Cleveland Wedding Planner

We Need Your Help!

2009-11-12T09:14:00.002-05:00

Thank you all for your support last year in the Fox 8 Hot List Contest and helping us to win #1 wedding planner!!!

If you have a minute and would like to vote again for this year's contest we would appreciate it!!! Just click here:

http://fox8.cityvoter.com/kirkbrides-wedding-planning-and-design/biz/55297

The voting ends this Friday, November 13th at 11:59pm (my birthday! even more reason to vote!).

Thank you for your support!

Melissa and John: September 12

2009-11-04T11:46:00.010-05:00

I had the pleasure of helping Melissa and John plan their September 12, 2009 wedding in Cleveland for 14 months. They hired Kirkbrides mostly for our unique location expertise and also because they live in Hoboken, New Jersey so the distance made their planning a challenge. Melissa was a referral from Marie and Matt, from August 2007! It's so nice to see our work coming around for friends of past clients getting married. And it was also wonderful to see Marie and Matt at the wedding!

We lucked out because we got to share the tent and some of the rentals with the wedding I had at the same location the very next weekend! (see Nora and Chris, below) So that helped us on the cost a bit!

Below are the awesome pictures from Mark Davidson, our photographer for the day. I love his take on the day, so unique.

A note from Melissa:
Thank you
Wednesday, November 4, 2009 10:29 AM
From:

"Melissa xxx"
View contact details
To:
"Valarie Kirkbride"

Dear Valarie and Team,

Hope you're all doing very well. Sorry we have taken so long to write this, but we just wanted to drop a line to express our gratitude for your wedding planning services. Our September 12, 2009 wedding was the perfect day. It was the wedding I have always pictured in my mind, and thank you so much for helping us to bring it to fruition. Thank you for helping me make all of the difficult but pertinent decisions in the planning process. Being a very indecisive person, your direction was imperative! The food, decor, and setting fit our personalities so perfectly. I even received a few "That was the best wedding I have ever been to" and "That was the most beautiful wedding I have ever seen." Though I am sure those compliments were mere flattery, in my mind, they are true. We now have the BEST memory! Thank you.

Since there was absolutely nothing for me to keep track of or worry about during the course of our day, we had the rare opportunity of having fun at our own wedding. Unfortunately, I was so busy having way too much fun that I lost my veil. I was so excited when it turned up in my mail a few weeks later! It was so nice of you to go to the extra trouble of (well, finding it in the first place) mailing it. It was such a nice surprise!

We hope you'll all get a chance to relax a bit now that the wedding season is coming to a close! Keep in touch!

Kindest regards,

Melissa and John

Some pictures taken by me and my team. The sunset was just too amazing to resist taking a few of our own. You can't buy or rent the sunset anywhere! Definitely a highlight of the wedding. Congratulations Melissa and John!

Nora & Chris: September 19

2009-10-19T18:04:00.013-04:00

I think that September 19 was the last really nice day of the year in Cleveland, that was warm enough to be outside. What an amazing wedding! The weather was perfect for this outdoor ceremony and reception on the lake. I have never in my life seen more flowers at a wedding than this one (except in the movies I think)! Ed at Orban's Floral really outdid himself. Check out the amazing arch, the thousands of flowers in the tent, and even my personal favorite, the mini cocktail table centerpieces of the yellow roses and lemons!

I worked with Nora, Chris and Nora's mom Susie for about a year to plan this gorgeous Great Gatsby/Stealing Beauty/Vintage styled wedding at Georgian Manor in Bratenahl. The highlight of the day (besides the flowers of course) was definitely the music. Chris is a musician and his choices for the wedding were over the top amazing. From the various live musicians at the ceremony, to the Toronto based band The Sadies (alternative country band) for the reception, I have to point out how unique the evening was from many other weddings I'm used to just based on the music alone.

I feel honored to have been the planner for this fabulous wedding...not only because of the obvious, but also because Nora was one of the most gracious and kind people I have ever worked with. She always seemed to be looking out for ME...shouldn't it be the other way around? :-) I have a feeling she's like that in all of her relationships. Chris is a lucky guy! Congratulations Nora and Chris and all the best to you in the years to come!

