{Summer of Love} Easy Design

I know that many brides want to have a unique wedding but there takes careful thought into how unique it should be. I love trying to incorporate new trends and more importantly easy add ons. You want your decor and ideas to have a lasting impression with the pictures after the wedding. Be open to more creative options.

Many of my brides know that I get very excited with those extra details. Check out some fun trends going on right now that I want to share with you.



Mrs To Be - Insert Wedding Dress Here
Etsy



Mr & Mrs Mustache - Great Post Ceremony Pics
 Etsy



Just Married - Sunny Kind of Love
Etsy



Garter of Love - Love the Vintage feel
Etsy




Styling Ring Bearer Pillow
Etsy



{Summer of Love} Popular Decor Items

Nothing says love like diamonds. Then, you start thinking about your wedding day and it's fun to imagine diamonds all over. That's what the suppliers at Koyal Wholesale have spotted as their most popular items. For your wedding day, there's never too much bling or fashionable ways to make your wedding unforgettable. Check out these fun accents for your day. The options below allow you to add some color or turn to a more common theme of black and white this season.



Diamond Chandelier

Add some fun to your table with these gorgeous diamond votives. Your florist will have fun with these! 

Diamond Wrap for votives



Flower Poms to accents aisle or diamond centerpiece



Diamond Sheets to accent any decor



{Summer of Love} Unique Engagement Gifts

Wedding and engagement parties are the best way to celebrate the happy couple before their big day. For many couples, close friends or family will throw them a fabulous party within a couple months of making the annoucement to get hitched. I'm celebrating a close friends engagement this week and this started me on the path to find a perfect gift. There are many personalized gifts and sentimental gifts out there. Take time to find a gift that is different than a gift found on a wedding gift registry. This gift can be small or large. Remember to save the blender for the bridal shower but a wine set is sweet for the engagement party.

Check out some fun ideas I found below. Gifts are optional but you can also bring a nice card to share your sweetest wishes with them.

Romantics Love Personalized Pillow Cases via engagementgiftsonline.com



Artistic Couples via engagementgiftsonline.com

Homemaker Today via gifts.com

 

 

Wine Enthusiasts via gifts.com

 

Eco-Friendly/ Natural Foods Lover via gifts.com

{Spring Into Love} Fruit and Vegetable Wedding Bouquets

Gorgeous bouquets are in season for this wedding year. Not your usual bouquets found out there but something a little more unique. Vegetable wedding bouquets are making a splash onto the scene.This may sound a little surprising but take a look below at some unique finds. You'll be pleasantly surprised some local Arizona florists are creating some amazing bouquets. I'm loving these eco-friendly choices of bouquets and I'm sure you will too!



Delicious strawberry,lettuce, and peppers bouquet
via weddingsatwork.com



Rose bouquet adorned with artichokes
Amanda Johnson of Butterfly Petals- AZ Florist
Photo: Ashley Maxwell Photography
Bride: Jasmine Amber - AZ Photographer too!



L: Artichoke, brocccolini,okra,kale and bear grass (& more)

R: Butter lettuce, clementines,coxcomb,brussel sprouts (& more)

Jen Colvin of EverAfter Florals creations- AZ Florist

Photo: Dan Vermillion



{Spring Into Love} Covenant Marriage for you?

Marriage through thick and thin. There is a second kind of marriage called a Covenant Marriage which is a harder bond to break than traditional marriage. You may be wondering what difference is between these two and how they will impact your decision. According to CovenantMarriage.com, "A covenant marriage is intended by God to be a lifelong relationship exemplifying unconditional love, reconciliation, sexual purity, and growth. A covenant is an eternal commitment with God. People can negotiate out of contracts, but not out of a covenant." In a traditional marriage, you can plan to start pre-marital counseling 6 months prior to your wedding. This is optional counseling based on your religious beliefs. For many denominations, such as Lutheran and Catholic, pre-marital counseling is a requirement to be married in the church.


