How To Celebrate Your Engagement

Category: SPONSORS, WEDDING PLANNING 0 Comments

Jul 26th

by: Lauren

A Note from the Editor: Having an engagement party was one of the few things that I do NOT regret about my wedding planning experience. We had a long engagement (16 months from engagement to wedding), and a party was a fun way to celebrate our engagement early on so we could have more time to plan the wedding day! Our friends from Basic Invite are joining us today to talk more about how to celebrate your engagement, and we can’t wait for you hear what they have to say!

If you ask us, engagement parties should be included into the list of pre-wedding celebrations that aren’t entirely necessary, but totally should be… mostly due to the fact that we love a good party, but also because celebrating that first moment as an engaged couple should totally be part of the process! It’s too exciting not to be, right?!

Bridal showers and bachelorette parties seem to get all of the glory so today we’re bringing you ideas for an epic engagement party and awesome invitations to go along in hopes that you will add one more day of festivity to the months of planning, partying, and ultimate saying I Do! Because really, why not?

A Family Affair

Celebrating an engagement with your family can be a great idea! After all, your family is stuck with you and your soon-to-be spouse, so adding one more party in the mix shouldn’t be too big of a deal, right? If this is the route you take, make the engagement party less about you and more about celebrating family and love in general. Whether you’re family is big or small, you can gather like you would for the holidays or a birthday, but make things a little more special by trading the informal invitation phone call for personalized engagement party invitations.

Couples Only

If you’re leaning towards an engagement celebration, but you aren’t sure how many times your single friends or acquaintances really want to celebrate your upcoming marriage, inviting your other couple friends for a fancy date night in the name of your engagement might be a better choice! Your couple friends have likely been in your shoes or want to be – so, plan a night out (or in) for a fancy dinner with a few of your closest couple friends. They will enjoy having a date night, too!

Game Night

Game night is another alternative that everyone will enjoy! Create game night themed custom engagement invitations and send them out to the people in your life who are always down for a good time! Keeping game night low-key with pizza and popcorn is one idea, or you could go all out and have a murder mystery party to kick off your engagement in style!

Without an engagement there is no marriage, so really an engagement is a milestone moment that should be celebrated just like a bride being showered or a family coming together the night before for a final rehearsal dinner.

Think about the people in your life who might be most excited for you and plan a night to celebrate! The themes and ideas are endless and creating an engagement party invite will give you the tools you need to custom design the rest of your wedding stationery. And Basic Invite is a source you should be turning to for all your invitation needs.

From chic and simple designs to rustic backyard BBQ themes, Basic Invite has personalized engagement cards that are completely customizable with over 180 colors, 100 font choices, and so much more! This is a huge moment for you and you deserve to celebrate in style so head over to Basic Invite and get to party planning!

This post is presented in partnership with Basic Invite.

Romantic Blush Franciscan Gardens Wedding

Category: MEMBER FEATURES, REAL WEDDINGS 0 Comments

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Jul 25th

by: Lauren

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Today’s Franciscan Gardens wedding is giving us all the dreamy enchanted garden vibes! The Franciscan Gardens in the heart of San Juan Capistrano set a gorgeous backdrop for this wedding day planned by one of our favorites, Confetti Skies. Filled to the brim with lush florals and romantic chandeliers, Mika and Ron’s summertime wedding has an effortless elegance you can’t help but fall in love with. We love all the gold laser cut details throughout the reception, but it’s the ceremony design that is sure to wow. And Mika’s stunning Hayley Paige gown is the perfect statement piece to complete the modern romantic look. The day was beautifully captured by Oh Lovely Wedding, and we cannot wait for you to see!

From Aimee of Confetti Skies:

Mika & Ron met in the ring of a UFC gym. Ron was Mika’s instructor and they fell in love through their time together on the mat. Mika & Ron were married at Franciscan Gardens in the heart of San Juan Capistrano. This wedding was full of love, laughter, and beautifully elegant details. From the lush florals to the amazingly beautiful Hayley Paige dress, this wedding was one of the most beautiful weddings I’ve seen!

