Tickled Pink

The best eco-wedding trends

     When trying to incorporate "green" into your wedding, which methods should you choose?  There are so many options today for brides who want to add environmentally-friendly twists to their big day, but the multitude of ideas may seem daunting.  Which will make the biggest difference?  How can you cut back without skimping on style? 

Here are a few of my favorite eco-conscious wedding ideas that are easy, inexpensive, and will keep your party style in tact:

1.   Send seed-infused invitations or Save The Date cards that guests can easily plant at home.  Botanical Paperworks sells printed wedding invites, and CustomPaper.com sells plain, seeded paper that you can print at home.

2.   Use live plants as centerpieces and wedding decor.  Cut flowers go to waste when the wedding is over, and florists' practices of shipping flowers in from around the world leaves a dent in your wallet and the environment.  Find plants at local nurseries and offer them to guests to take home at the end of the night.

3.   Serve organic and/or locally grown food and wine.  Buying local bumps up your city's economy, reduces emissions used in food shipment, and fresh, organic food just tastes better! 

4.   Recycle a wedding gown.  Vintage gowns can be found in local couture consignment shops or online.  Have a seamstress re-design a family gown, or buy from a salon's sample sale to cut production and materials used in a new gown.  Encore Bridal sells gently worn samples and pre-owned gowns.  I've worked with them before and can vouch for their quality and service.

5.   Offset your carbon footprint.  In general, hosting a large party costs the environment in terms of emissions from guest travel, food preparation, lighting for your event, and heating or cooling the room.  Find out what kind of damage you've done using carbon calculators at terrapass.com or carbonfund.org.

Modern Brides, Enter Here

 

 

    Are you a "modern bride"?  Did you break the rules of engagement or have an ultimate modern fairy tale to tell?  Modern Bride magazine is looking for engaged women that are marching to the beat of their own wedding drums.  The Modern Bride of the Year will appear on a cover of the magazine and your story may be told in an upcoming issue.  The magazine's newest ad campaign covers recently married celebrity women with statements from each on why they are modern.  For each celebrity involved in the shoot, the magazine made a donation to the I Do Foundation, where couples can easily create charity registries--which I think are a truly modern and generous wedding trend.  The I Do Foundation also offers real gift registries from companies like Target and Linens and Things where 10% of gift purchases can be donated to a charity of your choice.

Not Your Average Wedding

      Gone are the days of the traditional wedding.  Today, weddings are custom designed to highlight the style and personalities of the happy couple.  As the bridal industry continues to grow, brides and planners find bigger and better ways to stretch their imaginations.  These lavish events take inspiration, an open mind, and an eagerness to entertain...Click here to view the rest of the article.

    Orlando Style's Bi-Annual Bridal Issue is on shelves now!  My recently published article, Not Your Average Wedding, covers some of the interesting and outrageous new wedding ideas being used in the Central Florida area by Orlando's top planners.  Brides are hiring planes to fly banners over ceremonies, they are pumping in scents of champagne and wedding cake to the reception, and they are entertaining guests with live statues, snake charmers, or Cirque du Soleil-style performers. 

Anything goes these days, but you'll only need one or two special touches to make your wedding memorable.  Look for inspiration from parties you've attended, shows you've seen and loved, or even imaginative childhood fairy tales.

Photo by Damon Tucci

For My Mom

 

  Jan Jakubcin
August 15, 1955-June 1, 2008

    My absence over the past few weeks has been largely due to my mom being sick.  She passed away Sunday, June 1, and since then my role has been more funeral planner than wedding planner.  Those of you who know me personally know that my mom means the world to me and was one of my very best friends.  Thanks to everyone who has written and called to support me during this time, and thanks to my friends who supported me this week at the Memorial Service.  I know that we truly honored her with our celebration of her life.
    At times it's hard not to be upset that my mom was only 52 years old.  I keep remembering the "glass half-empty or glass half-full" analogy.   We can question why someone so young has to leave us, or we can consider that she had 52 years full of life that we can be thankful for.  I prefer the latter.  My mom did and tried everything she wanted to, with no regrets.  She cared so much about other people and was a bright light in the lives of many.  She enjoyed our big family and loved with her whole heart.  Those are things I can be thankful for.
    At the end of one era and the beginning of a new one, I'm both saddened that she is gone, and overjoyed that she is surely perfect and whole in the heaven I know she's in.  Thank you for your friendship, thank you for your support, and Lord, thank you for my Mom.

Cost of a 'Sex and the City' Wedding

    For all you Sex and the City fans out there, this one's for you! 