Requirements
According to legislation (A.R.S. 25-901-906) which became effective Aug. 21, 1998, couples who are planning to apply for a Covenant Marriage License must provide a notarized statement from the clergy or marriage counselor who provided their premarital counseling. (Clerk of the Court website)


The notarized attestation/statement should confirm that:

• the parties were advised about the nature and purpose of a covenant marriage;
• the parties were advised regarding the limited reasons for ending marriage by legal separation or divorce; and
• the parties were given a copy of the pamphlet, Covenant Marriages in Arizona, published by Arizona Office of the Courts (AOC).

Cost
Marriage licenses can be obtained in Maricopa County at the Justice Courts for $72.

Click here to visit the Marriage License site.

{Twirl Corner} Bridesmaid Bounty Hunter

By Keri Chantler, Twirl Co-Owner


(Originally published in The Wedding Chronicle and back by popular demand)

Look out, slacking bridesmaids – the Bridesmaid Bounty Hunter is on the prowl. As the co-owner of Twirl, I help manage bridal parties, and keep brides apprised of who has placed their order, and who is lagging behind.

Every week I console too many brides who are simply perplexed as to why their friends and family are proscrastinating at placing their dress order for the most important day of the bride’s life.

Having been a bride last year, and with ten bridesmaid stints under my own belt – trust me, I know both sides of weddings. Bottom line, ladies - it’s an honor to be asked to stand beside this person as she promises herself to the man she loves. Honor her back by being a supportive, and responsible, bridesmaid!

Chasing after grown women who are causing stress and hurt feelings for one of our brides is not enjoyable Bounty work. I would love for my bounty hunting days to end, and have some insider tips for both brides and bridesmaids.

Tips for Brides:

1) When asking girls to be in your wedding, openly discuss what they will be responsible for – financially and regarding their schedule.

2) Work it into your wedding budget to purchase part, or all, of the bridesmaids’ dresses. Your head is already spinning from how much the wedding will cost, so adding a little more for this shouldn’t be too painful of a stretch. Trust me – brides who do this NEVER have to bring Twirl’s Bounty Hunter on board. Plus, you can use this as their gift.

3) Be considerate of your bridesmaids when choosing dresses, but never, ever, let your vision be lost trying to make everyone happy. Your entourage will unlikelyagree 100 percent on a dress. Holding on to your vision, while being thoughtful, will keep you from an unpleasant metamorphose into Bridezilla.


Tips for Bridesmaids (or How to Avoid Bridezilla and the Bridesmaid Bounty Hunter):


1) Before you commit to being in a wedding, assess your financial situation. Can you afford to participate in throwing her a shower and bachelorette party, and buy gifts? Can you spare money for a dress, shoes, jewelry, and hair/make-up? You don’t have to have a lot of money to be a bridesmaid – I was in 3 weddings just out of college, and in several on a teacher’s salary. You may have to sacrifice a few things, but isn’t this what we do for those we love the most?

2) If you truly can’t afford all of these things, be honest and gracefully thank the bride, but opt out of being in the wedding. She will understand, and will appreciate your honesty.

3) Once you do say yes to being a bridesmaid, understand you are saying yes to whatever makes the bride happy. If you don’t love the dress she chose, too bad – if the bride loves it, wear it with grace and a smile. This is her day. Come to Twirl and check out our collage of “Why Twirl Was Created” – you should see some of the get-ups Jenni and I had to wear back in the 90’s! Please, ladies – you surely can survive the much more stylish choices designers offer these days.

4) When given a deadline to order your bridesmaid dress, get it done before you have to. Remember – the bride is getting updates from the Bounty Hunter, so she knows who is on top of it, and who is slacking.

Above all of this, a wedding day is about two people promising their lives to each other – it’s not about the flowers, the free cocktails, or anyone’s attire. When those things become the focus, the real reason you’re all coming together is lost. Feelings and emotions can be fragile during the wedding planning months. Simply honor each other throughout the process – the Bridesmaid Bounty Hunter can cease to exist, and you can all look as happy and beautiful as these girls….



