A Touch of Elegance

Monday, September 8, 2008

Still Working!

Hey Everyone!

I am still working on updating all of our weddings from the past two years, so please continue to bear with me! It is fun to relive all of these weddings and hopefully all of you find it just as interesting!

Also, I know I am not putting direct links when I am writing in regards to vendors, but if you find someone you like I have added their links on the right-hand side under Outstanding Vendors!

Thanks for your patience and for reading!

Jason & Courtney ~ December 1, 2007

Jason & Courtney's wedding was at Lakeview Christian Church, where my mom is one of the wedding coordinators. So, they filled out the wedding form with the church and then their file was passed along to my mom. My mom actually did a lot of the planning with Jason's grandmother, Linda. Linda had an idea in her head of how she wanted everything to look so we just helped her make her vision a reality.

On the Friday prior to the wedding we helped Linda and a few of her girlfriends decorate the ceremony and reception site (they held the reception there as well). On wedding day everything ran according to the timeline and once again there were absolutely no hiccups in the day!

Everything looked beautiful and came to life just as Linda had envisioned it. Courtney looked AMAZING and the ceremony was so intimate, romantic and sweet. Once the ceremony ended everyone went into the reception hall and had a good time. Linda and her friends had prepared all of the food and we just made sure that everything was out and stayed replinished for the guests.

Linda makes cakes so she made the cake and it was BEAUTIFUL! So, everyone had a great time and it was so nice to her all of Linda's nice words about us once everything was over. She passed along to the church the following: "In the beginning I didn't think I needed a coordinator, but I could not have done it without them!" Linda is so sweet and was such a pleasure to work with.

Jason & Courtney are a great couple! We wish them all of the best!

Josh & Nicole ~ October 6, 2007

So...as you can tell October 6th was a super, busy, crazy day! Josh and Nicole's wedding was at Lakeview Christian Church where my mom is one of the coordinators! So, she was making sure everything was running smoothly while I (along with two assistants) made sure that Ben & Jessica's day was flawless! While juggling two weddings in one day is not the norm for us, we decided it give it a try! For Josh & Nicole's wedding my mom was only in charge of getting the ceremony location set-up, getting everyone down the aisle and making sure that the ceremony location was cleaned up! So, once my mom made sure this event ran smoothly she high-tailed it to Ben & Jessica's wedding and actually made it in time to see everyone walk down the aisle!

For Josh & Nicole's big day they arrived at the church ready for pictures to begin! The photographer, Kristy - a long-time friend of the family, was so nice and easy to work with! She was so professional and made sure that everything ran smoothly! Their colors were red and black and everyone looked AMAZING! They held their ceremony in the main sanctuary and served communion to the wedding party and guests. Josh & Nicole, along with their families, were so nice and were such a pleasure to work with.

Following their wedding day they sent out a "Thank You" letter to their family and friends that included a few pictures from their honeymoon. They went on a cruise to the Caribbean and said it was "extremely beautiful and extremely HOT!"

Josh & Nicole ~ Thank you for allowing us to share in your magical day! We are delighted that you LOVED everything and we wish you nothing but the best in your future life together! Happy 1 Year Anniversary early!

Even though we were juggling two events both went FLAWLESSLY and we enjoyed making our bride & groom's dreams come true!

Thursday, August 28, 2008

Ben & Jessica ~ October 6, 2007

BEAUTIFUL!

Ben & Jessica are such a sweet couple. We had met them a year prior to their event at A Perfect Wedding Guide Bridal Show in Zionsville. They talked to us a little bit about their event and we exchanged information. Time passed and we didn't hear from them. Then, about 4 weeks prior to their event they gave us a call and inquired about our services. They told us that they had hired another wedding planner and he just stopped corresponding with them. Understandably, Ben was very unsure about the whole wedding planner idea once again considering what they had just gone through, but they decided to give it another go and we got to work! They had some little pieces done, but for 4 weeks to go until they walk down the aisle we had A LOT to put together. Needless to say, we all worked very diligently and got it done!

