Detail To Love: Escort Card Notes

Jan 5th

by: Lauren

Escort cards are one of my favorite details, and I love when I see them done a little differently. Yesterday’s bride and groom chose to write personal notes on each of their guests’ escort cards- what a great idea!

Photo by Rebekah Hoyt Photography, Via Vintage Pink and Gray Virginia Wedding

Imagine your guests’ surprise when they find their escort cards and also find a personal note written by your or your new spouse! Such a great way to make guests feel like a part of your wedding.

Would you consider writing notes to your guests like this?

Vintage Pink and Gray Virginia Wedding

Category: REAL WEDDINGS 6 Comments

Jan 4th

by: Lauren

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Pink and gray is one of my favorite color combinations for weddings! Add in some vintage elements and photography from Rebekah Hoyt, and we have ourselves an absolutely gorgeous wedding!

From the bride, Kristina:

What (or who) helped you most in your planning process and/or on your wedding day?

The biggest help in the planning process was, without a doubt, my fiance. I know many guys aren’t “into” planning a wedding, but from the very beginning we saw it as a project for both of us to enjoy working on together. He made calls to vendors, helped me (okay, watched me) craft, and even poked around on Pinterest from time to time. It helped to have him so involved because since we were on the same page, we could interchangeably attend meetings or answer someone’s questions. I think we both enjoyed the wedding so much more, since we truly saw elements of both of us in it!

As far as the wedding day, I cannot stress enough how grateful we were to have a day-of coordinator. It ended up raining on our wedding day, which wouldn’t have been a big deal except we had planned on an outdoor garden ceremony and an outdoor cocktail hour. However, I never had to worry about a thing. Jacklyn, our wedding coordinator, constantly talked options with our DJ, pastor, and venue. At one point, I believe she was toweling off seats herself! We ended up being able to have our ceremony during a sunny break in the storm, which wouldn’t have been possible without the flawless work of our coordinator. In the pictures, you have NO idea that it had been pouring moments earlier!

What was the most important thing to you when deciding who to work with for your wedding?

When possible, we wanted to include friends and loved ones. Our incredibly talented photographer, Rebekah Hoyt, is a friend from college. We knew from the moment we got engaged that she was key to our day. My mom worked incredibly hard on the details: our signage, our wedding programs, and the linens for the day. Even our pastor was someone I have known since I was 16; my husband and I decided that were he not been available to do our wedding that day, we would change the date!

What was your favorite thing about your wedding?

If you mean a favorite detail, we would both say that it was our escort cards. We spent the weeks leading up to the wedding writing small letters to every individual coming to our wedding. There is so much you want to say to people on your wedding day, and so many of those individuals had made us the man and woman we are at this moment; the cards were a small attempt at beginning to thank them for their role in our lives.

However, if you mean a favorite moment, I know it was probably the last few minutes. We had a great “last song” (“One More Time”) that had everyone on the dance floor, and I remember looking around and seeing everyone I cared about in one spot. It was an upbeat, jumpy song, so I was literally jumping up and down thinking “I am so blessed. This is too good.” When it ended, we were crushed in this insane group hug that more or less reflected the tone of the night. I’ll never forget it.

What was your inspiration for your wedding details and/or design?

I loved the vintage look and feel that we saw with some weddings on blogs and Pinterest, and we had fun incorporating “old” things into our wedding. We spent a year hunting down 100+ pieces of vintage china to serve dinner on, we picked up old furniture from antique stores, and even the “happy tears” handkerchiefs were a gift from an elderly woman who wanted her collection to live on in a “special” way.

What is your best piece of advice for other brides?

It sounds so trite, but seriously, my best advice is not to stress. A wedding should not be a stressful thing – there are enough of those in life. This is your one chance to plan a party with people you love. No one is judging said party or the details, nor are they annoyed that you didn’t make it look like Pinterest. You only get to do it once, so enjoy the precious decisions and take the day for what it is. At the end of it, you end up with your best friend, and I think that’s a pretty neat trade-off.

Oh my goodness, I love Kristina’s advice! It’s so true- with all of the exposure and ideas that are out there now, you could feel “pressure” to live up to certain expectations. Don’t! It’s YOUR wedding, and if it reflects YOU, you have nothing to worry about. :)

Kristina did get a lot of her inspiration from Pinterest… are any of you planning on using ideas you saw on Pinterest for your own wedding? What are they?

