You have probably noticed a few changes to our blog!  We have updated our list of the blogs we love and we know of a few more that we will be adding soon! Click above to see the list or- click here!

Now that we are down to a two column blog – our photos will be easier to see!  (Above is one of our favorites from The Observatory).

We also really cleaned up our sidebar – a few more sidebar items are coming!

Have a safe a wonderful holiday weekend!  We will be celebrating with our four couples this weekend at the Decatur House, Arts Club of Washington, Hotel Monaco and Brookside Gardens – Congrats to all our brides and grooms!

We are excited to finally showcase Melanie and Michael’s wedding from June at Woodend Sanctuary.  As many of you know – it is one of my favorite locations in the entire Washington, DC area.

We helped Melanie and Michael with a partial planning package along with all of her flowers and decor.  Her bridal bouquet was comprised of lavender and white mini calla lilies with light blue delphinium and fresh lavender accents.

They kept the ceremony pretty simple and added a touch of whimsy with these adorable purple, lavender and white carnation pomanders – which we reused on the back of the chairs at the head table during the reception.

Their centerpieces had luscious local purple hydrangea with lavender vanda orchids.

Melanie had so much fun picking out their candy for the candy bar!  She did not stick to a color theme – she stuck to the candies that both her and Michael loved!

Congratulations Melanie and Michael!

And thanks to Martha Fitzsimon for all the beautiful photos!

Worried about what you are going to wear on your wedding day?  Believe it or not – the color of white or ivory can make a huge difference on how you feel on your wedding day.  Also – the colors of your entire wedding can really create a mood for you and your guests.  Last week, Robin Fisher of Polished Image and Style and the Style Editor of our magazine Eco-Beautiful Weddings, was interviewed on Let’s Talk Live!

If there was ever a time to consult with an image consultant or personal stylist – your engagement is one of them.  We have used Robin for years for our clients to ensure that they look and feel their best on their wedding day.  Not every dress and every color will look good on you or your bridesmaids.  Consultations prices range and are worth every single cent!  Robin has even traveled to New York to check out Kleinfeld’s for a couple of our clients.  You will need to buy dresses for your engagement party, bridal shower, rehearsal dinner, wedding day, brunch and the honeymoon.

Not only can Robin help you find the right dress – she can help you color your life.  She helps design a customized color palette of colors for you to use whenever you go shopping…so the investment you make for your wedding can last a lifetime.

Click on the image above to see the clip from Let’s Talk Live interview and to learn more about how color affects so many parts of our daily lives!  Ask me about Robin when you come in or take a look at her website and blog!

Here is the final installment from Ed and Erwin’s wedding.  A big thank you to Laura Luis for her beautiful photography that she donated on this day.  Janice at Bellwether Events did such a great job in coordinating the day as well.  So many vendors came together to make this wonderful wedding happen!

Although the flowers were pretty simple for us for their wedding day – it was the way they wanted it.  Simple white flowers with a mix of purple and greens along the way.  We had white rose bouquets for the two female attendants and all the male lapels were made of white roses or these beautiful white spray roses.

Of course, we love doing weddings at Meridian House!   The natural beauty of the garden and the Linden trees along with the charming and elegant mansion!  We donated our manzanita branches with delicate orchid blooms for the escort card and buffet tables.

We loved being able to provide our lanterns for the Linden tree grove for Ed and Erwin – if only for this amazing photo for them!!!  We also provided simple purple stock cocktail table arrangements and white hydrangea centerpieces for the tables.

A wholehearted congratulations to Ed and Erwin!  Our staff are praying for you and your lives together!

Take a look at yesterday’s post to learn more about Ed and Erwin!

Here is another installment of Ed and Erwin’s wedding from earlier this month!   I just wanted to show you some of the fun details from this wedding in this post – stay tuned tomorrow for the floral designs and decor!  I adore the Wish Upon a Wedding handkerchief above!  If you did not get a chance to read all about Ed and Erwin’s wedding from earlier posts – Erwin is suffering from a terminal disease and Wish Upon a Wedding’s mission is to grant couples like Erwin and Ed a chance to wed in the middle of dealing with illness.  Click on the photo to learn more about the organization!

