2011 March | Online wedding planning, ideas and inspiration

March 31st, 2011

Happy Gatherings Photography | Designing for a $40K Budget

I’m so excited we finalllllly get to show you more of the photo shoot we did in Vermont earlier this month! It was myself and Britt’s first photo shoot and it was such an amazing time, everyone we met was so talented and genuine. As you may have already pieced together from our sneak peaks, we spent a day at the Inn at the Round Barn Farm in Waitsfield, Vermont for a shoot. Like our other photo shoots, the day consisted of six teams, each with a photographer, floral designer and/or planner, cake designer and paper designer.

One of these individuals was the incredible photographer, Carol MacGregor of Happy Gatherings. Carol photographed the adorable Abbi and Dan, newlyweds and cake bakers from Hartland, Vermont. Abbi and Dan are actually the brains behind A to Z Cakes, a Vermont cake bakery. So Abbi and Dan decided to not only present their amazing cake (that you’ll see below) for one of the design teams, but they also became models for the day! Here is some of the insight and observations Carol had about the day, her models and the scenery of the round barn farm… {JC}

Engagement Session

Our engagement session lasted about 1 hour. Within the barn we used the milking shed, whitewashed back staircase area, the outdoor stairs with a mountain view, the front of the barn entrance and the red barn wall on the north side. Dan is quite a bit taller than Abbi, so I positioned them to minimize that large difference in height. Abbi’s blond hair, delicate features and fuchsia winter vest looked phenomenal in subdued, northern light. I used Dan as a backdrop behind her in many poses. Some additional features were interesting boots, worn by both, and Milo, their dog, who got into several pictures himself!!

I was inspired by the antique, rustic chic atmosphere of the farm setting in contrast to the bright, very young contemporary models I worked with. I loved the fact that they were recently married- the chemistry was great between them and it made the photos warm and genuine. My favorite shots were those taken on the whitewashed staircase, which is a beautiful, soft northern light source.

Bridal Session

The bridal session lasted about 1.5 hours. We re-used the same areas around the inside and outside of the barn, but later spread out into the Inn itself, the kitchen area, hallway, the drawing room with a fireplace and finally a guest room. Abbi’s ivory complexion and off-white wedding gown demanded soft light again, as well as careful posing because of the short length of her skirt! Her veiled hat needed a dark background to offset it so we used darker areas than for the engagement session.

My favorite place was again the white staircase which provided natural light with some off-camera video light as needed. At the end, I concentrated on table-top decor, floral pieces and paper products. My favorite detail was the vintage ski poster, supplied by Michelle of Petals Floral Design, that served as a retro-ski theme for the entire shoot.

$40k Design Team:

Posted by PTW Media at 9:00 am 2 Comments
Labels: Inspirations, PTW Favorites, Vendor Interviews, Wedding Budgets 25-50k, Wedding Budgets Up To 25k

March 29th, 2011

Wedding Flowers Series | Boutonnieres and Corsages – Part 5

It’s Tuesday, which means we’re going to continue our floral series with New Hampshire Florist Emily Herzig Alberini of Emily Herzig Floral Studio! Last week Emily discussed some of the truths and myths surrounding seasonal flowers. This week she is going to discuss boutonnieres and corsages and explain to us why such a little flower may have an exceptionally large price tag. {BH}

Boutonnieres and Corsages

A single boutonniere may only require one flower, but in order to have that one flower, you have to purchase 10, those extra 9 stems do not pay for themselves. Across the board, a boutonniere generally costs upwards of $15 – $20.00 to cover the costs of the material required to make it, and also the time – an elaborate boutonniere can take over 30 minutes to create. Each blossom will be wired and taped before being used to ensure it will stand tall through your ceremony and reception. If you have never experimented with making corsages or boutonnieres of your own you may be surprised by how intricate the work is to create one. Now consider that upwards of 20 of these may be needed for a bridal party and family. I often employee one person for an entire day to create these little tokens and they cannot be made days in advance – everything happens just a day or two before the event.

Next week Emily will discuss how pricing works when it comes to bouquets!

* The opinions provided for this post came from a member from our Prepare to Wed family. Every vendors opinions may vary based on their location, their pricing, their clients needs and their overall aesthetics. If you disagree or if you would like to add your own opinion please feel free to e-mail us and we would love to include you on this subject matter.

