Great Deal on Your Westin Poinsett Wedding in Downtown Greenville, SC

Photo Source:  U Designs

Thinking of having your upcoming wedding at the Westin Poinsett ? Well you are going to be really interested in this offer Jennifer at the Westin just sent over for our brides.  Give Willrich Bridal a call and we'll get busy planning your beautiful wedding today.

It’s Cool to Save!

Qualifying weddings that spend $10,000+

Choice of :

*5% off total food and beverage sales

(excluding tax and service charges)

OR

*$500 Best Buy Gift Card

Qualifying weddings that spend $25,000+

Choice of :

*5% off total food and beverage sales

(excluding tax and service charges)

OR

*$1,000 Best Buy Gift Card

OR

* Westin Heavenly Bed

Contact:

Jennifer Davis

864-250-7901

Jennifer.Davis@ihrco.com

Wedding or wedding related events must be

booked by November 30, 2009, and consumed by June 30, 2010.

Amount spent calculated in food/beverage and sleeping rooms paid for by the client.

(Not valid on currently booked business)

An Interview of Local Wedding Expert Sara Theisen of Sara Theisen Design

It’s been awhile since we talked to a local wedding vendor/expert so I thought my readers might enjoy meeting Sara Theisen of Sara Theisen Design. Sara Theisen Design is a full-service print and design studio specializing in unique cards and invitations to fit your needs for every occasion. I can personally attest to the fact that she does beautiful work, as she is currently in the process of updating Willrich Bridal’s branding. Sara is located in the Greenville, SC area

I invited Sara to share her view on wedding invitations and information on her business with my readers. Enjoy!

Tell me what makes your company special?
We are a full-service print and design studio specializing in unique cards and invitations for every occasion. We specialize in wedding invitations and each design is custom to fit each individual brides style and personality. This means that your invitations will be one-of-a-kind and will be uniquely you. Be sure to view our creative design portfolio at www.saratheisendesign.com to view our wedding invitation samples.


How did you get started in the business?
I graduated from Michigan State University in 2003 with a degree in graphic design and have been in the design field for over 6 years now. Originally I began designing wedding invitations as freelance for friends and found that I really enjoyed working with brides and helping them to create beautiful unique designs to make their day special. Starting my own business has always been a passion of mine and so at the end of 2008, I began Sara Theisen Design.


What do you like best about your job?
I absolutely love talking with brides, one-on-one to get a feel for their style/personality and what their overall look and feel will be for their wedding. It gives me such a great feeling to know that I have been a part of making their big day so special. I also love that I am the person that they talk with about their invitations from start to finish. I personally do the customer service, quoting, design and will also deliver their invitations. I’m not sure how many other company’s can do that!

Tell us about your favorite creation, wedding or event:
I had such a great time planning our wedding. For our favors, we decided to design chocolate labels with our picture on the front and the inside of the wrapper had a story about how we met. I knew a woman who made amazing homemade chocolate and my husband and I each picked our own ingredients for the chocolate bars. We placed them at each table (every other seat) so that each guest could try our different creations. We called them “The His & Hers Collection”. It gave our guests a reminder of how we met and why we chose our wedding location.

What are the questions a bride should ask when choosing a vendor in your field?
When should I order my invitations by?
It is my recommendation that you order your Wedding Invitations at least four weeks prior to mailing them out to your guests. This will allow you plenty of time to receive your wedding invitations and double check to make sure you have received everything you ordered and no mistakes were made. It will allow you enough time if a reprint is needed. It will also allow you plenty of time to address all the envelopes, especially if you plan on using a calligrapher.

How many invitations should I order?
Always order extra invitations, even if you know the exact quantity of guests that are invited. It is recommended to take the total number of people you will invite and divide by 65%. This will account for single guests, and will allow for some extras. Remember you do not need one invitation per guest, but rather, one invitation per couple. Always order 25 more than you think you will need. Nine times out of ten, you will use them. It costs very little to order an additional 25 when you place the original order, but it is very expensive to create a new order for just 25 pieces. You can keep a few extra for a keepsake and you may have guests that you decide to invite closer to the wedding date.

