Posts tagged ‘Invision Wedding Planning’

May 2

Wedding Dress Codes – the 411

There is nothing I love more than getting an invitation in the mail and seeing a requested dress code on it. Ohhh! A special party! I can’t quite describe how excited I get about it. Something about that makes me smile. A lot. I am well aware that not everyone is like this. Many folks get stressed out about trying to figure out what they are supposed to wear. And what about those weddings or events that don’t mention the type of dress? What are you supposed to do then? Well, I’m going to give you my thoughts on it.

*NOTE* I am a lover of formality. Especially in dress. The more formal the better. While I tend to take a “there are no rules anymore” attitude when it comes to weddings, level of dress is not something I compromise on. Why? Because there is nothing better than a man in a classic tux. Like James Bond. And what woman wouldn’t want to go to an event as James Bond’s date? Exactly.

First, get over the notion that it is rude to ask your guests to wear a certain level of dress. If you have dreamed of and planned a glittering night for your guests, then ask them to dress the part. That is part of the evening. It is how you have intended them to enjoy it. It is all a part of the big picture. Much like how I feel about “clean” vs. original song versions on iTunes. Just download the original. It is how the artist intended it.

Now, on to those pesky terms: black tie, white tie, black tie optional, etc. What do you do with that? Well, let’s go through them.

White Tie

This is the most formal of all dress codes, worn to evening events after 6 o’clock. I have yet to attend a white tie event. I am kind of sad about that. In the case that you are invited to the next state dinner and you aren’t quite sure what white tie means, know that the dapper fellow will be wearing black tails, white waist coat and white tie. Gals, long formal gowns, please.

Black Tie

This is the less formal evening dress code. Basically, your classic tuxedo is what you are looking for – i.e. James Bond. There are a lot of variations on the tux these days. However, technically, black tie means black bow tie and cummerbund or vest. In most places, you can get away with a tie and vest. But, if you are going to a really nice event that notes black tie on the invitation, stick to the classic bow tie. Just trust me on this. Ladies, again, long formal gowns.

Black Tie Optional (Invited)

This is a very ambiguous term. I have actually counseled people to not use this on their invitation. Mostly because it is very confusing. Really, this is the politically correct way of saying, “I really want you to dress up, but I don’t want to offend anyone by asking them to do so.” Like I said before. Get over it. Just ask for what you want. If you get an invitation that states black tie optional or black tie invited, know that your host expects you to dress up. So do it. Pull the tux out, wear a long dress. Maybe not one that is Oscar material, but you get the idea. Yes, you will be okay if you don’t wear a tux or if you prefer a cocktail dress. I personally believe that it is better to be overdressed than under-dressed. Just my two cents.

Semi-formal/Cocktail Attire

Guys, dark suits. Girls, cocktail dresses. Easy peasy.

What if the invitation doesn’t say what to wear? Well, this is where you interpret based on time, style of invitation, location, etc. I always err on the side of semi-formal dress for any wedding that doesn’t specifically say what to wear. Guys, a well-tailored suit will do amazing things for you. Unless it is an afternoon wedding, beach wedding, etc. where it will clearly be less formal, always do your part and dress nicely. It is one way of being respectful of your hosts and the importance of the event.

If you’d like to get some bullet points on what to wear, see Emily Post’s thoughts here. It’s not rocket science. But, always helpful. Here’s to being well-dressed – always! Until next time… XOXO, Julie

Mar 21

The NotWedding: 2012

It has come around again: The NotWedding. And once again, I was excited for my wonderful friend Lindsay to have asked me to attend it with her. To review, The NotWedding is a bridal show with a twist. This is a “fake wedding”. Everything about the event is set up as though you were at a real wedding. There is a ceremony, dinner, toasts (recognition of the participating vendors) and dancing. It is a more real way to experience the vendors – a wedding setting. I attend because I simply love to see new vendors and new ideas.

