Weddings Archives - Page 2 of 2

Ribbons, Sharks, and a Bride and Groom!

June 1, 2012 by Susan 8 Comments

Have I told you lately, how much I love you? (said, of course, in a Rod Stewart manner) If only you knew the work drama I have had this week, you would understand why I failed to deliver a week of awesome posts. Sorry friends. But hey, it’s Friday, and I have vertigo, so I can’t drive - so I am here! Here to share the wedding I worked last weekend with you!

Yes, I said worked. In case you didn’t know, I have a hobby job. Which means it’s a job I love but it doesn’t pay the bills - so I will probably never go pro with it. I plan weddings on the side. And I am in love with it. I haven’t advertised in years - it’s basically word of mouth and referral business. But I love it. It is such a great feeling to be “working” but to absolutely LOVE it so much it doesn’t feel like work. Who knew such a feeling existed?!

Anyways, enough about me! Let me introduce you to Jessica and Dan. They found me on wedding wire (here) which is really the only place I “advertise.” Since I had never worked with anyone off of this site, I was a bit hesitant… but of course I met with them. And loved them.

(Sorry for the photo quality… these were just the few I snapped with my iPhone as I was running around all day…)

They had a small ceremony at the Great Neck Gazebo in Virginia Beach. The gazebo was back in the woods, but it looked out at the Lynnhaven Inlet waterway. It was a stunning day for an outdoor wedding. Approximately 55 people came to witness their heartfelt ceremony.

This is what I started with… It ended with all of the seats full,
colorful ribbons everywhere, and a happy bride and groom!

Since all of the bridesmaids wanted to wear different colors, the bride agreed. The “theme” of this wedding turned into a multicolored theme. We had tons of colorful ribbons hanging everywhere in the gazebo. And oh man, don’t you just LOVE the cowboy boots the girls wore? Yes, the bride had a pair on as well!

It was a simple, heartfelt ceremony. The bride and groom wrote their own vows and the pastor was actually the grooms cousin. So sweet!

This was actually a HUGE event for me… after 5 years of wedding planning this was the FIRST time I ever got to see any of my couples actually get married! Normally I am already at the reception site, making sure everything is falling into place. This time we had a 2 hour delay so I got to stay.

“You may now kiss the bride!” So cute!

Since there was time to kill between the ceremony and the reception, we had mason jars full of lemonade, sweet tea, and raspberry lemonade. They were PERFECT for such a warm day! Not to mention so southern and awesome!

The reception was held at the Virginia Aquarium. In all of these years, and all of the venues I have worked, I definitely need to give a shout out to Stacy and her staff. They were so great to work with. They were so organized and put together. Something everyone should look for in a catering team.

Continuing along with the colorful theme… each table had it’s own color. The napkins, candles, table runners, place cards, everything! They were all drastically different, but they blended so well together!

I love how the bride and groom kept personal details running throughout the day. I don’t know much about football - but check out how they represented their teams on their wedding cake!

I did mention that it was at the aquarium right??

Even my assistant enjoyed her moment at the shark tank! (Many thanks to my mom who has been an awesome assistant for so many of my wedding jobs!)

I enjoyed my 10 minute break eating dinner in front of the sunken treasure tank full of “local” ocean fish!

It was such a great night. The bride and groom seemed to thoroughly enjoy their day spent with family and friends. Before we all headed out for the night, the awesome DJ (who was so fun I will probably hire one day!) got the party rockin’ one last time with the Electric Slide (a group favorite apparently!)

It was a long day but it reminded me how much I love a good wedding every now and then. By the time it was over I was exhausted and super thankful I wore my comfy, sparkly Toms! Even the sting rays were worn out! (Yes, they are actually sleeping here… at least that’s what the aquarium guy told me!)

Congrats again Jessica and Dan! Thanks for letting me be part of your big day! I wish you many years of happiness together!

A Monday-y Tuesday.

May 29, 2012 by Susan 2 Comments

Hello ~~Monday~~ Tuesday. Don’t you just ~~hate~~ love how today feels like Monday but it’s actually Tuesday? Sure, there are many pros and cons to this fact and feeling. However, I’m pretty positive the pros drastically out weigh the cons. I mean let’s be real - a “Monday” that leaves you an extra day closer to Friday is pretty rare and incredible.

So how was your weekend extra long holiday weekend? I have a feeling I am going to take a few days, eh, probably all week, to recap the amazingness of my weekend.

My New York Mets tickets arrived. I took my mom to eat “crazy asian food” and watched her use kid-choppies.

I worked my first wedding of the season. It felt good to be working but to be in love with the work I was doing.

I spent time with my guy. I spent time at the river. I spent two thirds of the weekend topless. As in the Jeep. I went to a cookout.

And I pinned a million things in my down time. So yeah. Pretty sure one post can’t recap the joy that this weekend brought me. If only today wasn’t a Tuesday that feels like a Monday though… A Wednesday that felt like a Monday would be even better.