Photography courtesy of Easywind Studio

Laura and David: Lovebirds

2009-09-29T22:14:00.010-04:00

As soon as I met Laura in January I knew we would get along great and work well together. Then as soon as I met David on our first scouting trip to find their perfect location, I knew that I would be sad to only be working with them for 7 months to plan their July 25 wedding! These two really are special and are totally in love.

The gorgeous pictures are provided courtesy of Z Media Photography (Lisa, Wes and Chris). Our theme was a lovebird, rustic, organic feel. Kirkbrides is proud to say that, as with all of our weddings except for day-of coordination jobs, we planned and designed all decor elements seen in these pics. Also, everything you see here on the tables (placecards, chargers, table names, menus, etc.) was created by us as well! We also helped Laura and Dave find all of their vendors.

Congrats Laura and Dave! It was a blast working with you and I wish it would have lasted longer. I am glad that you two are together now, after being friends for so long and wish you a lifetime of happiness. What a beautiful wedding, and of course what a beautiful couple!

Letter from Brittney

2009-09-24T18:49:00.002-04:00

I worked with Brittney for 21 months to plan her September 6, 2009 wedding. She and I really hit it off and planned a GORGEOUS wedding. The day was flawless and I can't wait to post pictures. She was nice enough to send me this e-mail this week and I wanted to post it in the meantime. Thank you so much Brittney and congrats to you and Dave!!

From:
"Brittney xxxx"
View contact details
To:
"Kirkbrides Weddings"
HIII!

So Dave and I got back last Tuesday...Aruba was amazing. So relaxing, just what we needed. I just saw the slideshow on Scotts blog....absolutely amazing. I might start crying at work!

I've been meaning to write you since we got back, but its taken a while for me to get my thoughts together about how wonderful that day was. I would just love to do the entire day over and over again, and a lot of that is because of you. You made the entire planning process not only easy but so much fun. I didn't have my close family and friends out here with me, but in you I always felt like I had a friend and supporter through everything, someone who was really looking out for me. I love every single one of the vendors we used, your recommendations and relationships with them made our day possible.

In the weeks leading up to the wedding, you thought of things and did things for me that I would have never even known to do, and left me with the time to do my fun little projects (water bottles haha)! I could enjoy those last few days knowing you and your team had everything under control. Our entire wedding party and family said that was the best rehearsal they had ever been to!

The day of the wedding, I had absolutely no worries, I knew you and your team could handle everything. You gave a controlling, type A personality girl the best gift ever, piece of mind that I could just enjoy the day and be a bride. I can not thank you enough for that. I feel like I truely enjoyed my day and didn't miss a single thing, because you were there. The gardens and the reception room took my breathe away. The colors, flowers, menu's, and all the other little details were stunning, and beyond my wildest dreams. I am just in love with how all of that turned out. We have gotten so many compliments on how beautiful the room was, and still hear about it all the time! So many people told us it was one of the best weddings they have ever been to.

I really could not have done all of this without you. I tell everyone I know how much of an asset you were, and Daves parents are now convinced that when his sister Lisa gets married, they should get a planner (and you know who I'm going to recommend!) I feel truely honored that I got to work with you and have absolutely no regrets about how anything turned out, all thanks to you and the team. I cannot thank you and them enough! We love you guys!

Love always,

Brittney and Dave

Dominique and Ronald: Romantic Summer Soiree

2009-09-21T17:57:00.008-04:00

It was a pleasure working with Dominique to create her brightly colored with purples and pinks wedding day! I have to say that their reception was one of the most lively and fun I have EVER seen. Their guests surely knew how to dance, and dance WELL....wow!!!!

The Father Daughter dance was very impressive and well coordinated as well! I don't dance at weddings on the dance floor, when I am the planner, but this one was the most tempting of all time.

Dominique and Ronald's entire bridal party was sooooo nice and helpful to me and my assistant, Maura all day and night. You can tell how fun the bride and groom are from their big entrance for their announcement song, "'03 Bonnie and Clyde" by Beyonce and Jay-Z. Pics of that and everything else below, provided by none other than Easywind Studio.

Elizabeth Anne Designs

2009-09-16T18:42:00.003-04:00

While browsing the internet I noticed that Kirkbrides is listed on Elizabeth Anne Designs site!

Check it out here!

