Chocolate Gems

I’m like most hipsters these days, going back to the “old ways” whenever possible – you know, organic composting, natural foods, and shopping local in as many farm-to-table ways I can find.  So when I know there’s a gem of a small business that can be a “local” flavor to weddings, it’s a double bonus.

The Chocolate Chisel does amazing chocolates – my favorites are their sea salt caramels (and their salted caramel ice cream) – and their work has been featured in many a hotel guest bag for my client’s weddings.  For those couples who want to enlist Wisconsin, one-of-a-kind items for their out-of-towners, this place is worth the 25 minute trip north of Milwaukee to check out, scope, try, and enlist to help put that last excellent detail to your wedding day!

Yum!

(and yes, they really are that shiny!)

 

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Bloody Mary…Bloody Mary…

One of the best things that mid-day weddings bring to the table are the wedding brunch!  I’m highly a fan of creating a Bloody Mary bar, with a mixologist or two to help create some delicious concoctions.

With different types of vodka, boutique tomato juices, and a huge array of condiments, you could give your guests a great way to “start their morning” right, plus create a lovely centering table for the party.

I do recommend if you have more than 50 guests, to have at least 2 tables where guests can create their drinks (with help) to eliminate lines!

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A bit of vintage romance

Looking for a little way to get romantic in the coming months before your wedding?  Those planning months can get stressful and fretful, but there’s a way to keep the sparks kindled throughout it all.

Why not wright love letters to each other the old fashioned way?  Perhaps one a week, sealed with wax.  They can be short and sweet, or long and flowery, perhaps thinking about a moment in the near future when you can do small tasks together, or for far in the future when children will be showering you with memories and laughter.   It can be reminiscing about past good times or silly romantic times.   Perhaps even air a fear that the wedding planning has brought up!  Save them to look back on at your five or ten year anniversary – it will be a little window back to how your lives used to be!

Happy writing!

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For the artist in you…

For those brides and grooms out there who want just a tad more sophistication to an artfully planned and styled wedding, you can really get your guests involved by hiring an artist to interact with them, leaving you (or your guests) with a one-of-a-kind original to keep.

My favorite idea is to hire a silhouette artist – you know, those classy black and white portraits – for a few hours over cocktails or post-dinner to take quick sittings of your guests.  This may be a better option for smaller guests lists.

Then there’s the quirky angle – having a caricature artist on site to capture your favorite people in silly poses or unique situations with that funny vibe we all know well.

Or perhaps you have a theme, and are trying to go with a vintage carnival or outdoor picnic feel.  Why not hire a body painter – keeping the themes of the face paint to match the feel of your event (for instance, no face fangs or fire dragon masks allowed).

Whatever unique entertainment you provide, it’s sure to be memorable!!  Contact us if you want a consultation to help you find a good vendor for any of these ideas!

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Spring is (almost) in the air…

by Lauren Weggeman

Although it may not feel like it here in Milwaukee, spring is just around the corner. You know that foreign sound…birds chirping? I heard it this morning!

With March coming to a close, it’s time to look at the hottest color trends of 2013-2014. If you are in the middle of the planning process, be sure to check some of the color combo’s out!

 MINT

Mint everything. Mint shoes, mint bridesmaids dresses, mint invitations. I have definitely jumped on the mint bandwagon. Absolutely love the look paired with gold accents.

BLUSH PINK

Another personal favorite. Blush pink speaks feminine and classic elegance.  Adding gold here also makes the color more “grown up.”

OR MIX THE TWO…

LILAC

Add touches of key lime green and call it a day!

CORAL

A spring and summer favorite. Tone it down with white or make it pop with turquoise.

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Karaline & Chad: An Ode to Love and Sparkle

by Katie Carlson

Sometimes, you strike gold with a client, and we certainly hit the mother lode with Karaline and Chad and with Karaline’s family as well.  The whole bunch was always so positive, enthusiastic, and just plain joyful throughout the entire process, which makes our job a special piece of cake.  From the first moment we met everyone, and had the chance to meet the couple, we knew that this wedding was going to not only be gorgeous, but a fantastic party as well- Karaline and Chad wanted a celebration, and a night that all their guests would remember.

For their reception at the InterContinental Hotel in Milwaukee, we came up with the concept of a warm winter holiday wonderland, which was filled with glowing candlelight, gold/silver/champagne ornaments galore, and lush floral in whites, ivories and blush tones.  The main wow factor came in the form of four 12’ tall birch trees dripping with ribbons and streamers for both the ceremony and the reception.

The whole day was an amazing success, and the couple and their families were in love with how everything turned out…it’s so great when a client trusts you to run with the vision and create a wonderful event for them.  We don’t think we disappointed in the least and were thrilled to make the night a total enchantment for them.  Chad and Karaline kept the party mood going all day and night with their joyous glee at being newlyweds.

A grand and extremely detailed event like this didn’t come together without the help of all our vendors.  A HUGE thanks to Emily and her incredible team at Belle Fiori for bringing our vision to life- the room looked simply amazing!  Also, an incredible kudos to Simma’s for creating a simply stunning four-tiered cake for the couple that included silver foiled tiers and gorgeous floral accents.

The dance floor was packed all night, thanks to the DJS at Sound By Design, and Art Below Zero created a gorgeous monogrammed ice luge for champagne, which was a last-minute surprise for the couple by the bride’s parents.  Paper-Pleasers turned out all the fantastic shimmery stationary products, and staff at InterCon provided a scrumptious multi-course meal for everyone.

