Ugly Christmas Sweater Party

For those short on creative Christmas party planning ideas for next year, why not start early and have an Ugly Christmas Sweater Party. The concept was created by three good friends Brian, Adam and Kevin. Check their website out Ugly Christmas Sweater Party. They tell you how to get your party started, how to have a great time and connect you with some of the ugliest Christmas sweaters ever. It’s pretty hilarious stuff, we love how they named the sweaters. We're sure that at one time or another you have purchased an ugly sweater, got an ugly sweater as a gift or still have an ugly sweater. Here are our favorites…we don't own these, we just really got a kick out of them. Pinkalicious Christmas and Apartment Hunter Holiday....can you tell we've had some fun naming these?

Most of the time we are pretty serious when it comes to our blog posts. However, we just could not pass up sharing the fun with you! Enjoy!

US Destination Weddings

Destination weddings are still on the rise. A new survey by Destination Weddings magazine forecasts the market for such weddings will grow to $16 billion this year from $13 billion in 2008, extending a winning streak that has seen the market boom from just $3 billion in 2001.

 But instead of taking a flight to an exotic island, brides are giving guests the option to drive. Couples are enjoying US destinations, creating a great weekend of events.   Guests get to escape but the cost is not over the top for them.  The best part is you are contributing to the local economies, creating a greener environment, exploring new locations in the US and your wedding more cost effective.

Weddings at home tend to be larger while destination weddings tend to be smaller and less expensive. Destination Weddings Magazine editor Susan Moynihan said the average number of guests for a destination wedding has dipped to 48 from 51 in 2006, the last time it carried out the same survey, around a third of the size of the average traditional wedding.

Hilton Head Island, SC and Savannah, GA and are among 2 of the top wedding destination sites in the US.

Splashes of Sunshine for Spring 2010

Designers bring splashes of sunshine to the runway for spring 2010. Vibrant brights add a sense of excitement to the color palette, while practical neutrals provide a safety net…states Pantone's Fashion Forecast for Spring 2010 colors.

Colors like Turquoise, Amparo Blue, Violet, Aurora, Fusion Coral, Tomato Puree’, Pink Champagne, Tuscany, Dried Herb and Eucalyptus are on the scene. I say what happened to blues, yellows, reds?

Below is a color palette I created  in Turquoise and Aurora. Photographs from The Knot.

When choosing your wedding colors, you're setting the tone for the entire event. There are as many choices as there are colors in the rainbow but it may be that you can automatically filter out some choices once you start to think about details.

Another direction to go when choosing your wedding colors is to consider the meanings behind individual colors.

Red represents beauty, strength, passion, celebration and luck.
Light blue in your wedding suggests health, happiness, patience and creativity.
Yellow symbolizes intellect, friendship and cooperation.
Green is the color of fertility, nature, peace and harmony.
Pink is the hue of love and friendship.
Orange stimulates, creates energy and is the color or knowledge.
Purple represents royalty, mystery, spirituality and growth.
White reflects peace, protection, purity and fairness.

Once you've selected a color or two, you'll want to decide what color pattern you'll use. For instance, for a monochromatic wedding you would use just one color, but many shades of that color. If you're using related colors, you'll use colors next to each other on the color wheel. If you really like one color in particular, you might want to accent that color by using it among neutrals.

There are online tools on the internet that can help simplify the process for you. Brides has a color studio that you can create your color palette. And Dessy lets you create a color palette and an inspiration board. This has to be one of the best tools out there.

For those who need feel and touch, your local Lowe’s or Home Depot, hit the paint swatch section. There you can find any color imaginable to help you make your decision.

Have fun!!

A tribute to the couples we have worked with

Each couple we work with leaves a lasting memory with us. All of them move on to the next phase of their lives as a couple. Keeping in touch with them is fun and it’s especially exciting to hear about their new beginnings.

This year we saw Kati & Matt Doebler married ‘06’ bring a new bundle of joy named Libby into the world. In 2010, Katie & Ryan Culpepper married ‘04’, Diane & Dave Ford married ‘09’ and Jen and Jeff Bahl married ‘09’ are all expecting.

Congratulations ladies! Kati love your pictures. Katie, Diane and Jen…get lots of sleep before the babies are born.

                                                
                         Katie and Ryan Culpepper, June 12, 2004

                                                            
                               Kati and Matt Doebler, June 6, 2006

                                                       
                             Diane and Dave Ford, March 27, 2009

                                                            
                                 Jen and Jeff Bahl, April 25, 2009

What a week!

