Super Sunday!

Are you hosting a Super Bowl Party?

check out Hostess with the Mostess
for directions on how to make a Playing Field Tabletop.

Do you need a fun creative appetizer to take to a party?
Here is a picture of what I made last year - it is SOOO easy. I blended cream cheese and shredded pepper jack, formed it into a football shape, sprinkled pecans on top and used red pepper as laces!

Enjoy!

Table Etiquette

I have 'talked' here before about proper etiquette and of course showed you amazing tablescapes to keep your mouth watering so I thought it only fitting to discuss the proper way to set a table.
Check out this diagram - now there is no excuse for putting the fork in the wrong place. Please feel free to share this info with your fiance - never too old to learn something.


Even I have trouble remembering which is my bread plate - keep this trick handy (no pun intended) and you won't make a mistake next time!


(thanks to Blueprint)

Charms of a Southern Wedding 4

Charms of a Southern Wedding 3

Charms of a Southern Wedding 2

Charms of a Southern Wedding

The Wedding Luncheon was broken into 4 basic design 'charms'.
Dahlin', Breeze, Sizzle and Cosmo
Here are some pics to enjoy!

Hot-lanta

As you know I was in Atlanta last week for The Special Event Conference. Now let me tell you how shocked I was when it started to snow! It was a great place to see friends, make new ones, learn a lot and take home with me some ideas for my clients. I plan to showcase here some of the tabelscapes or reception decor that we saw and give you some inspiration. Clients watch out I can't wait to share with you some product ideas, colors and fabrics for your next event.

We attended night events at the World of Coca-cola and at the Georgia Aquarium and had a taste of the South with the wedding luncheon.

Fun Wedding Their Way

After a whirlwind but very educational trip to Atlanta for The Special Event Conference last week I headed to Columbia, SC for a friends wedding.

The ceremony and cocktail reception took place on the historic horseshoe of the University of South Carolina campus. Cami and Dustin always want to do things a little different so there were a few surprises in store. It started with the invites - The ceremony was to take place at 5:32 in the afternoon! During the ceremony the readings were actually famous song quotes and were read by the BM and MOH. After the newlyweds kissed a friend and musician broke into 'How Sweet it is to Loved by You' while strumming a guitar down the aisle.

Now that wasn't it - during the reception there was a very special guest - Cocky - The USC mascot joined the festivities and had everyone dancing!

Remember a wedding is all about your personalities - its ok to do things out of the norm. Your wedding your way!

Congrats to our new married friends - enjoy Jamaica!

(look out for more posts on the inspiration and trends we learned last week)

Baby its Cold Outside

For all you City of Brotherly Love couples, take a moment out of the busy wedding planning, grab your fiance and stop over at the Ritz Carlton (10 Ave of the Arts)for a nice hot cup of hot chocolate.

Ceasar Bradley will meet you in the hotel lobby and customize a cocoa for you!
There are 25 toppings to pick from - my favorite would be the raspberry marshmallows and caramel.

I plan to have initial consultations here so if you are interested call or email to set up your meeting. We can enjoy this together - coco is on me!!

See I told you that planning a wedding with me would be fun and stress free!

Crate & Bridal

fyi for those couples that haven't registered yet

Crate&Barrel Wedding Party Events
They are throwing a party in your honor. Enjoy great food, drinks, music and advice on registering. RSVP at the store nearest you and receive a free hand blown glass heart shaped bowl as a gift.



January 27
February 10, 17, 24
March 2

To get you Dreaming...

I leave in the morning for The Special Event Conference in Atlanta.
This is going to be a great week of learning, getting inspiration, meeting other event professionals, sharing ideas and coming up with new ones.
Here are some inspiration pics from last years Los Angeles Conference. I will report back next week with 2008 trends.

Buttercup and Steely Gray

Buttercup and Steely Gray will be the new colors for 2008! Giuliana dePandi and Bill Rancic had yellow at their Italian wedding - see Married Away for a video of their special day.
Enjoy an inspiration board:

(thank you to inside weddings, theknot, icecaters, checkerboard, fleurjewelry, jcrew)

Newly Engaged?

Here are the top things you should do first!

1- Enjoy being engaged, share the news with friends and family, stare at your ring and of course go buy all the wedding magazines - THEN start thinking about a time line. What season or month do you want to be married?

2- Envision the style. Talk to your fiance and decide if you like a hotel ballroom look, outside gardens feel. Envision in your head the final event what sort of feeling do you get, what colors and style do you see?

3- Talk Budget. This is the most stress full thing about a wedding mostly because couples don't know how much things actually cost. Remember the average wedding in the Philly or DC area is about $29,000-34,000. Of course this depends on the guest list, formality and time of day.

4- Which brings me to #4 - Think about who you want to invite and make a preliminary guest list. When you go to look at sites you will need to know if it is too big or too small.

