A Planner Plans: Decor-Um

Blue, purple, ivory, chocolate, gold. Those are the colors of my wedding.

Gasp. I know.

From the very beginning of our planning stages, I knew if there was one area i'd be knee deep into, it was the decor. I love decor. I love details. I love design. So when we started down this road I knew that there would be many times when I'd have to walk myself away from the ledge, aka, world of wedding blogs, and design our wedding, very much like we design for our POSH Touches package.

First step up: choosing my colors. I've often told my brides to "forget that it's a wedding", dumped a ton of swatches on the desk in the studio and told them to pick their favorites. That's pretty much what we did.

Blue. Blue is our favorite color. I knew that blue would be making an appearance in the wedding. Minimally though, more of an accent. Blue represents fluidity. Here is our blue:





Eggplant. I love the richness of this hue of purple. Deep, royal, sexy. As I began my linen selection, I fell in love with a purple Velvet linen. VEL.VET.



Chocolate. Along the lines of the eggplant. Sexy & silky.



Ivory. Bold. I love the look of an all ivory event. Alas, this was not going to work for our reception. Ceremony? Possibly.







I know it sounds a little crazy but in the little land in my head, it works. I envision a space filled with richness, with a sexy, silky, royal, bold vibe.

Gold. Regal. Everyone needs an accent color right?



Color can truly dictate the feel of an even. With a combination of fluidity, richness, sexy, silky, bold, regality and warmth, I think we will be ok. Can't wait to see how it all comes together, 42 days to go

Excellent Find

My very good friend and fellow Philadelphia Wedding Planner, Meredith Sellers Tomasulo of Elegant Engagements shared a find with me that I couldn't WAIT to share! If you have considered creating the hanging votive tree for your centerpieces, entrance table or ANYWHERE else in your reception space, boy will you be relieved! Ballard Designs, which I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE is offering a Twig Votive Tree for a steal price of $60, that is a close replica to it's Manzanita branch counterpart.

If you are not familiar with the Manzanita branch and you are considering creating the hanging votive tree, believe me, you and the Manzanita will become one. For hanging votives, Manzanitas work best because of their stiff rich bark and twisting branches, which are perfect for supporting the weight of the votive candle/holder. Manzanitas tend to be on the "pricey" side however, so if you are looking to save a little bit of money, the right type of curly willow will also do the trick. But now, thanks to Ballard, you have an alternative solution to acheive a similar look. How sweet is that?

"Touches"

I often receive inquiries regarding the POSH "Touches" package and specifically what it entails. They say a picture is worth a thousand words so...

"Touches" is our design service and how this:


and this:


become:

I do...Really, I do

Have an office that is!

By far, the most common request I've gotten lately (well, second to recent pictures of my son) is for a picture of the new office. I absolutely LOVE the new space in Merchantville, NJ. The office is just outside of Cherry Hill, NJ about 2 miles from Cherry Hill Mall-(I'll never get too far from that place, especially since they are putting a Nordstrom there!)

Since the office is technically still a "work in progress", here are some pictures, just for proof. I promise to post pictures once it's all done. Hope you enjoy!

Before (Not too exciting)...









After:



(Disclaimer: This is NOT my real table linen; just a "temporary" fix until the gorgeous pintuck arrives in the office; remember, all linens MUCH touch the floor!)





So, what do you think?

Inspiration

If you asked me what my favorite Wedding book is, I honestly couldn't answer. I have soooo many and for so many different reasons. Of course there are the classics like InStyle Weddings, and then there are the all out amazing show stoppers likeWeddings, Valentine Style (I Love her by the way!).

Today, my inspiration however, came not from the book-but the book title!

If you don't have Colin Cowie's Extraordinary Weddings, definitely invest the money to buy it. As if the book itself isn't enough, the subtitle "from a glimmer of an idea to a legendary event", truly sparked my creativity today. I was working on the design for an upcoming event and realized that something was missing...and finally, after spinning my wheels, I realized we were missing was just a little "bling". It was a major "aha" moment for me-and I certainly feel like I took my event from just a "glimmer" to legendary.

Thank you Mr. Cowie, you've done it again!

Preeti Amazing Weekend!

This weekend I had the honor of working with Preeti Nanvaan of Preeti Exclusive Creations, an event management company specializing in South Asian Fusion Event Management and design.

Preeti and I have actually known each other for over 2 years, but with our busy schedules, this weekend was the first opportunity we had to work together; and let me just emphasize the word WORK. With 6 weddings in two days, there was lots to learn and to see but, I can honestly say(although we had a 18 hour day on Saturday) I enjoyed every moment of it.

Indian Weddings are truly unique in that they are so rich in culture and tradition. From the Ganesha to the Mandap setup, there are so many aspects of the ceremony that are of a religious nature. The ceremony itself is also visually stimulating and rich in decor...and design is definitely Preeti's forte. Honestly, watching her team install beautiful and stunning Mandaps was by far my favorite part of the day-that and the Dhol drummer. Can we say wow!

I'm exhausted, but definitely enjoyed the opportunity so thanks again Preeti and I'll see you at The Special Event!

Linens N' Things

I'm often contacted by couples in the beginning phase of their planning process, looking to create an event "unlike any other". While I always advise my couples to make sure their event reflect thier styles and their tastes, I also remind them that financially, they should stay within their established budgets.

The easiest way by far to create a spectacular event is by allocating a percentage of the budget to decor. Now, this can include lighting, pipe & drape, glassware, flatware and any absurd number of rentals, but the easiest way (and usually quite affordable) is by far...the Linens.

Linens can transform a regular table instantly and create the "wow" factor most couples desire. These days, the choices are sooooo amazing. With new colors, textures and patterns options are endless.

With pricing typically ranging from $14 for plain polyester to $+++ for options such as silk/bengaline, it may not be practical to "dress" each of your 30+ guest tables. A nice option however, is to use overlays on the tables which are typically less expensive or if you are truly limited in funds, use linens to highlight options such as the cake, guestbook or head table.

I made a visit to one of my favorite rental showrooms last week to look at linen. Here are some of the cool items I found: