Great Seating Chart Idea

I ran across this picture of a guest seating chart idea in Real Weddings Magazine and I love it. This would be something you could pretty easily DIY. Frames from discount stores, a foam board covered in fabric and  each individual table seating list printed out on pretty paper. Each table is in its own frame, which would make it easy for any last minute changes. Just reprint that table and replace in the frame. What a different and elegant idea.

Real Wedding - Scott and Shelley

You may remember a few weeks ago, we shared some of our images from Scott and Shelley’s wedding at the Westin Poinsett. Well the very talented Brie of U Designs sent us some of their professional shots and I couldn’t wait to share them with you. Enjoy!

How To I Do - A Great Learning Experience for Brides To Be

Yesterday, I had a great time speaking to brides at How to I Do at the Augusta Road Library. We had a roomful of future brides that came to learn from the experts in the wedding industry. Each panel member spoke about their area of expertise, telling brides what to expect and what they should know. Afterwards brides were able to ask questions. It was really a great learning experience for brides planning their weddings and best of all it was free. I don’t know anywhere else, you could get that much knowledge and help at one time and at no cost. Don’t worry, if you didn’t get a chance to attend this event make plans to attend the next one in February.

Panelist were:

Susan Sanford – Planner, Willrich Bridal http://www.willrichbridal.com/

Adina Estes – Florsit, Frilly Bloomers, http://www.fillybloomers.com/

Catherine Talbot, Photographer, Adore Amore http://www.adoreamore.com/

David Lyda, Portraits, By David’s Designs http://www.davidsdesign.com/

Patti Stahlsmith, Invitations, Timeless Designs

Ken Bowers, cakes , Holly’s Cakes http://www.hollyscakes.com/

Justin Reeves, catering Justin’s Steak House http://www.justinssteakhouse.com/

Isaac Fineman, dj/entertainment, Kingdom Sounds http://www.kingdomsoundsdjs.com/

Christine Faust, planner, Faust Events http://www.faustevents.com/

Many thanks to Staci Weisner Sawtelle who organzied the event.

Photos: WB Images

What to Know Before Choosing A Wedding Dress

When trying to decide on your wedding dress, there are a lot of things to consider before laying your hard earned money down. First and foremost is to pick something you feel beautiful in and I hate to say it but something you can afford. Don’t put money into that dress until you have a budget and know what you can afford to spend.

Then consider the venue you’re getting married in. Is it a ballroom? Then go for the Cinderella dress, but if the ceremony is outdoors, that heavy ball gown is probably not your best choice. Do you know the rules of the church you’re planning on getting married in? Does it require your shoulders being covered? This will definitely affect the style you choose. Do you want to be able to really move and dance all night long? Then maybe a tight mermaid style is not your best choice. How long the aisle is in your ceremony site will directly tie to how long a train your dress should have.

After you have your budget and plans in order, then start the search for your dress. A good place to start is fashion shows, like the one held at last week’s Wedding Festivals Show. You get to see a large variety of dresses at all different price ranges. You get to see what the experts think are the hottest styles for the upcoming year. Seeing how the dresses move across the stage is a good way to know how it will look as you walk down the aisle on your wedding day.

Here is a little eye candy from the show. Enjoy and maybe you will find your dream dress in the process.

Photos by WB Images

Willrich Bridal at the Wedding Festivals Show

I want to say hi to all our new readers and fans that we met on Thursday night. We got to know so many sweet brides-to-be at the Wedding Festival.  I look forward to having them as readers of this blog and maybe, just possibly, as a Willrich Bridal bride.

For those of you that didn’t make it to the show, here are a few pictures that Richard took of our booth. We went with an elegant black, white and silver damask look. Flowers were done by Memories by McMillan and the beautiful cake was loaned to us by Kathy and Company.

Save The Date Bookmarks For Your Wedding

Source: Martha Stewart

If you are an avid reader like me, then the idea of save the date bookmarks just has to appeal to you. I love pretty bookmarks and having beautiful ones that remind me of a friend’s upcoming wedding would be something I would use over and over. There are loads of places on line that you can order them. If you are a DIY person making them is a snap. (I made them and hand them out at bridal shows advertising this blog). I especially like the wording “You’re booked for the wedding of Jane Doe and John Smith on….”

New Wedding Trends For 2010

Source: Martha Stewart

Let’s talk about the new trends I am seeing in weddings for the upcoming year. First on the list would be the change in the size of bridal bouquets. In recent years, they have been smaller, tightly put together and little or no greenery. Currently, I am seeing a big trend toward much larger bridal bouquets, arranged much looser and with lots more greenery. These bouquets are being constructed either round in shape or more free flowing and elongated. Things to remember if you choose this type of bouquet, first would be price, more and larger flowers equal a larger price. You can plan on them starting at about $250 dollars and going upwards from there. Second to consider when choosing a larger bouquet would be the weight. These larger bouquets can be very heavy. Third would be to make sure that the bouquet is not too big, you don’t want to appear overpowered in pictures by your bouquet. Don’t let the flowers hide the beautiful dress you took all that time to pick.

