A Touch of Elegance: July 2008

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Aaron & Melissa ~ August 4, 2007

So Romantic

My mom is the wedding coordinator for Lakeview Christian Church in Indianapolis, Indiana. On August 4th, 2007 my mom coordinated the wedding ceremony for Aaron & Melissa. Although she doesn't get to be a huge part of the couple's wedding planning process (she doesn't get to assist with vendors or decorations...unless people ask for advice; she is mainly in charge of putting together a timeline for the day and getting everyone down the aisle) it is still GREAT to be a part of a couple's special day and Aaron & Melissa were no exception.

My mom's favorite memory of their wedding was when the flower girl, Lili, was pulled down the aisle in a little red wagon with cans dragging behind and a sign on the back that said "Just Married!" She said it was so ADORABLE and such a big hit with all of the guests! Unfortunately, we don't have a picture to post, but we will work on that!

Alright...Melissa was sweet enough to send us some pictures to post on here!

Here is Lili in her wagon!

Jevon & Lana ~ July 21, 2007

Picture Perfect!

Jevon and Lana got married on July 21st, 2007! It was an absolutely gorgeous day and everything went so perfectly for their special day! Lana and I are childhood friends! She was in my wedding and I was fortunate enough to be a part of her's as well! When Lana got engaged she asked my mom and I to assist her with the wedding planning process. So, we set her up with vendors and attended vendor meetings with her. It was fun to be able to be such a big part of the planning process for someone you have known forever! Lana is so GREAT and deserved such a great man and she truly found that in Jevon! They are AMAZING together and their wedding day was a total representation of their love and commitment to one another!

The WONDERFUL vendors who made their vision come to life:

They got married at New Hope Christian Church in Whitestown, Indiana. It was wonderful to go back there because that is where Lana grew up going to church and I can remember attending vacation bible school with her and her sister when we were younger...good memories!

They had their reception at the Holiday Inn Select. It is the one with the indoor waterpark (Caribbean Cove), which the wedding party visited following the rehearsal dinner!

Nana's Village House did a FABULOUS job with all of the flowers!

Matt Ayers was in charge of the photography

Digital Video Solutions was in charge of the videography

Bob & Colleen with Disc Turners did an AMAZING job making the reception feel like a dance club! There were people on the dance floor ALL NIGHT long! They were so upbeat and helped Jevon come up with an AMAZING surprise skit for Lana!

Paige with Sweet Seductions did an OUTSTANDING job with their cake!

Allure Salon did a GREAT job with all of the girls hair!

Jevon & Lana just celebrated their one year wedding anniversary! CONGRATULATIONS to a truly amazing couple who are so great together! We wish them nothing but the best that life can offer! They are great friends and their wedding day and all of the festivities leading up to it were PICTURE PERFECT!

Lana & her flowers...so GORGEOUS!

Lana & her girls!

Jevon & Lana on Main Street!

The BEAUTIFUL and YUMMY cake

The PERFECT family!

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Andy & Katie ~ June 23, 2007

Aww...They Are So Adorable!

Andy & Katie got married on June 23, 2007 in good ol' Evansville, Indiana. Katie & I met 5 years prior when we were going through sorority recruitment together! We wound up in the same sorority (Thank Goodness For That!). We quickly became the best of friends and she was a GREAT choice as my maid-of-honor for my wedding! So, when she got engaged I was thrilled when she asked me to be her matron-of-honor. Kate is in med school so she was SUPER busy during the planning process but her and her mom spent a lot of time putting her wedding together. I had graduated and left Evansville a year prior to her wedding so unfortunately I wasn't able to help out with a lot of hands on stuff.

I came down a couple of days prior to Kate's wedding and my mom and I helped Kate and her mom decorate the reception hall (it was in a County Fair Building). It was fun to finally help with the wedding! So, the rehearsal came and went and it was wedding day! My parents and my husband were invited to the wedding as guests, but my mom ended up taking over and put on her wedding coordinator hat for the day! She directed everyone, pinned on flowers, lit candles & lanterns, ran the timeline, coordinated the cake cutting, etc. etc.!

The day was BEAUTIFUL and Kate looked AMAZING! Everything ran so smoothly and we were all exhausted by the end of the night! I would have to say that one of my favorite moments of her event was when it was time for the father-daughter dance. Kate made a video montage of pictures of her and her did while she was growing up and played that during their dance. It was adorable and there was not a dry eye in that place!

Kate is a GREAT friend and person and she deserves so much happiness! Her parents were SO appreciative of all of my mom's help!

Isn't she BEAUTIFUL?

Such a precious moment between mother & daughter

Andy & Katie cutting the cake

Capturing the moment that melted all of our hearts!

They are united in marraige!

CONGRATULATIONS to Andy & Katie! They just celebrated their one year wedding anniversary and are doing WONDERFULLY! We wish them a lifetime of love, laughter & happiness!

We Got To Work!