Photo: Hollye Schumacher

 * Be sure to check out monthly tips from Twirl in our newsletter. Email me to get connected in Blueprint Affairs' monthly newsletter at info@blueprintaffairs.com

Dude, will you be my groomsman?

BLUEman: The Male Perspective




  Ever thought about how you might ask a friend to be one of your groomsmen?  Most guys simply just make a phone call to ask.  But some grooms are worried that asking a friend to be a groomsman rather that a best man can be offensive, especially when you have two really good friends, and a coin toss may determine who you choose as the best man.  Although, each can be viewed as equally important within the scope of the wedding.  However, making sure the best man can ensure the ring is not misplaced before the cermony, or is not fumbled around to the ground during the cermony, should play into your decision.

So how else can you ask your friend to be a groomsman or the best man?  How about mailing out an invite to be one or the other?  The Wedding Chicks came of with this great idea, and they have the templates to download for it.  All you need to do is purchase some A-2 note cards and envelopes, and you can print these from home utilzing the templates they provide.

So, if you're on the border as to who you should choose between best man and groomsman, let the invites do the talking for you...then, after acceptance, go out and buy them a drink and get to figuring out how to best enjoy your last days as a single man with your buddies.

{Spring Into Love} Fresh Escort Cards

Something fun and new! Plus they're edible! Escort cards that bring us into the Spring 2011 wedding season. I found some great ideas for fruit escort cards. I know this sounds a little different but with some planning you can bring this great idea to fruit-ision! Escort cards are what the guests find on the table outside the reception area to guide them gently to their seats. Have fun with this! Click on the links below each picture for templates to get started.


Image: 100 Layer Cake



Here's another idea if you want to match your colors to your escort cards.

The ones pictured below are white but you can do any color.



Image: mywedding.com



{Blissful Event} Our Anniversary

I love the feeling of being in love and celebrating BIG events. My husband, Brian and I celebrated our wedding anniversary last night. We celebrated at a surprise location, Jalapeno Inferno, which has great food, amazing marg's and isn't too spicy. We started with a fabulous queso appetizer and finished with some frozen yogurt at Mojo. Eh, I was trying to be a little healthy. In the morning, Brian surprised me with a digital photo frame and a beautiful poem he wrote just for me. (**He steals my heart time and again.)

Anyone that knows me, knows I'm in love with taking pictures. The digital frame is the way to go as I have thousands of pics.....all on my computer.


Delicious! Jalapeno Inferno

I love being a wedding planner as I get to celebrate those magical moments between my couples that I felt on my wedding day. I still get goosebumps when my couples say their vows. I'm a hopeless romantic but then I'm glad I married Brian because he's the same.


Below is a picture of me indulging in Cookie Monster at Mojo. Plus, about ten toppings or so.......



Mojo Yogurt's biggest fan!



{Engaged Me} Themed Aisle Decorations

Splash your aisle with color and design. Think wedding with the idea that all your guests will see this as the introduction to your fabulous day. Take some time to discover the pathway you want to create. Use your imagination and decide a look that blends all your wedding day elements tailored to your distinct budget. The ceremony is the most important focal point of your day and a perfect place to capture those memorable wedding day pictures.

Vintage
A beautiful flair with dripping jewels down your aisle way could be your style. Many brides I've talked to love the combination of hurricane vases, large flower arrangements, and colorful flower petals. The vintage feel of your wedding takes the cake in many forms of bling type jewels and a contrasting color palette.
 

Image: Wedding By Color

Modern
Create a look that speaks sleek and modern without spending a lot. Your florist can help you by alternating the rows and using a flower that is full but cost effective during your wedding season. Shephard's hooks are a great way to hang a colorful twist to your aisle decor.

Image: TLC Events & Floral



Romantic

Butterflies and floating candles lighting the way down your aisle is simply gorgeous. The lit candles shine brightly in a late afternoon wedding. Large hurricane vases can also be used to adorn your aisle filled with flower petals. Try to mix a variation of soft colors that work well with your wedding colors.