I love this blog and they always have such wonderful ideas! Thank you to the person I should be thanking! :-)

Keep checking back on the blog...I still have more summer weddings to post including my own (you knew that would be coming soon), and now September weddings too!

Noel and Dana's Wedding at Cleveland Browns Stadium

2009-09-16T10:18:00.009-04:00

I am very excited to post the wedding of Noel and Dana that took place on July 17, 2009. Noel and I clicked right away when we met and got to know each other pretty well during the planning process. We discovered we had mutual friends (Dana works with one of my best friends) and have kept in touch since the big day!

We ended up deciding on the unique location of the Browns Stadium as the site for the ceremony and reception. Sherri, the catering and event manager, was wonderful to work with as we worked on our red and black, metropolitan cocktail style wedding. Our ceremony was held right at the stadium too and then down to the club lounge area overlooking the lake for dinner stations and dancing.

Pictures were courtesy of Scott and Julie at Easywind Studio. Noel's friend had worked with these guys last year and so one of her first comments to me was that she saw I worked with them often and is there any way they would open any closed dates for her? I managed to work it in and I think they were happy they were there!

The highlight of the day is a surprise that Dana planned for Noel. Right after they were announced at the beginning of their reception, they walked over to do their first dance and Scott Jones (our fabulous DJ) played the music to "It Had to be You" and Dana serenaded Noel in true Harry Connick Jr./Frank Sinatra/Dean Martin style!

Be sure to watch a youtube clip of it here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVrFWPmmzSs

Another funny thing about this day is that I received a voicemail message from Dana early in the morning on the wedding day. He said something about how he is at the airport and won't be coming to the wedding today, sorry. Then he said he was just kidding, of course. That sums up their sense of humor! He really was calling to get a videographer for THAT SAME DAY. That's a first for me. I called around to 3 different companies I work with often and texted Dana the prices. We ended up with Scott and Mike from Moonstruck Productions. Can't wait to see the video!!

Congratulations Noel and Dana! I hope you have an amazing and fun-filled honeymoon in November and I can't wait to hang out with you sometime again soon!

Union by Robert Fulghum

2009-09-13T23:37:00.003-04:00

This reading has been featured in a few recent wedding ceremonies. I think it is beautiful and wanted to share....

You have known each other from the first glance of acquaintance to this point of commitment. At some point, you decided to marry.

From that moment of yes to this moment of yes, indeed, you have been making promises and agreements in an informal way. All those conversations that were held riding in a car or over a meal or during long walks - all those sentences that began with “When we’re married” and continued with “I will and you will and we will”- those late night talks that included “someday” and “somehow” and “maybe”- and all those promises that are unspoken matters of the heart. All these common things, and more, are the real process of a wedding.

The symbolic vows that you are about to make are a way of saying to one another, “You know all those things we’ve promised and hoped and dreamed- well, I meant it all, every word.”

Look at one another and remember this moment in time. Before this moment you have been many things to one another- acquaintance, friend, companion, lover, dancing partner, and even teacher, for you have learned much from one another in these last few years.

Now you shall say a few words that take you across a threshold of life, and things will never quite be the same between you. For after these vows, you shall say to the world, this- is my husband, this- is my wife.

Enchanted Forest and Nature Wedding

2009-09-13T22:11:00.010-04:00

I am very delayed in posting pics of this June wedding but it was too pretty not to! We have had the busiest summer ever. I had a lot of fun working on the decor and creative aspects with the bride to create a wedding that really suited her and the groom. The bride and groom love hiking in the Metroparks, so we developed the decor around that activity. Tables were named after their favorite local paths and we used chocolate brown and a few shades of green to accent the room. Our team created all of the menus, table names and hanging leaf escort cards. As an added touch, we placed a green and brown chocolate mint on top of each guest menu on the tables! Highlights of the wedding were the huge uplit trees that engulfed the sides of the room and our fun photobooth! Enjoy!
(pics taken by Rachael and Valarie of Kirkbrides: wedding planners, not photographers, ha)

July 3: Emily and Lauren

2009-09-01T22:59:00.009-04:00

I had the pleasure of getting to know Emily through working with her for over a year to plan and design her antique and herb/lavender themed wedding. We worked together long distance because she lives in Florida with Lauren. Emily is one of the funniest people I've ever met, always upbeat with a sarcastic but positive remark about things. We also both love cats, so always had a funny cat story or two to tell each other.

