Vendor of the Week: Flaire Weddings & Events

Aug 7th

by: Lauren

Florida brides, this Vendor of the Week is perfect for you! Flaire Weddings & Events is a wedding planner based in Jacksonville, Florida who does absolutely STUNNING work! Not only that, but the owner, Cassandra, is one of the nicest and most creative people I know! You definitely need to get to know Flaire Weddings…

Why do you see yourself as being Modern, Vintage, Classic, or Eclectic?

Flaire Weddings is modern in our approach to design. We strive to stay current regarding trends and concepts within the wedding industry, and we love to infuse our events with this modern aesthetic. We’re also classic in the sense that we work with many brides who are seeking a classic affair, and we ensure that their celebration is timeless, stylish, and breathtaking.

What is your favorite wedding detail you’ve ever seen or created?

We created a gorgeous “lemonade stand” this past July for a couple who had a modern yellow and gray wedding with rustic touches. We used recycled glass drink dispensers, perched them atop wrought iron stands, and used mason jars with gray striped straws displayed on rustic crates. I love the way it turned out!

What is your favorite thing about weddings?

I love the look on the bride and groom’s faces when they first walk into their reception space. That look is priceless.

What qualities do you possess that enable you to work well with brides and grooms?

I am very laid back. Not much fazes me and that enables me to help keep clients calm and stress-free.

What steps do you take to ensure that your clients will have amazing wedding days when working with you?

We draw on our past 6 years of experience to make recommendations throughout the planning process about what works well and what doesn’t. We’ve been able to steer well-meaning clients away from some ideas that just spelled disaster (iPod weddings, for example). :) As far as the actual wedding day itself, we are calmly working in the background to facilitate your wedding day desires. We quietly handle issues as they arise and coordinate with your vendor team to ensure your day is nothing short of amazing!

Don’t you want to be as happy as that bride and groom right there? Of course you do! Well then you should have a planner like they did… and if you’re a North Florida bride, that planner should be Flaire Weddings & Events! ;) Now go learn more about Flaire Weddings and then check out their website! And don’t forget to tell them that I sent you! :)

Flaire Weddings & Events
email: info@flaireweddings.com | phone: 904.352.1832 | website: http://www.flaireweddings.com
twitter: Follow @flaireweddings | facebook: “Like” Flaire Weddings!

location: Florida | type: Event Planning | style: Classic, Modern | price: $$

Intimate Backyard DIY Wedding

Category: REAL WEDDINGS 5 Comments

Aug 6th

by: Kristine

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Can you imagine planning a wedding for 150 guests and four months before the big day cancelling it in favor an intimate gathering of 40 friends and family in your own backyard? I certainly can’t, but JoAnna and Kevin could, and I’m sure they’re happy that’s just what they did. Their backyard wedding turned out perfectly–personal, fun, and beautiful. Alisandra Photography was lucky enough to capture it all.

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

Kevin and I were engaged for almost 2 years and to be honest we didn’t do much planning leading up to that point. We selected all of our vendors very early on in the process and then spent the next year and a half collecting various vintage items for the wedding day but then all of the nitty gritty came down to the last two days before the wedding. During the week before the wedding Kevin and his parents worked feverishly to completely overhaul our backyard, tearing things down putting new beautiful things up, it was amazing! During the two days before the wedding both of our mothers were really our saving grace, they cleaned our house from top to bottom and helped organize everything for the big day. The day of the wedding Kevin and both of our mothers were working overtime, so much so that while I was getting my hair and makeup done Kevin was literally at Home Depot buying drink tubs and ice! I’m still amazed that everything came together the way it did, without our parents’ support and Kevin’s commitment to making the day perfect we wouldn’t have ever pulled it off!