This year, I was most excited to see the design scheme that would be showcased. Since it is a mock wedding, they have the unique ability to take a design and follow it all the way through. Last year followed the trend of the vintage wedding. This year, I don’t know if I could actually name their theme. Although, pink was definitely their main color. And textures. Paper, fabric, etc. Texture was important. All well-thought out and executed perfectly.

Of course, Lindsay and I had a fabulous time. I am happy to share some of the official photos from Rustic White Photography. Can’t wait until the next NotWedding! Until next time… XOXO, Julie

Mar 8

Jennifer and Scott: A Bold and Colorful Wedding {Callaway Gardens, Pine Mountain, Ga}

This is another one of those weddings that I’ve loved and, for some reason, I’ve never done a post on the blog about. So, I thought I would start the new year off with a great wedding!

I was honored and really excited when Jennifer asked me to be her wedding planner. She and Scott chose Callaway Gardens as their destination wedding. Jennifer had a great vision for her wedding and wanted to use black and fuchsia as her colors. Very bold. She let me be her editor on the design and we decided that there would be no white in the wedding at all except for her dress. Black chairs, black table cloths, colorful flowers. But, she would be the only white.

It is always a little risky to go bold. But, with a garden setting, I think Jennifer’s vision came together flawlessly. One of the things I liked the best is that all the black that was used in the wedding as a backdrop allowed the flowers and any other accents pop completely. And, it made Jennifer, in her dress, stand out above all.

Beyond the fun and bold design, Jennifer and Scott were very focused on making sure that they and their guests enjoyed the day to its fullest. I have seen a lot of weddings. I can say that they had a BLAST. Their guests had so much fun. Again, that makes me more happy than anything.

So, enjoy the photos taken by the wonderful Delaney Holliman Photography. Another congratulations to Jennifer and Scott! I smile every time I look at your photos!

Until next time… XOXO, Julie

Jan 25

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Weddings at The Waters {Pike Road, Ala}

I am pleased, honored and crazy excited to announce that Invision Events will be the preferred wedding planner for The Waters in Pike Road, Ala! This gorgeous community just east of Montgomery, Ala. has been thoughtfully designed to give a real southern lifestyle to its residents. And because of this, it has played host to some of the most beautiful weddings around. Please contact me at 334.209.5134 or info@invevents.com for information on our packages for weddings at The Waters.

The Meeting House One of the first buildings you see when you enter The Waters is the Meeting House. Set on Chapel Hill and overlooking the entire community, the Meeting House can hold up to 250 people for a wedding ceremony. I love the classic design and the simple lines that it has. It’s one of those buildings that stands out for it’s beautiful simplicity. Oozing traditional Southern charm. Basically, my ideal spot for a wedding ceremony.

The Marina A long pier leads out to twin boat houses that gives your guests a different experience of the lake. Room for a band and dancing and also for dining, an amazing evening on the water is easy to create. Rehearsal dinners or receptions have all enjoyed this spot to perfection.

The Pavilion Beautifully situated overlooking the sparkling pool and Lake Cameron’s white sand beach, the neighborhood pavilion offers the perfect outdoor space for a rehearsal dinner. And the adjacent outdoor kitchen makes it easy for your caterer of choice.

I invite you to learn more about this amazing community and event spot. It’s rare that I see a venue that has so much to offer. It’s beautiful, simple, southern – perfect! And, ask about our wedding packages written specifically for weddings at The Waters. Until next time…. XOXO, Julie

Jan 18

Karen and David: A Summer Wedding {Callaway Gardens, Pine Mountain, Ga} {Auburn, Ala}

When I first met Karen, it was clear that this wedding would have a different focus than the flowers or the invitations or food or anything else. It would absolutely be completely focused on the happiness of the couple, the blending of families and enjoying their time with their closest friends above all else. I was so excited to be asked to be her wedding planner.

Karen and David’s love story is wonderful. After being widowed with triplet daughters (yes, you read that right – triplets – and they are adorable), Karen was lucky enough to meet David and fall in love. And, it’s not hard to see why David would fall for her. Karen’s personality is infectious. Bubbly, happy, sunny – all words that come to mind about her. I mean, she teaches Zumba and you know that a Zumba instructor has to be high energy. Karen was very focused on simply enjoying the day. So, it was up to me to help pull her vision together while making sure that she was able to enjoy the love and togetherness of her wedding weekend.