Vendors who made it all happen…

Photographer: Rebekah Hoyt Photography / Ceremony Venue: Norfolk Botanical Gardens / Reception Venue: Church Point Manor B&B / Wedding Planner/Coordinator: Events by Jacklyn / Flowers & Decor: Debbie Pence / Catering: Sweetwater Cuisine / Cake Baker: Custom Cakes / DJ: Astro Entertainment / Portrait Station: Walter Baker Entertainment / Bride’s Dress: Watters Bridal / Hairstylist: Hair Shapers

Modern Elegant Orange Florida Wedding

Category: REAL WEDDINGS 3 Comments

Jan 4th

by: Lauren

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Happy Friday everyone! We’re starting today off with a modern and elegant Florida wedding planned and coordinated by ELV member At Last Wedding + Event Design! With both the bride and groom’s families being from the Caribbean, they wanted to have an overall feel of an island-infused wedding, without being too obvious and overbearing. I think they achieved that wonderfully, and Kayleen Kelsey Photography was there to capture it all!

From the bride, Karimah:

What (or who) helped you most in your planning process and/or on your wedding day?

I was fortunate to have family and friends who helped with small details for the wedding and the honor of working with amazing vendors. The person I feel helped me the most was my amazing wedding planner, Jaclyn Fraser with At Last Wedding + Event Design. We started working together a year and half before the big day. Jaclyn made sure no detail was overlooked and if there was a problem (like a last minute venue change) she handled it without making us feel overwhelmed or stressed. I would also like to mention Bonnie, the coordinator at Hilton Orlando/Altamonte Springs, for making the transition to our new venue run so smoothly and to Tom with Doubletree Downtown Orlando, for making sure we still received everything we wanted plus more, even though things did not work out with his venue due to unforeseen circumstances.

What was the most important thing to you when deciding who to work with for your wedding?

We wanted our wedding to be a reflection of our style and personality so it was important to find vendors who would understand our vision and how to make it happen without going over our budget. We also wanted to work with people who we could have a great relationship with and had the experience to make everything come together.

What was your inspiration for your wedding details and/or design?

We both have Caribbean roots, so I wanted to incorporate some form of island elements into my wedding day. Guests were able to get a taste and enjoy the sounds of the West Indies. My goal was also to keep the overall design simple with modern touches.

What was your favorite thing about your wedding?

Oh goodness, I don’t think I can sum it up to just one. I loved everything about my wedding. It was so nice to see everything come together after planning for over a year. Walking down the aisle to unite with the man who I’ve dated for seven years and fallen in love with was such an emotional experience. We had a wonderful ceremony with personal touches and funny moments. We both agreed that our overall favorite thing was seeing all of our family and friends enjoying themselves and interacting so well.

What is your best piece of advice for other brides?

When you assemble your bridal party, make sure they understand their role and will be supportive throughout the entire planning process and on your wedding day. Also, hire a wedding planner or day of coordinator so that you don’t have to worry about putting together final details on your wedding day. They can also help you with budgeting and understanding contracts with vendors. Next, be creative! There are so many online sites and magazines with ideas for DIY brides or brides looking for something unique. Be sure to incorporate things that are personal and best reflect you as a couple. Last, enjoy your wedding day because it goes by so quickly. Take the time enjoy simple things like sitting down to eat your food and cake. Find the time to socialize with guests especially those who traveled far to be a part of your special day. Stop for a moment and soak in everything around you with your new husband.

I just love Karimah’s advice! I think my favorite part of her wedding are the beautiful flowers! There are some seriously amazing flowers that come in orange and yellow!

Vendors who made it all happen…

Wedding Planner/Coordinator: At Last Wedding + Event Design / Photographer: Kayleen Kelsey Photography / Reception Venue: Hilton Orlando/Altamonte Springs / Ceremony Officiant: Lon Tosi with Sensational Ceremonies / Ceremony Musicians: Christine MacPhail, Harpist / Flowers & Decor: Greenery Productions / Cake Baker: It’s Tasty Too! / DJ & Lighting: Madd Vybez Entertainment / Bride’s Dress: House of Brides in Chicago / Bride’s Jewelry: Charming Charlie / Bridesmaid Dresses: Brides by Demetrios / Groom’s Attire: Men’s Wearhouse

First Things First: Setting A Wedding Budget

Category: WEDDING PLANNING 1 Comments

Jan 3rd

by: Lauren

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Happy Thursday friends! For those of you who are recently engaged and new to Every Last Detail… CONGRATS and WELCOME! Thursdays are one of my favorite days here on ELD, because they’re full of wedding planning tips and advice- a little something that has lovingly been dubbed as “Thursday Tips”! (If you want to catch up on past Tips & Advice posts, go here to browse through them!)

A month or so ago, I wrote a post about the 10 things that you need to do to start your wedding planning. And although it was very to-the-point, it was also kind of brief, so I wanted to dive a little deeper into the first few steps of wedding planning. Which leads me to a new series I’m starting today, especially for newly engaged couples… “First Things First”! I’ll be sharing tips and advice for the items on the “10 Things” list in order… which means that we’re starting off with #1: setting a wedding budget!