Did you do anything exciting over this Memorial Holiday? Tell me about it! See you tomorrow for the wedding recap! xoxo

Pinteresting Wednesday: Weddings

March 28, 2012 by Susan 8 Comments

Well how pinteresting is this?! I spent, basically, my entire Sunday pinning things and watching Netflix. For those of you who follow me on Pinterest, you know this is uncommon. You also know I pinned approximately a million things in one day. And you also might know that 75% of them were wedding and party related. My neighbor asked me what I would do if he gave me $50k. (hypothetically, of course.) I said I would throw parties!

I wish I could throw a huge party or wedding-type event every month and invite all of you to join me! I would be such a happy girl. In the mean time, I pin things about them instead. And link up with The Vintage Apple.

Today - for the pinteresting Wednesday link-up I am going to share party and wedding related pins from Sunday with you! Hope you enjoy!

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A popcorn bar! Perfect for any party or wedding, or heck… my living room.

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Colorful straws. I am kinda in love. And I want to have ~~some~~ all of them for a party. Or smoothies. Or craft projects. Or to set on my desk and stare at how pretty they all are…

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When I get married… one day… can someone please remind me of this. As much as I LOVE party planning, I want to enjoy the event too. (Just as long as they let me do all the set up and decorations, I will be a happy ~~camper~~ bride.)

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Pretty sure I need to have a party at my house this summer and offer beverages like this. I love mason jars. And lemonade. And sweet tea.

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If only we had some redwood trees here in Virginia! I would absolutely love to plan a wedding for someone in the woods like this. I appreciate trees more than most… how awesome would this be for a setting?

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Simple. Sleek. Beautiful. Cake. I love this one! What do you think?

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Pretty snazzy right ladies?! Who doesn’t love a guy who dresses like this? Sweet vest. Hot pants. Nice jacket. Is this wedding fancy though? I know it’s “White Collar” (the tv show) approved!

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And just in case there is a certain guy reading my blog… These pop up all over when you are searching pinterest for wedding and event ideas! Eventually you know I had to pin one!

How gorgeous is that ring ladies? Yeah… Don’t mind if I do.

Welp. That’s it from me today! What do all of you lovely ladies think? Tell me about your wedding! Anything you would’ve done differently now? Was there anything super fun and creative you did for your wedding? I love event planning! I want to hear your creative ideas!

PS. Keep in mind I was linking up with The Vintage Apple for this post. None of the pictures in this post belong to me. They all belong to the sources listed below them. Thanks to those sites for their beautiful, creative images.

Yes, I rapped at a wedding!

November 28, 2011 by Susan Leave a Comment

To be truthful - it took me 2 months to get up the nerve to actually upload this video from my camera! Most of you know that I do wedding planning on the side, and that it takes two hands to count the number of times I have been a bridesmaid or maid of honor. I have done numerous toasts and speeches, but it wasn’t until Jessica’s wedding in September that I had the nerve to actually rap my toast!

Before I get into the details, let me tell you a bit about this girl… she is hilarious, bubbly, fun, beautiful (inside and out) and would probably do just about anything for me. Even though we have spent most of our friendship with half the country between us, it somehow pressed on and I think we both know that we will always have each other’s backs in a moment’s notice - even if we look like Dumb & Dumber fools, wearing flippers walking down the beach in the Bahamas together!

She has surprised me NUMEROUS times - like when she randomly showed up at my high school graduation, or when she popped out of the back of the best praline store in Charleston while my boyfriend and I were vacationing down there! So I felt like it was time for me to surprise her in return!

A couple days before I flew up to Minneapolis to help her prepare for her wedding I messaged the Best Man on facebook to see if he was on board with my plan. Luckily the best man was her brother, who feels like a brother to me as well. It made it so much easier to throw my crazy idea to rap at her wedding out there…

Jess and Alex are incredibly fun people. And the Kirk family doesn’t do anything the ordinary way. So when I asked Brian if he wanted to rap with me his response was “SUZ YOU’RE A GENIUS!!”

I watched a TON of youtube videos of other folks rapping wedding toasts. Most of them actually rapped to the Fresh Prince song. I probably should’ve done that, because now, every time I hear “Ice Ice Baby” I start singing “Jess and Alex.” I can’t take all the credit though for my rapping lyrics. I did snag a few lines from those who previously rapped toasts. So many thanks go out to those people!

Anyway - I am pretty sure Jess was surprised! I actually asked her the day before her wedding, in a joking manner, if it would be okay for me to wear rapper bling at her wedding. She probably thought I was kidding - and then - I did this…

Much love goes out to Jess and Alex! (And my partner in crime, Bri!) Ya’ll are great sports! Hope you enjoyed my awful, ahem, I mean AWESOME rap skillz! (Because it was the first and last time that will happen!) XOXO!