What to dress like a real life Disney princess on your wedding day? Well it's absolutely possible, with a little help from Alfred Angelo! Disney recently announced the two have paired up and will debut their first Disney Princess inspired bridal gown collection, titled Disney Fairy Tale Weddings by Alfred Angelo, at the National Bridal Market in Chicago on October 2, 2010. The collection was inspired by the essence, style and personality of seven iconic Disney Princess characters: Ariel, Aurora {Sleeping Beauty}, Belle, Cinderella, Jasmine, Snow White and Tiana. And now, for all of you Disney princess lovin' brides, dreams do come true!
Kristina + Rob
Not too long ago, I received an inquiry from a bride in NYC - yay NYC! - looking for help to plan her spring of 2011 destination wedding here in Florida. Even thought we only spoke via phone and email, we clicked right away.
As I started putting together options for their big day, the bride shared with me that her big sister is a photographer and she would be doing their engagement shoot. Furthermore, the concept behind the e-shoot was going to be cake baking. LOVE IT! Here are a few of the shots from their shoot courtesy of the bride's big sis, and very talented photog, Emily Renee.
Do they have chemistry or what! Can't wait for their beautiful wedding this spring at the Colony!!!
If you are interested in having Emily Renee Photography capture your wedding, be sure to email her: emilyrearick@gmail.com.
TOTW : Diacritical Marks
This week's TOTW is a fun tip to help relieve a small amount of stress from our brides + grooms who don't know how to format diacritic marks in excel. Okay but what's a diacritic mark? The answer is diacritical marks are ancillary glyphs found in many international names and addresses. For instance in the Scandinavian languages, characters with diacritics include ä, ö and å.
Great, and why do you need to be able to format them in Excel? Well, since I am sure you are all organizing your guest list in excel - is it is the preferred format for most every printer - you may find that you have a guest with an international name or address. Ahh, now you see why you need to know how to incorporate diacritic marks into Excel!
Don't worry, the answer is SO simple because you can type any character from the ASCII character set. Hold down the ALT key while typing in 0 + the number of the character you want. For instance, you can enter a German umlauted u (ü) into a cell by typing ALT 0252 followed by ENTER. See, I told you it was simple.
Where would you find this magical list? Well, there are tons of character sets available on the Internet. They will list all the ASCII characters and their corresponding numbers so you can painstakingly format all your fabulous international names and addresses for your DIY invitations. Enjoy and happy planning!
Where would you find this magical list? Well, there are tons of character sets available on the Internet. They will list all the ASCII characters and their corresponding numbers so you can painstakingly format all your fabulous international names and addresses for your DIY invitations. Enjoy and happy planning!
Photo courtesy of Michael Ciancio via I Love Typography
Win 2 Nights At Boca Raton Resort
Lauren Daversa Events has birdies all over the place and one of them told me how you can win a 2 night stay at the uber-fabulous Boca Raton Resort!! Here's the deal, my lovely, devoted readers...get yourself down to the Napleton West Palm Beach Hyundai to register BY SATURDAY, the drawing is on Sunday. Fill out a form, snap a picture of your beautiful-self with your dashing fiancé and voilà! You just put yourself in the running to win a 2-night stay at the Boca Raton Resort - sweet!! But wait there's more! In addition, you will arrive in style in a 2010 Hyundai Genesis – woo-hoo - and have your picture in the Palm Beach Post. Yay Palm Beach Post. So good luck - may the best bride win!
PS - If you win, promise to send us the winning picture!!! Just in case...lauren@laurendaversa.com
Event Inspiration: Rotundas
London bound? Or, just in need of some inspiration? Well, Ian Johnson, Tiger Lily Weddings and One Great George Street to the rescue!
One Great George Street is an award-winning central London conference and wedding venue, offering first class facilities and standards of service. The magnificent four-domed Edwardian building is perfect for conferences, meetings, gala dinners, drinks receptions and wedding ceremonies and receptions, which can be seen in Ian Johnson's images. He captures Tiger Lily Weddings clever use of the rotunda as a means to hang place cards. LOVE IT and WANT TO USE IT!
Celebrating Vendors
This video is hilarious! A little long but it gets good. WARNING: not all vendors are created equal - and you will see why if you watch the parody above!
The sad thing is, clients hire vendors who are so green or just scam artists because they simply just don't know. The one thing that bothers me to no end is when I find out my DOC couple's are working with craptastic vendors because I know they will not be happy with the product they are going to get.
Some vendors are more expensive than others; some have more experience than others; some are more creative; some are better communicators; some are better at sticking to the budget; some are better dreamers; some are better at follow through. When talking with vendors keep these the two things to keep in mind:
1.) In most all cases, you get what you pay for.
2.) Just because you refer to yourself as something, does not mean you are. Hello, just ask someone how tall they are or what they weigh and then weigh/measure them!
True story, I have spoken with a bride, on more than one occasion, who wants to have a 150 person wedding, on a Saturday night, in March, at an oceanside mansion, with a 5-course meal, a photographer, videographer, 7 piece band, photobooth, an antique Rolls Royce, a Vera Wang wedding dress and full coordination from a wedding coordinator on a $10K budget. First of all, Lauren Daversa Events is not the company for you! And second, the scenario listed above is impossible! Seriously, it's impossible. And I cannot think of one experienced planner who could make this happen - unless they are competing on a TV show and pulling favors from ALL of their industry colleagues.