Image: Wedding By Color

Whimsical

Try this creative addition on your aisle for those with fun eco chic looks. I love the twigs and flower bunches that accent the arrangement. The distinct color contrast with this theme adds fun in your wedding. This theme also makes me think of paper pom poms and cupcakes.



Image: the knot

Beach        

Birds of Paradise flowers are a fun touch to your beach wedding. This theme reminds me of breezy, cool weather and tons of sea shells. You may find yourself using flowers to add emphasis down the aisle or hang simple flower variations on alternating chairs with ocean decor.

Image: L- Wedding Bee, R - Hawaii Wedding

                                                                                   

{Engaged Me} Sweeten Me Up

Taking your wedding to the next notch is something that many couples strive to do on their big day. Recently, dress shopping with one of my best friends, I find myself in love with the 'wow' factor dress. The dress isn't the only thing to add wow to your wedding. Start strategizing what makes you think 'now that's amazing'. This is where you want to start your wedding planning.

Cupcakes

The cake is no longer a simple frosted cake of sweetness. Wrap yourself around the idea of mini cakes at your wedding or even bridal shower. You can add glamour to your event with the easiest accent of cupcake wrappers. I love this idea because your wedding colors can mesh so nicely with the variation of designs. This helps with today's bride that wants to add a splash of modern to her wedding.

Candy Stations

Sweeten the deal. Add some color to other parts of your reception with candy stations. Everyone loves candy. It is easy to bring together the colors and flavors that you enjoy. You can hire someone to bring your sweetest desires to life and also create this idea yourself. I encourage my brides to make their wedding stand out and tell their guests a story about them. Include your fiance's favorite candies and yours in complimenting colors.

Favors and Gifts

This is the best time to start thinking about how your will thank your wedding guests and bridal party. The fun way to send home little treats is mini-brownie pops, marshmallow pops, and cookies. This is a great idea to add color to more parts of your wedding. Create gift baskets for your girls. Nothing says "you know your bridesmaids" like a basket of yummy sweets.

{Engaged Me} Royally Accessorize my Dress!

Bridal fashions stand center stage in our minds and you can't help but keep up with the likes of Kate and William's royal wedding plans. If you're keeping up with their wedding, every wedding detail is on display including the dress. You may or may not like the styles or just want to make your dress stand bold amongst the other wedding gowns. Iris D Bridal hinted at a fun trend this past week that I find especially pleasing to the eye to make your dress look really amazing, bridal belts. They come in floral designs, beading, black with feathering just to name a few. See some of these belts below. There are styles for every girls tastes and they fit any size. This is great news for any bride that wants fashion without a shopping headache. The fun part about these new accessories is that they are all around $150 each.

Grab your girls and mom to try on these fun new accessories and even pick out your wedding dress. Or, if your dress is already picked, bring a picture of your dress to match up the style that coordinates best. This is the fun part of shopping when you start styling your perfect day.

 Girly Crystal Belt

 Fabric Floral Belt

Black Belt  (One of my favs)

You can find more of these bridal belts along with gowns and accessories at Iris D Bridal. They have an online shop and a boutique located in Tempe, Arizona off of the I-10.

Ask for Kristen Barker for your exclusive wedding consultation appointment.

{A New Year} Time for Redesign

Wedding planning is underway for many of my brides planning their 2011 weddings. This past year I talked about pumping up my marketing and now I have done it. With the help of Adam at The Wedding Vendor, we have finally unleashed a fabulous new design of our website that will make our search results more visible to perspective brides. My planning continues to focus on a modern, clean look with a romantic feel. I love starting a new year with great news and by continuing my passion for helping brides in their quest for an amazing wedding day.

Our website is http://www.blueprintaffairs.com/

Something new that you’ll see is that we are now a Sandals Certified Specialist that provides our couples great honeymoon memories. While on our website, visit our contact us page or visit the Sandals link to learn more about how we can help you plan your Sandals Resort honeymoons. Through our affiliation with the Association of Bridal Consultants, our clients receive more one-on-one specialized services while planning their wedding day and honeymoon.