She and Lauren are both passionate about politics. They even met at a history convention! We drew some inspiration from Monticello in our decor aspects, and even had Thomas Jefferson pictured on the save the dates! And since they attended the inauguration this year, they chose "At Last" for their first dance song!!

I wish there was a way to include smells on blogs. If there was, I would definitely include these bouquets because they smelled absolutely amazing with the real lavender!

Lauren also gets the award of "Nicest Groom" because he thanked ME in his speech at his reception! That just blew me away, usually I just hang out on the sidelines/background!

Congratulations Emily and Lauren! I am so happy for you and I hope you have many wonderful years together!

Here are my favorites from the pictures taken that day by Scott of Easywind Studio.

Rave Reviews for Rachael

2009-08-26T21:55:00.003-04:00

(Rachael and I at her October 2008 wedding)

Rachael Gummersbach is the other planner besides myself who works for Kirkbrides, helping brides create their dream wedding day and maintaining excellent management skills on the wedding days. She has recently gone through quite a bit of weddings of her own, including a Southwestern themed outdoor wedding (which we'll post pics of as soon as we get them!), a Romance themed wedding and even MINE!

I would only trust the most responsible and capable of people to manage my own wedding day and I have to say that Rachael did an impeccable job! I had quite a few family members and friends comment to me on what a great job she was doing at my rehearsal, ceremony and reception, and how lucky I am to have her representing Kirkbrides.

While I was away on my honeymoon, Rachael took care of everything for Kirkbrides....answering e-mails, booking new clients for 2010 and 2011, and taking care of all our September brides.

Her biggest job though was working with the Kirkbrides team to coordinate a large Greek wedding held at a Greek Orthodox Church and the grand ballroom at the Renaissance hotel. We're still working on getting pictures, but I wanted to share 2 notes of appreciation she received from both the bride and her mother.

Congratulations Rachael!!!

(from the bride)
Hi Rachael,
Just wanted to thank you so much for all your help!! You were awesome and you really helped make the day run so much smoother. We really appreciate all of your hard work! The wedding was absolutely perfect.
I was wondering if you could email me your home address as I'd like to send something to you.
Thanks again SO much! Best of luck to you with the last six weeks of your pregnancy-- if you email any pictures out to people when the baby comes I'd love to be added to the email!!!
Take care,
Andrea

(from mother of the bride)
HI Rachael,
I can't thank you enough for your great work.. Please feel free to use us as references any time. I will tell you that when all was said and done, we felt that your services and the flowers were the best value for the results. If I had one piece of advice for others now, it would be to u se your services for the day of the event. Please feel free to use my name or andrea's as reference.. She also said her favorite part was working with you.. You calmed her down and were kind enough to not make her feel dumb about her questions..
We do want to send you a token of our appreciation.. Are you registered at any baby places? Please share and provide me your home address too if you don't mind..(ps please also resend me your last name as Andrea is on her honeymoon!)
Hope

August Update

2009-08-07T22:18:00.004-04:00

(pics courtesy of Easywind Studio)
Blog post soon to come of Emily and Lauren's charming wedding in July.

Hi everyone! We have been SUPER BUSY with weddings lately, and have about 8 in the queue still to blog!....sorry, as you most probably know the Kirkbrides team and I have been getting ready for my OWN wedding (finally!!!) and it's been a bit crazy. Mostly just wrapping things up with clients before a little break, although Rachael is going to take great care of everyone while I'm out!

Just to give you an idea of what we've been up to...we have a 3 day long Indian wedding going on this weekend as well as another 250 person wedding with a Classic Romance theme! Lots of exciting things to come for Kirkbrides in September, so make sure to check back often for updates and pictures catching up from all of our amazing 2009 summer weddings.

I'll leave you with this for now...be sure to click on this link to see a recent groom, Dana, surprise Noel with a serenade of "It Had to be you" right after they were announced at their July 17 wedding.

CHEERS!

Note from Michelle

2009-07-23T07:13:00.002-04:00

I received a great e-mail from Michelle (see Rustic, Nature, Summertime wedding on June 6 below!). I loved the pics too, so excited for vacation. Thanks Michelle, wish we could do it all over again!