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

I am a big relationship person, and Kevin and I both believe in trusting your intuition. I approached selecting vendors at first by scouring my favorite blogs for any featured vendors in our area, and then if their style matched ours, I reached out to them. At that point I selected the vendors that I knew I felt a connection with. Your wedding is such a huge day in your life, for us I wanted to make sure it was spent with people who we felt sincerely cared about our day and also were passionate about their business. We were so fortunate with our vendors, they were all not only amazing in delivering outstanding service and end product, but they felt like family! Which was extremely important being that our day was so intimate.

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

As soon as we decided that we wanted to get married at our house we knew that we wanted our wedding to be comfortable, resourceful, and just pretty. When getting married at your house it is easy to make the wedding an extension of your every day life. We drew elements from our own personal collection to pull in to the big day and when buying items to use at the wedding we always tried to think if there was a way we could use them after the big day. I, of course, spent hours upon hours stalking wedding blogs, pinning away on Pinterest, and tearing clippings from magazines, but one thing that I really loved doing was looking outside of wedding focused media. I would use some of my favorite magazines like Country Living, Better Homes & Gardens, and Martha Stewart Living for inspiration. These glossies usually always have a feature about throwing a seasonal party at home and lots of fun craft projects that would easily crossover to a wedding and are often focused on DIY and budget friendly options!

What was your favorite thing about your wedding?

This is such a hard question! The whole day was more joyous and beautiful than I ever could have imagined, but there are two moments that really stand out in my memory. The first was walking down the aisle to Kevin, I have only seen Kevin tear up once in 8 years and seeing him so emotional when walking up to him was so moving, I wish I could bottle that feeling up and recreate it whenever I need a jolt of happy! The second was at one point later in the night after a lot of our guests had left Kevin and I were the only two people on the dance floor and “Take Me Home Tonight” by Eddie Money came on. I remember having the best time laughing and dancing with Kevin and looking up at the stars, it was such a fun moment.

What is your best piece of advice for other brides?

Follow your heart. Kevin and I spent over a year planning a big wedding for 150 guests at a campground and then 4 months before the wedding decided to cancel it and just get married in our backyard with 40 of our closest friends and family. When we talked to friends and family about the change, many of them encouraged us to really think it through that we would regret not having our big wedding, but we knew what was right for us. Think about how you want your day to feel and what is important to you when it’s all said and done. It’s hard to find your true feelings during all of the crazy engagement excitement, but take your time and really listen, your heart is there waiting to tell you what’s right.

I really think JoAnna is on to something there. It doesn’t matter what everyone else thinks. Your wedding is your day and is ultimately between you and your partner. What a great reminder to start off this week!

xo-Kristine

Vendors who made it all happen…

Photographer: Alisandra Photography / Flowers & Decor: Crimson & Clover Floral Design, Inc. / Videography: Monachetti Cinematography / DJ: Orlando Entertainment / Makeup Artist: Beyond Brides Hair & Makeup / Groom’s Attire: The Belle & The Beau

Detail To Love: Ombre Seating Chart

Category: DETAILS 1 Comments

Aug 3rd

by: Lauren

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One of my absolute favorite types of wedding details is anything having to do with seating. But the thing is, I’m really particular about the way seating elements are arranged… specifically, whether or not they’re alphabetical! So when I see a seating chart done RIGHT (alpha order), I always notice, and this ombre seating chart that I saw while pinning definitely caught my eye!

Photo by The Photography Shoppe, Via SMP

A seating chart is simple to do- sometimes a much better option than escort cards! I love how this one utilized the colors of the wedding in an ombre style… it really made it all stand out! And of course it’s also really awesome that the colors are different for each letter too, adding some style to the alphabetized chart!

{Be sure to head on over to my Pinterest board to see more escort & seating ideas, or you can search through the ELD Escort/Seating Gallery!}

So what do you think of this seating chart? What are you planning on doing for your seating details??

