The Commuter Tie for Men

A great find for the men in your bridal party!

Check it out at http://www.thomaspink.com/

Host a Distilled Spirits Tasting

Wine tasting parties are popular and fun ways to bring old and new friends together. But, why not step it up a notch by hosting a distilled spirits tasting!

Check out a few tips at http://bit.ly/85LaA courtesy of Celebrations.com and Cheryl Jablow.

Happy tasting!

A Little Bit of Press from SheKnows.com

Baby showers can be festive and fun, but don’t need to break the bank. Social Frog Designs recently discussed this with SheKnows.com . . . If you’re creatively challenged, go online. Sites like FreePrintables.net enable you to download invitations at no cost. “DIY (Do-It-Yourself) event options are popular in this economy,” says Cheryl Jablow of Social Frog Designs, Wedding & Event Consulting. “There are hundreds, if not thousands, of great DIY options online.”

Check out the whole article at http://bit.ly/13z3vW

Happy planning!

Kimberly and Jason

At the beginning of the summer I had the pleasure of watching a dear friend of mine marry her prince charming! These two hearts compliment the other in such beautiful ways!

The wedding was a large, traditional Russian Orthodox wedding in which I had the honor of assisting in the planning process. There were many moving parts to this joyous event and I would like to thank Marcia Hemphill and her team at An Urban Affair for their outstanding day-of-event execution.

My very best wishes to Kimberly and Jason as they begin their new life together! Enjoy one another and have fun every day!

Photos by Tricia Koning Photography

Current Wedding Invitation Trends

Today there are no longer rules in defining your wedding style. The more creativity and color a couple uses in the details of their special day the more personal the entire day becomes. When planning for your celebration’s correspondence consider a few of the latest trends -

• Purple Passion – Brides are enjoying the use of the colors lavender, raspberry, plum and other hues of purple in many of their correspondence designs. A contemporary pairing is plum and pewter. Accents of yellow, orange, turquoise, or green are current favorites!
  
  
• Culturally Inspired – Brides are inspired by bold Moroccan, Mexican, and Indian colors and patterns. Such colors as gold, red, green, and magenta with intricate, cultural patterns as backgrounds and borders make for festive invitations.
  
  
• Make it a Hands on Experience – Forget flat cards! Correspondence pieces that have an extra dimension add interest and surprise for guests. Favorite styles among brides are pocket style invitations, invitation sleeves, boxes, folios, and ribbon closures.
  
  
• It’s in the Details – Classic correspondence pieces are being dressed up with unique materials and tiny and luxurious embellishments such as sparkly crystals for a touch of bling! Patterned envelope liners, satin ribbon, personal monograms and custom seals lend a special touch to correspondence pieces.
  
  

Happy 4th of July!

As we celebrate our nation's birthday take time to remember the brave men and women of our armed forces, past and present. As these men and women continue to fight for our freedom, celebrate today with close family and friends.
Take time to celebrate with the simple pleasures that make the
4th of July fun and relaxing -

• Family and friends
• A ice cold glass of homemade lemonade
• A full picnic basket
• A hometown parade
• Sparklers
• Lawn games you played as a kid

Have fun!

Fun Bridal Shower Favors

Party going guests enjoy receiving fun favors at an event. Here are a few favor ideas that we have found to be well received -

- How sweet it is! Have guests scoop up their favorite candy teats at a candy bar! Purchase favor bags and stickers so guests can carry away their treats.

- Shower guests with flowers . . . well after the shower ends! Incorporating favors into your tablescape is easy, fun, and functional with these adorned boxes topped off with beautiful hand crafted silk flowers. Inside are flower seeds distributed between biodegradable tissue paper for effortless planting and continues beauty. Seed favor box shown here from BloemBox.

- For the love of cupcakes! When it’s all about the cake, have guests decorate their own mini cupcake to go. Provide a variety of sprinkles, mini chocolate chips, and other tiny treats for guests to add to their frosted cupcake favor. Mini boxes and a napkin included!

- Charm your guests! So many guests, so many wine glasses! How do you keep track of your Chardonnay? Have guests make a set of four to eight wine charms for the bride-to-be and another set for themselves! Materials: hoop earring wire, a variety of beads and charms and jewelry pliers All materials can be found at your local craft store.