Details From The Surprise Wedding

I know I promised you this last Monday, but late is better than never, right? The flowers and details for Tom and Michelle's wedding were absolutely stunning. Buffy Hargett more than delivered as usual.

Tulips were hung from the ceiling in the foyer at Park Lane.

The place cards were arranged in shiny green apples. If you are as anal as I am, you might want to set aside an extra hour to get the cards perfectly straight. This project was a little more difficult than it appears.

The table numbers were displayed in fresh pears to go along with the fresh look.

I wish I had more photos of the food but Kathy G. and her staff knocked it out of the park on this one. Not only was it one of the wonderful meals I have ever had at a wedding, the service was impeccable!

Matthew DeVine is my new favorite musician. I love his solo act, and I am thrilled I get to work with his big band is September.

The most beautiful detail of all was Michelle! She was gorgeous inside and out.

(FYI...I wasn't dressed for the wedding yet.)

An Invite made just for me...

I woke up at 5:00 a.m. this morning to begin an inspiration board for a new client. I was looking through my usual spots and stopped by Bella Figura's invitation gallery. While this invitation is not exactly what my client is looking for, I couldn't help but save it to my inspiration file. Check out Bella Figura for beautiful letter pressed invitations.

Happy Planning!

-NB

Quick Advice...

Tom and I were enjoying a glass of wine tonight discussing our days and catching up on the little things we had not shared during the 90 phone conversations we had throughout the day. I began telling him about what I saw on the Today show this morning. Two marriage counselors/relationship specialist talked about how to keep your marriage alive. Their advice.....

1). Every couple should have a 30 second hug a day

2). Every couple should have a 30 second kiss a day

3). Go to The Today Show website for their last piece of advice.

I can assure you your husband won't be disappoint.

Gather is is a G rated blog :))

I found it very interesting that the hug and kiss actually stir physical feelings rather than purely emotional feelings.

Just as I was telling Tom about my new knowledge of the human body as it relates to love, he interrupted me and told me about what he read today in Esquire Magazine.........

270 Seconds to a Better Marriage: (kind of like a "To Do List" for guys)

Morning..... First thing, take ninety seconds to give her the greatest "Good morning. I love you." And if she is asleep, you can lower your voice and whisper, "I love you. Have an awesome day." She will hear you.

After Work.....Right when you get home, focus on her for a full ninety seconds. If she's happy, you go happy; if she's low, you go low, and make sure you look her in the eyes long enough to discern her eye color. This says, "I value you, I need you."

Night.....Sometime during the last thirty minutes before bed, take ninety seconds to engage fully with her. Do not talk about children, money or work. Don't talk about the past at all. Look at her, stroke her hair, snuggle up to her, tell her you love her.

Happy Planning!

-NB

A Surprise Gather Wedding....

When I first met Tom and Michelle in July of 2010, they had been engaged for what seemed to be an eternity and they were ready to get the planning underway. We discussed their wants and wishes for their grand affair over dinner and great wine (Tom always served great wine...boy do I miss our meetings). After a two hour a dinner I had somehow convinced the couple to have a surprise wedding. Yes, you heard me...A surprise wedding. I don't really remember why I thought it was so perfect for them, but for some reason I did.

I immediately began planning what some people thought was going to be an over the top engagement party when in reality, I was planning the surprise of the year! Given that the flowers, food, music and photography were all amazing, I have decided to break this post up and tell you about the surprise now and the details later.

So this is how it went.....

I knew I had to send out invitations that made guests think . . .

"Wow, what a nice invitation for an engagement party. I am not going to want to miss this!" My friends at Please Reply introduced me to a invitation line called Bella and I could not have been happier with the way it turned out! This terrible iphone photo does not do it justice!

After months of planning and keeping secrets, January 29th finally arrived!

Arden and I opted to take the pre-wedding photos at Botanical Gardens given the amazing gift of warm, sunny weather. Michelle slipped into her wedding dress, we took a few shots and she changed right back in to her cocktail dress. This is when the nerves set in for me....WHAT WAS I DOING?? I could not believe I was trying to pull this off and all I could think was....