Hi Valarie,

How are you doing? Shawn and I are doing well. It's been over a month since we got married and we couldn't be happier. Things are finally starting to slow down and return to normal....if there is such a thing.

We wanted to touch base to say thank you to both you and your team. We could not be happier with the way our special day turned out and we owe it to you and the awesome vendors you recommended to us. We enjoyed every minute of the wedding and reception and we talked about it for days into our honeymoon. As a little girl, I never was one to dream about my wedding day nor plan on what it would be like...but I really feel that I had the wedding of every little girl's dreams. We could not have asked for a better day, weather or event wise. You and your team handled all the details and neither myself or our families had to worry about a thing. Thank you for that!

I'm so happy we chose Easywind! Our pictures turned out amazing and we continue to receive compliments. The flowers were awesome too! Great recommendations!

Oh and if you and your fiance are still heading to Maroma Beach you are in for the honeymoon of your dreams! I won't spoil it for you but let's just say we didn't want to come home. It's paradise...and it's true they have the best beach! You will love it. I attached some pictures for you to look at!

Thanks again for all your help and hard work!

Shawn and Michelle

Lucky in Love: Katie and Joe

2009-07-21T21:57:00.007-04:00

Katie is one of the nicest brides ever! Throughout the entire planning process, she was always so super sweet and excited, just a truly happy person. Which is why I knew she and Joe (who is quite a friendly guy himself) would have an amazing day on July 3.

She started off on the right foot by hiring Genevieve and James at Genevieve Nisly Photography as her photographers, who provided me with the beautiful images below! She knew that I personally was booked on another wedding that day (blog post coming soon) so my lovely team of Janine and Maura would be taking care of her, although I did spend quite a bit of time helping her with vendors and all of the creative details!

We designed the wedding with a "Lucky in Love" theme in mind using eggplant purple, silver and a touch of green. And wow, did it turn out to look amazing!!! Please make sure you take note of our cootie catcher menus, our luck charm table names and the take home dice favors!

It was so wonderful to hear from Katie after the wedding that the only bad thing about the day is that it is now over and flew by! It is such a wonderful feeling to know that you had a part in making someone's day wonderful!

Music side note: We used "Luck be a Lady" by Frank Sinatra for the bridal party announcments, then switched it up to "Pokerface" by Lady Gaga for the bride and groom...to go with the theme, of course!

Enjoy the pictures. Congratulations Katie and Joe! It was such a pleasure getting to know you! I know you will have a very fun and happy life together!

Stunning!!!

Michelle & Shawn: Rustic, Nature, Summertime

2009-07-06T22:01:00.011-04:00

On June 6 the Kirkbrides team headed back out east for Michelle and Shawn's wedding. I have been working with them for the past year and a half planning and designing their wedding day. I feel that we designed a day that suited them both perfectly in personality and style, through the decor, music, location and overall ambiance. These amazing pictures are provided to me courtesy of my friends Scott and Julie from Easywind.

Michelle and Shawn are an easygoing, happy and fun couple. I also have to mention how kind and friendly both of their families are! Michelle looked absolutely beautiful and I think I must have complimented her ten times! We lucked out with perfect weather for the romantic outdoor ceremony surrounded by water. Our colors were sage green and lavender and we created it with the theme Rustic Summertime Night. All of the table names, programs and escort cards were created by the Kirkbrides team.

This was all in all a beautiful and enjoyable day for everyone, including me and my team members! This is the kind of wedding that makes me so happy to do what I do. Enjoy the fabulous pictures! Congratulations Michelle and Shawn!

Nirali and Nirav: Sunday Ceremony & Reception

2009-06-29T10:07:00.008-04:00

In January I began working with Nirali and Nirav to plan their 3 day long traditional Indian wedding for.....the weekend of May 29-31 of the same year. Yes, 4 quick months to plan 3 days full of events! There are so many details and so much to say about this wedding that I don't even know where to begin. Since it was the first full Indian wedding I worked on since the Indian weddings I worked on in Los Angeles and New York, I was so happy for the opportunity! Nirali was extra helpful in explaining all of the details and special meanings behind the customs. She and I also really enjoyed designing and planning all of the creative details to go along with the "East Meets West" theme using many colors, as you will see.

