The ICON Awards are the highest honor for merit of excellence in the Twin Cities.  The nominees are recognized for their contribution to the wedding industry and selected based on anonymous entries judged by a panel of national experts in their respective category fields.

MagnetStreet Weddings was nominated for Excellence in Graphic Design. We were thrilled and honored to be nominated and sit among the best of the best in our industry!

What a fabulous evening of fun and glam.  Here are Graphic Designers (from L to R) Mindi, Amanda, Jen and Lisa.  Lisa’s holding up the Menu Card.  We were asked to design the Menu and Place Cards for this particular table setting.  Love the way the table looks~ so gorgeous and dramatic!

Live music, a fabulous dinner and the various vignettes exhibiting the latest industry ideas for 2009 were fun, exciting and inspirational!  A great time was had by all.

No related posts.

That said, it’s best to get a head start on creating your seating plan.  Consider beginning it as soon as your guest list is prepared.  Where to start?  Use the free seating software available at sites like Wedding Wire, or you can use an excel spreadsheet or simply go about the tried and true, good old-fashioned method of hunkering down on the floor with pieces of paper that represent your guests and tables.  Have fun with it!  Make scones and coffee… invite your mom, your soon-to-be MIL and your MOH over and host a Geneva Conference of sorts~ to help decide who should sit where.  This is a big job and just as your guest list will be revised, so will your seating arrangements need revision.  Use your common sense.  There will always be extenuating circumstances and situations you cannot possibly predict, but with your guests’ well-being in mind, it will be hugely successful!

Tips:

• One rule of thumb is to unite not divide.  We all know that there will be guests who simply cannot sit next to each other for whatever reason.  Unite family (including step family) as much as possible using separate tables only if you have to or if there simply isn’t enough room. If you have to split, split evenly.
• Seat your guests with those they already know and are comfortable with.  No one wants to sit at a table full of strangers.
• Seat guests with common interests and lifestyles.
• Mix it up by combining age groups, singles and couples so that these folks will not feel awkward or singled out.
• If there are quite a few children attending, consider having a kid’s table (with supervision nearby).
• Avoid seating guests with hearing problems next to the loud music.
• Avoid seating guests in wheelchairs in main areas, walkways, etc.  Keep them safe.

Your guests should respect your seating plan, but more than likely, there will be some who do not.  Oh well!  Don’t take it personally.  You can’t please everyone, all the time… and that is OK!

Find additional Reception Stationery Items at MagnetStreet Weddings.

Do you have tips to share with your seating plans?  How are you uniting and not dividing?

Related posts:

1. Tossing Your Bouquet and Garter
2. Creative Groom’s Cakes
3. Wedding Speeches Made Easy

The setting?  How about renting a barn or farmhouse, and decking it out with picnic tables dressed in red and white table cloths and floating candles?  Spread or hang borrowed quilts, string up lanterns from tree limbs for a really warm ambiance . . . are you catching the vision yet?

Flowers could be super easy ~ yellow sunflowers and/or daisies in large pitchers.  Line the “isle” you’ll walk down to meet your groom with brightly colored dahlias in pots set inside large baskets.  Nothing fussy, just beautifully natural bunches of fragrant color that give the appearance of just being picked that morning.

How fun would it be to hire a local square dance, swing or bluegrass band!  You and your guests will be dosey-doeing and swinging your partner ’round and ’round all night long.  Old and young alike will experience the celebration and joy of this day!

For your favors, how about home baked cookies (or purchase them at a quality bakery) wrapped in clear colored celephane . . . and your centerpieces could be small groupings of fresh local produce, like beautiful tomatoes, a bunch of plump grapes or a pint of sweet raspberries.  So fresh and healthy!

Keeping your guests as comfortable as possible in an outdoor setting should be another top priority.  If you live in a warm to hot climate, provide small paper fans so that your guests stay cool and are not distracted by the heat.  Burn citronella candles on the outskirts of the area large enough to control the mosquitoes, too.  Provide plenty of comfortable casual seating with hay bales.  Take full advantage of the setting and let it sing out your personal style!  Today, it is actually all about you!

And, don’t forget to add your own personal touch.  Jessica and Rob got married in Jess’s back yard, and when it came time to say their vows, Rob who is always a jokster (and a charming one at that), pulled out his accordian folded list of vows.  This wedding was chock full of personality and fun.

Check out these totally country layered invitations from MagnetStreet Weddings ~ so very simple and clean.

This and so many more invitation styles and designs are available to choose from, all perfectly fitting your country-themed day and reflecting your own style and personality! Give your guests just a small glimpse into the celebration they will be a part of with these one-of-a-kind yet classically styled invites.

