Classic Green and Blue Connecticut Wedding

Mar 23rd

by: Kristine

First of all, this wedding took place at Lord Thompson Manor. How fancy is that?! Not to mention the gorgeous wedding dress {with lace bolero!}, beautiful Connecticut surroundings, lovely navy bridesmaids, and a slew of other wonderful details. Sit back and enjoy this stunner shot by Thompson Photography Group… cause you’re in for a treat!

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

My sister was the best Matron of Honor and helped me with everything from the little details to major decisions.

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

We wanted flexible, affordable vendors who understood our story and vision for the big day.

Did any of your vendors do anything special for you before, on, or after your wedding day that you would like to share?

Our photographer, Cassidy Thompson, flew up from Florida to shoot the wedding, and she captured everything we wanted. Her pictures were AMAZING and I still get compliments from people when they see a shot.

What was your favorite thing about your wedding?

Having almost everyone we love in one place to celebrate with us.

What is your best piece of advice for other brides?

Try to relax and enjoy every minute. It goes by lightning fast.

Thanks to Thompson Photography Group for sharing their photos with us and to the bride, Katie, for answering our questions and telling us a little about her big day.

There’s something about this wedding that’s calming to me. I don’t know if it’s all the beautiful trees, the green and blue color combination, or that impressive array of whiskey. Eh, either way!

Enjoy your Friday, my friends!

xo-Kristine

Vendors who made it all happen…

Photographer: Thompson Photography Group / Flowers & Decor: The Flowering Vine / Reception Venue: Lord Thompson Manor

Happy Birthday To Every Last Vendor!

Category: ELD FUN 13 Comments

Mar 22nd

by: Lauren

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Yes, you read that title right… I’m celebrating the 1st birthday of Every Last Vendor today! One year ago today, Every Last Detail relaunched with a new look and all new features (mostly all of what you will find on the site today). The thing is, this relaunch was so much more than just a pretty new website and fun new things. And so today, a year later, I wanted to share with you what that relaunch meant and the journey I’ve been on in the past year. It’s time to get a little personal…

One year ago today, ELD relaunched. Prettier, better, more functional. Lots of people didn’t even know about ELD a year ago. But there it was- and there I was. Excited. Nervous. Stressed. I was still doing ELD on the side, and I was gunning for the relaunch to be what allowed me to go full time…. specifically, Every Last Vendor– which is why it’s birthday means so much to me!

Photo by ELV photographer Caroline & Evan Photography

I’m not going to sugar coat it for you. Every Last Vendor is indeed what allowed me to go full time. It’s what pays my bills, buys my food, and keeps my diabetic husband alive. Yep. I went there- because it’s the truth. I don’t speak anything but the truth here on ELD. I thought being a full time blogger was going to be easy. It’s not. It’s really hard. I tell people that my job is really just sales- blogging is just a fancy word for: I-spend-all-day-writing-emails-and-doing-sales-and-really-just-blog-late-at-night. :) But no matter what, I still love it. As hard and uncertain as it may be, I’m still doing what sets my heart on fire and makes me happier than I’ve ever been.

This past year has definitely been a journey. Lots of ups and downs, goals reached, and tears cried. Tons of tweeting and Facebooking and emailing. I’ve made great new friends, yet lost some old ones. I’ve learned invaluable things about people, support, and business. I’ve tried new things, figured out what I really love doing, and started lots of new projects (and this doesn’t include the several new ones that I dream up every month). I spoke at events, go days without leaving my house, and yes… paid self employment taxes (UGH). It’s funny- when I first went full time, I thought that I would have posts done weeks in advance and spend all day blogging and looking at gorgeous photos. HA. I don’t know how it is for other full time bloggers, but that is definitely not what it’s like for me. I literally spent MONTHS just trying to achieve that “blogger nirvana”. It was November 2011 when I finally came to the conclusion that how I did things was what worked for me and it was okay. There was no right or wrong way for me to run my business. Maybe one day when I’m not in a 700 square foot house and half of my office is taken over by craft supplies overflowing out of my closet, I’ll do a “day in the life” thing. Actually, maybe not- it would be pretty boring. Because the truth is, I really spend most of my day reading and sending emails. And I do not have posts done weeks in advance. There I said it. I feel like I’m going to get put in blogger jail or something… oh, that doesn’t exist? Well that’s great. ;)

Oh, and here’s another thing. Lots of people are surprised to find out that I’m the only one behind ELD. The emails that say “Dear ELD Team” make me chuckle. ;) Thank you all for thinking that there are more people behind the scenes, but nope, sorry to disappoint you… it’s just me running the show. I am SO thankful to have some of my friends as contributors every now and then, but for now, it’s still just me. I really do like it that way too. I LOVE meeting new wedding professionals and seeing their businesses grow. Seriously- it makes me cry (sometimes) when I hear about ELV pros booking brides, making connections with other ELV pros, and becoming great friends. And I don’t cry often. I’ve discovered what I love to do and I don’t ever want to stop doing it. One day, when I can afford to have employees, I will most likely still be doing everything that I’m doing now. And NO, I will not be starting a baby/home blog down the road. Weddings are ENOUGH for me. ;)

Photo by ELV photographer, Ashley Daniell Photography

And ultimately, all of this- everything I do every day- is for brides and vendors. I want brides to KNOW about weddings and what they’re planning. I want them to find amazing vendors. I want them to feel like they know their vendors and be confident that they are going to be awesome. As for vendors, I want them to have great brides. I want their lives to be a little easier because their brides are having their questions answered HERE. I want to help grow businesses and make connections. I. Just. Want. To. Help. :)

Finally, I want to say THANK YOU. From the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU. Thank you to the amazing brides who read ELD. To the vendors who read ELD. And most of all, to the awesome wedding pros who have trusted in me to help market their business. I would not be here without ANY of you, and I humbly recognize that and will never forget it!