I myself got engaged over the Christmas holiday back in 2007 (whoa, that feels like a long time ago), and the very first thing I did: start looking at wedding dresses. However, I should have been focusing on finding out what things cost for a wedding so I could set my wedding budget! I know, I know… you want to look at all the pretty things and start dreaming about your wedding. You still can- but don’t start PLANNING for your dream wedding until you know what you can spend. This means no inquiries, no purchases, and definitely no booking.

Setting your wedding budget is without a doubt the very FIRST thing you need to do to start planning your wedding. I know talking about money isn’t the most fun thing, but unfortunately, many things about a wedding do indeed involve money. But just think- once you set your budget, you won’t have to talk about it anymore… providing you set it accurately!

I figured a few guidelines for setting your wedding budget might be helpful…

1. Have “the talk”.

It’s awkward, I know. It doesn’t have to be though. You’re excited- you’re getting married! And hopefully your family members are excited too! If you think that family members will be contributing, when it comes time to start talking budget, you definitely want to consider your family dynamics. There are way too many variables to consider, but if it were me, I would sit down with your fiance to “pre-assess” whether or not family can contribute (you usually have an idea of monetary situations with your family members, right?) and then go from there. It always helps to be prepared and educated about wedding costs, so be sure to check this out.

2. Decide who will be contributing and set your total budget.

If you’re going the traditional route, the bride’s parents would pay for the wedding reception, and the groom’s parents would pay for the rehearsal dinner (groom’s parents also sometimes pay for the alcohol at the wedding). However, today it’s pretty common for multiple people to contribute- such as the bride and groom’s parents, as well as the bride and groom themselves. It’s also not uncommon for the bride and groom to pay for the “extra” costs of vendors or things that mean a lot to them- like a super amazing photographer, or a planner to keep them sane. Plus, since many couples are getting married later in life (aka once they are successful and have established careers), it’s becoming a norm for the bride and groom to pay for their own wedding. There’s really no right or wrong way in deciding who contributes to your wedding budget though. It’s all about whatever works best for you, your family, and your wedding. Once you know who will be contributing to your wedding budget and how much they can contribute, you can add it all up and set your total wedding budget!

3. Prioritize.

Once you know your total budget, it’s time to prioritize what things mean the most to you. A wedding budget is broken up into various “categories”, since there are several vendors and components involved in making a wedding happen. If amazing food is the one thing that you and your fiance care about, you’ll want make sure you have a great budget for that. Be prepared to make some cuts to other areas within your budget order to accomodate your priorities. Decide what things are most important to you, and then move on to the next step.

4. Set individual budgets.

Each element of a wedding needs it’s own budget. This is where your prioritizing comes in handy, because you will know right off the bat that you’ll most likely need to allot more money to those things that you have prioritized. I recommend setting your budgets according to a percentage of your total budget- you can see a very broad example in this post. (But see below for something special!) And remember- as you’re setting individual budgets, it’s important to keep in mind what means the most to you and your fiance!

5. Get to planning!

Now that you have your budgets set, you can move on to the rest of your planning! As you find out pricing, get quotes, and book vendors you may need to alter some of your numbers, but just make sure that if you’re going over budget in one place, you’ll need to compensate for that by being under budget somewhere else!

And now for a little something special! I have created a budgeting spreadsheet for you all! This is an Excel spreadsheet that you can input your total wedding budget into, and it will automatically calculate your recommended budget for each vendor category. I’ve provided the budget percentages that I recommend, and you can alter your own budget’s percentages according to your individual needs and priorities.

I’m hoping that this will be the first of many planning documents for you all this year! Click below to download! :)

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I wanted to provide you all with a few extra tips about setting a wedding budget too, so I asked some of the fabulous members of The V List to share their expertise…

“Get honest input from all the contributors before the planning begins. While it’s nice to be “surprised” with a significant gift toward the wedding you weren’t expecting, knowing your total budget upfront will allow you to make the best possible decisions with the least amount of frustration. Additionally, if your budget is smaller than you’d hoped, seriously consider majorly trimming your guest list. I believe it’s better to create a phenomenal experience for a fewer number of guests than to invite too many people to do anything very special.” – Cassie of Flaire Weddings & Events

“Be reasonable and don’t be surprised when you find out how much things cost. Most importantly, spend money on the things that matter most to you and your fiance…photography, the perfect venue, entertainment, the dress…whatever it might be.” – Kelly of Just Save The Date

I hope you all are ready to set your wedding budgets now! Still have questions? Ask in the comments! Or if any of you have suggestions based on your own experience… feel free to share! :)