Of course, we adore Paloma’s Nest!  She makes the most incredible ring bearer bowls – which was perfect for Ed and Erwin’s two adopted children to use!

Take a look at the wonderful video from their wedding day and about their family below – be ready to cry!

Erwin and Ed Wedding Film from William Gaff on Vimeo.

Photos courtesy of Laura Luis

We were so excited to be a part of Ed and Erwin’s wedding in Washington, DC a couple of weeks ago.  They were the first recipients of the Wish Upon a Wedding’s grant wishing organization in DC.  Stay tuned for more photos from their lovely day.

I apologize that I did not get this post up last week!  I was hoping to make the floral explanation series a weekly thing!  But doing a destination wedding for a friend took priority – I will share those photos with you soon!

Today I want to talk about dahlias.  We are entering the best season for dahlias.  You can get them throughout August but they really start to  look amazing in September and October.

They come in a variety of colors and we love working with them as they give any arrangement nice texture.  Colors include the vibrant orange above, peach, white with a hint of green, magenta, purple, burgundy, yellow and light pink.  I will warn you though – they have a very pungent. musky smell to them.  If you are easily affected by the smells of flowers – I would stay away from this flower.  However, they are hearty flowers and on average they are moderately priced.

Our favorite place to buy  dahlias are from a local farm and from our growers in Oregon.  Why?  These are the most eco-friendly ways to go.  Of course with local farmers we are giving back to the local economy and there is one farm in particular we love that we also buy fruits and veggies from.  Then, the farmers in Oregon are able to produce their dahlias without pesticides and that we love!

I will say that even though the bouquet above is comprised entirely of dahlias, I do not recommend this all the time.  The shape of most dahlias make it more difficult to make a perfectly rounded shape for a bouquet. However, if you like the English garden or loose garden look for a bouquet – they are perfect choice.  We also think they are fantastic for centerpieces and large garden altar displays.

As we get closer to fall, we are starting to order more and more dahlias.  If you are planning your fall wedding for next year – keep dahlias on your “to do” list!

We love this photo from our 1st legal gay wedding in Washington, DC.  It was a proud moment for the staff at Elegance & Simplicity to be helping Matt and Paul for their wedding day.  Deb Lindsey captured the moments of the day perfectly.  Stay tuned for more photos from their wedding at the Arts Club of Washington!

We were very excited to see Merry Maps in our inbox last week.  Owner Daley Harris is located in Dallas, but draws her maps for any bride around the world!  They are adorable!  These maps will be sure to become keepsakes and scrapbooking materials after the big day!  Click on the map to learn how Daley can make your map!

We are thrilled that Kendall & Mo’s wedding is being showcased again on another wonderful blog!

One of the best wedding blogs about multi-cultural wedding is Wedding Nouveau – ahh – we love it!  Click on either the photo or their logo to see the whole story!

Here is the second installment in my floral design series.  This week’s flower is roses.  Last week I started with my most favorite flower (hydrangea).  This week, I continue on to a flower that tons of people love – ROSES.  They symbolize love , friendship and romance for so many people.   They are available year round and come in every single color (and two-tones) except blue (naturally)…and no – I won’t dye roses blue for my clients.  Sorry folks!

A rose is timeless for sure.  You can never go wrong with it as a rose bouquet will still look lovely 75 years from now in your photos!  For some practical advice – I never recommend using an all white rose bouquet.  An all-white rose bouquet sounds appealing at first – but white flowers with a white dress make for a very non-descript photo (and your bouquet will end up looking like a bundle of marshmallows floating in front of your dress – just my opinion).  I realize I may be stepping on some toes here.  I know there are all white weddings out there and we have made all white bridal bouquets (in fact – one is going out this weekend).  You can ask any seasoned photographer and they will tell you that they love color in their bridal bouquets!  All white flowers cost more (by the way).  Why? Because we have to buy extra in order to make up for the 15-20% of the flowers that come in with browning edges and we know that every single bloom needs to look pristine!