When should I send out my invitations by?
Wedding Invitations should be mailed out so that your guest will receive them at least six to eight weeks prior to the Wedding. This will allow your guest enough time to make travel plans and return the response card you included with your Wedding Invitation. If your wedding falls on a holiday weekend, save-the-date cards are typically sent a year to six months in advance. Save the date cards can be sent out anywhere between six months to a year before your wedding. It is helpful to include the accommodations information on the back of the save-the-date (or include it in the envelope with the save the date) so that your out-of-town guests can make travel arrangements ahead of time.


What’s the hardest thing about your job?
I would say coordinating the invitations to ensure that the vendor is on time with the exact delivery date. Sometimes a printer can delay the project because of miscellaneous reasons but in the long run it is up to me to make sure they are ready on time. I have very high expectations with the printers that I use and expect exceptional results.


Anything else we should know?
Not only do we design and print wedding invitations, but we can also design your cooresponding party invitations as well. We create Engagement, Save the Date, Bridal Shower and Bachelorette Party invitations too! View our samples at www.saratheisendesign.com or call 864-561-0712 for more information.

Remember that this is a special time in your life and to try not to get too stressed with the planning process. Have fun with it! If it gets to be overwhelming for you, ask your friends and family members to help you, they will be honored to help plan your special day.

Our Visit to Aisle Style at the Charleston Musuem

I have been dying to go to Charleston and visit their newest exhibit, Aisle Style: 150 Years of Wedding Fashion. It began in October and runs through June of next year. This past Monday, I got my chance to go see it. It’s extra exciting to me, because I have a slip from the 1800’s that was my great-great-great grandmother’s. All the girls in my family have worn it under their wedding dresses. So I felt a connection to these dresses and the people that wore or donated them (even if it was faint).

The dresses were beautiful and tiny. People back then were so much smaller than we are today. It’s really amazing to see it. We took a few pictures for you to enjoy. You’re not allowed to use flash, so they aren’t the best but you get the idea. Besides you should do yourself a favor and see it in person.

It's amazing how much detail of the antique dresses we still see on today's dresses

Not all wedding dresses were white

This is my own very special petticoat

How to Make That Father/Daughter Dance Really Special

The father/daughter dance….some people love it, some not so much. Whether you and your dad are totally into it or dreading the thought, there are ways to make it work for just about everyone. If you are Daddy’s little girl and want the moment to be just the two of you on the dance floor, go for it. Pick a song that is special to your Dad and waltz, shag or disco to it. Whatever works for Dad.

But what if Dad or you are just not that comfortable on the dance floor? Well there are several things you can do. We’ve had combined father/daughter, mother/son dances. Start with you and your dad for just a moment or two and then have your groom and his mother join you. There is comfort in groups.

Want an even better twist on the old favorite. Request that all the fathers and daughters that are in attendance join you for the dance. There are bound to be some bridesmaids and their fathers in attendance or guests and their dads. Same goes for the groom, start with just him and his mom and then invite all the guys that happen to be there along with their moms to come to the floor. You won’t be dancing alone and I bet there won’t be a dry eye in the house

More Real Wedding Eye Candy From Blue Mountain Photo Works and Willrich Bridal

As promised here is some more eye candy by the talented Blue Mountain Photo Works. Lauren and Clark, the bride and groom, really enjoyed themselves at their reception, as you can see from the pictures.

What you can’t see is that the air conditioning at the venue, Brick Street Café, wasn’t working properly and it was nearly 80 degrees inside. You would have thought it would slow them down, but it didn’t. The dance floor was packed the entire night. This just proves, if the bride and groom are having fun their guests will be too.

Yes, that's me explaining how to cut the cake.

The Glowing Bride

A few months ago, I wrote about the great wedding of Lauren and Clark.  Well here are some of my favorite professional pictures that Blue Mountain Photo Works shared with me.

In case you don't remember, the wedding took place in downtown Greenville, SC at Larkins in the Wyche Pavilion.  Lauren just glowed with happiness on her wedding day and these pictures capture that perfectly.  I'll be back tomorrow with more eye candy to share.