THIS HAS TO WORK!

After the quick photo shoot we arrived at Park Lane where the party was being held. We hid the wedding dress in a back room and surrounded it with coat racks just in case a guest decided to get nosy. Michelle and Tom greeted their guests with open arms and acted like nothing in the world was about to take place. They were as cool as cucumbers!

(Michelle is on the left in her black cocktail dress)

One of the ladies in the photo above even said.."I had hoped we would get here tonight only to find out that you got married early today." Michelle responded with a simple..."no, not yet."

I thought the "man in the collar," Joe Warren, was a sure give away, but thankfully no one seemed to notice.

Forty five minutes into the cocktail hour, Michelle and I slipped off into the back room to change her into her wedding gown. The emotions were high and it was a moment I will never forget.

While we were in the back....Tom tapped his glass to get everyone's attention. He started by thanking everyone for coming and then began to explain his relationship with Michelle.

".....you see, we both have been single for so long and thankfully, we won't be single after tonight!" - tom

With this, the crowd screamed and the tears began to flow. There wasn't a dry eye in the room including my own. The crowd turned their heads to the back of the room where Tom was looking and there stood the most beautiful bride anyone had seen.

Michelle made her way to Joe and Tom and the ceremony began. It was hard to hear the vows over all the weeping and sniffling from the crowd. It was one of the most intimate weddings I had ever been to (except for mine of course) and it was one of the greatest aspects of the whole evening.

I don't think I have ever been as happy with an outcome as I was at this very moment.

I guess the couple was feeling the same way!!

After the ceremony guests were invited to an amazing seated dinner prepared by Kathy G. & Co. The room was filled with excitement and energy. Everyone was now experiencing the adrenalin we had been feeling all day!

The cake was cute and fun went on and on. As a matter of fact, we had not planned on having a grand exit for the couple, but it was the only way to put an end to an incredible day. I pulled apart a rose arrangement, lined the guests up and sent the happy couple off into night! I am actually so happy we did this. It was a perfect ending to an incredible night!

It would not have been so perfect without the help of all the vendors and of course my better half, Tom!

Check in on Monday for details on the decor, food, music and photography!

Happy Planning!

-NB

Packaging For Your Hotel Gifts

What to do for your out of town guests??? This seems to be a question I am asked a lot. The bride usually wants to have gift bags for the guests when they arrive at the hotel to check in. The purpose of this gift bag is to make your out of town guests a little more comfortable during their stay. You can easily put some treats in a bag and call it a day, or you can have your wedding planner scour the earth to find the perfect packaging to fit within your wedding decor theme.

A Galvanized Pale...Perfect for my mountain wedding in September.

A burlap coffee sack. I love the vintage look of these bags. A plain burlap bag is always a great way to wrap a few goodies. You can even go the extra step and have your monogram or wedding logo stamped on the bags.

These mini picnic baskets are super cute for the lake or farm wedding.

I love anything with birch wood! How cool would it be to take this container home with you after a fabulous wedding weekend. Your guests could use this as a plant container at home and remember your wedding everyday!

Obviously this is not a container, but a wooden gift tag would be a good looking detail to incorporate in your wrapping! You could get a rubber stamp of your names and wedding date or something as simple as "Thank You For Coming!"

Check out Save on Craft for all of these ideas!

Happy Planning!

-NB

Congrats to Gather's newest client.....MY LITTLE SISTER

My little sister, Hannon, is now engaged!! Her fiance, Cameron, has a love for flying planes so when he decided it was time to pop the question, he had a plan!

It was a beautiful morning, so they jumped in the plane and headed to see my mom at the lake. Little did Hannon know, my mom was not alone! The entire family of these two love birds were anxiously waiting in the hanger!

We all gathered around a radio as Cameron called in his position to Willow Point traffic control. After he landed, he taxied back down the runway and came to a stop .........

and the rest is history!

Many thanks to Ashley Zeiger for capturing the moment and best wishes to Hannon and Cam!

Happy Planning!

-NB