So, that’s kind of the last year in a nutshell. Sorry for rambling… I just like you all to know what’s going on with me every now and then, and I felt like today’s “birthday celebration” was a good time to do that. And now back to Every Last Vendor’s birthday… I have 2 fun little announcements to help celebrate! Cue the confetti!!

Announcement #1: Coming to a computer screen near you this Spring…. The ELD Detail Catalog! I am compiling pages of gorgeous details, made up exclusively of images from Every Last Vendor pros, with the aim to inspire brides to have awesome wedding details! I’m VERY excited about this… it’s something I’ve been wanting to do for over a year now! And I’m super excited that it’s an awesome extra opportunity for all of the amazing pros in Every Last Vendor to be showcased!! (Wedding pros, if you want to be a part of the Detail Catalog, see the next announcement!)

Announcement #2: Every Last Vendor Birthday Deals! I can’t celebrate without doing something extra special, so I’m giving new ELV pros a gift! Wedding pros, to find out about the deals, go here. The deals will only be available until March 23rd at 11:59pm EST, so hurry up and get to “celebrating” with me! :)

I suppose both of these could be seen as “gifts” for you all, right? ;) I really can’t even put into words how excited about the Detail Catalog I am! I hope you all will love it and get SO much inspiration from it! I know I would have LOVED for something like it when I was planning! And for the ELV Birthday Deals, well, I hope some of you awesome vendors will love my “gift” to you! :) I love all of you- thank you so much for your support this past year! :)

Thursday Tips: Stay True To Your Style!

Category: WEDDING PLANNING 0 Comments

Mar 22nd

by: Lauren

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Happy Thursday everyone! Today’s Thursday Tips is going to be a little different. I’m guest posting over on Glamour & Grace today while Megan is out of town, and so this week’s Thursday Tips post is over there! :) Instead of me reposting the whole post here, I thought I would just send you on over there. Besides- I have another super cool (and a little personal) post coming for you in a little while! ;)

So this week’s Thursday Tips is all about staying true to your style. The brides over at Glamour & Glace love the modern vintage style, so a lot of what I wrote pertains to that, but even if it’s not your own style, everything I said is still applicable to everyone! :) So head on over there to read the post! :)

Photo via The Vintage Rental Co.

If you went over to read the post and came back after… tell me what YOUR wedding style is! Is it modern vintage or just plain modern? Or just vintage? Or glam? There are SO many different styles… what’s yours?

Elegant & Pastel Philadelphia Wedding

Category: REAL WEDDINGS 8 Comments

Mar 21st

by: Lauren

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This wedding I have for you all today is gorgeous and couldn’t be more perfect for the start of Spring! An elegant style, pastel colors, outdoors… I really don’t think there’s a better combination, do you? Oh and the fact that the gorgeous photos by Sarah DiCicco capture such amazing moments too… you definitely feel like you’re there! And the beautiful bride Megan is stopping by to share her wedding memories and insight with us. Ready for some gorgeousness?

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

My parents were incredibly helpful. They went above and beyond and we are forever thankful to them for how special they made our day. My husband and I would have never been able to do it alone. My parents really enjoyed the process of planning the wedding with us. We split up many of the responsibilities. Sometimes just my parents would go meet with a vendor and other times the four of us would go together. We always communicated and made decisions together.

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

Having vendors that came highly recommended and had an excellent reputation in the Philadelphia area. We wanted vendors who were very dedicated, reliable, and committed to high quality work. When we booked our wedding at Appleford Estate they gave us a list of vendors that they had previously worked with. We started there and then each vendor seemed to have someone excellent that they recommended. We researched them, read reviews about them online, and maintained communication with them throughout the wedding planning process.

Did any of your vendors do anything special for you before, on, or after your wedding day that you would like to share?

We really had wonderful vendors. I miss them! They were all committed to making the day as special and beautiful as possible.

What was your favorite thing about your wedding?

There are too many to count! Seeing my husband on the alter watching me walk down the isle with tears in his eyes is definitely my favorite moment. Also saying our vows in front of all of our family and friends that we love so much.

Okay, how adorable is the picture above?! And get ready for the next photo… I started cracking up when I saw it! What on Earth do you think those guys are doing?! Boys will be boys, right?

What is your best piece of advice for other brides?

The best advice I can give is advice that so many people gave me right before the wedding: Soak up the day as much as you can! It goes by so quickly! Savor every moment. I spend many moments day dreaming about our wedding day and reliving that magical day in my head. Enjoy it and don’t focus on the small stuff. I spent the whole week before my wedding so nervous about the weather and silly little details. It all works out in the end. Even if there is something that goes awry on the day of…let it go and remember to focus on what the day is about. A limo never showed up to pick our groomsmen up to take them to the church. We laugh about it now :-)

So was I right? Don’t you just feel like you’re there? Especially with those last photos, right? It looks like Megan and her groom were able to savor the moments of their wedding day successfully- they are so darn adorable! :)

Let’s talk details… how about those gorgeous florals? And what do you think of the pastel colors used? Blue, green, pink, purple… gorgeous right? Are any of you planning on using pastel shades of colors like these? Or deeper shades of the same colors?