Eclectic Pink, Orange & Aqua DC Wedding

Category: REAL WEDDINGS, Uncategorized 7 Comments

Aug 3rd

by: Lauren

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Pink, orange, and aqua are just a few of the colors you’ll see in today’s gorgeous DC wedding from Flutter Photo! Colorful, eclectic, and planned by ELV member Bellwether Events, this wedding truly embraced its former amusement park venue, Glen Echo Park. From the pinks, blues, and oranges used throughout the decor, to the paper flowers adorning the bride and groom’s chairs, this DC wedding looks like it was SO fun! The bride Kirsten was kind enough to share some of her wedding planning story with us today, so be on the lookout for her advice!

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

Our wedding planner was Janice Carnevale of Bellwether Events. We chose to work with Janice after interviewing several wedding planners, because, it was clear that she was the most excited about what she was doing. Right of the bat she made us feel like this was the only project she had that she cared about. She was enthusiastic about all our ideas. I told her right away that my work schedule was crazy but that we had a lot of ambitious projects that we wanted to do ourselves (ie. all the paper paper products). She kept us on track and helped me budget my time accordingly.

Most brides-to-be have never planned an event like this before and probably never will again. I had the venue, photographers and band booked and then realized that there were so many more vendors that I needed and had no idea where to begin. Thankfully Janice knows everyone and covered all the other details from the all important caterer (Occasions Catering) to lighting design to the carpet that our venue required us to put down. I would have been lost with out her expertise. She really went above and beyond what we were expecting. She even surprised us with extra decorations that she made herself!

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

When we got engaged the very first thing I did was contact Alejo and Theresa at Flutter Photo. My brother got married in 2010 and as part of my duties in their wedding I was to help them select a photographer. When I found Flutter I told my brother that this is who I would hire for my wedding. Knowing how popular they have become since then it was very important to me to make sure we got on their books right away. Not only are they amazing photographers but they are really wonderful people too. For our engagement session they invited us over to there house in Reston, VA. We had a blast hanging out with them and going out on the lake in their old retro row boat and we got some really amazing pictures too.

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

Our location was another important decision. My husband and I both grew up in Washington, DC and we wanted to find a location that spoke to both of us and our personalities. Glen Echo Park, just outside the city, was perfect. We both grew up within 5 miles of the park and I spent many summers there as a child. The Spanish ballroom was a perfect setting for a fun and dance enthusiastic crowd. The location is really what inspired most of the details and design. Being a old amusement park allowed us to have a fun retro theme.

What was your favorite thing about your wedding?

I was really proud of our invitations. Matt and I made them ourselves with a small crafting letterpress. It was one of my favorite details. But I think the one that was the most special were the hundreds of paper flowers that Janice made to surprise us. It was so thoughtful and so personal- it meant so much to Matt and I.

What is your best piece of advice for other brides?

1. Wedding planners are worth their weight in gold. But make sure you find one that really loves weddings, like Janice!

2. The band or DJ will be the ones who keep the energy up and everyone having fun. But don’t limit them too much. Our “do not play list” consisted simply of a request that there was nothing too cheesy. This made the band happy because they had the freedom to play songs that were right for our guests.

3. If you can do it get a videographer. We made the decision two weeks before the wedding and were lucky to find someone on short notice. I could not be more grateful that we did because the night went by so fast and we were so surprised at how much we really could not remember. We are also glad that we have something to share with our family members who were unable to join us.

4. Most importantly do what is right for you. It’s not a dog and pony show. It’s your wedding and in the end the most important thing is that you do what makes you and your significant other happy.

Love love love Kirsten’s advice! Make sure you’ve read it! :) Thank you for sharing your wedding with us Kirsten, and a huge thank you to Flutter Photo for capturing it beautifully, and of course to Bellwether Events for making everything go so wonderfully! :)

Wasn’t this wedding the BEST way to end this week? I have fallen in love with the colors of the bridesmaid dresses and the centerpieces, but those paper flowers are pretty amazing too! Do you have any favorites from this wedding? What do you think of the colors together? Gorgeous, right?