KEY INGREDIENTS TO A SAVE THE DATE!

Photo Courtesy of Martha Stewart Weddings

The Save the Date is the first introduction to your guests about your upcoming wedding.  There are so many fun and creative ways to express yourself with your save the date but you will want to remember to include these key ingredients.

DATE - Naturally, this is one of the most important pieces on the save the date!

SOON TO BE BRIDE and GROOM-  Your name and your fiance's name.  You will want to include both of your last names as well so everyone knows exactly who is getting married and from what side of the family!

LOCATION -  You want to include the city and state.  In the event of a destination wedding, your guests will want to know if they need to start thinking of travel arrangements!  

WEDDING WEBSITE -  This is one of other most important pieces to include on your save the date! The website serves as a great communication tool for your guests throughout the rest of your planning days, so please be sure it is visible!  They can visit the site periodically to find nearby hotels you may have arranged for room blocks and your wedding registry plus, hear about your personal LOVE story of how you met and how he proposed.  You can include some fun survey's like where you should go on your honeymoon or what song should you play for your first dance.  With so many free templates available, it only takes a little bit of time to create a website that is reflective of you two as a couple.  One of my favorites is www.mywedding.com, click Free Websites to get started! 

LAST BUT NOT LEAST - the famous line, Formal Invitation to Follow!

Best Wishes Always!

Cindy Stonehouse

10 Commandments of Marriage

I was reading through one of my magazines this morning and came across this piece on What Every Husband Should Know.  As a wedding planner, I know how much time it takes to plan a wedding and everything that goes into the wedding day.  However, I know that it takes EVERY DAY to keep the marriage going.  So I wanted to share this with you and may you always remember, "The 10 Commandments of Marriage".

1.  The children come first.  If there are no children, your wife comes first.
2.  Be kind.  A cruel word, once said, cannot be unsaid.
3.  Your wife is always the most beautiful woman you've ever seen.
4.  Your wife is always the best S*X you've ever had.
5.  Everything is your fault.  Learn to embrace this.
6.  When your wife says "fine", it means she is not happy.
7.  Don't seek to change each other, seek to accept each other.
8.  Let the past stay in the past.  Your marriage is about today and tomorrow.
9.  Your wedding anniversary and your wife's birthday are the most important days of the year.
10. Laugh. A lot. Laugh with her. Laugh at yourself.

Enjoy!  Best wishes always!

Cindy Stonehouse

As seen in Wedding magazine,  June * July 2011

SEMI Planner Pick ~ Mosiacs

Mosiacs!  We LOVE this idea!  For a guest book picture frame idea, one of my fabulous brides created this mosiac made up of photos of her, the groom and both of their families.  It was a STUNNING piece for all of the guests to enjoy!


Also, thanks to Inside Weddings Summer 2011 magazine, we found Andrew Miller Arts (www.andrewmillerarts.com), who creates these gorgeous mosaics everyday made up of your wedding day photos, baby photos, and more.  You can visit his website at: http://andrewmillerarts.com to view more of his spectacular work!


Happy Planning!


Much love,


Cindy 

REAL WEDDING ~ Kristy and Bobby

  

We have been enjoying a busy wedding season!  Unfortunately, we have been a bit behind on sharing some of our favorite details!  In February, we had the pleasure of helping Kristy and Bobby create the wedding day of their dreams!  

With the casual elegance of the beach, we transformed the outdoor space to an inviting atmosphere for drinks, food and fun!  We had a Tiki Bar complete with the couples two signature drinks the Classic Margarita and Coconut Paradise.  We had Food Stations for the guests to enjoy as well; keeping with the casual beach feeling.   For the guest book, Kristy got black rocks for the guests to sign and place in a decorative container that will later on be displayed in their house.  The melodic sounds of the steel drums playing for the ceremony and the cocktail hour just completed the overall feeling.  

One of my favorite moments of the wedding were the bridesmaid toasts.  They created a story board of how Kristy and Bobby met and their journey toward becoming man and wife.  It was super CUTE and everyone really enjoyed it!

Sending Love & Hugs,

Cindy

Thanks to my amazing team of vendors!