One thing we don’t shy away from is displaying the prices for the packages we provide. That is why on our website you will see the detailed information on our packages along with their corresponding rates.

We hope you will take this time to visit our updated website and look forward to hearing from you so we can start planning your wedding or event.

Technology is King

BLUEman: The Male Perspective

In this every changing world of technology, it’s hard to know which product is the best. iPhone or Android? iPad or Galaxy tablet? Whatever your choice may be, tablets give a much bigger viewing area to view websites or apps that you may download, that phones would not.

Say for instance you’re out driving around and doing some shopping for your wedding day: decorations, wedding day outfits, etc. You can download a barcode app that allows you to scan an item and quickly look up more information about it, and even perhaps find a better deal for that same product online.

But how about planning a wedding and having every detail about your budget to vendors at your fingertips? Any contract you sign can be easily scanned to PDF and stored on a custom folder on your tablet so you can bring it up at any time to review deliverables of the vendor, or their contact info if you need to get a hold of them.

In addition, there are apps that allow help you to plan your wedding directly from your phone or tablet. The best of these apps appears to be from WeddingWire, with nearly a four out of five star rating. Both the Android and iPhone/Pad apps have a budget tracker (to track payments made to vendors and to ensure you stay within your budgetary constraints), and a checklist that you can customize to your specific wedding day needs. If you need help finding a vendor, you can even search local vendors in your area as well.

The one thing I like about the Samsung Galaxy tablet, sold at Verizon Wireless, is you can get month to month based service on the 3G network for as little as $20 per month for 1GB of downloads/uploads. That’s plenty, because if you’re in any area that has Wi-Fi connectivity, you can most likely use that network for free. iPads have similar capabilities on the Verizon and AT&T networks as well.

If you’re a technical junkie like me, you’ll love utilizing these new easy to use and easy to carry tablets. It’s helped us a lot more in our day to day wedding planning business, and I know they will help you stay on track to your big day as well.

{Engaged Me} Where to Start

Congratulations! You’ve joined the millions of lucky ladies to get engaged around the holidays. I know that I had 2 close friends get engaged during the Christmas break and New Year’s Eve. It’s a very exciting time to celebrate a time every girl dreams about to share her life with an amazing husband. I know you are picturing a fabulous wedding day as you gaze at this picture. Now it’s time to get moving on your wedding planning and don’t stress…this is just to get your feet wet about what you like and don’t like.

Visit the Bridal Shows

Start easy - You should prepare yourself now because every vendor will be vying for your attention. For many ladies, grab a few girlfriends and/or family and hit the local bridal shows. Bring comfy shoes, address labels (oh you will see why), and an open frame of mind. You’re not booking vendors on this visit but learning who to call back after the show. My good friend and bridal boutique owner, Iris D Bridal has a Groupon to save you money at the Phoenix Bridal Show on January 8-9th. Here’s a link to her blog for more information- click here.

If you can’t catch that show, the Sedona Bridal Fair will be hosted on Saturday, February 26th, the Great Bridal Expo in Phoenix is on Sunday, March 13th, and the East Valley Bridal Show on Wednesday, June 30, 2010. Take your pick ladies of many fabulous events throughout Arizona in preparation of your wedding.

Take Venue Tours

The best way to love your venue is to take a tour. There are several venues throughout the valley who host free venue tours. Below are a few to choose from offering open house tours:

East Valley Open Houses:

• Trilogy Golf Club at Power Ranch - January 11, 2011 || 4 to 7 p.m.
• The Windmill Winery - January 22, 2011 || 4 to 8 p.m.
• Tre Bella - January 26, 2011 || 6 to 8 p.m.
• Secret Garden - Every Wednesday || 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.

West Valley Open Houses:

• Boojum Tree - Every Tuesday || 6 to 8 p.m.
• Virginia’s House - January 13, 2011 || 4 to 8 p.m.

Scottsdale Open Houses:

• Sassi Scottsdale - January 16, 2011 || Noon to 3 p.m.
• Troon North - January 28, 2011 || 4:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.