Posted by PTW Media at 9:00 am 0 Comments
Labels: Vendor Interviews

March 28th, 2011

Truffles For A Cause Interview and Giveaway!

This week’s interview and giveaway, features a company near and dear to our heart… Truffles for a Cause. Truffles for a Cause is an amazing company that offers gourmet truffles with a purpose. With Truffles for a Cause, a couple can share the joyous occasion of their wedding with their guests while also supporting their personally significant cause, whether it is nationally recognized or of a more regional or local nature. Bob and Mary are the creators of Truffles for a Cause and for our giveaway this week, they have been amazing enough to offer up a package of 20 medium awareness favors! The awareness favors are non-donation favors that are perfect for weddings or events with a smaller budget, or for those who prefer to make their own donation. Just a little note to the winner or anybody else who is interested… if you would also like to donate to the charity of your choice, Truffles for a Cause also offers charitable favors, in which a portion of the proceeds from the sale of the truffles are donated to a charity of your choosing. In order to be entered into the drawing, comment on this post! Good luck to all, and thanks again to Bob and Mary! {JC}

images | Mark Davidson Photography

PTW: How did you start Truffles for a Cause and what’s it all about?

TFC: For 25 years, we have always had our own business, in 2007, we were looking for something new and different. After extensive research we (Mary), came up with the idea of designing and creating wedding favors and giving back a portion of it to a charity. To us, it made it possible to both have a business and to also achieve something really meaningful at the same time. Our favors allow couples to raise social awareness or make a charitable gift to a worthy cause on their special day.

PTW: What type of packaging do you offer and what’s inside?

TFC: We offer three packages with some variations. A small favor in a cello bag, two medium sized favors in a one-piece box or a large favor in a two-piece box. All of the boxes are available in white or kraft. Inside the delicate box are delicious European style chocolate truffles in various sizes to match the packaging and pricing. Finally, the box is tied with a double-faced satin logo ribbon, in the color of your choosing.

images | Richard Esposito Photography

PTW: Can you customize the packages for individual clients or events?

TFC: The customization comes from the choice of ribbon color (36 colors available), color of the boxes (white or kraft), and of course their choice of charity or cause that is important to the client. Each charity favor comes with a custom card that reads “For This Special Occasion A Donation Has Been Made To…” The flip side of the card shows their personal charity’s name and website address. We also offer an awareness favor which reads… “On This Special Occasion Please Direct Your Thoughts to…” The flip side of this card also shows the client’s charity’s name and website address. The awareness favors are (non-donation), and typically for clients with a smaller budget who wish to make a donation themselves and to also make their guests aware of a charitable cause.

PTW: What is your turn around time for different size orders?

TFC: We would prefer at least 30 days notice, but in the past have been able to accommodate clients in less time depending on our ribbon color stock. Clients should contact us immediately if it’s less than 30 days.

PTW: How does your pricing work?

TFC: Our prices range from $2.25 for our Small Awareness favor to $6.00 for our Large Charity favor. Each size favor comes with the charity or awareness option.

PTW: Are you able to work with special dietary needs?

TFC: Nope. But what we can say is that our delectable chocolate truffles are always fresh and made from all natural ingredients.

PTW: Do you have the ability to ship nationwide?

TFC: Yes. We ship everywhere in the US. We ship in double insulated boxes and during the hot summer months we insert ice packs into the packaging in order to keep the chocolates in one piece and ensure their safe arrival.

Posted by PTW Media at 9:00 am 17 Comments
Labels: PTW Giveaways

March 25th, 2011

Winner of the Sweet Lydia’s Giveaway!

We are so excited to announce the winner of the Sweet Lydia’s Giveaway- comment no. 26 made by Liz E! Congratulations! We will be in touch via email to get you in touch with Sweet Lydia’s so you can get your package of 20 custom s’mores. Anyone else interested in learning more about Sweet Lydia’s totally gourmet and amazingly delicious s’mores should visit their website! {JC}

Posted by PTW Media at 12:44 pm 0 Comments
Labels: PTW Giveaways

March 23rd, 2011

Design with Dutch Bloemen Winkle | Designing for a $25K Budget

If you haven’t seen the 2011 edition of Seacoast Bride yet, you should probably stop reading this right now and run as fast as you can and go pick one up! It is filled with all sorts of stunning inspiration and some seriously awesome features. One feature that was organized by the fabulous Kate Parker, of Kate Parker Weddings and Prepare to Wed! So we’ve featured her budget teammates, photographer Douglas Levy of Douglas Levy Photography and the dessert chef, Jennifer of Cookie Creatives in past posts, but now its the floral designer’s turn! Carrie of Dutch Bloemen Winkle, was the floral designer for the amazing $25K team. We reached out to Carrie to have her explain her inspiration behind her design. {JC}

PTW: Please provide a description of your design for a $25k wedding; bouquet and tablescape. Include the types of materials you used such as flowers, containers, linens, candles, chairs, etc.

