Pretty in Yellow & Grey Program

A simple ceremony program

The design is copied from the wedding invitation

The pocket wedding invitation that inspired the ceremony program

The Pretty in Yellow & Grey Bride came back to Koru Wedding Shoppe for matching ceremony programs. She was having a short & sweet ceremony & she simply wanted to list the members of the bridal party who support & love them on not only their wedding day but every day. Naturally, she wanted to design to match her gorgeous wedding invitations. Easy, easy!

The Pretty in Yellow & Grey program is a single sheet with a backer. We used the same paper color, font style & design to match the Bride's wedding invitation. We flipped the layout to a vertical orientation to best fit the copy & added the bridal party list. The result is perfectly coordinated ceremony program.

Very simple; very striking!

Broken Tiara

It could happen to anyone:
a broken tiara & other little mishaps on a Wedding Day
Beautiful tiara from Model Bride

Often I am asked what I do on a wedding day as the wedding planner. I tick off the usual stuff: facilitate the wedding day schedule; coordinate the Bride, Groom, Bridal Party & vendors; cue events; set-up & breakdown ceremony & reception items; solve unexpected surprises (aka problems); calm nerves & relieve stress; etc, etc.

Today, as I reflect back on this weekend's wedding, it strikes me that the "etc, etc" may be the most important part of my job. It's the little things we do that really matter. Provide the Bride with a snack when lunch hasn't arrived yet. Fix the broken tiara. Pin the boutonnieres on the Groom & Groomsmen. Find missing family members for group photos. Pin bridesmaid dresses. Let the unity candle lighters use our lighter because nobody brought one.

All this happened before the ceremony started.

We continued to hop in wherever & whenever needed until the Reception was said & done. Could everything have been done without us? Yes, of course. However, the Bride would have been stressed. And whatever poor soul, probably a Bridesmaid or Mother of the Bride, was stuck doing these tasks wouldn't have enjoyed the wedding as much. On the other hand, we are happy to take care of everything so everyone can be a carefree guest at the wedding. It's truly a joy & honor for us.

There's a little glimpse into the life of a wedding planner!

Too Much

Ask me about our wedding & I will most likely reply, "Winter White Wedding." Whites, creams, champagnes; simple & sweet. I'm very careful not follow in the footsteps of Marcy & Dan & describe a "Winter Wonderland Wedding" which brought them a wedding day blizzard. I'd like just enough snow for pretty photos but not so much our guests have a tough time traveling. In my ideal world, we have a beautiful dusting of snow on our winter white wedding day. Is that too much to ask?

Just imagine us posed here in snowy Church Square Park:


Or here, walking among the quaint, brownstone-lined streets & snowy trees:



Or perhaps here, coming down a staircase of snow swirls:


Oops, how did this photo get here?! I couldn't resist adding this photo of my cute boy Gucci when I came across it searching for the other winter pictures. Sadly, we won't be posing with Gucci (how I wish!) on our wedding day but I hope to snap some wedding photos with our new boy Bailey.


Who knows, maybe a snowy wedding day is too much to ask, although it would be really, really cool. Our wedding day will be perfect no matter what!

Overwhelmed Bride

A pretty bouquet to cheer me up today!
White Tulip & Chamomile Bouquet
Bouquet from Real Simple

I have quite a few wedding invitations to photograph & feature on the blog but I forgot my camera again. I'd say it's one of those days except it may be more appropriate to say it's one of those weeks. I'm feeling a bit like I'm stuck in second gear in life, not to mention in wedding planning.

What's happening with our wedding planning these days? Lots & nothing at the same time.

RZ & I didn't have time to review our wedding invitation options the other day. He did give his stamp of approval to one invitation. However, he didn't even look at the other invitation. Until we have time to compare & contrast, I'm holding off on choosing & ordering wedding invitations.

Because we want to include the Rehearsal Dinner & Celebration Brunch information with the wedding invitation, I reached out to the Hyatt Regency Jersey City to find out when & where we could hold both affairs at the hotel. At first, I was told they had plenty of room for us. It took me about five days to get back to them &, in the meantime, a sales conference booked the entire hotel. Major bummer! I'm back at square one, reaching out to local restaurants to see about their options & pricing.

Also on the to-do list is reserving wedding day transportation for us, our bridal party & our wedding guests. This happens to be of my least favorite tasks when I'm helping wedding planning clients. Naturally, it's no more appealing when it's our wedding. So I've been putting it off.

And so it goes . . .

Sweet Shower Details

On Monday, I wrote about the fun celebration of Marisa's bridal shower. The entire affair was planned & executed with love from the pretty decorations to the yummy food to the entertaining games to the thoughtful touches. Today, I wanted to share some of the sweet details.

First, the lovely tables decorated with bright pink linens, gorgeous flowers & heart wine stopper favors:


The Maid of Honor & Bridesmaids received awesome goodie bags: a monogrammed beach bag filled with a beach towel, monogrammed notes & Bridal Party t-shirt from Koru Weddding Shoppe:


Last but not least, the delicious cake. Don't you love the "From Miss to Mrs." saying?

Bella Bridesmaid

Gabrielle by Thread

Elijah by Thread

Sarah by Thread
Thread dresses available at Bella Bridesmaid in Madison

While I'm busy whining & complaining about shopping for bridesmaid dresses, my poor Bridesmaids are probably wondering if I'm planning to send them down the aisle naked. My Maid of Honor took one for the team & reached out to ask me if we could start shopping. Sigh.

I decided to start with the one bridesmaid dress I like that doesn't cost a small fortune: a Cynthia Rowley dress available at Lovely Bridal Shop. I saw it when I bought my gown & I loved its clean, simple lines. Plus the dress came in a beautiful shade of purple! However, Lovely Bridal Shop is mostly for Brides; they simply carry two bridesmaid lines. Not exactly the best place to go if we're interested in seeing & comparing different dresses.

If any of my Brides ask me where to shop for bridesmaid dresses, I tell them Bella Bridesmaid who have convenient locations in Madison, New Jersey & New York City for my local maids & a La Jolla, California location for my Cali maids. I know the owners, I adore the sweet shops & I love the selection of stylish dresses. Bonus: they carry the Cynthia Rowley line. It seemed quite obvious that Bella Bridesmaid was the place for me to look for a bridesmaid dress. If anyplace could make the dreaded experience of bridesmaid dress shopping more pleasant, it's Bella Bridesmaid.

The appointment is made. I will keep you posted as we hunt for the perfect bridesmaid dress at Bella Bridesmaid. Let the bridesmaid dress games begin!

Shower of Wishes

Yesterday, I had the honor of attending my friend Marisa's bridal shower. Family & friends gathered to shower Marisa with love & good wishes. It was a fun, special celebration for a beautiful Bride-to-be.

I had a wonderful time at the bridal shower- almost as much fun as I had preparing for it!

First, I had the golden opportunity to craft my first bridal shower card:


Instead of buying items from Marisa's registry, I shopped at my very own Koru Wedding Shoppe. Marisa had mentioned she liked the sassy Newlywed tank top. What could be better for her Aruba honeymoon? Here it is:


Last but not least, I wanted to get Marisa the Soon-to-Be Mrs. hoodie. But her wedding is quickly approaching. And maybe I should stick with the honeymoon theme. So I went with the another version of the Soon-to-Be-Mrs. hoodie. It's pretty cute: Mrs. So & So est. Wedding Date. I ordered a white hoodie & light pink embroidery in brush script to match the Newlywed tank top:



I hope Marisa enjoys her new tank top & hoodie on her honeymoon! Best wishes always~