Are we there yet?

It seems like not matter where you live, you are probably suffering from heat stroke this summer.  We can't catch a break!  In the south, it's an unfortunate circumstance due to the humidity that we have to spend so much time in air conditioning.  Gone are my days in Colorado when at least we could keep the windows open and hope for a draft of hot, dry air.

All this heat has me thinking about the winter and that wonderful feeling of having on jeans and boots and big sweaters.  Or more importantly, having on a black dress, black tights, black heels and a wrap as I execute a winter wedding.  Those days will be here before we know it!  And to all of you winter brides: Brilliant planning on your part.  You won't have to blot your forehead one single time!

Here are a few photos from a gorgeous winter wonderland we did last December.  Hope they help cool you off.

XOXO
grace

*Thank you to Natalie Hyde of Aesthetic Images Photography for the beautiful photos!

Five-Ring Love

It’s about that time again and I’m positive all of y’all are as excited for the 2012 Olympic Games as I am.  What better way to bring nearly every nation together for the whole world to watch and cheer on?  I love it!

The saying “you’ll find love when you’re least expecting it” dates back to the ancient Olympic Game days I’m sure.  When preparing to participate in the Olympics you’re head is in the game, not in the game, and love is probably the last thing on these athletes minds.  However, some lucky Olympians brought home more than a gold, silver, or bronze medal; they came home with a diamond.   

·      Marc Seliger and Maureen Heagany

During the 2002 Salt Lake Winter Olympics, Seliger was the goalie for the German National Hockey Team.  Heagany at the time was a college student volunteering at the Olympics as a barista in a coffee shop.  One morning, Seliger went down for some coffee and mentioned that he liked the music that was playing.  Heagany offered to burn him a copy of the CD (this must be before iPods existed) and on that CD she wrote her email address.  It wasn’t before he got back to Germany that he played the CD and realized there was something written on it.  They started emailing, talking on the phone, and before you knew it wedding bells were ringing!

·      Kristi Yamaguchi and Bret Hedican

Yamaguchi and her hubby Hedican met at the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, France.  Yamaguchi was a gold medalist in figure skating, and Hedican was an Olympic hockey player.  They married in 2000 and clearly had a lot more in common other than being exceptionally skilled on the ice!

·      Olga Fikotová-Connolly and Harold Connolly

Connolly, an American Olympian took the gold in the hammer throw in Melbourne 1956, where he met Fikotová who was a discus thrower.  Their romance caused an immense amount of international controversy because Fikotová was from the Communist-controlled country Czechoslovakia (say that ten times fast).  In 1957 Connolly received assistance from the U.S. State Department and traveled to Prague to make a personal appeal to the Czech president for permission to marry Fikotová.  His permission was granted and there were over 30,000 people at their nuptials.  Sad to say that their marriage ended in divorce in 1974, but Connolly definitely gets an A for effort in my book!

Hope y’all enjoyed this little Olympic love history lesson as much as you will the actual Games!

Until next time,

Elise

Blame it all on my roots, I showed up in boots

About five years ago I bought my first pair of cowboy boots and it seems like I haven’t been able to take them off since.  My boots are 110% my favorite shoes I have ever owned and definitely money well spent.  They are perfect for any season and are very versatile.  In the fall and winter you can slip them on over your skinny jeans and in the spring and summer they are great with a sundress.  Since they stay in style all year round, they are obviously perfect for any wedding no matter what the season.  

I love both the bride and bridesmaids in cowboy boots.  If you have ever been a bridesmaid or known anyone that has, you know that in the end this can be a very expensive duty.  The least you can do is cut the cost by at least $100 on a pair of shoes that they could very possibly only wear once.  Most girls I know especially the ones living down here in the south already own a pair of boots.  Well, at least all my future bridesmaids do. :)  Having your bridesmaids in their own cowboy boots can also add a bit of flair.  Chances are your girls don’t have the same pair of boots as another and some could also have colored boots, which looks great in photos.

My dream wedding is a fall country chic wedding and the boots add the perfect touch.  My girls and myself will be in boots and mismatched dresses for that little extra mmph.  

Until next time,

Elise

                                                          (photo by lover.ly)

                                                 (photo by Photos by Natalie)

                            (photo by Derek Wayne Lee Photography)     

Save the Date

Face-book [feys-book]

trademark

1.  Social-networking website created in 2004

2.  The single most depressing or exciting social media site on the Internet

Facebook can be depressing if you log on every day, as I do, and you see that another one of your old childhood friends is engaged.  As you sit with their engagement on your screen staring at you as hard as it possibly can, your ever so single mind starts to wonder…maybe I will be invited to their wedding…that’s when it turns exciting.

Shortly after you receive news of the engagement you start checking the mail daily to see if you were lucky enough to make the cut, and hope that your save the date will be sitting in your mailbox when you return home from work.

