Monday, July 26, 2010

Summer Soiree/Bridesmaid's Luncheon-featured on Ashley's Bride Guide

Last Friday, our Summer Soiree/Bridesmaid's Luncheon was featured on Ashley's Bride Guide.
(All images are courtesy of Jonathon Campbell Photography)


Here are some fun details from the post...


You're Invited Gifts, Paper and Events is a one-stop shop for your custom wedding needs.  Their Belle Meade event boutique offers wedding planning, event design and custom invitations. 
They have a very special, time-sensitive offer for ABG readers: Now through August 10th, ABG readers receive $150 off any wedding consultation package when you mention ABG plus an additional 10% off any event/wedding invitation.  Definitely give them a call soon and be sure to mention that you're an ABG bride!
To give you a taste of their work, I am excited to feature a recent photoshoot by You're Invited, captured by Jonathon Campbell Photography.  You're Invited's Summer Soiree photo shoot was, put simply, exquisite.  The great thing about this Summer Soiree design is you can contact You're Invited and have them plan your bridal shower, bridesmaid luncheon or event and they can recreate the exact look below OR you can use the concept as inspiration.  Either way - they can help you from plan to design.  It doesnt get much easier than that!

Guest Blogger: Stephanie Alexander of You're Invited Events - Bridal Luncheon Summer Soiree
The photos capture the perfect bridesmaid's luncheon. Hot pinks and lime greens are a combination I love with the white which really pops against those colors. This invitation was the inspiration for this hot pink and lime green Bridal Shower/Bridesmaid’s Luncheon. Oftentimes, I will take an invitation and use it to help develop the overall look and feel of a party. If you need inspiration for your next party, I encourage you to visit an invitation/stationery store for ideas! Birds are a hot trend right now, in both décor and invitation design.


 We packaged the invitations in little white boxes that had been lined in hot pink raffia. I love non-traditional ways of sending a fabulous invitation.




I chose a 60” square table with fuchsia satin linen, and a 48” round table with a lime green linen for the food and beverages. I love using a mixture of square and round tables at parties. I also chose white chiavari chairs. The crisp white really pops against the pinks and the greens. For the 60” square table where guests were seated, we used 4 large green topiaries, a glass pitcher filled with lime slices, wheat grass in ceramic containers and little bird boxes (to continue with our bird theme) and lime green Caspari placemats. In addition, we used monogrammed Pickard china for the placesettings. This Pickard china is extremely popular for bride’s wedding registries. (Rentals were courtesy of Music City Tents & Events).


For this particular arrangement, I used Bells of Ireland, pink larkspur, green curly willow and hot pink dried floral accents. In addition, I filled 8 bud vases with pink sweet peas. I placed these bud vases around the table near each guest’s place setting.






I created bird sticks for the dessert shooter glasses. The dessert shooters were strawberries and cream trifle and key lime and cream dessert shots. I wanted to incorporate the pink and green into the food and beverage table as well. I also served sparkling pink punch and rimmed the etched antique glasses with pink sugar. In addition, I utilized glass bird containers in varying heights, and Anna filled them with fresh dogwood blossoms. Another decoration I used on the food and beverage table was wheat grass in wooden boxes. To add another dimension, I added sweet pea stems to the boxes for a pop of pink color.




This set up could also be taken indoors, we just happened to have a fabulous day with gorgeous weather but you could create this inside in a beautiful dining area or a screened in porch. A good party can be done indoors or outdoors and as a planner, I always have a back-up plan. If it had rained that day, I had the screened in porch ready to go at the house we shot these pictures at.

Here is what Tabitha, a blogger from Ashley’s Bride Guide said:
Absolutely delightful! Thank you so much for filling us in on the shoot. and thank you to Jonathon Campbell Photography for sharing the pictures with us. What blew me away was the fact that Stephanie did everything herself - the food, the arrangements, the beverages and the dessert. So this set up can be done regardless of your budget and whether you're a D.I.Y. bride or if you have a limitless budge to hire vendors such as You're Invited.

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Celebrating my 8th Wedding Anniversary

8 years ago today, July 20, 2002, I married my high-school sweetheart, Josh in Jackson, Tennessee. I always love pulling out my wedding album and "reliving" that amazing day!
I thought I'd share a few pictures with you all and a few memories from my wedding day.