5- Consider hiring a wedding planner, consultant, coordinator and/or designer. They can help you find a location, give you a time line, keep you on track, save you money and just make the whole process a little easier. They will also make sure your wedding day goes off the way you want it to. Definitely a good investment.

6- Choose your attendants. Honor your closest friends and get them to start helping you plan. Search my blog for unique ways to ask them.

7- Start looking at reception sites and narrow down a date.

8- The fun part - start looking at bridal gowns. There are many area trunks hows in the Winter and early Spring. You might just get a great deal.

Happy Day to the Newly Engaged Couples

Well the holidays are definitely a time when lots of ladies get diamond engagements rings. Most engagement occur between Christmas Eve and Valentines Day!

So Best Wishes on planning amazing 2008 or 2009 weddings.

Elegant Engagements still has openings for Spring, Summer or Fall so call today to set up your complimentary meeting to go over your ideas and how we can work together.

At the least everyone needs a month out and day of coordinator and if you have done some of the planning yourself and need a designer to pull it together call me soon!

www.elegantengagements.com
215-542-1103

Valentine's Day Proposal

Are there any guys reading this? Anyone want to get engaged on Valentines Day? Spread the word!

Well if you live in DC/VA/PA/MD have I got the place for you!! The National Museum of Natural History is opening a live butterfly exhibit and they are creating a once in a lifetime opportunity for a couple to get engaged on site amongst the butterfly's before it opens to the public.

Feel the Flutter on Valentines Day 2008.

All they want is to be able to capture it on film to send out to the media to raise awareness about the exhibit! How great is that.

So if you are interested or know a lucky couple who might be let me know and I will send you the contact info.

Nicole Miller Bridal

Well I had a lovely afternoon visiting the Nicole Miller boutique in Manayunk yesterday. They were having an Expert to Expert open house where we wedding planners could learn about bridal gown trends, bridesmaids dresses and even mothers dresses!! and the ladies there got to hear a little about what we do and how we can help the brides.

Thank you for some informative info, lovely refreshments and oh the gowns - just gorgeous!!



Nicole Miller designs are becoming a little more ornate with some beautiful beading accents and even a new color 'metal' taffeta, it is a slight gray or slate color and the fabric is so forgiving and just lovely.

The salon also has a wonderful seamstress that will add or make changes to any dress, ie: change neckline or add a train!

So if you are shopping around for your gown, your maids please add this salon to your list - Nicole Miller Philadelphia
4249 Main Street, Philadelphia, PA (Manayunk) or Bellevue.

Real Simple Weddings Magazine

How many of you just love Real Simple Magazine - Its a must read for me! so many great hints and ideas - well its getting even better!

Real Simple Weddings cordially invites you to plan your special day with the ultimate bridal guide online. Get surprising tips, solve guest-list conundrums, find bridal gowns for every body, assemble the perfect menu, and much, much more beginning January 10, 2008.

Look for Real Simple Weddings nationwide on January 28; exclusive advance copies available only at Crate & Barrel beginning January 10.

Beautiful Winter Bride

Isn't Katherine Heigl just glowing on her wedding day?
Here are some picts from her December 23rd wedding, which will be published in this week’s edition of OK! magazine.


I wasn't so sure of the ruffled neckline but she looks fantastic in it.
Can't wait to get a glimpse of more pictures.

Year in Review

Well I thought I should write something about 2007 - sum it up with some thoughts and pictures to let you know a little about what happened.

It was a good year but lots happened. After my husband got a new job, one that would allow him more time at home and more time in general, we moved to PA. This meant leaving a house, friends and a business that I was comfortable with. This was a big step but moving to PA wasn't so bad as this is where I grew up.

I decided to move the business and get into the Philly market while still doing weddings in the DC metro area. Exciting and nerve wracking at the same time. So Philadelphia Couples I am here to stay and ready to be your wedding planner.

In 2007 I was named to the 'Knot Best of Weddings', published in The Hill newspaper, The Express Newspaper, Bridal Guide Magazine and Northern Virginia Magazine. I am super excited about that as I enter my 7th year of planning.

I want to thank my clients - it was a pleasure working with you, creating your wedding memories with you and experiencing your joy as you were a guest at your own wedding!

It was the year of the candy buffet, grooms cakes, large wedding parties, beautiful linens, special dances and lots of unique elements.

I also want to thank my wedding professionals for doing your job, coming through in a pinch and helping to make my clients day wonderful. Planning a wedding is not as easy as it looks, it takes hours of planning, organizing and putting together a great team to implement the wedding day.

I also want to report that two of my spring brides are expecting 2008 angels - can't wait to hear about more.

Looking forward to seeing how 2008 turns out - look for a trends alert the end of January