We got them connected with additional vendors and made sure that every last detail was pain-stakingly ironed out. They had their ceremony and reception at Traders Point Creamery in Zionsville which is a working farm. People can come and purchase organic foods (mainly cheese, milk and ice cream) and they have a little restaurant upstairs that people can eat at. This was the first wedding they had ever had there so there were a lot of details to figure out in order to make everything work. While there were many bumps in the road for Ben and Jessica leading up to hiring us, once we came on board everything fell into place and they could start to see the light at the end of the tunnel!

It was kind of comical the day of their wedding. There were just so many unexpected things, but that is what you hire us for...they only got to hear the following once they returned from their honeymoon! First, it was like a record hot day (mind you...their date was October 6th and it was 90+ degrees). Second, Angie (the florist) was working so hard to put the huppah together and when I turned around to go up to the reception location I heard a load crash and she had fallen off of a chair and unaware that she BROKE her wrist finished the entire set-up of the ceremony and reception site! Isn't she amazing? Then, our sound guy came to deliver the microphones and ended up getting in a fender bender with another car in the parking lot. The restaurant upstairs had to be totally flipped, so my dad, one of our helpers and I had to move out all of the exising tables and move in all of the new tables and chairs. We had to put on all of the linens and fold all of the napkins (it took me four hours the night before, but they look so good, so they were totally worth it). It was definitely NOT an easy task! At the end of the night we had to flip the room once again so that it could be ready to open up the next day! But, because it is not a site where they host weddings on a regualar basis they don't have staff to do all of that...so that's why you hire us! I'm sure I am making it sound terrible, but it truly wasn't! It was a great experience, because I have a much better appreciation for the staff who do that on a regualar basis.

Anyway, the ceremony went off without a hiccup. Everything went smoothly with the cocktail hour and the reception. The restaurant was completely transformed and looked absolutely STUNNING! All of the guests were so happy and really enjoyed themselves. Ben's mom had purchased a bunch of mums to have scattered around the property, so while the guests were eating we moved all of those mums up by the door where the guests would exit for the night and the guests were able to take a mum home if they wanted. It was such a nice gesture and all of them were gone by the end of the night.

It was so funny because while we were moving the mums and cleaning up the ceremony site we looked up and a cow had gotten loose and was up by the reception site. It was mooing, but the guests and of course the bride and groom never knew it was there! That is why I LOVE the picture of Ben & Jessica by the cow! What great memories.

So, we have a lot of fun at each and every wedding and each is so unique! It just makes us feel so good when a bride and groom are so happy with how the day turned out when it is all said and done...it totally makes everything worth it. And, it is fun to re-live some of the hiccups with the bride and groom because they don't get to know until it is all over with.

Here are the vendors who helped Ben & Jessica's vision come to life:

Traders Point Creamery (Fritz & Jane) -- They were so wonderful to work with. It is such a pretty location for an event!
Heavenly Sweets (Tanya) -- Their cakes are just HEAVENLY looking and tasting!
Juniper Spoon (Lali) -- Lali and her team did an OUTSTANDING job with all of the food for the evening!
Bokay Florist (Angie) -- We LOVE Angie! She is so GREAT to work with and definitely went above and beyond with this wedding broken wrist and all!
TLW Entertainment -- The Village String Trio did an GREAT job during the ceremony and The Tom Duncan Duo were EXCELLENT during the reception!
Anne Ruthmann -- What can we say about Anne...have you seen those pictures? WOW, she is AMAZING at what she does and you can tell that she honestly LOVES her job and her clients! She took such time and care and I think it really shows.
Rabbi Tom Moshe -- He traveled all the way from Ohio and was EXCELLENT!
Allure Salon (Melissa) -- They do a GREAT job as always with hair! Both my mom and I go to Allure Salon to get our hair done.
True Colors (Rebecca) -- We LOVE Rebecca. She has done make-up for so many of our brides and she is GREAT at what she does and this wedding was no exception!
Markey's Rental & Staging -- They are always WONDERFUL to work with and go above and beyond to provide great service to their clients.
Ace Party Rental -- Kelly & Eli are such a pleasure to work with. They really do take the time with you to go over everything and make sure that the client is 100% satisfied. They provided a tent, tables, tableclothes and napkins for this event and everything was great!
Carey Indiana Limo -- They are so GREAT to work with as well. They have always been so reliable and have provided great service to our clients.

