. She is so sweet and makes every event fun!

Heather Durham and Chuck St. John were the photographers for the night. They set up an A Team back drop for children to pose in front of for photos. The children are so full of life and immediately kicked off a dance party. They had the time of their lives.

It was a fabulous night that was so special for everyone involved! The children are a true inspiration. A Team is an incredible organization that makes dealing with cancer just a little easier for families. Please consider supporting this organization!

Happy Planning!

-NB

You Rock!

A friend of mine called me a few months ago and asked for some creative help. Her twin boys were turning one and she wanted to throw a "thank you" party for all the people who had helped her during the first year of parenthood. After a brainstorming session (you can read about this in an earlier post...) I came up with the idea to base the theme around "YOU ROCK."

Gather's Brainstorming Notes:

Guitar Hero

Rolling Rock Beer

Pizza

Rock Concerts

Napkins monogrammed with the names of different rock and roll stars

Rock Candy

Rocky Road Ice Cream

This list was the start to what turned out to be a great party!

A graphic designer from Etsy designed the invitations to look like a concert poster. For the door decoration, we hung the guitar from Guitar Hero, a party wreath and a blown-up copy of the invitation.

Iced cookies were made by a friend of the host to coordinate with the theme and colors of the party.

We ordered blue rock candy from Candy Warehouse. We put two candy sticks in each bag..........one from each birthday boy, of course!

In lieu of gifts, my friend asked that guests donate children's books to YWCA. This is great thing to do when your children have all that they need! Such a sweet touch!

As a party planner, you won't always follow through with everything on your brainstorming list. I opted to keep with the names of the twins instead of confusing people with random names. Surely guests would have known it wasn't Bruce Springsteen's birthday, but then again, not everyone is as themed orientated as me.

The party was a success and guests had a rocking good time!

Happy Planning!

-NB