Cheers to Karaline and Chad- may the honeymoon last forever for you both!

Photography by Front Room

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Cute Tape!

Ordered some of this for myself recently in an aim to have a fun element to my post.  I love having a little sweet spot on an envelope; it makes that special moment when you get a letter in the actual mail that much more savory.  Deb from Centennial Press has used it on some of the gorgeous designs she’s created for our couples and it really is a sublime element.  Order some samples, or mix and match options here at the StickerStop on Etsy.

And then have a ball with what you can do!

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Itty Bits

One can find the usual standards for flower girl dresses at most bridal boutiques and large department stores.  They’ve started making some that really reflect bridal gowns, even with dropped backs and long trains!  Love the whimsy that comes with dressing up a tiny little one.

However, it’s possible to find unique gowns that are still a bit unconventional or extremely unique.  The headpieces that can coordinate are adorable as well.  Happy shopping!

From Etsy:

Also from Etsy:

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Linen Costs De-Mystified

Linens can transform any wedding venue or space into something extra divine or simply special.  They deliver texture, drama, color and theme.  They can be multi-layered, shimmery soft or patterned.  Linens are the footprint of your wedding – you build from there using chairs, floral and stationary.  They are the biggest piece of color you can provide to show your wedding style and they also can be exceedingly expensive.

There are countless fabrics now available to be rented for weddings, but they all require some of the same things, which affects why linens can become an investment to your day.  First of all, linens have to be shipped to the city and venue of your reception.  That requires the prep: washing, ironing, folding, wrapping, boxing and labeling, as well as shipping costs.  Next, the linens have to be delivered to your ballroom.  Some places require the linen staff to set up the linens, chair covers, ties and napkins, and other places will use their ballroom staff to do so.  Usually there is a fee involved in whatever case you choose; sometimes the ballroom staff are included in your venue fee.  Next, the linens have be torn down at midnight or on a Sunday or Monday, so there is a fee for that labor, and the reboxing and re-shipping back, and then the cleaning and washing and finishing of the soiled used linens.

That’s the basics on linen care, all of which need to be covered by linen companies.  Some businesses will charge you ala carte for each thing – offering you a chance to set up your own linens and save on set-up fees, for instance.  Others will do everything for one single flat inclusive fee.  It’s worth it to ask if you’re pinching pennies a bit.

The type of linen you choose will also affect cost.  The most inexpensive linen is a poly-cotton blend.  It’s usually the basic linen in white or ivory offered at your venue, though make sure your venue offers floor length ones.  Then, you work your way up into shantungs, brocades, and bengalines, which all offer various degrees of light texture and shimmer.  There are twists, large textured patterns and sheers.  All of these come in endless colors and slightly varying costs.  Once you getting into beaded, sequined and 3-D patterned linens, especially overlays and lacey types, you will see a huge rocket in price.  Remember that and use these unique pieces in one or two statement places, such as the cake table or escort card table or head table if you’re watching your wallet but still want to have some fun.

You can add a bit of color while still using house venue linens by renting only chair covers and ties, or ties only, or colored napkins.  Or simply rent linens just for the cocktail tables and head tables and keep everything else elegantly neutral.

Either way, linens can make or break a space, so choose wisely and colorfully, and you won’t go wrong.

Photography by Front Room, Hanle Productions and Jennifer Johnson, respectively.

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Wedding Planner Costs De-Mystified

We get a lot of inquiries about our services – lots of new business questions and meetings.  Most of the inquiries end up rotating around our cost – how much for a package, or even ala carte services.

It’s true that a wedding planner and designer adds to that big price tag that is your wedding day.  And it’s true that the discounts and deals that planning can get you can’t completely make up the cost of their bill.  Some planners even add mark-ups to other vendor invoices, making your wedding that much more expensive.  But even if you have a transparent planner who shows you every actual invoice from each vendor, or gives you their smallest, least expensive package, it’s still a cost that needs explaining and breaking down.

First of all, wedding planners have their time to cover.  Whether it’s legwork to review venues for you, visiting florists or linen showrooms with you, or spending time on the phone and email for or with you, that’s hours of time for months before the wedding that are spent with and on your big day.  Like an interior decorator who charges a percentage or by the hour or a lawyer who charges for every minute, a planner should be compensated for their time.   That time also is spent on paperwork – mounds of it – from schedules, budgets, invoices, monthly check-ins, contracts and the like.

Next, any design services should be paid for, whether that’s creating design boards or portfolios, sketches, or photography that enhances your wedding vision.  Not only is it time, but it’s also a custom service that is tailored exactly to your tastes, and design is usually something a bride struggles with due to all the design options out there on the Internet and beyond.  When you pay for a unique painting – something original by a watercolor artist, for instance – you are paying not only for the cost of the materials like the paint and canvas, but also the technique, the design element, a completely one-of-a-kind piece.  So too is the design of your wedding something worth paying for, and worth it to get a unique look instead of simply copying photos of previous weddings on Pinterest.

A planner also needs to pay for their staff on your wedding day.  Making your day gorgeous, and taking away all the stress your family would have otherwise endured, requires many hands.  If your day is especially design involved and needs even more set up, more staff will be needed to pull it off on time and properly.

Without giving away trade secrets, I’ll be “de-mystifying” many wedding costs over the coming weeks.  From linens to photography and beyond, hopefully our explanations of why things cost what they do for your wedding will give you peace of mind and the tools to make the best decision for all your wedding vendors.

Photography courtesy of Craig John Photography

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