Here are some pictures documenting the day by Anne Ruthmann...

Traders Point Creamery in Zionsville

Program

A dog made out of FLOWERS by the sign in book

Bridesmaid and her flowers

In the loft of Traders Point Creamery...it was so BEAUTIFUL!

One of the accents around the room

A place setting at one of the tables

Salad

Yummy!

Delicious

The Heavenly Cake!

So cute!

An ADORABLE couple!

Ben & Jessica -- Thank you so much for putting your faith and trust in us to make sure that your day would be ABSOLUTELY perfect! You two were so easy to work with and exude such love and affection for one another. Your friendship and kind words and truly treasured by us and we wish the two of you nothing but the BEST! CONGRATULATIONS!

Wow...it's already almost been a year...so CONGRATS early on one year!

Monday, August 25, 2008

Mohamad & Nada ~ August 10, 2007

Elegant!

We met Nada while she was in the beginning stages of planning her wedding. Her husband and family were in another country so all of the planning fell on Nada's shoulders. At that time she was getting her Masters at Ball State. Nada had previously done a lot of research on her own so she knew virtually what she wanted, even down to what favors, but she was not sure how to get it all accomplished. So that's where we stepped in and guided her to a wonderful wedding venue and outstanding wedding vendors. One thing that made their wedding unique is that we had to find a place that would/could have all female staff so that the women could be unveiled during the event.

Nada's story was that she and Mohamad had been legally married for 2 years prior to this event; however, they have always lived in two different countries. So, we were planning a "Grand Entrance," where Nada & Mohamad would walk down a designated aisle, greet their guests and share their first dance. Then, Mohamad and all other men exited the ballroom and the rest of the party was for the women only! In their culture the men & women celebrate in separate rooms so the women were in the Illinois Street Ballroom and the guys had a couple of meeting rooms downstairs. The women danced until midnight and still weren't ready for the party to end! Nada & Mohamad made it nice for their guests, because they hired a babysitter so all of their guests could truly enjoy the night!

It was a beautiful event despite having started nearly an hour late! Most of Nada's guests were coming from Muncie, IN and there was a HUGE wreck on the interstate, so most of the guests sat in traffic for 3-4 hours to make it to Nada & Mohamad's big day! Very loyal and great family & friends! But, everything turned out BEAUTIFULLY and everyone really enjoyed themselves. That's how it goes in the wedding business...it is ever changing and you just go with the flow!

We really enjoyed working with Nada. She looked absolutely BEAUTIFUL on her wedding day! We had never seen her with her hair & make-up done and honestly...we didn't even recognize her when she came out of the room! STUNNING!

Nada is so very sweet and her and Mohamad make such an adorable couple. Mohamad is a wonderful guy and I think they are both so lucky to have found one another. They have since moved out of state so that Mohamad can pursue his educational goals. They just celebrated their one year anniversary and she wrote to tell us that they spent it in Hawaii!

CONGRATULATIONS to Mohamad & Nada! We wish you all of the best!

Here are the wonderful vendors who helped pull Mohamad & Nada's wedding together:

Crowne Plaza at Union Station (Illinois Street Ballroom) -- Megan did a GREAT job as always! She is a pleasure to work with and her staff is always AMAZING!
Nana's Village House (Linda) -- Linda does such a GREAT job and has such a good eye and vision when it comes to flowers!
True Colors - Hair & Make-up (Rebecca) -- WOW! Nada was unrecognizable (in a good way)!
Disc Turners Mobile DJ (Colleen) -- Colleen is just GREAT fun and kept the women on their feet all night long! She was so willing to work with them and play their musical selections.
Northern Light Filmworks (Jennifer) -- Jennifer did a WONDERFUL job on their video! Such a great way to re-live their special day!
Karen Bowling Photography (Karen) -- Karen did such a GREAT job with their pictures. They turned out BEAUTIFULLY!
Babysitter (Jessica) -- Jess is great with kids and kept them busy the entire night.
Heavenly Sweets Cakes (Tanya) -- You can't go wrong with a cake from Heavenly Sweets!