Archive for the ‘Expert Tips’ Category

Welcome back Real Weddings Magazine brides to another installment of The Recessionista Bride Blog Series by our guest blogger extraordinaire Kate Miller of Kate Miller Events. 

This week, she addresses the topic of guestbooks. Take it away Kate! 

“Recessionista Bride Stevie wanted something special for her guests to sign as they arrived to her wedding extravaganza – and a simple guestbook wasn’t going to cut it!

We poured over concepts until we came to the conclusion – the Guestbook Quilt was the ONLY way to go for Stevie!

When guests arrived, they were greeted with a guestbook attendant that explained the rules:

• Take a pre-cut pinking-sheared square,

• Use a fabric safe pen,

• Remember to write your sentiment in the center, and

• Pin it to the clothesline!

We set the table with a custom-designed Guestbook Quilt sign, filled a golden vase with gilded clothes pins and set a tray full of quilt squares topped with fabric pens.

The clothesline kept its shape, weighed-down by interspersed photos of the bride and groom. This kept the squares on display so that guests could view the couple’s photos while reading sentiments left by others throughout the evening.

Stevie’s aunt would collect the squares after the wedding, as her gift, and create a custom heirloom wedding quilt that could be enjoyed for years to come!

If you are inspired to do a Guestbook Quilt and plan to sew the quilt yourself, the true price of the guestbook can be considered a deferred cost – you can budget for the remainder of the quilt after the expense of the wedding has passed.

A quick tip:  keep the signing squares in a neutral color so that sentiments are easy to read and they can be paired with fabrics that match your home, not just your wedding palette.

Inspired to do a non-traditional guestbook? Here are a few ideas to get your brainstorming started:

For the Wine Lovers: Purchase a giant bottle of your favorite vino or champagne and have your guests sign directly onto the bottle using a glass pen in a pretty metallic color. Bonus: pop the cork on your anniversary to celebrate!

For the Music Lovers: Have your guests sign a guitar (acoustic or electric) using a Sharpie in your favored colors. The instrument can be mounted on the wall in your home to be enjoyed where you play or listen to music together.

For the Food Lovers: For a guestbook that can be displayed in the room where you spend the most time, your kitchen, purchase a large ceramic platter. Make sure to use a permanent ceramic paint pen, so the loving words aren’t washed away. Post-wedding, place your platter on an easel to proudly display it a la countertop.

For the Art Lovers: Turn your guestbook into a custom work of art by allowing guests to color in portions of a custom canvas. Create a faint grid using a pencil and surround the canvas with your choice of medium: markers, crayons, colored pencils. Make sure that the art won’t make a mess, as your guests will most likely be dressed in their best!

The options are endless!  Can you think of a non-traditional guestbook that reflects the hobbies of you and your fiancée’s unique hobbies?”

Tune back in to the Real Weddings Magazine blog on February 27th for the next installment in the Recessionista Bride Blog Series: One Room Wonders

About Kate Miller Events (in their own words):

Kate Miller Events offers full-scale event and wedding planning of extraordinary detail for the bride and groom looking for that extra-special touch. We will keep you organized, on or under budget, and stress-free while designing the wedding of your dreams. We are committed to making sure your day goes off without a hitch — except for the hitching part of course!

Kate Miller Events offers new technology to keep all avenues of communication open and organized. Our excellent online client planning tools include customized checklists, payment calendars with email notifications, appointment tracking, online idea boards, and contract filing with easy access for all members of your wedding party. Our top-notch organization enables us to be your liaison to all of your vendors – we worry about the details so that you don’t have to.

All of our packages are unique and completely customized to fit your budget so that you only pay for the services that you need. We offer a wide range of planning services from Day of Coordination to Full Coordination/Design and everything in-between.

Be sure to check out Kate Miller Event’s Web site and Kate’s blog or call her at 888-808-KATE.

Photos above of Stevie’s Guestbook Quilt, one of our featured real weddings in the current issue of Real Weddings Magazine,  by Sarah Maren Photography. Kate Miller from Kate Miller Events worked with Stevie & Blake to achieve their perfect day. To read more about Stevie & Blake’s wedding and to view more photos from their wedding, pick up a copy of the current issue or click here.

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Hello beautiful Real Weddings Magazine brides!

In our never-ending quest to provide you with inspiration and useful tips, we have enlisted the help of local wedding professionals to be guest bloggers on our site.

We’re so excited to present “The Recessionista Bride” blog series from uber-fabulous wedding planner Kate Miller of Kate Miller Events. Hit it Kate…

“What is a Recessionista? A recessionista is someone who seeks out fashionable items which are also low-cost.

With that said, our country has been through a challenging economic turmoil over the past couple of years and in return, the average wedding budget has been under the same monetary crunch.

Brides are looking to maximize every dollar in their wedding planning budget, while still having the wedding of the dreams – and, believe me when I say, it is possible!

One of my favorite weddings that we planned last year was Stevie and Blake (a featured real wedding in the current issue of Real Weddings Magazine).

This couple was on a very tight budget, but we were able to help the bride to think outside of the box and garner the help of her friends and family to create a truly amazing experience for her wedding guests. Stevie and Blake were to be first-time home buyers and their budget was suddenly considerably less than we had initially discussed. We were able to create a fashionable fete for 100 guests at a boutique hotel for half of their initial budget.

We always love a challenge, but this required out-of-the-box thinking from Stevie as well – after all, the traditional Reem Acra gown and Chivari chairs were certainly no longer in the picture. After investing in her wedding planner, she was willing to get creative in all aspects of her wedding planning and enlist her friends and family to help her with a multitude of DIY projects. So we made a budget and a plan to follow that budget.