Vendors who made it all happen…

Coordination: Confetti Skies // Floral Design: The Bloom of Time // Photography: Oh Lovely Wedding // Venue: Franciscan Gardens // Catering: 24 Carrots Catering & Events // Hair & Makeup: Design Visage // Cake: Simply Sweet Cakery // Officiant: The OC Wedding Guy // DJ & Lighting: Elevated Pulse Productions // Transportation: White Rose Limousine // Specialty Linens: Luxe Linen // Wedding Dress & Bridesmaids Dresses: Hayley Paige // Suits: Jos. A. Bank // Invitation & Reception Stationery: Wedding Paper Divas // Favors: Milk & Honey // Shoes: Badgley Mischka

An Elegant Sarasota Garden Wedding

Category: MEMBER FEATURES, REAL WEDDINGS 0 Comments

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Jul 23rd

by: Lauren

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There’s nothing more beautiful than a botanical garden, and this Sarasota garden wedding planned by NK Productions is absolutely proof! A neutral color palette of green and white allowed the setting of Selby Gardens to take centerstage in the most beautiful of ways. Mirrors adorning the outdoor ceremony were a perfect detail, serving a purpose of beauty and function. And you can’t get any more elegant than a ballroom reception! Lush greenery-filled centerpieces, clean glass accents, and ceilings dripping with crystals and greenery created a romantic ambiance to celebrate the marriage of Rachel and Robert! We can’t wait for you to see this elegant design captured by Lana Ponomareko– and don’t miss the gorgeous sunset portraits!

Vendors who made it all happen…

Planning/Coordination: NK Productions // Photographer: Lana Ponomareko // Venue: Selby Gardens // Catering: Michael’s on East // Cake: Wonder Cakes // Florist: Victoria Blooms // Videographer: Current Films // Paper Products: Write On // Furniture Rentals: So Staged // Lighting: Affairs in the Air // Hair + Makeup: Brides by Kelly Anne

Exclusive ELD Vendors

Like the post above? Here are the Every Last Detail vendors that participated making this post beautiful! Featured vendors are hand picked and approved by Lauren. Get more information by clicking on them below:

An Elegant Sarasota Garden Wedding
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An Elegant Sarasota Garden Wedding
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5 Summer Proposal Ideas That Are Easy and Fun!

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Jul 20th

by: Lauren

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Summertime is a time of sun, sand, and fun… and engagements too! I mean… what better time to get engaged than when you’re making summer memories?! We’ve partnered with Macy’s to showcase their Star Signature Diamond and share a few of our favorite summer proposal ideas. These ideas are all meant to be fairly easy, and don’t require too much preparation or planning. Simply take part in one of these quintessential summertime activities, add a ring, and voila, you have a proposal to remember!

Step 1: Get your ring!

Macy’s Star Signature Diamond rings are all absolutely stunning. They have a wide range of options available, and the best part? All of the diamonds are available in round and fancy shapes, and are guaranteed to be natural and untreated. Each is cut with 73 facets for the perfect amount of sparkle. From classically simple, to elegantly chic, there is absolutely going to be a style perfect for your future spouse.

Step 2: Choose a summer activity!

We’ve gathered a few of our favorite summer activities that would be perfect to double as a proposal event too! The key to all of these summertime proposal ideas is that the activities themselves are pretty typical, so the element of surprise will most definitely be in there!

Poolside Popsicles & Prosecco

Spending a day by the pool? Treat yourselves to some popsicles and Prosecco (or champagne)! If you’re proposing, be sure you’re the one to prepare the cool poolside treats, and simply add the ring to your sweetheart’s popsicle stick!

Pool Float Day

Another poolside idea, perfect if your bride-or-groom-to-be loves pool floats. Grab an engagement ring pool float to add to your collection, and have it waiting in the pool! And then of course be ready with your actual ring to get down on one knee!

Ice Cream Truck Fun

This one will take a little planning ahead, but not too much! If you have an ice cream truck that makes the rounds in your area, you could just find it a few minutes before getting to you, and see if they would agree to handing your love a ring along with their ice cream selection. Okay, and yes, you would also definitely have to trust them. Alternatively, you could slip the ice cream man (or woman) the ring when you hand he or she some cash to pay for the ice cream.

Shell Collecting On The Beach

There’s nothing more romantic than a sunset walk on the beach… or heck a walk on the beach at just about any time of day will do! Go on a shell collecting expedition with your soon-to-be, and just bend down to pick up a shell, and happy to also find a ring… and a proposal too.

Drive-in Movie Night

Another popular summertime activity- going to the drive-in! Of course this can only happen if your city has one still operating. This proposal can be as simple or as elaborate as you want! If you want to go big, you could inquire about purchasing an ad that would display prior to the movie- just make sure you arrive early! Alternatively, you could just pop the question prior to the movie starting!

Now to complete the first step- go find that #MacysLove ring! We definitely recommend taking a look at the Macy’s Star Signature Diamond Collection!

And also, keep in mind that all of these summer proposal ideas are meant to be E-A-S-Y. The important thing is to be doing something that you two enjoy so you will then remember that particular activity fondly for the rest of your life together.

This post is part of a sponsored partnership with Macy’s and the Rakuten Network. All thoughts, opinions, and ideas are the author’s own.