I am going to let you in on a big secret that every florist does not want you to know.  Roses don’t cost all that much more than other flowers.  Nope – you know what cost more – the stripping of the roses.  That’s right!  We have to strip every single rose so it does not tear you (or us) to shreds.  Those pesky thorns are the reason why I don’t love roses.  Yep – I hate stripping them…and we get sliced by those nasty pointy things every time we go to strip them.  They are evil I tell you (the thorns that is)!  There are varieties that come without thorns!  YAY – SCORE!  However – they are typically not available year round and they cost more.  So in the end – roses just really cost the same as most flowers – its the labor that kills us.  So when you are asking your florist to make you an all white rose bridal bouquet – they will most likely need to buy at least 50-75 roses – strip each one individually (unless they have a big rose stripping machine – which I don’t have) and then start on the design.  Remember – they will also most likely have to throw away (or hopefully compost) 10-15 of those roses as they will not be perfect.  You are not paying extra for the roses – you are paying extra for the time, perfection, and design.

There really is a never ending list of what I could write about roses – so I am going to stop here and post again at some point about roses in a second and possibly third installment over the next few months. Stay tuned!

(top photo – Jennifer Domenick/Love Life Images, middle photo – The Observatory)

We were so excited to meet Maggie Labaugh (right above) of Magpie’s Cake and her sister and marketing director Jessica Rapier (left above) yesterday that I think yesterday’s cake and cookie tasting might have been the best we have ever had!

Maggie brought her delicious samples in a delicate box complete with linen napkins and sterling silver forks!  Tara and I just marveled at the presentation alone!

If you take a look at the menu of goodies that were prepared for us – you will see  that this was not your ordinary cake tasting.  Every cake was a progression from light and fluffiness to rich decadence.  I landed at the Mexican Vanilla Cake with Earl Grey Ganache and fell in love.  Tara loved the Fiori Di Sicilia Chiffon cake with Strawberry and Champage Preserves and vanilla buttercream – which had a wonderful orange creamsicle tinge to it!  The Double Chocolate Espresso Cake was not for the faint of heart and definitely had a kick to it!

Every cake comes with a delightful detailed hand-drawn treasure,  Maggie is all about creating her cakes from a highly stylized perspective.  These are not the typical buttercream, three-tiered cakes – they are works of art.

She is a an amazing artist!  She also does cookies!

She even made a cute E&S cookie for us.  We love these cookies so much – we just could not eat them!  (Well – we ate one – shhh)

Stay tuned as we are in the throws of planning their launch party and you are invited!

If you are wanting to take your wedding or special occasion cake to the next level – Maggie is the person to call!

Happy Cake Eating!

]]> http://www.eleganceandsimplicity.com/blog/announcements/magpies-cake-tasting/feed/ 1 http://www.eleganceandsimplicity.com/blog/announcements/the-silken-thread-win-a-swag-bag/ http://www.eleganceandsimplicity.com/blog/announcements/the-silken-thread-win-a-swag-bag/#comments Wed, 11 Aug 2010 04:16:58 +0000 Katie L Martin http://www.eleganceandsimplicity.com/blog/?p=3430

Meet Laura Swanstrom Reece of The Silken Thread!  I was thrilled to be a part of such a cute event for her 5th anniversary over at Frosting!  Not only did I get to meet the mastermind behind this incredible company, but got to see some good friends and catch up with Michelle of Frosting!

I absolutely love this concept of placing this embroidered monogram inside your wedding gown. This is great as a gift! My own sister-in-law had one just like it for her wedding day and she got it as a gift at her bridal shower!

So many of my brides hold a handkerchief around their bridal bouquet – this hemstich monogram handkerchief is also perfect as a gift or just to buy for yourself as a bride to pass down through the generations!  Since The Silken Thread is local it is fantastic for local brides – but you can also buy personalized embroidered items for any occasion right from her website!