All images were taken by Hill Photography in Jackson, Tennessee. Eddie and Connie are a very talented husband/wife photographic team.  Although they no longer do weddings, they continue to do family and children portraits.


My sister, Mary, and I as I enter the church to get ready.  

Josh as he prepares to enter the church to get ready for our wedding.


My elementary school art teacher did all the signs for my wedding wreaths.  These flanked both church doors.


My "something old" was a button from my deceased grandfather's  business suit.  We had my grand-daddy's button sewn into the fabric on my wedding bouquet.

I had all of my bridesmaids sign the bottom of my wedding shoes.  On one side were all the single ladies, and the other shoe had all the married ladies.  At the end of the night, we checked to see whose name was left!  If you were single and your name was still on my shoe, you were the next to get engaged.  If your were married and your name was left, then you were the next to have a baby!


I designed my wedding programs.  I love to write, so I included a brief paragraph about all the members of my wedding party and how I met them.  I thought it would be fun for my guests to read why my wedding party was so special to me.
I incorporated a ton of family photos at my reception.  I had family wedding photos, family wedding invitations and pictures of Josh and I.  I love incorporating old family photos into weddings!

A few shots of Josh and I on our wedding day!





I hope you enjoyed seeing a glimpse into my wedding day!  I can't believe it's been eight years, and I look forward to so many more!
~Stephanie

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Sneak Peek at a Bridal Shower

I recently helped a client who was hosting a bridal shower for her niece. She picked out a beautiful black and white damask invitation from You're Invited's retail store with her niece's monogram at the top. She asked me to help her with all the elements of the shower.
While I'm waiting on the pictures from the shower, here is a sneak peek at the shower. These are pictures I took during set-up with my own camera.








"Wedding Wishes" Drink Straw Flags

The menu was as follows:
Mini Quiche
Crudite Shooters with Dip
Sweet and Spicy Pecans
Strawberry Shortcake Shots
Key Lime and Cream Shots
Fresh Summer Fruit


She asked for an alternative to a guest book, so I created a "Wedding Wishes" tree for guests.




I also asked my client to add personal family wedding photos throughout the house.  Guests love seeing these at showers, and they're great conversation starters for any shower!



I can't wait to share the rest of this bridal shower with you!
~Stephanie

Monday, July 12, 2010

April Wedding at Cheekwood

In April, I had the pleasure of working with Art and Kim on their April 17th wedding and reception at Cheekwood.

Cheekwood is a 55-acre botanical garden and art museum located on the historic Cheek estate. Cheekwood exists to celebrate and preserve its landscape, buildings, art and botanical collections and, through these unique means, provide an inspiring place for visitors to explore their connections with art, nature and the environment.

The weather that Saturday was absolutely gorgeous, and all the flowers in the Wills Perennial Garden had just started to bloom.

Here are some pictures from the wedding I wanted to share with all of you.
(Images are courtesy of David and Jeanell of Dreamland Pictures)

Venue: Cheekwood
Ceremony: Wills Perennial Garden
Reception: The Frist Learning Center
Photography: Dreamland Pictures
Videography: Audio Video Art
Cake: Dulce Desserts
Florist: Jimm Wright



















One beautiful touch that Kim wanted for the ceremony was a butterfly release to honor their deceased loved ones. Her mom, Marilyn, grew the butterflies from a kit at home! Here is the butterfly basket the junior bridesmaid carried.


I love when my brides wear a pair of fun, sassy shoes!




This picture captures the butterfly release during the ceremony.


Kim and Art's love for the earth and outdoors showed in their reception as well. Here is the butterfly tree Jimm Wright created for the placecard table.





Art and Kim wanted their wedding to be as "green-friendly" as possible. On the center of each table was a simply elegant orchid plant. At the end of the evening, there were given away to guests to re-use in their own homes.


Each place setting had this seed packet that guests could take home.





Fabulous shrimp and grits!


This photo served as the guest book for the wedding. The bride and groom got engaged beneath this very tree out West!




Governor of the State of Tennessee, Phil Bredesen gave the blessing for the meal.


The Governor congratulating the bride and groom before dinner.


Dulce Desserts designed this multi-tiered cake, accented with orchids and butterflies.








Happy Planning to all!
~Stephanie