Following my wedding my mom and I got to work! We began building A Touch of Elegance, LLC from the ground up! I took classes to become a Certified Wedding & Event Professional from U.S. Event Guide and we got all of our paperwork in order. We also became a member of the Association of Bridal Consultants. From there we met with vendors who helped us with my wedding and they pointed us on the right track as to how and where to advertise. So, we met with the Perfect Wedding Guide and put an ad together for them. We also put an ad on The Knot. We ordered postcards and everything began rolling!

Now, I won't lie and say that starting a business is easy...it is NOT, but it is rewarding to get to know our couples and hear such wonderful reviews from them. We are ALMOST two years old and have been so fortunate to have worked with INCREDIBLE clients and vendors! The road was slow going in the beginning, but now everything is really starting to fall into place!

I think it helps that my mom and I are excited about our job and eager to hear what the couple is envisioning for their day...EVERYONE is so different! That is one of the things we really pride ourselves on...listening to what the couple wants and making THEIR vision come to life!

We cannot even begin to THANK our clients and vendors enough for everything! You all are AMAZING individuals and we are honored and blessed to have worked with everyone!

I am working on posting the weddings that we have done in the past two years and of course, will be updating with our upcoming weddings!

Monday, July 28, 2008

Dustin & Cassie ~ June 24, 2006

The Happy Couple!

The day was June 24th, 2006...the day I got married to the LOVE of my life! It had rained ALL week leading up to and in the morning of my rehearsal! UM...I had an OUTDOOR ceremony! YIKES! But, luckily it stopped raining mid-day and we had an absolutely beautiful day for the wedding. It was a tad hot for the guests, but I didn't notice!

My wedding was at Fort Benjamin Harrison in Indianapolis, Indiana. My mom and I spent about 2 years planning my big day! I can remember the first time I went out to the Fort and I left there in tears! It was not exactly what I pictured as my dream wedding location (probably because we visited in winter and my wedding was in the summer), but once we started coming up with all of the amazing things we could do to make it spectacular it became an absolutely PERFECT place!

We connected with some absolutely wonderful vendors.

Nana's Village House in Zionsville did my flowers (Linda is AMAZING)
A-Classic handled all of our rental items (an arch, all of my linens & martini glasses for the centerpieces, chairs for the ceremony)
Paige at Sweet Seductions did my wedding cake (red raspberry swirl cake with buttercream filing, Key Lime & Zesty Lemon...YUM YUM)
Ken Stout provided our entertainment for the evening
Jenny Powell with Resurrection Brass provided the BEAUTIFUL violin music for the ceremony
Yellow Rose Carriage provided two horse-drawn carriages for the event
Carey Indiana Limo provided a 23 passenger mini-bus to transport my guests to and from the ceremony site
Matt Ayers did an OUTSTANDING job with the photography (I had SO many compliments!)
Sharon with Precious Memories put together a video monage of Dustin & I that played right before our introduction into the ballroom...she also put together a video of my day that was documented by some of my family members who took video from so many different angles that day
Fast Signs made all of our direction signs (they were FABULOUS!)
I found my DREAM wedding dress at Posie Patch Bride Superstore in Castleton (I found it in a magazine and just knew it was the dress...all of my thoughts were confirmed when I put it on!)
Allure Salon did all of my girls hair (as well as my mother's and grandmothers')
My cousin, Kelsey (she works for Merle Norman) did everyone's make-up
And, to top it off...my Uncle Jeff was the officiant!

So, once the rehearsal dinner was over all of my girls and I stayed in one of the sargeant quarters for the night. It was fun and I didn't get to sleep until about 1:30 in the morning! Morning came all too quickly and it was then time to travel to the salon for hair. Once hair was finished it was back to the sargeant quarters for make-up then time to put on our dresses for pictures! We took pictures for an hour and half (we walked all over that place and it was HOT!). When we returned we ate while the guys walked all over and go their pictures taken! Then, it was time for the ceremony to begin...the horse drawn carriage arrived and all of my girls and ring bearer loaded on one carriage and my dad and I were on the other. It was SHOWTIME! The ceremony was absolutely BEAUTIFUL! I did a good job of holding back the tears and I was so happy to see everyone and it was amazing to lock eyes with my HUSBAND and just be in that moment!

Once the ceremony was over all of my guests went to the cocktail hour and we of course took more pictures! But then it was time to go the reception. My wedding party was introduced and then Dustin & I's video montage was shown and then we were introduced! It was a bit overwhelming to see everyone, but it was so nice to know just how loved we are. The food was GREAT (we had so many compliments) and everything looked like a fairytale to me!

What I am most proud of is that I can say that given the chance I would do my wedding all over again in a heartbeat (to the same man, of course)! It was such an amazing experience and I thoroughly enjoyed the process. Everything went so smoothly and all of my girls loved how relaxed and unrushed they felt during the entire process.

It was GREAT and I can't thank my parents enough for all of their love and support!