Laura and her team were smart by having their party at Frosting!  The cupcakery in Chevy Chase is adorable and the cupcakes are divine.  They were featuring a gluten-free chocolate cupcake today.  I had the raspberry cupcake – as showcased by the staff here:

Since I know the lady behind the scenes – I was able to grab a few swag bags to give away to you!  I have one bag to give away as I already gave one away on Twitter yesterday.

Here is the catch – you have to tell me what you are doing to go green in your life and for your wedding (or wedding business)!  These keepsakes from Laura are true treasures and quality products that will last for generations.  These are not throw-away items and we love anything personalized for a wedding that will last for years to come.  Write in the comments section below about how you are doing something unique to go green and I will send the fab swag bag to you!  I will pick a winner on Monday!

Here is a cute photo of the swag bag from Anh Nguyen:

Good Luck!

I am excited to be on the Wedding Podcast Network again!  This time around, I am giving wedding planning advice from my first book the Mother of Bride based on her second book the Everything Mother of the Bride Book!

Click here to hear the interview – perfect for both brides and their moms to listen to and to get a taste of what the book is all about!  You can also learn how to win a copy of my book!

Happy Planning!

Once again – Jennifer Domenick delivers the goods when it comes to amazing photography. I worked with her in July for a lovely wedding on the Chesapeake Bay at the Philip Merrill Environmental Center.

Her beautiful bouquet was a bit of a challenge in the July heat!  We scored white anemones with pink garden roses straight from California!

Pink ranunculus (also terribly difficult to find in July) for the groom -he looked smashing!  We love the little starfish the bride found for their groomsmen!

Congrats Jenna + Chad!  Cheers for having an amazing eco-friendly wedding on the shores of our amazing Chesapeake Bay!

]]> http://www.eleganceandsimplicity.com/blog/floral-designs/jenna-chad-at-the-philip-merrill-environmental-center/feed/ 0 http://www.eleganceandsimplicity.com/blog/announcements/virdina-kevin-on-essence/ http://www.eleganceandsimplicity.com/blog/announcements/virdina-kevin-on-essence/#comments Fri, 06 Aug 2010 17:28:29 +0000 Chris Easter http://www.eleganceandsimplicity.com/blog/?p=3366

We are so honored and excited to have Virdina and Kevin’s wedding on Essence.com this week.  Their wedding was featured and Virdina and Kevin were interviewed.  To see all the photos and read the article, click on the image above!

Here is a list of the vendors that made their day fabulous!

Bride & Groom Styling – Polished Image & Style

Venue – Decatur House

Caterer – Occasions

Photography – Documentary Associates

Photography – The Observatory

Videography – Jessica Pi Productions

Live Video Streaming – Marry Me Live

Planning & Floral Designs – Elegance & Simplicity, Inc.

Lighting, Furniture Rentals – Ampa Events

Cake – Cakes by Design

DJ – Disc Jockeys On Call

Linens – Table Manners

Hair – Elegant Hair by Giselle

Make-up – Carola Myers

Officiant – Jim Burch

(The above vendors donated all of their services for the green wedding giveaway from the DC Green Wedding Consortium as their wedding was on Earth Day 2010)

Below are other vendors that were paid for by the bride and groom:

Limo – Regal Limo

Accommodations – Donovan House

Cellist – Vasily Popoc

Carbon Offsetting – Carbonfund.org (this was paid for by Elegance & Simplicity on behalf of the bride and groom)

I have decided to start a weekly series about different types of flowers since I get asked daily about what goes into our floral designs and how we design for our clients.

I wanted to start with hydrangea as I have several topics to talk about when it comes to this beautiful and bountiful flower.

First and foremost – Hydrangea is my favorite flower!  I have planted it in front of my house and I love working with it.  It is used in bridal bouquets, altar arrangements, pew decor, centerpieces, garlands, cake decor, etc.  However – this does not mean that it should always be used for all of these design elements of your wedding.