They decided that they wanted to have a smaller ceremony and then a larger reception. To do that, they chose the Chapel at Callaway Gardens for their ceremony to get away from things just a little bit and then moved on to the reception at the Moores Mill Country Club in Auburn. It was one of the sweetest summer soirees I’ve ever been a part of.

So, of course, we had to turn to Rob Smith of FlipFlopFoto to photograph the day just perfectly. Always lovely! I’m so glad I can share the photos with you here. Many, many congratulations to Karen and David! Y’all were so great to work with and I wish you nothing but a lifetime of happiness! Until next time….. XOXO, Julie

The girls waiting for the cake to be cut. Classic!

Dec 3

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Vintage Wedding Controversy! I want your feedback!

I’m putting out a call for your thoughts and opinions on the vintage wedding. I recently posted on the vintage wedding trend as a design choice. Ever since, I have noticed that everyone else in the wedding industry seems to have their own opinions on it as well. Every time I browse my Twitter or Facebook or blog reader, I’m seeing someone else speaking their opinions on the subject. Some love it. Some hate it. Some love parts of it and hate others. I re-read my own post and I saw that even I could clarify how I feel about it. So, I put it to you! Brides, wedding professionals, wedding enthusiasts – how do you feel about the vintage designed/inspired wedding? I’ll follow up with a post on your thoughts and more of mine. Leave a comment here, join the discussion on our Facebook page or email me your thoughts at julie {at} invevents.com. Looking forward to hearing what you think!

Until next time… XOXO – Julie

Nov 11

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The Trendy Wedding

I may, or may not, be the best person to discuss trends. I wouldn’t call myself a trendy person in real life. Meaning that I have a hard time latching onto a trend for a trend’s sake. Good heavens, I live in a college town. If I took to every trend that I saw going on, it would be a sad day. And, I feel the same way with weddings. As much as you want to be current and have fun with your wedding, I try to stay away from trends. Instead, I work with my clients to create a wedding that will speak to their personality as a couple, be beautiful for years to come and still have something special that will set it apart from other weddings that their guests will attend.

You may be wondering how this is possible. It’s not that it doesn’t take work. I have found that it is much easier to over-design than it is to edit. It takes much more attention to know when enough is enough. To hold back at just the right points. I have said many times that I will always tend towards the less is more approach to design. I think that the reason for the event will shine through much more if you don’t throw everything you can imagine into the mix. I believe that it is the people that make up a wedding, not the flowers (or other piece). This touches on my dislike of themes to weddings. If you need a theme, then it isn’t a wedding. Or, if you have to spell it out for people – literally. I, for one, could go without seeing wedding photos of a bride and groom holding signs that say “Love” or “Mr. and Mrs.” or some such thing. I’m sure you know what I am talking about. I mean, really. If your photographer can’t capture the love of a wedding without having written out signs that say “love”, you might need to re-think your choice of photographer.

But, I’m getting off track. In terms of trends, I think that they only work when you can incorporate them effortlessly. If they stand out as a piece on its own, then it shouldn’t be used. Everything should flow completely. This does not mean that I think all weddings should look alike. Neither do I think that you can’t have fun with color or printing or other design aspects. Of my clients that I am working with this moment, all of them have a very distinct color palette. And, I love them all. I know that there are very few people (me being among those oddballs) who would do a black and white wedding.

To try to actually define what I am talking about in terms of trends, think of it this way: if you have to tell someone that you are awesome, then you probably aren’t. Basically, stop trying so hard! Just let your wedding be as natural as possible. If you naturally tend towards the formal side of things (like I do), then go with it. If you have a love of color, use it!

Example 1: I know I use this wedding a lot, but please see Lauren and JP’s wedding for an example of using color and personality in just the right amount. Flowers, printing, etc. all colorful. But, nothing overdone. Lauren used white/negative space in the best way possible to set off her love of color. Photos by Our Labor of Love.

