Couture Invitations and Stationery Suites - Wedding Studio Partner Feature

There is one thing most stationers can agree on: it is never too early to start shopping for your invitations. Start collecting invitation ideas, visual inspiration, and creating a look for your stationery suite as soon as you get engaged. This process will not only help you decide on invitations, but drive your color choices, linen options, bridesmaids dresses, floral arrangements and so much more.  

Decor Design by The Events Company, Invitations by Bride Design, Photos by Bert Pohl Photography

Your overall vision or theme for your wedding will be shared with guests when they receive the ‘save the date.'  It can then be incorporated into your 'Stationery Suite'.  A complete Stationery Suite would include:

• save the date cards
• invitations 
• ceremony programs
• guest sign in cards
• escort cards 
• table numbers
• place cards
• food descriptions
• menu cards
• thank you cards

 

Stationery Suite created and produced by Bride Design, Photography by Meghan Thomas Photography, Wedding Design and Planning by The Events Company

Working with your stationery provider and wedding designer together they can help you continue the theme into various décor elements. For example, with the peacock invitations, there are dozens of linen options and combinations we can use for guest tables and accent tables to bring in the vibrant blues, greens and purples.  There are elegant and effortless ways to bring in the peacock feather as an accent on your table - part of the favor, placed in your floral centerpiece or simply adding it to the bow on your chair.  Creative ideas for creating a personalized wedding day and wedding invitation are endless.  Always contact an expert for options and feasibility of your vision and leave it to us to make it come to life!

Centerpieces beyond Floral

If you are a bride-to-be who likes to step outside of tradition, or wants to step ‘outside of the box,’ using non-floral centerpieces is a great place to start!  This doesn’t just mean using silk flowers.  There are fabulous structural pieces, containers, pedestals and creative ways to bring life to your table beyond only floral, or embellishing it.

Photography by Bert Pohl Photography, Design by The Events Company at The Clayton Opera House

One of my favorite new trends in non floral centerpieces are silver mosaic lamps paired with personalized frames and votive candles.  Some brides use the frame on each table to designate a table number, others use the display to tell an intimate story about the couple and some will display photos.

Centerpieces by The Events Company, Syracuse New York.  Photo by Bert Pohl Photography.

Working with an event designer, like The Events Company, you will have access hundreds of options for creative centerpiece options to customize your wedding.  Be sure as always to make it fit your personal style and overall vision.  Thinking 'outside of the box' does not mean the room will look like chaos - just a decision to do things a little differently than previously expected.

Best Wedding Wishes!

Shannon Lach 

The Wedding Planner - The movie has some things right!

I needed some relaxing inspiration the other day. I had read through all the new Bride magazines, read all the new information on The Knot, but needed something fun. So I popped in The Wedding Planner and enjoyed some Kettle Corn popcorn and realized, parts of the movie actually reflected our profession right!

So here are a few things from The Wedding Planner with Jennifer Lopez I think are interesting and important notes to remember when hiring a Wedding Planner:

1. Hire us BEFORE you select your venue or any other providers,really.
2. A planner is prepared for most anything; although we don't typically store it around our waist.
3. We feed the best man his toast. No,that's not true, although I suppose we could if really needed, but We prefer the spontaneity of the moment.

OK, so maybe not too many parts of the movie, but it's still a good watch for a chick flick and who doesn't love Matthew McConnauhey?

Planning Your Wedding Decor: Room Ambiance

Creating the ambiance for your wedding reception is more than just the guest tables. If you treat the entire space as a whole, you'll create a better overall look and feel. You may be thinking, 'but this is going to cost me more money.' Not necessarily true... you can always spend more money (that's easy) but using a holistic approach can offer you an alternative to spending so much money on the guest tables (we'll talk about those tomorrow).

Venue – does the room represent your style or do you need to totally transform? When selecting your venue your style should be taken into consideration. A non-traditional venue may be better suited to your needs. You may need to pay a venue rental charge, but if the venue fits your style, then you have less need for the 'total room transformation.' This is why so many bridal couples are looking for unique venues.

 Lighting –  ambient lighting softens hard edges, hides ‘not so nice’ walls and can highlight wonderful architectural features.

 

Fabric Draping – Fabric can create a focal point, intimate spaces, and hide ‘ugliness.’ Use it for head table backdrops, canopies over the dance floor, or to reveal surprises during the night like a lounge area or candy bar.

 

 

Ceiling Treatments  - can help lower a really high (or ugly) ceiling and create ambiance.

 

White Wedding - Tented Perfection

Chivari Chairs are a great way to add the WOW factor to your wedding. As wedding designers and planners, we are able to best help you understand how to incorporate the theme, color and feel you are looking for on your big day. Simply using white chivari chairs without considering every other aspect of your decor options could have ended in a tragic white blizzard rather than a white wedding to be talked about for years.

The wedding vision and theme are a product of you, the bride, and a lifetime of personal experience and love; as a wedding designer it is my job to be sure your special day reflects every aspect of that. From the chairs, to the napkins even the silverware and lighting, it all should be reflection of you and your fiance. Once you see the parts put together, I can promise you your breathe will be taken away, like the day your he proposed.







Lisa and Steve celebrated their lovely day at the Aurora Inn, NY. These photos from Larrisa Cleveland Photography capture exactly how magical your wedding day can be with the perfect blend of friends, family, great venue and exceptional decor items, like the Chivari chairs from The Events Company.

DIY Questions to Consider

Sure, DIY sounds tempting at first. But there are some key questions you should ask yourself before embarking on your DIY journey.

Will adding this element make a big change to my wedding?
Is the price differential really worth it? Especially when I factor in labor?
Will this project be complete by at least one week before my wedding?
Will this project cost me minimal stress?
Can I make this special for my guests?


If you can safely answer “yes” to all of these questions, then you have a perfect DIY project. We recently had a bride who wanted to personalize her place cards. She asked the guests for photos of themselves months before the wedding, and incorporated each photo into a mini frame. These frames were great- they provided a no-fail seating plan, and gave the guests personalized favors to take home at the end of the night! They were clever, cute and fit nicely into the color concept of the wedding.
Now that’s DIY done right.

The Militant Venue Owner

We're wedding designers, planners, and producers and spend a lot of time in a variety of venues. Some are great and easy to work with. Others, not so much. I've coined them 'militant venue owners.'

Did you fall in love with a venue that was just what you were looking for and as soon as you signed the contract you suddenly were being told you can't do that or no, we never do it that way, or some other comment about what you can't do? You've just been diagnosed with "militant venue owner' syndrome.

Suddenly all the joy and fun of planning your wedding has been sucked out of your soul. This is where you will find having a wedding planner on your team who will be your liaison is worth her weight in gold. You can even hire them for that sole purpose. Just make sure the person you select can effectively communicate (diplomacy)your needs and expectations.

We keep note of the 'quirks' each venue has so we're prepared any time we are in that venue.

My ultimate goal is to have a venue (in the not so distant future - within a couple of months) where a client will never hear the words, no, you can't do that. We'll be about solutions not dead-ends.