Source:  Alabama Weddings

A Cake Event with Kathy and Company

Last night, we were invited to a very nice event put on by the cake guru Kathy and Company. It was a tasting of everything delicious they make, which believe me is a whole lot of delicious. There was every kind of cake you can imagine, and all the food you would want at any wedding reception. I snapped just a few pictures with my cell phone for you to see.

The event was held at Zen, which as always is a very cool place to hold an event. There was music, beautiful flowers, good food and top notch vendors to meet and greet. If you were one of the lucky brides-to-be, which were invited I know you had a great time. We sure did.

Letting Your Mom Enjoy Your Wedding

Don't You Hope Your Mom is Having This Much Fun At Your Wedding?

You know, I read an interesting article this morning. It pointed out just what I really already knew. My competition is not another planner. I can hold my own with any planner. My real competition is the bride’s mother that thinks she can do it all, or the bride’s aunt that wants to help out so she’ll work as the planner. Maybe my biggest competition is the bride’s friend that recently got married and thinks she wants to be a planner or a friend that just loves weddings and wants to try her hand at planning one. In other words, my competition is not the professional but the unprofessional. I can’t blame a bride for going the route of the unprofessional; after all she is saving a lot of money. But what is she losing by going this route?
If she chooses her mother, she loses having her mom being calm and relaxed on her wedding day, which in turn means the bride won’t be relaxed. If her mother is running around trying to get tables set up or checking to make sure the band arrived, she is not sharing special moments with her daughter. She is not available for pictures, so the picture schedule is going to be running behind from the start. Which leads to the wedding not starting on time, which leads to the reception not being on time (get my point).

Yes, aunts, or friends can direct your ceremony, it’s not rocket science. If they want to do a little studying, spend a little time writing out the planning and working with the bride to decide who will be doing what, it’s definitely doable. But is it worth it in the long run? Do you want your aunt to be working at your wedding and not enjoying it? Believe me; if someone is doing the job of planning correctly they do not have time to enjoy your wedding. It’s a lot of work. Remember also, you are just one of hundreds of brides that your vendors will see in a year. You are not repeat business for a vendor (hopefully) it’s your one wedding and that’s it. But when you come with a planner that vendor has an added incentive to do a really good job. He or she will be getting a lot of repeat business from that planner if they do a good job. So they are going to go out of their way to make things really perfect. Don’t you want this advantage on your side?

A professional planner knows which vendors are good and which or not, which ones will mesh with your plans and budget and which ones will not. This alone is probably worth the cost of a real planner. Think how much time you save by not having to interview countless vendors to find the right ones for you. All the phone calls checking prices and researching availability you’re going to have to make. As they say, time is money and you are spending yours in the wrong place.

Why would you hire a professional photographer, videographer, florist and caterer and then hand that all over to a nonprofessional friend to pull it all together. It just doesn’t make sense.

How to Keep Your Toes Happy On Your Wedding Day

Are you worried that those beautiful new bridal shoes may ruin your wedding day by rubbing blisters on your perfectly manicured feet? Well put those fears to rest and go out and purchase Band-Aid's new Friction Block Stick. It looks like a deodorant stick that you rub on any spot you think your shoes might rub.

Being the non-believer that I am, I had to test this out. No one was more shocked than me to find that it does actually work. This will definitely be in my emergency kit.

Where to Find Inspiration For Your Wedding

When looking for inspiration for your wedding, don’t just turn to wedding magazines. While they are great, there are lots of other sources you can go to. Home decorating magazines can give you great inspiration when it comes to colors and the feel you want for your wedding. The gold, cream and black from the cover of this month’s Traditional Home would be gorgeous colors for a wedding and reception. New colors and trends tend to show up in fashion and home magazines or blogs first and then move into the wedding industry.

If you’re looking for cutting edge inspiration, blogs are another great source of not only inspiration but what is happening at this very moment in the wedding industry. Nothing is more current than blogs. You can see current weddings on photographer’s blogs or gather any number of tips and ideas from planner’s blogs. Take some time and search out of the ordinary sources for your wedding ideas. You’ll be glad you did.

Mustache On A Stick

Ok, what’s the hot trend in wedding photo props? It’s the mustache on a stick. I kid you not. These things are showing up everywhere. You can hardly find a wedding photographer’s blog without a picture of a wedding party holding these. What do you think? I actually think they are pretty cool and make really cute pictures. If you would like to purchase them for your wedding check out Etsy’s SomethingsHidingHere.

Photo source

Meet Willrich Bridal at the Greenville County Library's "How To I Do" Program

Have you been wondering how to get your wedding questions answered? Well join Willrich Bridal (me) along with a panel of other wedding professionals for the "How To I DO" at the Augusta Road Branch of the Greenville Library. The event will be held Saturday, Sept. 26 from 10:00 am to 12:00pm.

Some of the best members of the wedding community will be there to tell you who they are and exactly what they do. This will be followed by an informal question and answer period where you can get your burning questions answered. You don't want to miss it.

For more information call 277-0161.