CS: For this wedding, I chose to create a crisp and fresh design. With a tried and true color combination of turquoise and yellow it was just a matter of bringing in some creative elements to create a modern beach theme. The bride’s pomander is simple and includes button mums, cymbidium orchids, green hypericum, and lily grass. The dog’s flower collar contains mini cymbidium orchids and spray roses with italian ruscus. For the tablescape, the centerpiece is an airy manzanita branch in a worn wood box filled with spider mums. Spray rose blooms and hanging sea glass adorn the branch. Glass turquoise votives are placed around the centerpiece for simple candlelight. The glassware and flatware I chose to use are simple, standard options. The table linens are turquoise Bengaline with a solid white napkin at each setting. The white chivari ballroom chairs and yellow chargers were a bit of splurge for this budget, but really completed the look I wanted for the table.

PTW: How did you go about deciding on the table design? Colors and materials? What was your inspiration?

CS: When I took Kate Parker’s call about this photoshoot I happened to be at a beach in Maine basking in the sun. When she told me the theme, I was immediately inspired by my location. All the things I love about the beach, the bright sun which is why I chose to use yellow and the water which is why I chose turquoise. I love the beach because I love finding little treasures. Whether it is a shell, a piece of sea glass or a piece of driftwood, I love taking something home that is unique to add to my collection. So from those simple objects that filled my head that day on the beach, I turned them into a fresh and crisp tablescape for this modern wedding.

PTW: How did you spend your budget? How did you prioritize your design list? Were there items that were must haves?

CS: The turquoise Bengaline linens were an absolute must; I wanted really strong, fun color on this table. Plus the subtle texture and weight is just gorgeous. The centerpiece was most important to me in the design. The branch with rose blooms and hanging sea glass is very striking with the bed of yellow flowers below it. I kept the other elements on the table simple like the votives, glassware, flatware, and napkin details. The floral dog collar was absolutely worth working into the budget and to make it fit I was conscious of the flowers I chose for the bride’s pomander, composing most of it with inexpensive button mums.

PTW: Were there certain types of flowers used that could be switched out and replace with those of a similar aesthetic (color, bloom, size, etc.) to cut costs? How about other design elements?

CS: Freesia or button mums could replace the spray roses on the branchy centerpiece to help cut costs. Another design element that could be changed out is the worn wood container. That was custom made with old barn board, but could be substituted with a manufactured wooded box that could be painted.

PTW: If you had to cut down your budget, what particular items of your design would you take out? What elements would you be sure to keep? If the couple wanted to splurge a bit — what would you make different?

CS: If you were needing to tighten your budget a bit I think two easy areas that could be changed are the chair rentals and charger rentals. These were a bit of a splurge, but could be replaced with a simple white garden chairs and instead of a charger, a yellow napkin could be used. Again, the table linens are a must for this design because they really make the yellow pop. If the couple wanted to splurge a bit I would create the bridal pomander in all cymbidium orchids instead of the button mums.

PTW: What do you consider to be the most striking and eye-catching element of your designs?

CS: The dog’s flower collar! Ressu (the dog) really took the spotlight with his lush floral collar. I loved making it and he definitely enjoyed wearing it!

Posted by PTW Media at 9:00 am 0 Comments
Labels: Inspirations, Wedding Budgets 25-50k, Wedding Budgets Up To 25k

Happy Gatherings Photography | Designing for a $40K Budget

Wedding Flowers Series | Boutonnieres and Corsages – Part 5

Truffles For A Cause Interview and Giveaway!

Winner of the Sweet Lydia’s Giveaway!

Design with Dutch Bloemen Winkle | Designing for a $25K Budget

get inspired: the Prepare to Wed blog