What's the secret to nothing-less-than-perfect flowers on your wedding day?
TRUST YOUR FLORIST!
They know the secrets.
(But, we're helping you out with some of them.)
Your Bouquet Should Fit YOU
Besides your bridal glow, this is your most important accessory. It needs to fit your personality and also your physical size. If you are tiny, don't have a bouquet that is too large for your frame.
There's always a way to achieve the look you want.
Instead of paying a fortune for flowers that are not in season, trust your florist to use look-alike substitutes.
Garden Rose (on the left) versus Peonies (on the right). They're an awful close representation!
Your florist can also help incorporate less expensive flowers or tasteful fillers to give a luxe look at a not-super luxe cost.
Keep your Guests in Mind
Be sure to not overcrowd your dinner tables with over the top centerpieces.
You don't want your table to look empty, but your guests need room to eat.
Keep your arrangements to appropriate heights - be sure not to block the view of your guests.
The first rule in wedding jewelry - don't over do it! AE brings you a jewelry guide to match your metals to your whites and your jewelry to your necklines.
Select the metal that compliments your white dress best!
Bright White
Stick to pearls or platinum.
Off-White (or Diamond White)
Pairs with gold or silver, or rose gold or pearls (you get the picture)!
Ivory
Gold will pull out the tint in the fabric.
Necklaces and necklines - pick the perfect pair!
Strapless or Sweetheart
Pick a statement piece! A dramatic necklace will take this style of neckline from pretty to pretty amazing! Our STUNNING bride, Katie B, chose a bolder option to complement her sweetheart neckline and kept it simple with a beautiful stud earring.
Pull back long hair to make some room for this piece.
Pair this plunging neckline with a delicate necklace. A pendant will compliment the cut nicely! Pick out a noticeable earring to draw attention to your face.
Accessorize your tresses, it's great way to dress up your halter gown! Whether using a headband or crystal hair pins, adding some sparkle to your coif will complete this look.
Pick a necklace with little length! When done right, layers complement this neckline beautifully. When matching earrings, don't over do it, select a slight drop or stud to complement the jewels on the necklace.
Photo Courtesy of Martha Stewart Weddings
When in doubt, remember, the wise philosophy of Ms. Coco Chanel: When accessorizing, always remove the last piece you put on.
This is surefire way to stay well-edited when deciding on your bridal bling.
What a year 2013 has been for us! We count our many blessings as we say goodbye to one fab year and HELLO to a new one.
January rang in the New Year with Dan and Alicia's fantastic New Year's Eve celebration. Oh how we loved this evening! A&D and their family remain dear friends.
February brought us back to one of our favorite events of the year and one with an amazing and touching cause: The Black Tie Blue Jackets Style Show. It's such an honor to be involved.
Image courtesy of Capital Style
See footage from the 2013 event. We can't wait for 2014!
May kicked off a busy summer for us with three events...
Heather and Willy's charmingly perfect Downtown wedding...
Ashley and Tom's swanky soiree at the Ivory Room...
Image courtesy of Red Gallery Photo
...we just ADORED these two!
And, another one of our favorite recurring events...The Nicklaus Museum Dinner for Nationwide Financial/The Memorial Tournament.
Photo Courtesy of Andy Mahr
See more here! Gosh, we sure were proud of this event.
June brought us Maggie and Quinn's uber special wedding in Knox County...these high school sweethearts and their families are about as lovely as they come.
July brought us a trip to our favorite part of the country - WINE COUNTRY, for our best friend's wedding. It was such a special experience to be in the wedding and to play a large part in the planning process. Cheers to G&B. Love you!
July also brought the wedding of Emily and Nick. Super sweet affair at the Columbus Museum of Art for a super sweet couple.
Image courtesy of January Newbanks
August brought the first of two big bits of news for AE Events. Brittany Sitz, our long-time intern, starting with us as our first full-time employee. Brittany has been an important part of AE and it's been great to have her official.
Image courtesy of Ink and Ivory Design Studio
September came with another of our favorite yearly events - the always fabulous Rowe Fashion Show celebrating it's 5th year (and 5 years with us, too)! This event is near and dear to us for several reasons: Maren Roth (owner) was our first friend in Columbus and the Rowe Show was one of the first events we booked when we launched AE. We cannot thank Maren and Rowe enough for the constant support, friendship, and fashion advice. xx
October was also filled with fun. It was Adrianne and Sherman's birthdays, as well as, we had Lauren and Ed's amazing affair at the Columbus Museum of Art. This event and our beautiful bride were grace and elegance through and through.
And here is a little teaser video - their day was just so special!