Second – I only use local or Dutch hydrangea.  This has everything to do with being eco-friendly and quality combined.  The other set of hydrangea that you see floating around in photos all over high-end weddings (which is a disgrace and shame on those florists!!!) are South American hydrangea – mainly from Columbia.  Why is this such a sin in my design head?  For three reasons:

1) Quality – South American hydrangea almost never holds up outside of water for over two-three hours – so you can forget having  this in your bridal bouquet or cake (or in floral foam for the most part).  Hydrangea is a “succulent” flower – which means it literally sucks water up through its stems and through its petals. Compared to local and Dutch hydrangea – the quality of South American hydrangea pales in comparison.  It can also cost (wholesale-wise to the florist) anywhere from 7-10 times less than Dutch Hydrangea – and some florists will charge the same just because it is hydrangea (knowing that most clients will not be be able to tell the difference between Dutch and South American hydrangea).  This is a “secret” I am sure many florists will be cursing my name after they read this post.   Don’t blame the messenger folks – I have seen it with my own eyes and you know who you are!  The only time I ever use South American hydrangea is when there is literally no other option (color wise) and my shipment is delayed, held in customs and/or I have called 7-10 other distributors (this is not an exaggeration) for Dutch or local hydrangea.  There is no substitution for quality my friends!  NONE!

2)Pesticides – Most South American farmers use heavy pesticides on their crops while most local farmers and Dutch farmers don’t need to.

3)Fair wages and fair trade – All Dutch farmers use fair trade practices and obviously local farmers use fair wages.  This is almost never the case with South American farmers.  Why?  The only authority they are dealing with is Veriflor – which is an international organization that has little or zero power over companies and certainly cannot invest precious time and money on enforcing trade and wage issues.

(I won’t even touch on the subject of the power of drug lords that reign all over farmlands across Columbia – I will let you do the math on that and make your own evaluations).

Finally – I wanted to touch on the idea of the price of hydrangea.  There are generally two camps.  One camp says – “O yes – this is super inexpensive as they are large “filler” flowers and are cheap”.  Another camp says – “O My – these are so expensive as they have to be shipped in from other countries.”  I beg to differ on both of these camps.

Hydrangea is neither expensive or inexpensive.  The only time hydrangea is inexpensive is when you are chopping it down from your grandmother’s backyard or you are getting inferior product from South American farmers (and I would never call hydrangea a filler flower – EVER).  The average farmer working in South America makes an average of $413/month (just under $5000/year) – and that is just an average “good” month.  Some see that as a way to feed their families and a way to survive. As a florist and a human- I detest the way farmers are treated in South America…a subject that will come up often in these posts. Hydrangea is one of the easier flowers to harvest and therefore the farmers get paid even less!

An example of South American Hydrangea texture and shape – notice the underdevelopment of the florets as compared to all the other photos in this post.

Hydrangea is only “expensive” when you are dealing with Dutch hydrangea.  Not necessarily because it is flown in from Holland…but it more has to do with the varying market conditions which happens at the famous Aalsmeer auction-house. The price will also range depending on the time of year and amount of rainfall.  Your basic supply and demand happens in Holland – which is all about fair wage and fair trade practices.  A good, dependable florist knows that they will have to charge a little more for Dutch hydrangea – not just because the price can fluctuate so much, but also due to its superior quality over South American and some local varieties (depending on where you are).

In the end – quality costs more.  To me – expensive means that you are not getting what you are paying for.  It means something is overpriced.  Dutch hydrangea is not overpriced – it always has a fair price based on its availability at market (just like gold and diamonds).

What I am trying to say here?   Don’t skimp on the type of hydrangea in order to save $100.  You could end up with a droopy bouquet in your photos for the next 60 years of your life and lackluster centerpieces while wearing a Vera Wang dress.  Does that make any sense?