The Recessionista Bride Series will cover the secrets to how we scrimped and saved to keep the costs low while spending our energy creatively to create a wedding of extraordinary detail for Stevie and Blake!”

Are you a Recessionista Bride? If so, what unique ways have you kept your wedding budget low?

Tune back in to the Real Weddings Magazine blog on February 2nd for the next installment: Recessionista Bride Series: Alter an Unexpected Dress

About Kate Miller Events (in their own words):

Kate Miller Events offers full-scale event and wedding planning of extraordinary detail for the bride and groom looking for that extra-special touch. We will keep you organized, on or under budget, and stress-free while designing the wedding of your dreams. We are committed to making sure your day goes off without a hitch — except for the hitching part of course!

Kate Miller Events offers new technology to keep all avenues of communication open and organized. Our excellent online client planning tools include customized checklists, payment calendars with email notifications, appointment tracking, online idea boards, and contract filing with easy access for all members of your wedding party. Our top-notch organization enables us to be your liaison to all of your vendors – we worry about the details so that you don’t have to.

All of our packages are unique and completely customized to fit your budget so that you only pay for the services that you need. We offer a wide range of planning services from Day of Coordination to Full Coordination/Design and everything in-between.

Be sure to check out Kate Miller Event’s Web site and Kate’s blog or call her at 888-808-KATE.

Photo above of Stevie (by Sarah Maren Photography), one of our featured real weddings in the current issue of Real Weddings Magazine. Kate Miller from Kate Miller Events worked with Stevie & Blake to achieve their perfect day. To read more about Stevie & Blake’s wedding and to view more photos from their wedding, pick up a copy of the current issue or click here.

Subscribe to the Real Weddings Magazine Blog!

Leave it to the pros to offer up the best advice…take Michael Anderson, Wedding Entertainment Director™ at Creative Memories Entertainment. We asked Mike to offer up some advice of the subject of wedding entertainment, and naturally, he was a wealth of knowledge. Here’s the first of a few tips he sent over, this particular one on the art of the search for the right entertainment vendor:

“Ok, you have started the search for wedding entertainment and you realize, you have no idea where to begin. The first thing to do is accept the fact that you have no idea where to begin. The last time you were involved with booking a DJ was back in high school, and you were in the pep club. (Don’t worry, your secrets safe with me.) The truth is that that it may have been ok to book simply by price for a high school dance, but this may not be a good idea when it comes to a once in a lifetime day such as your wedding.

The first thing to know is that there are professionals out there who specialize in weddings. Think about it, there are a lot of traditions and events, and most likely, at your wedding, your guests age will range from eight to 80. When you start your search for the perfect entertainment for your wedding start by asking vendors whom you have already booked and see who they would recommend. Don’t be afraid to ask them one of the most important questions when getting a referral, ‘why do you recommend their services.’

Interesting statistics: After their wedding, 72% of all brides say they would have spent more time choosing their reception entertainment. When asked, 81% of guests say the thing they remember most about a wedding is the entertainment. These stat were published in 2003 and the sources include Simmons, 2001; USA Today, 2002; National Bridal Service, 2001; The Knot, 2002; and Brides Magazine 2001.

This makes you think a lot about the entertainment for your wedding day. It’s not that the entertainment is the most important part of the wedding, but most would agree that it can have the most impact on your wedding. One of the main reasons for this is a famous quote from the movie The Wedding Singerstaring Adam Sandler. ‘I have a microphone, so you will listen to every word I have to say.’”

Thanks Mike!

Stay tuned to Real Weddings Magazine for more guest bloggers with expert tips! 

For more information on Creative Memories Entertainment, visit them at www.creativememoriesdj.com or call 916-344-7000.

Also be sure to check out Mike’s profile on Real Weddings Magazine and check out his blog!

Blog Post by Always a Bridesmaid Columnist Darren Elms.

• Carrot cake…in the shape of a carrot! Get Out Of Town! This is probably the funniest cake I made all year. We were going for realism, but, even before I made it, the idea alone made me giggle!
• Peanut Butter and Jelly…this has taken several forms. The PB&J Sandwich: white cake layered with peanut butter buttercream and strawberry jam. Not your Mom’s PB&J, but it’s pretty dang tasty and your guests are going to laugh when they hear the flavor!
• S’mores…as cake! Chocolate Cake with graham crackers baked in and topped with marshmallow fluff. Yes, I have had clients who don’t like frosting. This is a great option and just before serving the tops of the marshmallow can be burned so you get that fresh from the campfire feeling.
• Chocolate Chip Cookies…nope, not the Toll House variety. This one is made with white cake that has mini chocolate chips baked into it, and then it’s filled and frosted with a brown sugar buttercream. I’m telling you, that buttercream tastes just like cookie dough…totally irresistible.
• Malted Milkshake…who says that malted milk balls have to stay on the candy station? This cake is made up of alternating layers of vanilla cake and chocolate ganache, and then is frosted with malted buttercream and decorated with crushed malt balls. An easy wedding translation would be to bake the malt balls into the cake or to nestle the pieces into the ganache. Either way… YUM!

Ok, love these ideas Carissa!!! How fun!

About Sugar and Spice and…
Sugar and Spice and… creates desserts as unique and special as you and your event. They believe you CAN have you cake and eat it too, but you can also have mousse, pies and tarts, crème brûlée, or éclairs! Special events are just that, SPECIAL and nothing says PARTY like those sweet little bites at the end of the party.

Be sure to check out Sugar and Spice and…’s Web site: http://www.sugarandspice.me/ and Carissa’s blog: http://sugarandspiceand.blogspot.com/

Photo courtesy of The Memory Journalists, www.memoryjournalists.com.