The Popcorn Bar

Source:  Utterly Engaged

We have done loads of candy bars and they're great.  Guests love them.  But why not do something a little different and go with a popcorn bar.  Get all different flavors of popcorn and serve them up in creative ways. 

Important Things to Know When Deciding on Your Reception Menus

RSVP Source:  Sara Theisen Designs

This is a reprint of a blog I did awhile back.  But this comes up so often that I thought it was worth repeating....

Today we’re going to talk about a way to save money. As a wedding planner, I tell all my brides, when we are discussing menus that you might want to consider doing a duet plate for guests, rather than giving them a choice of two different items. A duet or duel plate is when you have a small amount of steak and chicken, or steak and fish, etc on the same plate. Two meat items instead of just one, a combo type plate. In the Greenville, Upstate, SC area I have found this to be no more expensive and saves you a lot of work. Remember, if you offer the guests a choice, you have to have the choices listed on your RSVP card. You have to know which guest picked which meal. In other words, if the guests rsvp’s for 1 chicken and 1 steak, you won’t know which guest chose which meal. They have to list their names by what they chose. Make sure it is very clear on the RSVP that they place the name beside the choice. (Most people will just place a number or check mark and then you end up calling them back to find out.) The reason you need to know is that you will have to have some way of letting the wait staff know which meal each person chose. Most people do this by marking the place cards some how. Maybe print the steak people names in green and the chicken people in pink. Of course you always have the person that decides they want to change their mind when they actually see the other choice, etc. So like I said, you can save yourself a lot of work and time and expense if you just go with a duet meal from the beginning. That way everyone has the same meal, you don’t have to have choices printed on the RSVP (saving money there) you don’t have to call people back when they don’t fill it out right. You don’t have to have escort cards, place cards and table numbers printed up (again saving time and money). Everyone can either just be assigned a table or just find their own seat. Lots of brides don’t figure this out until too late, so I thought I would make sure you knew.

Fall Wedding at Furman University in Greenville, SC

Some brides’ look forward to the wedding so that they can have their moment in the spotlight. Erin was not that type of bride. She wanted the wedding to be all about the guests. To make this happen she did many things to make sure that the guests enjoyed themselves. This even included a card in the invitation requesting the name of the guests’ favorite song. These songs were played at the reception, guaranteeing the guests had a great time. 

It was a beautiful wedding held at Furman University in Greenville, SC. The wedding was held in the Daniel Chapel and the reception was at the Younts Center. Her music choices for the ceremony were different and very beautiful. They used Majesty & Glory for the grandmothers and mothers to walk down to and Orchard House for the rest of the wedding party including the bride.

Pre-reception was held in the open pavilion next to the Younts Center.

Erin had wanted an outdoor feel to her reception. This was created by holding the pre-reception in the open pavilion next to the Younts center. Even though the weather was a little on the dreary side outside the pavilion, the guests didn’t seem to notice as they enjoyed a huge selection of cheese, fruit and crackers. While enjoying the appetizers the guests had a moment to sign quilt squares that Erin’s mom is going to have made into a quilt for the couple.

Flowers were a big part of the day. They were just gorgeous done in ivories, cinnamon, apricots and browns. Pheasant feathers were used in all the arrangements to again give the outdoor, earthy feel that the bride wanted. The linens were a lush golden brown topper over ivory floor length cloths. Napkins were done in ivory to match the underskirt. At each place setting, was either a menu or thank you note listing the organizations that had been donated to in the guests’ names.

Speaking of menus, the evening menu consisted of harvest stuffed chicken, low country boil, spinach salad, mixed green salad, roasted new potatoes, grilled squash medley, rolls. Tea and coffee were offered to drink.

This whole family was so very sweet and a pleasure to work with. There was not a bridezilla or momzilla in sight and believe me that is a good thing.

As soon as I get some professional pictures, I will share them with you.
 
Vendors
Wedding Planner - Willrich Bridal & Special Events
Cake - Kathy and Company
Flowers:  Memories By McMillan
Makeup - Patsy Glunt
Photographer - Blue Mountain Photo Works
DJ - Patrick with Jumping Jukebox