The difference in price may mean an additional $20-25/centerpiece.  So – let’s say on average you are having 150 people at your wedding.  The average wedding in the DC area is around the $37-$40,000 range.  Average bridal gown pricing is in the $3000 range.  $20 x 15 centerpieces equals $300.  You will probably spend that much on your shoes if you are wearing a $3000 gown….why not spend that on nicer flowers for 15 centerpieces!  This may sound very self-serving to you since I am florist.  But think about it.  You are spending an average of $40,000 on about 6 hours of your life.  The only thing that separates your wedding from other weddings that have been in that same space is your style – which will shine through in the linens, your dress, your cake and flowers.  The linens will be covered in food, the food will be eaten (as well as the cake) – you are left with flowers to add to the decor and ambiance of your wedding.  Why not spend that extra $300 to take your wedding to that next level when it is literally less than 1% of the average $40,000 budget?

Some other bits of information about hydrangea:

Hydrangea comes naturally in shades of white, purple, blue, pink and green.  Some of the antique varieties (mostly in the fall season) have hints of red and sometimes grey (which are called antique varieties).  If you see hydrangea in peach, yellow, orange and some other weird color (like a vibrant aqua or  turquoise) – you have been duped by the wonders of floral spray paint.

Don’t get me started on silk flowers – I can’t tell you how many times a bride has argued with me (yes argued) that they saw hydrangea in orange at Michael’s and that there simply had to be orange hydrangea in the world.  Folks – silk flowers are fake flowers – meaning that they could come in any color that dye comes in!!  What can I say?   Don’t get fooled by the silk flower section of the dollar store and AC Moore!

Another point of advice that I beg you – try (by all means) to stay away from floral foam when in comes to hydrangea (especially in the summer months).  Again – hydrangea thrives with lots of water.  If it is not drinking water directly from the source – it will fade rather quickly.  We highly recommend using hydrangea in centerpieces that have water in the vases.  Yes, hydrangea is used all the time in floral foam.   Does it last as long as the rest of the flowers in foam – nope!

Hydrangea in bridal bouquets and bridesmaids bouquets is only recommended if you are using Dutch hydrangea, getting married in the fall through spring or you are staying in air conditioned (cold) spaces.  Hydrangea does not like the heat!

I also do not recommend hydrangea for cake decor.  It looks fantastic in photos…but.. most cake photos are taken just after they have been decorated (not after 4 hours in the summer heat in a tent).

There is a lot to say about hydrangea – but these are my main sticking points.  Used wisely – hydrangea can make your wedding timeless, classic and downright gorgeous.  Don’t skimp on it – go all out and get quality!

Happy Hydrangea Seeking!

]]> http://www.eleganceandsimplicity.com/blog/wedding-planning/hydrangea/feed/ 2 http://www.eleganceandsimplicity.com/blog/announcements/the-newlywed-kitchen-giveaway/ http://www.eleganceandsimplicity.com/blog/announcements/the-newlywed-kitchen-giveaway/#comments Mon, 02 Aug 2010 05:08:21 +0000 Chris Easter http://www.eleganceandsimplicity.com/blog/?p=3342

I love it when an author sends me a book to review for my clients and our readers.  This one is no exception!  I love what Lorna Yee and Ali Basye did with this gorgeous cookbook.  I am a huge fan of other people cooking for me – especially my husband – as I not much of a cook!  There is always a huge sense of family and closeness when we cook for the ones we love!  I checked out the baked goods section as I am more of a baker than a cook – and what they have – does not disappoint!  This cookbook really does an excellent job of teaching you how to cook and eat together!

Now that I taken a look, savored the recipes with my own eyes – I am now ready to give this book away!

Make a comment here to let me know where and when you are getting married and what is your favorite thing to cook for your soon to be husband or wife!

Good Luck!

I have always been a fan of simple cakes – but there are some cake designers that take simple to a fabulous level.  Such is the case when it comes to Magpie’s Cakes.  New on the scene in the DC area – we love their website and design!

Tara and I are about to go and take a taste of their cakes – we will let you know how that goes!

Stay tuned for a giveaway and more real wedding postings this week!

We have been dying to show you these photos since we handed the flowers off to Nicole!

Nicole from Sota Dzine asked me to create some fun and interesting floral designs for her after-the-wedding photo shoot for some amazing clients of hers!  Above and below are just some of the amazing images that came forth from the shoot – we just simply provided the flowers!  Bravo Nicole + team!