1.) In most all cases, you get what you pay for.
2.) Just because you refer to yourself as something, does not mean you are. Hello, just ask someone how tall they are or what they weigh and then weigh/measure them!
True story, I have spoken with a bride, on more than one occasion, who wants to have a 150 person wedding, on a Saturday night, in March, at an oceanside mansion, with a 5-course meal, a photographer, videographer, 7 piece band, photobooth, an antique Rolls Royce, a Vera Wang wedding dress and full coordination from a wedding coordinator on a $10K budget. First of all, Lauren Daversa Events is not the company for you! And second, the scenario listed above is impossible! Seriously, it's impossible. And I cannot think of one experienced planner who could make this happen - unless they are competing on a TV show and pulling favors from ALL of their industry colleagues.
So brides, if the wedding you want is listed above, and you speak with a planner who says they can make this happen...walk away. No, run away. Or else you will end up with a planner like one featured in the video above and a lot of heartache and disappointment on your special day! The investment in hiring an experienced planner is worth it. A coordinator is your guide through the planning process, the person who will save you money and ensure you work with experienced professionals! Yeah, we're worth it!
Real Events : Lin-Manuel Miranda + Vanessa Nadal
Excuse my potty mouth, but what a bad-ass surprise! Broadway’s Lin-Manuel Miranda orchestrated the ultimate production for his new bride, Vanessa Nadal with an over-the-top dance number set to Fiddler on the Roof's "L'Chaim". It features the father-of-the-bride, father-of-the-groom, groomswoman, best man, and the couple's friends and family. This is perfectly executed performance was shot the by the amazing Films by Francesco - who by the way was the official cinematographers for Chelsea and Marc's wedding. Simply Ah-Ma-Zing.
TOTW : Ceremony Music Demystified
Holy batman! Lauren Daversa Events is BUSY! We've got weddings going on all over the place and we couldn't be more excited. I've been asked a lot lately to explain the different parts of the ceremony music. If my brides are asking, chances are some of my readers would like to know too! So without further ado, the latest installment of our famous Tip Of The Week.
There are four parts that make up the ceremony music: prelude, processional, recessional and postlude. Below is a succinct description of each area to help solve the mystery behind ceremony music.
Prelude
The prelude music is the background music played prior to the start of the ceremony for anywhere between fifteen to thirty minutes as your guests are being seated. Don't let the idea of this being background music trick you, as the prelude helps to set the mood for your wedding. Ask yourself, "Is my wedding religious, romantic, chic and modern, elegant, unique, ethnic, joyous?" Or, is your wedding a combination? Once you've picked your selections, remember to have the music played quiet enough for your guests to be able to carry on a conversation once they've found their seats.
Processional
The procession is the music played while key members of your ceremony walk, or process, down the aisle. The key members are grandparents of the groom, parents of the groom, grandparents of the parents of the bride, bridesmaids, groomsmen, flower girls, ring bearers, ushers who unroll the aisle runner, and most importantly, the bride. You may select different pieces to accompany the different members of the party (parents / attendants / bride) however, limit your selection to three or less. Decide whether you want to have a grand or understated entrance as this dictates whether you should select pieces to build up the intensity to create the huge anticipation of the arrival of, well you - the bride. Or, whether you should select pieces that are more subdued to create a more quiet, peaceful entrance.
Whichever way you go, make sure to have a designated friend/family member to cue the musicians, or even better, hire a planner like Lauren Daversa Events. Or else you really run the risk of the processional turning into a whole mess with bridal party members wondering when to go, musicians wondering when to play, musicians wondering when to stop playing, doors opening with people peering out to see what is going on, guests looking around knowing crazy behind the scenes shenanigans are happening, groomsmen continuing to be confused. Just madness, and certainly not what you want for your once in a lifetime wedding ceremony.
Whichever way you go, make sure to have a designated friend/family member to cue the musicians, or even better, hire a planner like Lauren Daversa Events. Or else you really run the risk of the processional turning into a whole mess with bridal party members wondering when to go, musicians wondering when to play, musicians wondering when to stop playing, doors opening with people peering out to see what is going on, guests looking around knowing crazy behind the scenes shenanigans are happening, groomsmen continuing to be confused. Just madness, and certainly not what you want for your once in a lifetime wedding ceremony.
Recessional
The recessional is celebratory music played as you and your new husband and your entire wedding party exit the building! Musicians should be ready for the cue - unique to every ceremony - that signals them to begin the recessional. It could be the kiss or the officiant's introduction of, "Mr. and Mrs. We Just Got Married." Again, make sure to have this worked out in advance. Vendors are not mind readers and it this has not been discussed then it is a perfect opportunity for a little ceremony music drama to be infused into your service.
Postlude
The postlude is the background music played as the guests are being dismissed, similar to the prelude.
The Secret Fifth Part of Ceremony Music
The secret fifth part of ceremony music refers to any optional points during the ceremony where you may want to have music or singer(s) perform. For instance, the lighting of the unity candle, interlude between readings, responses, alleluias, mass parts, during the sign of peace, immediately following the vow exchange, during and after communion, a moment of reflection, a rose presentation, sand ceremony, memorial candle ... just to list a few. As you work with the officiant on your service, you will learn the specific moments where music would be an appropriate addition.
Photo courtesy of Reception -Wedding
Photo courtesy of Reception -Wedding