This post contains pictures from Sunday's ceremony and reception (the big day), but in the future I plan on posting pictures from Saturday's dancing event as well as the henna night on Friday. I will let the pictures speak for themselves. Be sure to check out their thoughtful note to me at the end of the post as well! Those notes are like gold to me because I truly put every ounce of time and energy I have into making these weddings not only beautiful, but enjoyable for my clients.

I could not have done this without my amazing team including Rachael, Janine, Liz and Maura who tirelessly helped me all weekend long.

All pictures are courtesy of my friends, Chris and Julie First at Z Media. They are so great to work with and some of the kindest and most thoughtful vendors I know. I am looking forward to working with them again in August on another very exciting Indian wedding!

Kara & Brian: Spring Themed Wedding

2009-06-07T21:41:00.012-04:00

When Kara and Brian first came to meet with me, I could tell they were in love. Kara described to me how Brian proposed to her on a surprise trip to Florida, and got all emotional just talking to me about it! I could also tell that they were going to be a joy to work with due to their soft spoken and easygoing nature. Both of those foresights proved to be true and on May 30, we got to see them get married on a beautiful day outside on the lake!

We developed a spring theme using mostly green and orange with few accents of yellow. The outdoor ceremony featured a decorated gazebo with orange, yellow and green pomanders all hanging from different lengths of ribbon.

The tables were accented with sage green and named after different flowers. As you can see, our escort cards were stuck in pails of sand and each guest's name was printed on a colored cardboard flower.

I learned that Brian had just officially become a doctor (knew he was in his residency but didn't know it was official yet), which is pretty awesome considering they were announced Dr. and Mrs.!

I LOVE this picture of Kara, I think she looks so beautiful.

But the most touching part of the day came as Brian stood up to give a Groom thank you speech at the reception. The day before, as we were finishing up the rehearsal, he came to me and said, "Valarie, I have a gift for Kara in my car that I'd like you to set on my chair at the reception". He secretly passed that on to me as I was leaving, without Kara knowing. Brian is a soft spoken guy. He is so nice and kind and when he talks, people listen. He gave his thank you's to his family, to Kara's family and then to his groomsmen. You could have heard a pin drop in that ballroom while he was quietly speaking into the microphone. Then he says, and to my new wife (I may not be remembering verbatim but you get the jist), I love you more than anything and from this day forward I will take care of you and will give you the world. He presented her with a beautiful hand size globe, which is pictured below. Everyone was blown away, including Kara of course, who then proceeded to tear up for probably the 30th time that day! What an awesome moment! That will go down in my memory as one of the most romantic wedding moments out of all of the weddings I see.

Pictures are courtesy of our friends at Easywind Studio. Scott and Julie organized an awesome first look out in the vineyards. It looks more like California than Ohio! The suitcases are so cool for props too, aren't they? LOVE the creativity! I had a hard time not posting 200 images from the day because all of the pictures were so beautiful!

Kara and Brian, congratulations on your marriage. You are AWESOME people who I feel lucky to have met and worked with. I know you have a very happy life ahead of you.

Last but not least, check out these personalized M&M's with their picture!

Super sweet note from Kara received in the mail this week:

Great Gatsby Prom

2009-06-04T12:57:00.010-04:00

Does Kirkbrides Wedding Planning & Design ever do events other than weddings, you ask? Of course we do! This weekend we did a few, and the prom was one of them!

On Thursday, May 28, Kirkbrides coordinated our first prom to date! Rachael Gummersbach, our other planner besides myself, did all of the planning, design and legwork on this one, so I can't really take much credit. But I think she did such an amazing job creating all of the details that went into their theme of "Great Gatsby". When I walked into the location to help her set up, I was blown away. I think that many people would be very happy if this was their wedding! I KNOW that this was a million times nicer than my own proms!

The school was Western Reserve Academy. We served Strawberry Lemonade as the specialty "mocktail" drink in an upstairs cocktail hour. Our tables were named after different aspects of the Great Gatsby story and I feel that the design of the room and night completely encompassed the story. After dinner, the kids headed downstairs to a tented courtyard for dancing and entertainment.