]]> http://www.eleganceandsimplicity.com/blog/announcements/alice-in-wonderland-photo-shoot/feed/ 3 http://www.eleganceandsimplicity.com/blog/wedding-planning/are-you-feeling-those-pre-wedding-jitters/ http://www.eleganceandsimplicity.com/blog/wedding-planning/are-you-feeling-those-pre-wedding-jitters/#comments Thu, 29 Jul 2010 05:05:32 +0000 Chris Easter http://www.eleganceandsimplicity.com/blog/?p=3328

By Chris Easter of TheManRegistry.com

Worried because you’re feeling nervous as the big day approaches? Don’t freak out. Getting some sort of cold feet before the wedding is completely normal. You after, after all, getting ready to take the biggest step in your life

The most common type of pre-wedding jitters generally occurs one week before the wedding day. This is very common, and there can be several causes, ranging from last-minute fear of commitment, as well as realizing the seriousness that goes along with this step in life. Once you’re married, you can’t just get in a fight one night and decide to call it quits. (Actually, you can, but it’s very expensive and can be very embarrassing for you and your spouse).

By this point, you should know your fiance well and have gone through some type of marriage prep classes. If you’ve made it this far, the real fears probably either stem from standing up in front of all of your friends and family during the wedding ceremony or worrying about how your bride will react if things don’t go exactly as planned. So how can you get past these feelings? It’s a good idea to take some time for yourself the week of your wedding. Whether you like to golf, smoke cigars or go to the ball game, make a point to do something fun with your groomsmen or best man to get your mind off of the big day. So much time is put into this day, but most likely, everything probably won’t work out exactly the way it was planned. And that’s OK. If your nerves are still bothering you, talk to your best man, a friend or a close family member to help you through it.

On the other hand, if you get cold feet a month or two before the wedding, you should really ask yourself why you’re stressing. Don’t worry; it may just be natural groom stress from the planning, but it could also be a sign that things may not be quite as great as you first thought. All couples go through ups and downs when planning their wedding. You just need to learn to roll with the punches, but at the same time, you need to realize that this is the person you’ll spend the rest of your life with. If you think it’s more than just nerves, there are several things that could help. First, if you haven’t already done so, go to some marriage preparation classes. These aren’t nearly as fun as watching any sporting event (including underwater basket-weaving), but they can prove to be very beneficial, and in some cases, bring some very important conversations to light between you and your bride. If you’re still unsure about things, try going to a therapist or seeing a clergy member. You can either do this together or alone. This is the time to expose any problems you may have, and discussing these issues with a professional can be very helpful. But most likely, if you’ve gotten this far, you know your fiancée well and are just going through normal feelings.

The main to remember is that virtually every groom (and bride, for that matter) will get some type of cold feet before the wedding. Just make sure you’re both prepared for this step, and most importantly, take some time to relax during the week of the wedding. If there’s still any doubt, talk to each other or seek the help of friends, family or a professional.

——

Chris Easter is co-founder of TheManRegistry.com – the leading source on the web for groom gifts. The site also offers a wealth of content aimed at helping men survive the wedding planning process. Chris is also the co-host of the ‘That Wedding Show‘ podcast which is a joint venture between The Man Registry and Aisledash.com

We are thrilled to announce that one of our special bouquets was featured again – in the current local DC issue of The Knot!

The  bouquet was originally featured in our Eco-Beautiful Weddings magazine and the bouquet worked beautifully in their yellow palette page!  Yellow billy balls (craspedia) are mixed with green dianthus along with the orange Chinese lantern flair!

We are excited to announce that our own Katie Martin will now be writing for Wedding Aces.  Click on the logo above to see her intro entry.  She will be writing at least once a week for Wedding Aces.  Stay tuned here!

I am finally having a chance to unload a lot of images that I took myself at various weddings this year.  This is from Alison’s wedding that we featured earlier this and her wedding is featured in the current issue of Eco-Beautiful Weddings.