A country-themed wedding is all about keeping it simple so that the natural charm with all its relaxed details and down-home decor shines through . . . and, so that everyone can relax and truly enjoy the day, including you!

Love, Cheryl

Photo Courtesy BacklitCreative.com

Related posts:

1. French Country Style and Charm
2. Real Wedding: Neil and Christine
3. What Does a Traditional Wedding Look Like?

No, no, no! We’ve all heard of people who throw plush and lavish weddings, driving costs up with a popular hip band, out of season flowers, and venues paralleling the Taj Mahal. But, I have to wonder, what is it that we remember about the weddings we attend ~ those really special personal touches like the vows the couple wrote themselves or the fancy flowers?

Watch this couple celebrating their day ~ pretty clear they love children and the outdoors.  I feel like I know them!

Truth be told, the main goal for your wedding is to create a happy and unforgettable day for both you and your husband-to-be and your guests. At the end of the night when everyone is saying their goodbyes, if your guests have a sense that they know you as a couple just a little bit better, you know that you have thrown a very personal and unique wedding celebration! Bravo!

Here are a few tips on how you can do just that without mortgaging your life away.

• Settle on your budget, and once you know that, decide your priorities. There are budget spreadsheets available in most bookstores with pre-assigned percentages, but just remember, this is your day….feel free to adjust those percentages according to your priorities.  Check out MagnetStreet Weddings etiquette guide for information on who pays for what, too.

• Expect vendors to be professional. Go into your meetings with each one knowing your budgeted amount, and ask them what they can do within that amount. If they are really good at what they do, they will offer you several options. If not, there are lots of excellent vendors who will ~ don’t be afraid to look around.

• Negotiate with your vendors, or better yet, look into bartering services. Don’t be afraid to try to strike a deal. Package your purchases whenever possible from the same vendor and then hit them up for a discount. For example, if you purchase your maid’s dresses at the same store where you purchased your dress, ask them for a price cut. You never know what they might offer until you ask.

• Have you considered a destination wedding? Often times you can save significant dollars this way ~ hotels or resorts often offer package pricing that will surprise the socks off of you. Check it out before you rule it out.

• If it becomes clear that you need to cut certain things, try not to cut guests. Consider a buffet style dinner instead of a served five course meal. Or, serve hors d’oeuvres instead of a meal. Pick a Friday night or Sunday afternoon date instead of a Saturday. At the end of the day, you will be glad that you had everyone around you for this momentous occasion, and your guests will be tickled pink that your wedding wasn’t like all the others.

• Remember that this is YOUR wedding day, so if a long standing tradition isn’t really a reflection of you, feel free to change things up. Get creative and personal…again make it your goal for each guest to know you better when the party’s over.

I dare say that, especially in today’s economic climate, having a budget and sticking to it will not create difficulty with professional vendors. Contrary, you will probably earn their respect. After all, it’s your wallet . . . your wedding . . . your way.

No related posts.

Meet Tracy (we’ll introduce Chris a few pictures from now).  Initially, Tracy met with a florist to discuss her ideas regarding their white and green color palette.  Tracy wanted “UNUSUAL” flowers… carnations and roses would simply not do!  But, as she soon realized, “UNUSUAL” translated into EXPENSIVE.  So, like any bride-to-be on a mission, she did some research and ended up ordering wholesale and decided upon the Star of Bethlehem wedding package from ProFlowers (whom Tracy totally recommends).

The flowers came prearranged and two days before the wedding.  The bouquets were stunning and continued to bloom for weeks after the wedding! Really lovely…

For the Pew decorations, Tracy went with live plants… ivy in white pots with a hook.  Planting them a few weeks in advance of the wedding, Tracy made sure the plants were mature enough so that the leaves hung down; consequently, the effect was beautiful~ giving the impression of walking through a garden.

Being an animal lover and a pet photographer, their reception was held at the zoo.  The reception centerpieces were a HUGE hit! Each centerpiece was unique and featured a variety of plants, each one different from the next, while each table featured a different animal.  Tracy scattered multi-colored rocks beneath the leaves to make it look even prettier and then stuck in tea light spikes for ambiance.  Guests loved them!  Notice the little flower boxes in front of the centerpiece.   DIY Favors.  Inside these sweet little favor boxes, Tracy planted zinnia seeds from her sister’s garden and weighted them down with little glass gemstones (that she had made from a girl on eBay) with green and white hearts embedded in them.

Mr. and Mrs… aren’t they adorable?  (Tracy, your smile is so infectious!)  How fun and it looks as though you were having a most wonderful time at your wedding!