Example 2: Kara and Ian’s wedding was formal with a deep plum color palette. With such a strong color, she kept it all in check. Photos by Flip Flop Foto.

As with all things, have an editing eye. You don’t have to fill your ballroom with fuchsia tablecloths for your guests to know that fuchsia is in your wedding color palette. (As a matter of fact, I strongly advise against a ballroom full of fuchsia tablecloths. Painful to eyes. Email me for more thoughts on this.) Even a glam wedding style needs to be edited. Don’t be afraid to hold back – just a little. It will allow you to shine that much more.

Until next time… XOXO – Julie

The featured photo is by Chanterelle Photography from Rachel and Sean’s wedding. Rachel understood editing when it came to design. Her wedding was absolutely perfectly done. While every detail was thought about, it came across as effortless.

Oct 27

When it comes to your wedding, personality matters

I recently posted about trusting your wedding vendors. Which is very important to you enjoying your day. But, this week I have been thinking about how you actually need to like the people who you have chosen to work with on your wedding day. You may have hired the most well-regarded vendors in the industry – possibly even famous vendors. But, if you don’t actually like them and enjoy working with them, it will put a huge damper on your experience. Weddings are emotional and stressful and you have to actually enjoy working with your vendors.

I once had a client who hired a very good photographer for her wedding. Her family knew him by reputation and he had done work for other people they knew. I, myself, was impressed by his work. However, come wedding day, I wasn’t super impressed with his work style. He never really warmed up to anyone. It was as if he didn’t like working with people in general. And, he was kind of rude to me. I didn’t say anything to the client about it. Him being rude to me wasn’t her problem. It wasn’t until later when I was working on a second wedding for that family that they mentioned how rude the photographer had been and how hard he had been to work with before, during and after the wedding. The bride actually said, “I thought that I would get over his personality because he takes such great photos. In the end, I hated having him around me all day.”

What a horrible thing to remember about your wedding day! It makes me really sad for my client and really mad at vendors who treat people this way. On behalf of the vendors I know in this industry, I will say that we all work really hard to be as professional as possible. I take it personally when people say they have been treated poorly by a fellow wedding industry member.

The bride’s statement is dead on. And, while I think that they got good photos, I firmly believe that they would have been better had she actually liked the photographer. This can be applied to nearly every vendor in your wedding. If you really click with your florist, they are going to understand what you want that much more. The relationship becomes more collaborative instead of one-sided. And I LOVE collaboration.

I am in a very enviable position in terms of my involvement in a wedding. I get the opportunity to be super personal with my clients. I get to spend the most time with them. I get to know them, their personalities, their likes and dislikes. Many times, I meet with them in their homes which gives me a more rounded picture of who they are. And, with my office at my house, sometimes we meet at my home. By the time their wedding day is upon us, I can say that I know that client so well that I can make decisions for them. As in, if something arises that day, I can make a decision about it without having to mention to my client that there ever was an issue. And, I think it makes for a great working relationship.

I don’t think that you have to get that personal with all your vendors. That is simply the way that I like to work. But, it is very important to feel absolutely comfortable with those you work with. Of course, I help my clients through working with vendors. Even though you might like your florist, you may not always speak “floral” language. Part of my job is to help translate what you want and what they can do for you. But, don’t sell yourself short on the working relationship because you see a big name or reputation. If they can’t back up the reputation by being nice to work with, it isn’t worth it.

Be picky. It’s okay. You don’t have to settle. And, get a planner. I know that many people settle on things because they just don’t want to deal with it anymore. If you let your planner handle the parts that you just can’t spend any more time and effort on, you’ll be happier.

Until next time… XOXO – Julie

The photo is from Burnett Photography with florals by Kimberly Nelson Floral Designs for Tracy and Stephen’s wedding. All parties got along great!