We have our walls (8 of them to be exact) in our inventory that have served an amazing amount of purposes for various weddings and various events over this past year.

For Alison’s wedding – we simply attached the escort cards to the wall with fabric that she provided to us for the wall.  It was an easy and quick way for the guests to find their cards and the pins can be used again!

Happy Planning!

As we get ready for another weekend filled with weddings, I just got this photo off my camera today.  We have had such a wonderful year so far with many of our clients letting us get creative while using their own family heirlooms and treasures.  This custom designed chuppah we made for our client was no exception!  The bride’s mom made a wonderful and meaningful quilt for her daughter’s wedding. We custom designed the frame to make sure the quilt would sit well on top then added some curly willow with orchids on the poles.  It was so beautiful on that warm spring day at the Sewall-Belmont House!

Have a wonderful weekend and Mazel Tov!

This was such a fun bat mitzvah that we did in late spring from repeat clients for their 2nd daughter’s bat mitzvah in Bethesda!

She really let us great creative by using our cupcake trees along with wheat grass to place along the edge of the kid’s tables along with nestled cupcakes!

The adult tables had tall arrangements with ginger, eremurus (foxtail lilies) orchids and elephant leaves to remind the guests of their family’s heritage in Costa Rica!

Thanks to Debbie Delardi over at Cakes by Design once again for her amazing cupcakes!

By the way – we have a number of the cupcake trees in stock for rent anywhere in the Washington, DC and Baltimore areas!  They have been super popular this year with our clients!  Not exactly the best photos we have ever taken – but it got he job done!

Mazel Tov!

Oh how we love it when wedding professionals get married and ask us to be a part of their day!  As company policy – we will help give our friends in the biz some tips – but most of the time – they don’t need it.  Sure – I will point them in the right direction if they want it, but we will not coordinate the day of the wedding – too much pressure!  Amen for Laura Auer from Wish Special Events for taking care of the details the day of the wedding. Most wedding professionals get pretty darn creative for their wedding day – as they have seen so many details that they have loved along their career path.  Mary Kate McKenna’s wedding was no exception.

We just loved how she gathered bottles and mason jars from all over the DC, Frederick and Baltimore area to create a unique mix of local flair.  Not only that – she made these adorable boxes with the numbers of the tables on them herself!  Yes – she went to a carpentry class to learn how!  We could have made them for her – but what a great DIY project!  So adorable!  We simply provided the flowers!

Thanks to The Blonde Photographer for taking these photos and getting them back to Mary Kate so quickly!  Keya did such an amazing job on this bouquet.  She used a beautiful coral toned peony, purple delphinium, peach lisianthus and fresh lavender to create her beautiful hand-tied bouquet.  Take a look at the first post to see the cute arch we made.  We will post more as soon as their photographer has them ready!

Cheers!

We are very excited to announce that we get to be a part of Erwin and Ed’s wedding on August 14!

Why are we announcing this – as we have weddings almost every weekend?  Well – this couple is beyond special.  They are the first recipients of a free wedding through Wish Upon a Wedding for the Washington, DC area.

Wish Upon a Wedding is a charitable organization that finds vendors all over the world to help create weddings for individuals that have terminal diseases.  Erwin is in his final stages of cancer and longs to finally be married to the love his life: Ed!  They asked Wish Upon a Wedding to help them realize their dream.  Then, in turn, Wish Upon a Wedding made a call out to vendors for help!  We will be doing their flowers and feel immensely proud and humbled to be a part of their day!

To learn more about Wish Upon a Wedding and how you can apply for your wedding or become a donating vendor – click on their badge above!

Quick announcement for brides that are on a tight budget!  Project Wedding is giving away up $500 in gift cards for great money-saving tips from you the bride!  Sign up today – the contest ends on the 19th!  Click above to learn how to win!

We are so thrilled that Project Wedding Featured Kendall and Mo’s wedding as well as the very cute blog:

Click on both logos to read all about the wedding and about green weddings!

Congrats again Kendall and Mo!!