Stella Event Design::Michigan Wedding & Event Planner »

I have a lot to be thankful for this year:  first and foremost, my husband Josh who supported me in quitting my job last December so that I could focus on Stella Event Design full-time and help to grow it into a fabulous business! Without his support of that decision, Stella Event Design would still be a part time job & a dream in the process!

I’m also thankful for the amazing wedding professionals and event industry pros who have embraced and welcomed me into the local wedding community over the last 2 years—I have loved the camaraderie of our local networking group and look forward to continue to work with you all in 2010!

And of course, our amazing clients! People always ask me what our clients are like (thanks to shows like Bridezillas, there is a certain misconception) and I have to honestly say that we were so blessed to work with 14 amazing couples this summer! And our 2010 and 2011 calendars are already filling up with more fabulous couples that I am so excited to work with. I am so thankful to have a job I truly love.

I hope you all have an amazing thanksgiving and can enjoy it with your loved ones! We’ll be back next week with the final installment in our “5 W’s of Wedding Planning” blog series, pictures from a real 2009 wedding at the Blue Dress Barn and more!

A fall inspired wedding from brides.com

When brides come to their consultations armed with “inspiration,” I love it!  Because while a bride may say, “I want a simple, modern look,” that can mean a lot of different things to different people. One brides ’simple’ chandelier is another brides gaudy nightmare. This weekend I met with a super fun 2010 bride who brought her own inspiration ammunition—but what I loved about it was that there wasn’t a single image from a wedding in her pile of pictures. She brought photos of paintings, pieces of art, fabrics, book covers and patterns. It all fit together perfectly and helped her to describe the “feeling” she hoped to create for her day. And I got it. I left her consultation feeling confident that I had a grasp on the very special style she hoped to reflect at her wedding.

While you may see “inspiration boards” everywhere covered in pictures of centerpieces, linens, color combos and dresses, remember that our wedding inspiration can come from anywhere! Whether it be wedding pictures, a piece of art, an amazing swatch of fabric or the lyrics to a song—use whatever you can, to develop a clear vision for your wedding style!

photo sources: antique books, letter, veil, painting, plates

Many brides struggle with how to “dress up” their guest tables, especially if specialty linens aren’t in their budget. Creating fun & colorful napkins can be a great way to add a splash of color to your table, and add a very custom look! Just make a trip to your local craft store or fabric store, pick out the perfect fabrics for your color palette, and get to cutting. You can finish your napkins in 1 of 2 ways—-cut a 3/4 inch “notch” in the corner of each square and hem them, or use pinking shears to “finish” the edges. Personally, I think if you have more than 50 guests, I would opt to use pinking shears, just to save my sanity!

We had a lovely September bride who created her own napkins in different graphic prints of purple and green and they were such an amazing accent to her tables! And your DIY cloth projects don’t have to stop at napkins—check out the DIY linen (top right) a bride created for her cake table! If you can hem an edge, you have endless possibilities to make your own napkins, runners, table clothes or overlays!

Photo sources: left, center, right

If you follow our blog (and you’re reading this, so I know you do)…then you should click below to become our fan on Facebook. Mostly because it would make my day to see your smiling face in a tiny box, but also because once we hit 200 fans we’ll be doing a giveaway with all of our facebook friends! That’s right, something shiny, fun and FREE! And if that’s not enough reason for you, we also have tons of pictures posted on Facebook that you won’t find on our blog or website!

Become a fan of Stella Event Design on Facebook

I love these adorable shabby chic wooden signs from Etsy seller My Primitive Boutique. I would love to see the name plaques  (left) hung from gorgeous metal hooks on an antiqued wood board to be presented as escort cards. And the wedding signs (right) are the perfect touch if you’re having an outdoor wedding or your venue is off the beaten path. We often put signs like this out for beautiful country weddings at Mill Creek Barns or The Blue Dress Barn—trust me, your guests will definitely appreciate being pointed in the right direction!

If you’re hoping to add some fun and unique touches to your wedding, Etsy is a must-visit site. With a plethora of talented artisans on-hand, it offers everything from fun & modern details to shabby chic accents for your wedding!

You may have noticed in the posts in this series, “The 5 W’s of Wedding Planning,” I have consistently mentioned professional planning, and there’s a reason for that…

If you’ve already done any research on wedding planning in your local area, you’ve probably noticed that there is a large range in pricing, services and experience. It’s important to remember that—like most things—you get what you pay for. If you’re hiring a day-of coordinator for $350, you can expect to get service and experience that is on par with that price.  You can also expect that if you hire someone who is a planner as a hobby, versus a full-time profession, you can expect to receive a different level of service & attentiveness. Remember that you are not only paying for the planners time & actual services, but you are also paying for the personal experience, knowledge and relationships a professional planner has. A professional planner has planned multiple weddings for clients, has an established reputation with local wedding professionals and will be able to show you a portfolio of professional work.

