Question about hiring a wedding planner?

Our friend Evan, the owner of mydeejay.com, asked us to contribute to a blog post about Why You Should Hire a Wedding Planner. What’s interesting about this blog post is that Evan canvased quite a few wedding planners in the area to get their collective, unique perspectives on the different benefits of hiring a wedding planner.

Real Wedding: Allison & Kevin (Part 1)

I really enjoyed working with Allison and her Mom, Paula. Allison is truly her mother’s daughter! They were genuinely friendly people and welcomed me into their home and lives. What a blessing it is to have a job like this and to meet wonderful people like them. This dynamic duo did a fantastic job creating the style for this wedding. You’ll see what I mean in photos.

After such a strange and wet spring, it was a bit ironic that the wedding was held on the first really hot day of the year, with temperatures soaring into the 80s.

Reception: Whitehall Manor (Doug Armstrong, Celebrations Catering) Doug is wonderful to work with and is always available for any questions. His staff did a great job during dinner service.

Photographer: Genevieve Leiper Photography. This was the first time working with Gen and she is just awesome. She was great during the planning process and was very easy going during the wedding. She and her assistant Nick seemed to have been everywhere without being obtrusive. See photos at Gen’s blog.

Floral Designer: Holly Heider Chapple Flowers. What can I say about Holly. This woman is like the energizer bunny and her floral designs has such a sunny disposition! You just can’t help but smile when you see her arrangements. Holly did a wonderful job with the yellow color scheme and put together one of the loveliest ledge displays ever! See Part 2 for photos

Baker: A Piece of Cake, Rocio Diaz. It’s been a while since I’ve had Rocio’s cake and I’ve forgotten how good it is. You really can’t go wrong with her cakes.

Transportation: Reston Limo

Music: Black Tie DJs – Tony Gaetano

Stay tuned for Part 2 for some photos!

Happy planning! Vicky

Eat: Georgetown Cupcakes for Your Wedding

One of our couples recently hired Georgetown Cupcake to supply cupcakes in lieu of a wedding cake. I am now officially addicted! My favorite is their strawberry cupcake, which I think is a seasonal choice. The couple also had Chocolate and Vanilla, Coconut,Red Velvet, and Vanilla cupcakes. You can see that they decorated the cupcakes with the couple’s initials on some, while others had little hearts and flowers. So cute! At $29/dozen, that’s about $2.40 each, much less than you would spend on 1 slice of wedding cake. Although I have to admit, people tend to eat more than just 1 cupcake. Ask me how I know!

Happy eating! Vicky

Wear: Punk Rock Bride

Stephanie's Favorite: the Elizabeth

I love meeting entrepreneurs in the creative field and recently I had the pleasure of meeting Stephanie Ward, the designer of Punk Rock Bride. Stephanie graduated from RISD and then worked for Sigrid Olsen.

After seeing her collection at her studio, I can see why these dresses are so appealing. They offer something different for a bride who doesn’t want a princess gown.  The fabric, shapes and designs of these gowns make them ideal for destination brides or brides getting married outside in the heat. When I picked up some of the dresses, they were light weight compared to many dress I’ve held, which makes them very easy to carry on a plane. Stephanie uses a mix of fabrics, including cotton silk on the Raina dress.

The dresses are made locally in Virginia and are reasonably priced for such a unique collection between $2700-$4000. It takes her about 3-4 months to make your dress, followed by the usual fittings.

My favorite: the Caroline from the 2008 Collection. The detailing in the bodice makes this dress special.

Becky from new 2009 Collection. A two-piece wedding dress -- that silk organza beaded belt is stunning!

Happy dress shopping! Vicky

Brides Against Breast Cancer Gown Sale: July 18-19

What: Brides Against Breast Cancer Gown Sale, a fundraising event for Making Memories Breast Cancer Foundation

When: July 18 & 19, 2009

Saturday July 18 Power Hours, 10 am – noon $20 Admission per attendee; followed by General Sale 12 – 8 pm Free Admission

Sunday July 19, General Sale 10 am – 4 pm Free Admission

Where: Westin Arlington Gateway, Arlington VA (Ballston area)

Why:

* The Foundation’s mission “Our mission is to grant wishes, including memory-making events, for metastatic breast cancer patients, while continuing to support, educate and increase resource awareness.” Some of the wishes they granted included family trip to Disney World, meeting a celebrity, and swimming with dolphins.
* This unique opportunity allows brides-to-be a chance to find the gown of their dreams at a remarkable price, while helping to make wishes and memory-making events come true. Most gown prices range from $89 to $799*, including hundreds of beautiful new name brand and designer gowns valued up to $8,000. *Exclusive designer and couture gowns valued up to $20,000 are also available at an incredible 25% to 75% savings.

You can also donate your gown.

We had a wonderful time volunteering at this event last year (more here) and will be volunteering again this year!  Hope to see you there! For more info, click here.

Vicky