Kamine & Torsam - Marriott Waterside

Congratulations Kamine and Torsam! We had struggled to find the perfect wedding date due to family members flying in from out of the country but everything came together and the wedding couldn't have been more perfect. Their ceremony was held outside at the beautiful Marriott Waterside downtown. Kamine wanted to incorporate red roses for her ceremony and wanted something different. We came up with a crystal and rose curtain backdrop which looked great in the photos thanks to Chi photography.

White manzanita branches, floral clusters, swarovski crystals and orchids adorned the tables. Amber lighting washed the walls and chiavari chairs finished the look.

Celebrity Wedding

Above are photos of a celebrity wedding we had great pleasure of being a part of at the Renaissance Vinoy Resort back in August of last year. The bride was very particular with her colors. She chose American Beauty, which is a deep fuschia color. We complimented the color of her choice with beautiful shades of purple and lightened the piece using green antique hydrangeas which turned out absolutely stunning. Beautiful linens graced the tables, silver chargers, menu cards and the icing....lots of bling!! We hung several strands of swarovski crystals in each centerpiece. Our designer containers glowed in a beautiful purple hue. The room looked perfect! Crystals were integrated into the beautiful fountain piece we designed for the ceremony. We had several hotel guests and Vinoy staff take photos of the ceremony decor prior to the wedding. What a great compliment!

Tips to Simply Your Guest List

Start with Percentages

After you determine the venue and the number of guests you can afford, assign 50 percent of that number to the bride and groom and 25 percent to each set of parents (or, with multiple sets of parents, 25 percent to each side altogether), suggests Anna Post, author of the forthcoming Do I Have to Wear White? Emily Post Answers America’s Top Wedding Questions (Collins, $15, amazon.com). If your parents are paying for the wedding, you may want to give them a higher percentage. If it turns out that one of you doesn’t need all your allotted spots, you can redistribute them to whoever has requested more.

Give Parents Their Number Early

To save embarrassment later, give them specific guidelines as soon as possible―before they start making phone calls inviting friends and family, suggests Sharon Naylor, author of 1001 Ways To Save Money . . . and Still Have a Dazzling Wedding (McGraw Hill, $17, amazon.com).

Create Tiers

Once you have written out a draft of your complete list, place each guest into a relationship category, Naylor says. The first tier consists of essential family members (grandparents, siblings, uncles, first cousins); the second is close friends and extended family (second cousins); the third is colleagues and other friends. When you know how many guests you can afford, start cutting the list from the bottom tier up. You’ll save potential hurt feelings by eliminating entire groups of people (say coworkers or your book club), rather than inviting just a few. That said, if someone’s truly important to you, of course you should ask him.

Do the One-Year Test

If you’re not sure whether to invite someone, “Ask yourself, ‘Have I seen or spoken to this person in the last year?’” says David Tutera, celebrity event planner and host of the TV show My Fair Wedding. “If the answer is no, odds are that you can keep them off your must-have list.”

Selectively Offer Invites with Guests

“One thing that often trips up brides is whether to give ‘plus guest’ on the invitation,” says Naylor. Her solution is to do so only when you have socialized with the couple. If someone asks if he or she can bring a guest, diplomatically tell them that this is how you made the difficult decision; that there will be a lot of other singles going without partners; and that, for budget reasons, you had to eliminate a lot of family and colleagues, “which should make them feel special that they themselves were invited,” says Naylor.

Consider Having a Small Wedding

Perhaps the easiest way to offending people while keeping your numbers manageable, says Tutera, is to keep your wedding day to family and close friends only. Then, when you’re back from your honeymoon, have a large cocktail party and invite everyone.

realsimple.com

Preserving the Wedding Bouquet

• Preserve the bouquet yourself or let a professional do it for you. Make this decision well in advance of the wedding date as all methods of preservation require that the treatment begin no later than one to four days after the wedding.
• Keep in mind that some home methods of flower preservation can take days or weeks to complete. Will you have the time to monitor the process yourself? Will you be able to begin the preservation process immediately after the wedding?
• Choose to have your bouquet professionally freeze-dried if you want the resulting bouquet to look as realistic as possible. The elements of the bouquet are taken apart, freeze-dried if possible, and then put back into the original arrangement. This method will take three to four weeks to complete.
• Choose to have your bouquet professionally pressed. The bouquet is taken apart, the flowers are pressed, and then they are rearranged and framed. Even though the flowers will be flattened, the original silhouette of the bouquet can be achieved. This method takes 8 to 10 weeks.
• Make bouquet preservation arrangements in advance of the wedding date. The preservationist will give you instructions on how to care for and transport your bouquet.
• Expect to pay $100 and up to have your bouquet professionally preserved. The price will depend on the size of the bouquet and any additional services, such as special frames or glass enclosures. If there is no professional in your area, you will also have to pay to have the bouquet shipped overnight.
• Use drying agents such as sand, silica gel or borax to preserve your own bouquet at home. The process involves covering each flower completely with the chosen substance to draw out moisture.
• Press the flowers from your bouquet at home. Frame your own pressed arrangement.
• Create your own dried flower bouquet. This is perhaps the simplest preservation method to accomplish at home. Take the bouquet apart and hang the individual flowers to dry. Reassemble the bouquet. Take care with the resulting brittle petals and stems.

Source: eHow.com

Hi Everyone,

Welcome to our blogsite! We are very excited about the redesign on our website. We'll soon post a few pics from our recent weddings.

We've received several wedding requests for 2010 and even 2011. Some of the trends for the new year are monochromatic palettes and vibrant colors such as yellow, pink, orange and green. You'll find metal colors as well to be hot in 2010: Silver, Pewter, Copper and Gold. Black is definitely still in. You'll also see more brides being more creative and going with homemade favors and opting for mismatched bridesmaid dresses.