Sep 21

About those photo booths…

I’m going to be a bit reflective today. Sometimes, I can get caught up in the wedding-ness that I am a part of day in and day out. And by that, I mean, all the research and blog reading and magazine reading and Facebook stalking and Twitter-ing and general “keeping up” with the wedding industry at large that I have to do. I say have to. I mean want to. Because, I want to see everything there is to see about weddings to be able to give my clients the best in design ideas, direction, etc.

I feel like I have seen it all by now. Seriously. Very few things stand out to me for real anymore. I can look at 10 different wedding blogs a day and find maybe one or two photos that stand out to me – and that’s a good day. I was getting worried that I might have become a bit jaded by my job. If you look at beautiful images all the time, you start to get very picky on what you personally call beautiful or interesting or unique. It’s kind of sad (for me).

But, the redeeming part of all this is separating the design aspect of a wedding from the personal aspect of a wedding. I know that I have already given myself away as a very formal person if I were to sum up my event style. Black tie. Uber fancy. But, when it comes down to it, all I would want from my event is that everyone has a great time. The personal aspect of it. The “who gives a care about what type of paper the program is printed on, I just want to celebrate with my friends” attitude that usually comes at about 2.5 hours before the reception ends at any normal wedding. Don’t get me wrong. I’m a paper snob and if I have the choice, I will definitely care about what type of paper the program is printed on. But, I get a zillion times more pleasure in seeing my clients have a knock-down, crazy-good time at their reception.

That brings me to a little preview of Ben and Becca’s wedding. I had the honor of helping them put together their day and it was so much fun. If I tell you that I am super formal when it comes to my event style, then Ben and Becca would be my nemesis. Not in a bad way at all! Their wedding was beautiful! Disclaimer: I appreciate all good design, formal and informal. Theirs was very crafty and homespun with love and very welcoming. An outdoor ceremony with burlap on reception tables, cornhole and bocci ball at the cocktail hour, an ice cream truck along with their dessert tent, and a specially brewed craft beer. Just a very comfortable setting. And guess what? Their guests were completely involved in all the special touches that they had going on.

To illustrate, I give you Exhibit A: the photo booth. I share these photos with you before sharing the wedding photos because it illustrates how much fun everyone was having. I have had several photo booths at weddings. Up until this point, I have been slightly indifferent on the photo booth. I sometimes think that it’s just something to add to the hoopla of a wedding. But, Ben and Becca’s just had a different attitude. First off, the “booth” was really just a backdrop with a camera in front of it. Very simple. But, the genius of it was that you could watch what everyone was doing in the booth. All others I’ve had have been actual booths. Kind of closed off. This one, coupled with the amazingly fun props that Becca collected (I mean, who doesn’t love a Viking helmet and red feather boa?), was a recipe for fun! It just begged for you to jump in and be a nut in front of a camera. Which made for a very fun wedding reception elsewhere.

So, I dare you not to smile, and probably laugh out loud, as you look at their photo booth shots (thank you Altmix Photography). And think about how you want your guests to feel at your next wedding/event. I’m not saying that things have to get goofy to have a good time. But, it certainly doesn’t hurt… XOXO, Julie

Sep 14

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Sean and Rachel: New Orleans Flavor for an Alabama Wedding {Pike Road, Ala}

Meet Sean and Rachel. This gorgeous couple got married in May at Rachel’s aunt and uncle’s house in Pike Road, Ala. Sean and Rachel live in Florida, but it was the beautiful property that her aunt and uncle have that inspired them to hold their wedding in Alabama. The property was chock full of beautiful trees with Spanish Moss hanging from them and it served as the best backdrop for Rachel’s wedding design: a New Orleans flavored wedding – since Rachel grew up in NOLA. I was loving being their wedding planner.

It was such a sweet wedding. Staying true to the NOLA flair, the music in the ceremony was heavy on the Louis Armstrong (i.e. recessional to “A Kiss to Build a Dream On” – how awesome!) and they paraded to Second Line at the reception. So fun! To round it out, cajun food abounded at the cocktail hour. Yum. So, please enjoy the amazing photos from the uber talented Julie Lowry of Chanterelle Photography. Laissez les bons temps rouler!