If you are Carrie Bradshaw's biggest fan (I love her, too), then I know you are tapping your foot and checking your watch for the big release of the Sex and the City movie.  Buy your tickets ahead online now!  Since the previews and reviews have spread the news that Carrie and Big are to be married in the movie, I thought we could examine the potential cost of their on-screen wedding.  The New York Post covered the filming and each detail that went into the wedding scene.  If after seeing the film this weekend you are inspired to throw your own Bradshaw-Big wedding, here is what you can expect:

Carrie is wearing a Vivienne Westwood gown.  Along with the veil, the price of Carrie's wedding gown starts at $18,000.  Average U.S. cost for a wedding gown: $1500

The Christian Dior "Gladiator platforms" Carrie wears for her wedding day cost $770.  Interested?  You can find them on eLuxury.com.  Want them covered in rhinestones?  Add another $100.

Bridesmaids, beware.  Think $300 is pricey to ask your girlfriends to pay for their dresses?  Try $3,000.  The Zac Posen dresses that Miranda wears as a bridesmaid costs $5,300 for floor-length, $3,200 for knee-length.

At the wedding, Carrie carries a bouquet of white roses and ranunculus, costing upward of $350 for the single bouquet.  Her bridesmaids' bouquets would cost around $200 each. 

Want to host your next big event in the same place Carrie does?  The reception is held at New York Public Library's Astor Hall and McGraw Rotunda.  The price for renting the space starts at $50,000.  Don't forget to add on the price of a ceremony space (the library does not allow ceremonies) and transportation to your reception.

Overall, Carrie and Big's Sex and the City wedding would easily cost upward of $1 Million.  Compared to the average U.S. wedding cost of $28,732, this event is definitely not one to be missed!  Have fun at the movies, and let me know how you like it!  I'm seeing it myself Friday!

Summer Time Cakes

    Summer has arrived (at least in hot and humid Florida), and summertime brides are putting the final touches on their wedding details.  One of my favorite parts of planning my own wedding was deciding on--and tasting--the cake!  We chose cupcakes in three flavors with three different colors of icing that was decorated like peonies atop each little cake. 
    For summer weddings, colorful, floral cakes work well to bring the outside in.  Here are some of my (and America's) favorite cakes, as featured on Brides.com.   
                                                  
 
  
 

Wedding at the Ranch

    Jenna Bush and Henry Hager were married last Saturday, May 10, in Crawford, Texas.  The bride wore a beaded organza v-neck gown by Oscar de la Renta that fit the outdoor ranch ceremony perfectly.  Who knew that a presidential wedding could be so understated and intimate?  I love their choice of an outdoor springtime wedding, Jenna's simple and elegant bridal style, and the sweet touches like the Texas limestone cross that served as an altar.  Congrats, newlyweds!  Cheers!

Portraits by Cobblestone Rue

    One of my very best friends, Dawn, is expecting her first baby any day now, and one of my favorite photographers, Garrett Nudd, has recently launched a "couture portrait studio" called Cobblestone Rue.   Together, they teamed up to shoot Dawn's pre-baby portraits and the results are amazing.  Garrett and his wife Joy shoot tons of creative and couture wedding photography, and have now found a way to continue documenting the lives of their brides by shooting pregnancy photos and baby photos down the road.  For some, including myself, traditional pregnancy photos can be almost uncomfortable to look at for anyone but the parents-to-be.  Garrett's take on photography, however, captures scenes and emotions that are true art.  For those of you still looking for engagement/wedding/portrait photographers, take a minute to check out Garrett's site and blog. 

Other portraits by Garrett Nudd:

Engagement Journaling

    As any bride will tell you, your engagement and wedding will go by in the blink of an eye!  Looking back at my own 7 month engagement, there were so many decisions to be made and little obstacles to overcome that a lot of my planning just blends together.  Over time, I will forget about some of the choices we made for our wedding and some of the funny stories about that time in our lives.  I am not a diary-keeper but sometimes wish I were, as it is so easy to forget special moments and events.  Today I came across the easiest and possibly most fun to look back on way to journal: keeping a Record of the day.  This is a useful way to record and itemize ideas when planning any event, but could be done daily on index cards to record thoughts at the end of your day.  Here are some wedding-inspired cards.  Grab a set of 4x6 index cards and you're good to go!

Modern Ring Bearer Pillows

    In our wedding, we didn't have a ring bearer, because a) we didn't know any boys little enough for the job, and b) I've seen too many cheesy ring bearer pillows.  Turns out I didn't look hard enough.  If I could have a re-do, I might have had the flower girl carry the rings down on one of these adorable "pillows" (more like ring displays).  My sister served as our flower girl and carried down a small, moss-covered basket filled with petals.  To fit the theme, I suppose she could have carried this instead:

A little bird's nest holding two rings would definitely have fit the bill.  Here are other ring bearer "pillows" I found on Etsy--it seems you really can find a fitting display to get those rings down the aisle in style.