October also brought to Leah and Tom's wedding. Brittany did an amazing job planning and executing while Adrianne had the honor of being in the wedding. Leah and Tom are so in love and truly epitomized what it means to be a bride and a groom.
We also embarked on a site inspection to the British Virgin Islands for our special client and friends, Lacey and Blake. Man, this sure is a tough job!
November and December have been filled with friends, food, fun, new clients, and the holidays.
January begins with yours truly speaking at the 2014 Columbus Bride Show and then we zip off to Ft. Worth, TX for the Nationwide Financial Sales Summit.
We have also been keeping very busy the past couple of months with our second peice of exciting news. We have moved into our very own darling cottage. We can't wait to share it with you!
It's been a fabulous year. We love our job, we love our clients (past, present, AND future), and we love life. Cheers, my dears. xx, AE
It's Wedding Wednesday and today we are bringing you a few tips for dressing yourself, your gals and your guests for a stylish wintry affair.
BRIDES
We adore a long-sleeved wedding dress for your winter wedding.
Too heavy? A lace sleeve is also seasonably appropriate, and won't make you feel overly covered.
You can also find beautiful removable pieces that will add warmth during pictures and the ceremony (churches can be drafty!), but that can be removed for the party.
Pair a strapless dress with a bolero jacket or fur wrap. Here is a lovely and moderately priced beauty from Alice and Olivia.
Try evening gloves! They are a "look" but when done right, they make for an impactful and beautiful accessory.
And the creme de la creme (in our humble opinion) of winter accessories is the under-utilized fur muff.
Oooh La La!
Don't feel like to have to dress your maids in wool and long-sleeves for your winter wedding.
Go with what speaks to you and your your wedding style...
...BUT, DON'T LEAVE THEM FREEZING!
If you plan to take outdoor pictures, give your gals something to cover up with!
Common winter accessories make for fun pictures!
TOPSHOP has an array of mittens at great prices that will complement almost any wedding style/color palatte.
We also love festive hosiery to complement a winter look.
(we think every gal should own a pair of Wolford's).
You can find fab faux fur wraps and capelets at many moderately-priced stores starting in the Fall. We love this one from Kohls. Etsy is a great resource, too!
Tip: be careful with hats and even scarves, they can wreck havoc on beautifully coiffed do's.
Wow! It's such an honor that the bride or groom chose YOU to give the toast on their special day. But, as you prepare you may feel the pressure mounting:
Will I be funny?
Will guests be bored?
Will my voice crack?
Will I sob uncontrollably?
I sure don't want to embarrass myself - or worse, THEM! (well, maybe just a tiny bit)
My fiancé has recently proposed and we are in the very early stages of planning our wedding. Both sets of parents have previously alluded to contributing financially to the wedding, but since we have been engaged, neither has brought up the topic. I know I need to establish my budget, but I have no idea what they are planning to give.
I am feeling a little bit shy about asking for and discussing financial help for our big day, especially with my fiance's parents, and I was hoping you could give me some suggestions. Do you have any recommendations on how to initially bring this topic up with our parents? Is this a meeting that we have with both sets of parents together, or should we have separate conversations? Thanks, Ady! Any advice will help!
Sincerely,
Meghan J., Columbus, Ohio
Dear Meghan, Ah yes, the dreaded budget conversation. This topic is tricky on many levels, but especially tricky when you have to bring it up! Your first step will be to do your due diligence and put together a budget for what you THINK your wedding will cost. Make some initial venue calls and put down some preliminary numbers on paper. Be thorough - don't forget little details like tuxedo rentals, save the dates, and transportation. Smaller budget items tend to add up quickly. After you have established your preliminary budget, talk with your fiancé about what the two of you can afford to contribute, IF you need to. At that point, it is best that you have individual conversations with your parents rather than a group conversation. If you are uncomfortable about being included in the conversation with your fiance's parents, there may be a good reason for that. You should each be prepared to speak to your parents privately and independently of each other. It is "tradition" that the bride's parents host the bulk of the wedding day activities, while the groom's parents host the rehearsal dinner and the "day-before" details. It is important to ask your parents what their expectations are before launching into what you expect of them. If the two expectations do not coincide, you will then need to have a deeper conversation about what you actually need. A few further bits of advice: Until you know how much you have to spend, refrain from making big planning decisions. You don't want to blow a large chunk of your budget on a designer dress or super expensive venue if you can't actually afford it. Embrace your budget. Whatever it is, is what it is. You must work within it. It does not make sense to go into debt to host a party more lavish than what you can comfortably pay for. Be grateful that your parent's are contributing to the costs, no matter how much that amount is. Be sure to show them your gratitude. You can do it! You aren't the first and won't be the last bride to find herself in this predicament. It WILL work out! xo, Ady
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