What a great week I had!!!
Started off the week working with a really great couple from GA, Brittany comes from Athens and Alex, Savannah. They are doing a destination wedding on Hilton Head Island, SC. The date is 5/21/2011…yes they are getting a big jump start on planning. Brittany has always dreamed of a sunset waterfront wedding ceremony and the reception overlooking the water. They want their guests to walk away saying that was a beautiful wedding and we had a great time. More to come over the year about their plans.
Thursday and Friday Charlotte and Bill from TX were in town to put the finishing touches on their April, 2010 Savannah, GA wedding. They both wanted a destination wedding…it was either Savannah or Italy. They vacationed in Savannah, GA on Charlotte’s birthday last year and were charmed by the romance, good food and history of the city. After checking out the legalities of getting married in Italy, Savannah was a no brainer and Italy will soon see them on their honeymoon. Their guest’s are in store for a real treat. Not only will the 4 days be a step back in history for them, it will truly be a gastronomic delight. Thursday starts the weekend with a small intimate rehearsal dinner at the Sapphire Grill. Friday’s ladies lunch at The Olde Historic Pink House and Welcome Party for all at the funky and eclectic Soho Café (the site of an old car dealership). Saturday’s wedding ceremony is at St. John’s Episcopal Church , cocktail’s in Chippewa Square (Life is like a box of chocolates) and the reception at Bryson Hall (the site of oldest car dealership in the south). Catering for Saturday will be in the incredible hands of Chef Nick Mueller and then if the guests have not had enough food, Sunday brunch at the Desoto Hilton Stayed tuned for more details after the wedding.
Have a great weekend!!! Linda

Happy Thanksgiving!

On this day of giving thanks and appreciation, Ellen and I would like to wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving and leave you with the following inspiring quotes:

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them. ~John Fitzgerald Kennedy

An optimist is a person who starts a new diet on Thanksgiving Day. ~Irv Kupcinet

Enjoy your holiday!!!

Savannah's Kennedy Pharmacy - a new event venue

Ellen and I attended a preview of a new venue space in Savannah last night. The Kennedy Pharmacy space was built in 1890, the 1st level was a pharmacy and its 2nd level a residential apartment. In 2007, SCAD along with the Historic Savannah Foundation and its owners the Davenport House Museum forged a partnership to rehabilitate the space. The renovation kept the integrity of the living space and the pharmacy is a fabulous space to rent for an event. The building is directly across the street from the museum. I envision an intimate wedding ceremony in the garden at the museum, cocktails on the patio at the museum, the walk across the street for an intimate dinner reception. Or it’s a great site for a small rehearsal dinner.
Right now there are no photographs of the building on the website www.davenporthousemuseum.org but we took some last night. The building is at 323 E. Broughton Street, Savannah, GA. Enjoy!!! Sorry for the lack of photo creativity...this is why you hire professional photographers! :)

Budgeting Tips

How much is my wedding going to cost? This is the single most asked question we get when speaking to new brides. There is no doubt that budget plays a huge role when planning a wedding. So how do you have fun planning the most important part of your life and not be stressed over the budget? Here are some quick ideas to avoid stressing out over your budget:

Before starting your planning process, define the vision of your wedding, the style and theme. It’s better to know what you want before you starting planning then changing directions several times during the process.

It’s important to know who is contributing to the budget and how much their contribution will be. Today, wedding funds can come from the couple, bride’s parents, and grooms parents. Discuss the budget openly with who ever will be contributing to find out how much they are willing to spend.

Prepare a budget detailing all the categories of the wedding. Remember that what most determines your budget is the number of guests you plan to invite. 50% of your budget goes towards food and beverage. Research all the vendor categories; do some leg work to find out what the average costs are for things in your area or where you plan to have your wedding. This will take the stress and guess work out of preparing your budget. It’s also going to take some time to gather this information. We suggest if you don’t have the time to do this leg work call a wedding planner. Hire them for a few hours to help you prepare a budget. Not only will you have a well planned budget but you will learn a lot about the area and what you can expect. It will be money well spent. If you don’t know what categories make up a budget, there is so much available for free on the internet. www.theknot.com and www.weddingchannel.com have great budget templates to use. Once you have your budget, stick to it!! Good luck, have fun with your planning and have a fun and stress free wedding day.

A Midsummer Night's Dream

From the minute we met Sarah and Rob, we knew this was going to be an unbelievable couple to work with. Both Sarah and Rob are extremely artistic and Sarah had some really fabulous ideas for their wedding. With both of them living in NYC and being very urban, having a more Lowcountry feel to their wedding was important to them. She definitely wanted a ceremony on the beach and the backdrop for the reception would be in the back yard of her parents phenomenal home on the beach. Sarah and Rob had a vision in mind and we created that vision for them. Special Thanks to Tracy Turpen Photograpny for capturing their special moments forever.

Local ABC Luncheon

Last Tuesday, Hilton Head Island was the host for the first ever local networking group of the SC branch of the Association of Bridal Consultants. The luncheon was well attended with over 40 local wedding professionals. Above are just a few pictures of the tablescapes.

Oh My God!

We did it! Talk about blood, sweat, tears, a few laughs and a couple glasses of wine, we are live! The new website it up and looking fantabulous! For more information about who we are and what we do please visit us at www.amandaroseweddings.com. Our goal for the new blog is to post at least once a week. It will be done by either Linda or Ellen so please be on the lookout for future postings. Until then, Happy Planning!