Sure, your friend can step in and help you set up your tables and tell everyone to walk down the aisle, but she has most likely never worked at that venue and with your vendors—when a problem arises she won’t be much help to you—she hasn’t faced similar problems and doesn’t have connections with the local professionals that could help. And while a professional planner is going to charge much more than your friend or someone who plans as a hobby, they will also bring with them an added value. A good professional wedding planner will help you create a realistic budget, find you vendors that will fit within that budget, will save you countless hours of your own valuable time with their knowledge and resources and will save you money in the long run. So when comparing planning services and wedding planners, be sure you aren’t comparing apples to oranges and know what you are getting for the price!

Do your research and find a professional wedding planner who fits not only your budget, but also has the experience needed to help make your day spectacular!

More Posts in This Blog Series:

• WHAT Does a Professional Wedding Planner Do?
• WHO needs a wedding planner?
• WHEN should I Reach out For Help?
• WHY you should hire a professional
• WHERE you will and won’t find help

If you just got engaged or are in the process of planning your wedding, here is a quick and simple tip to help you relieve some of the clutter in your life. Establish a new email address just for wedding planning purposes. While it may seem like just one more thing to do, creating a dedicated email address will allow you to have a single point of contact for all of your wedding vendors. I would suggest using Gmail, and creating separate tags or folders for each vendor, so that when you need to verify something, you can turn to that one spot for all of the correspondences. And one of the biggest sanity-savers is using this email address when you attend bridal shows. Every booth will want your contact info for giveaways and specials, and while that is great, you do not want to continue receiving those for the rest of your life—and believe me—you will!

So hop over to Gmail, Yahoo! or Hotmail and get started!

It’s never too early to ask for help. In Southwest Michigan, many of the most popular venues book their Saturday dates a year in advance, so it’s very common for couples to start planning 9-18 months out! So if you’ve just gotten engaged and are already feeling overwhelmed, reach out to a professional wedding planner. They can help you map out a plan that will get you from “I will” to “I do,” while maintaining your sanity, keeping your budget in check and creating an amazing day!

It’s also never too late to ask for help! We have helped brides as early as 18 months before their weddings, and as late as 3 weeks prior to their wedding! If your wedding date is just around the corner and the last minute details have you feeling unprepared, you don’t have to be alone. From last minute seating arrangements to day-of delivery schedules, a professional planner can step in and help you pull it all together.

More Posts in This Blog Series:

• WHAT Does a Professional Wedding Planner Do?
• WHO needs a wedding planner?
• WHEN should I Reach out For Help?
• WHY you should hire a professional
• WHERE you will and won’t find help

This Friday is the annual luminary festival in downtown St. Joseph, when the streets will be lined with 800+ glowing luminaries starting at dusk! Shops will dressed up with lights and their most festive holiday decor and will be open late, until 9:00! We are joining in the fun by hosting an Open House where everyone is welcome to stop in, enjoy some wine, browse through pictures, books & wedding magazines, and talk weddings with us! No sales pitches, no business talk…it’s all about having fun and talking weddings!

The Details
When: Friday, November 20th from 6:00-9:00
Where: Stella Event Design Studio, 314 State Street, St. Joseph (between Beachside Cafe and La Dee Da Children’s Boutique)
Why: Why not! We’ll have wine, tasty treats and wedding chatter! We’ve got over 30 of the latest wedding magazines, tons of books and lots to look at!

Will you be there? We look forward to seeing you!

While not 100% wedding or event related, these fun and funky little vases would make a really cute present for bridesmaids, or for the holiday that I am in denial of being so close (Christmas!). These vases by Jill-able are made from recycled plastic and lay flat until you fill them with water. I’ll be honest, I’m not entirely sure how these little guys are supporting the weight of these flowers, but it’s happening! I think the great thing about these is that when you decide to stop at the store to pick up some flowers for yourself or someone else, you don’t have to worry if they’ll have a vase to put them in. I know more than once I have had to plop my stems into whatever I could find, until I could find a suitable vase. Problem solved! Whether you’re taking flowers to the hospital or as a hostess gift, pop one of these little guys in your purse and you’ve got a ready-to-go vase (and on the cheap for $8!)

Check out the Jill-able site for all of the styles and online ordering (again, only $8!)