My Little White Book

Planner/Coordinator: Stonehouse Events

Photography: Life Long Studios

Videography: Voila Cinematic

Caterer: Catering by Design 

Cake: Cakes by Nomeda; 

Bar: UDream Events

Flowers: Events in Bloom

Music: Grant Hemond and Associates

Ceremony & Cocktail Hour Music: Joe Braccio, steel drums

Lighting: Tampa Lights

Bamboo Arch: A Tailored Event

Makeup & Hair: Beauty Brought Out

Linens: Connie Duglin 

Solutions Bridal Designer House ~ Orlando

We are so excited to be featured on the Solutions Bridal Designer House, The Bridal Closet blog this week!  You can view it on the link below:

http://solutionsbridal.com/blog/?p=5381

Recently, we had the opportunity to visit with Gina Ward at Solutions Bridal Designer House in Orlando, Florida.  Gina is such an amazing person and full of knowledge!  Her Couture bridal line includes: Kenneth Pool, Rivini, Anne Barge and Badgley Mischka to name a few favorites.  For the bridesmaids, they offer Amsale, The Dessy Group and Jim Hjelm, plus a few other fabulous designers.  Solutions Bridal also offers gorgeous handcrafted accessories to embellish any collection and customize the dress.  What we love about Gina and her company is the intimate atmosphere they created and their philosophy on helping the bride find a perfect dress for her.  They take the time with each client to really understand their unique needs and help capture the feelings they are trying to express on their wedding day.  


Additionally, for the bride who wants the Royal Treatment, they have created the LUX experience.  The salon is reserved exclusively for you and your closest family and friends.  They customize the private experience with a personal stylist, cocktails, hors d'oeuvres and desserts!  What a wonderful way to go Bridal Gown Shopping!  This is almost a MUST-HAVE for every bride!   Of course, there are a limited number of  LUX appointments and the reservation is $300.  You can email: gina@solutionsbridal.com to begin customizing your experience!  


Please tell Gina we said Hello and that you found on her the Stonehouse Events blog!


Sending love & hugs!


Cindy 

Wedding Day for Kelsea and Tyler!

March 13, 2011

We had the pleasure of helping Kelsea and Tyler plan their wedding day!  Kelsea had so many wonderful ideas that she wanted to incorporate into her day to make it personal and special and we couldn't wait to help her bring it all together!  


Some of my favorite moments from Kelsea and Tyler's day were some of the more difficult details to put together!  We created the perfect moment for Kelsea and Tyler to see each other for the first time before the ceremony.  Complete with flowers and candles, Tyler was reading a love note written by Kelsea when suddenly she appeared.  It was a very touching moment between the two full of excitement and emotion.  Also, Kelsea wrote their LOVE STORY that we lighted with luminaries along the walkway for the guests to read.  Another one that I loved...when it ended was the Wishing Lanterns!  They were so beautiful after we got them lit (which was not easy!) and set them off into the night sky!  It was a true team effort but well worth it in the end!  You can view them on the link provided by the photographer: Jason Mize Photography  

http://vimeo.com/22916004

Thank you to the AMAZING team of vendors who helped make the day PERFECT! 


Coordinator: Stonehouse Events, of course!
Photographer: Jason Mize Photography
DJ: RJ Vida, The Production Crew
Location: Postcard Inn
Florist: Events in Bloom
Photobooth: Snapshoot Photobooth
Videography: No Off Switch


Love & Hugs,


Cindy

The Royal Wedding Starts on Time!

It is a glorious day for Prince William and Kate Middleton to become husband and wife.  Their ceremony was beautiful and I was one of many who actually got up to watch the Royal Wedding at 4:00 a.m. (our time) and 9:00 a.m. (their time).  The wedding was set to begin at 11:00 a.m. and the general guests began arriving two hours before the ceremony start time.  The biggest thing I noticed was that the bride, Kate Middleton arrived at 11:00 a.m. on the dot and the ceremony started on time!  


Starting the ceremony on time is critical.  Because of the magnitude of this wedding, guests began to arrive two and three hours ahead of the ceremony start time.  Beginning the ceremony on time is very important.  Plus, it is polite and respectful to not keep your guests waiting.  


This was one of the biggest things I noticed as a wedding planner because everyone had to be given a timeline and had to stick to it.  Every car was scheduled to arrive at a certain time and did.  Every person involved in the processional had to be dressed and ready at that specific time because waiting was not an option.  


As a wedding planner, there are two critical items that I know to be true... every vendor involved with getting the bridal party and parents ready and to the church was a true professional and the timeline was communicated effectively to everyone and they understood that being late was not an option.  


So when you are planning your own wedding, please keep this in mind.  Do you have a team of professionals on your side helping you and your bridal party be on time?  Or do they lack the experience to handle the job in a timely fashion and end up keeping your guests waiting?  Because even if you are not having a Royal Wedding, you can still be Fashionably on time just like the Royal Wedding!


Best Wishes to All!


Cindy