Love the jungle-y backdrop!  Right up my alley, for sure.

Tracy’s Advice for the bride who plans to DIY her flowers…

Make sure you have time to spend on the flowers and that it’s something you enjoy doing… or delegate it to someone else who is good with these kind of things.  And, make sure if you use potted plants, to put plants that need similar care in pots together so they all live!

Congratulations Tracy and Chris! We wish you a lifetime of blessings and joy, joy joy!

Tracy owns and operates a pet photography business called  Furrie Photografie.  Thanks so much for reading~ now go on, check out Tracy’s website and blog!

Photos from Tracy and Chris wedding were taken by Scarlet Lillian.

ProFlowers

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

Related posts:

1. Save Money on Your Flowers
2. Language of Love
3. Preserve Your Wedding Flowers for Years

THANK YOU!

Here are the words of President Wilson in 1919 when he proclaimed November 11 as the first remembrance of Veterans Day originally called Armistice Day (and meant~ temporary ceasefire).

“To us in America, the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country’s service and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of the nations…”

Want to volunteer or to get to know a vet?  Inquire at the VA Medical Center in your area.  Check out Salute to Our Troops site too which has an open group Facebook link.

Know someone in the service?  Tell us which branch in the comments!

Military-themed wedding stationery from MagnetStreet Weddings

(from Save the Dates to Invitations to Thank You cards)

In Love and War- Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard

Source: U.S. Dept. of Veteran Affairs

No related posts.

That said, I’m so excited to share with you Lisa, the proprietor of Adorn and Cherish who takes reclaimed, vintage chain, stones, beads and components and recycles them into current, contemporary jewelry.  Much of what Lisa designs is from her own family’s heirlooms (circa 20’s, 30’s 40’s, 50’s, 60’s and 70’s) and estate pieces that she discovers in her travels here in the U.S. Canada, and Europe.

And, a great deal of Lisa’s business comes from brides-to-be who bring her their vintage jewelry.  Lisa melts it down, pop the stones and re-designs (usually from a render/sketch) something spectacular for their wedding day.   Here are a few of her pieces…

Chunky, faceted lemon quartz earrings on gold fill link and ear wires.

(Chunky, faceted lemon quartz…   I love that!)

Each of the wedding bands below were created using recycled metal and stones.

These dangling beauties were created in a Victorian style, using all recycled 14K white gold and assorted round, brilliant diamonds.

And these gorgeous gold and diamond hoops were created entirely from recycled metal and stones.

Love this chunky modern silver ring

To get to know more about Lisa and how she reworks, recycles and rediscovers beautiful vintage and heirloom jewelry, visit her website Adorn and Cherish or email Lisa and sales@adornandcherish.com.

Just think what you could do with your grandmother’s beautiful jewelry in a new and modern way!

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

Related posts:

1. Real Wedding: Flowers to DIY For
2. Eco-Friendly Reception Centerpieces

Let me remove those cold thoughts from your mind and inspire you with an inspiration board that boasts of warmth, romance and adventure.

Having a destination wedding where you will soon be barefoot, watching sunsets, listening to the pounding surf, hiking volcanoes, and snorkeling over stunning coral reef?

One resource that may interest you is Best Destination Weddings, a community where you can join in on forums on all the destinations, check out beautiful pictures and talk with other brides going to your destination.

Is it snowing by you?  Are you already dreaming of warmer places?

Related Posts:

Iceland as a honeymoon destination

Deciding to Elope or Not

Related posts:

1. Iceland as a Honeymoon Destination
2. Inspiration: Destination
3. Cool Blue Tones for a Beach Wedding

These towels from Le Viette are way too cute.  Made in the likeness of a dessert, wouldn’t they be just adorable as gifts for special attendants like readers or your officiate’s wife… maybe a special vendor.  Or, put them on your dessert table for the sweetest decorations ever.

Say thank you to your wedding party at the rehearsal dinner with personalized wine bottle bags from Personal Creations.

How fun and unique is this fondue set from Rosemary Company? I love it!

Another sweet creation, these bath bubbles from Bath and Body Works made in the likeness of cupcakes would be darling for your junior attendant.

Other gift ideas could include~ His, Hers… personalized toiletry bags, personalized photo frames, bags of all sorts, jewelry (of course), tickets to the best show in town, gift certificates for what you know they love… the spa, the golf course, the greatest Thai restaurant ever…

What gift ideas are you thinking about?

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

No related posts.

So we gathered ’round and went “Awww”

“You have the greatest, most sweetest, most thoughtful husband!”

(and she does)

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

No related posts.