I am trying to understand my obsession with save the dates, but I cannot put an exact finger on it.  My best guess is that it is the first impression (other than blowing up everyone’s Facebook mini-feed) your guests will receive of your big day.  Save the dates can really set the mood and theme of your wedding day.  Below are some of my favorites. 

The “tie the knot” save the date struck my attention because it is so clever and I have never seen anything like it before, and I’m sure your guests haven’t either.  The second one is adorable because the groom was compliant in having a photo shoot.  It is cute they wore football jerseys because we all know that was probably his idea! I love the third one because she is wearing cowboy boots and that is my favorite shoe of all time, and it sets the tone that this will probably be a country chic wedding.     

P.S. An easy way to kill two birds with one stone, and to keep your hubby happy with only one photo shoot, would be to hold off on the engagement photos until you pick the date of your wedding and have the photographer take a save the date shot as well.

Until next time,

Elise  

                                                    (photo by More Design Please)

                                                       (photo by The Minimalist)

                                       (photo by Wedding Chicks)

To Mason Jar or Not To Mason Jar: That is the question!

There's an article on Martha Stewart today
(http://thebridesguide.marthastewartweddings.com/2012/07/the-drinking-situation.html) about whether the mason jar trend is still tres chic, or so yesterday. Here in the South, the summer is hot and we like our lemonade cold and in a mason jar! Especially at a gorgeous farm wedding. Dress it up with classic monogrammed cocktail napkins in a fun color like these:

XOXO

Thank you, thank you very much

The very first thing I’m going to say about this post is, my mother will be happy.  Ever since I can remember she has been a stickler on manners.  Whether it was table manners, politeness, or the hated by every child, tween and teen on this planet – the dreaded thank you notes. 

When my brother, sister and I were young we thought my mom was the strictest woman ever when it came to this.  We were never allowed to go play or do anything until our thank you notes were written.  We thought it was so ridiculous at the time but in retrospect, all I can say to my mom is, THANK YOU!

The one thing I hate more than anything in the world are bad manners.  Especially, especially, ESPECIALLY at a formal event such as a wedding.  At the very minimum you should have your napkin in your lap and your mouth should be closed while chewing.  I won’t even get into holding your fork and knife properly.

Alongside perfect wedding etiquette are thank you notes.  Some guests travel cross country to attend your special day, so thank you notes are absolutely mandatory.  Not to mention your day would not be the same without every one you wanted in attendance, nor would your kitchen without the fabulous crock-pot you received, so you need to thank them!

Wedding photography is so huge these days that after the ceremony is the perfect time to snap an adorable shot for a thank you note.  I prefer photographed thank you cards because it is a visual reminder to all of your guests about a month after your wedding of how amazing your day was.  And if the photographer is there snapping away anyways, you might as well put the photos to good use right?

Until next time,

Elise         

                                                   (photo by Weddingbee)

Teacher, Teacher!

I'm excited to share with you all that I will be teaching a class in the fall at Duke Continuing Studies for their Event Development Certificate Program.  The class is called Planning A Celebratory Event and will take place on Friday, November 2nd.  For those of you who are local and interested in learning more about how to plan various kinds of events and perhaps even how to one day become an event planner, this is a great opportunity.  There are some great courses being taught on various topics, and I'm the only one teaching on social event planning!  Come spend a Friday morning with me and we'll have fun, I promise.

Please check out this link for more information.  Hope to see you!

XOXO
grace

http://www.learnmore.duke.edu/certificates/

Cupcake Wars

 If my future hubby wants to see me go from 0-Bridezilla in .2 seconds, he could smear cake all over my face at our reception.  This is my number one pet peeve during the cutting of the cake.  Some brides may be down with having their perfectly done make up ruined by cake, but not this girl!

We all know that men can promise over and over that they won’t do something, but in the end they do it because they think it would be “funny” and they “didn’t think you would really get that mad.”  This is definitely one of those instances and I can absolutely see it happening to me.  I have decided that the way I can avoid this awful situation at all costs, no questions asked, is to not even have a cake at my wedding.

Cupcakes are super trendy at weddings right now and I think they are fabulous.  I am sure that the tradition book states somewhere that you should have at least a three-tiered cake at your wedding, and that the DJ or band should stop all the music and dancing to announce that the bride and groom are cutting the cake.  But, as I said in my last post and it still reigns true, times are a changin’. 

Cupcakes will be at my wedding for a few reasons.  The number one reason is stated above, and the second reason is that cupcakes are more convenient.  You don’t need a plate and a fork for a cupcake and you can take them at your leisure.  The DJ does not need to make an announcement for guests to take a cupcake, as he would for a cake.  I have been to weddings where there is just a cake and no cupcakes, and also weddings where there are only cupcakes, and I have observed that guests tend to eat more cupcakes than they do cake.  After all, the goal is for the guests to eat the dessert right?  Leftover cake will not be making the flight to the honeymoon! 

Until next time,

Elise 

                                               (photo by FairCake)