I know that the staff members and students were pleased and hopefully we will be able to use our creative energy and planning skills on more proms in the future!

Central Park Wedding

2009-05-29T11:12:00.008-04:00

Special thanks to Easywind Studio for providing us with the pictures of the wedding day.

Hi Valarie,

Sorry that I haven't written sooner! Stephen and I can just not begin to thank you enough for all of your help with the whole wedding process. You were so much fun to work with, and I always felt as though we were in such good hands, and could fully trust all of the counsel that you gave us.

All of the vendors that you suggested for us were fabulous, really incredible! The florist was amazing, and created such a dream of a landscape for our ceremony and reception. I spoke with Bernie yesterday, and I believe "a fairy land" were the words that I used to describe our head table! The DJ was awesome, everyone had such a wonderful time dancing! I don't know how many texts and e-mails I've gotten saying "Hands down, most fun wedding ever", or "My date and I voted, and yours was the best wedding that either of us have been to." The string quartet was absolutely beautiful, and it meant to much to us that they went so out of their way to play those special pieces for us. Scott's pictures are gorgeous, and he and Julie were so inconspicuous and kind the entire time. Truly a pleasure to work with. I can't wait to see the video from Moonstruck, and again, Scott and Mike were barely seen, and such nice guys! All of the calligraphy on the name cards and table names was beautiful as well, and really gave it that "added touch". Please thank Janine again for me!

And then, not to mention all of the extra work that you did for the wedding, besides all of the coordination. The escort cards, bar menus, drink menus, specialty drink sign, luminaries, and so much more! That meant a lot to us that you put in all of that hard work on those extra details. Our family loved working with you as well, and were just so happy with how easy you made it on all of us. I could go on and on about how pleased we were with everything that you did to make our wedding the most special night, and all that we could have wished for.

It has been a wonderful past year and a half of planning, and although I couldn't be more thrilled with the results, I'm a little sad that it's come to an end! Please keep in touch!

Laura (and Stephen too!)

I first received a call from Laura while I was at my parents' house in December of 2007, making Christmas cookies. Laura seemed so sweet and excited about her wedding day and we set up a day to meet while she and Stephen were in town from New York City for the holidays. We clicked right away when we met as we discovered we all went to Ohio University.

As the plans began to develop for the wedding, Laura and I decided on eggplant purple, cymbidium orchid green, ivory and a touch of silver for the colors. This would develop into a Central Park and Moonlit Garden theme to the decor. I also have to mention that the band Coldplay played a big part in the plans as well, as the string trio played three of their songs for the ceremony and we used Clocks for Laura and Stephen's grand entrance.

Laura and Stephen are one of the most truly in love and romantic couples I have ever worked with. They didn't see each other before their ceremony, and had each other's brother and sister (also best man and maid of honor) deliver gifts to the other right before walking down the aisle. The ceremony was quite romantic and emotional, in the most beautiful tent I have ever used, overlooking the golf course.

How adorable are these flower girls??? They are Stephen's (and now Laura's) nieces. Stephen was the ring bearer in their parents wedding years ago!

We named the tables after different landmarks in NYC that are meaningful to Laura and Stephen. We designed hand calligraphed (with each guest's name) plant tags to go into the herb favors at each place setting. I loved the escort card table, flanked with pictures of Central Park. If you remember, I posted last year pictures of their engagement session that Scott from Easywind went to NYC to shoot in Central Park!

I thought the lighting we decided on was pretty fabulous.

The rest of the wedding was amazing and tons of fun! The dance floor was packed the entire night. As you can read for yourself in the letter I received from Laura this week, everyone seemed to be as pleased as I was with the wedding outcome.

Congratulations Laura and Stephen! I had such a great time working with you and your families and hope to be a part of another Wheeler or Rice wedding someday! ;-)

Kelly and Scott

2009-05-26T22:52:00.006-04:00

Kelly first contacted me in the fall of 2008 to help with her wedding in Northeastern Ohio. Being a busy doctor living in Colorado, she knew she needed the full service assistance to plan her wedding. If you can believe it, she made TWO trips to Cleveland to plan her wedding and on the THIRD trip she got married!

On May 23, she became the stepmother to two wonderfully sweet girls. Both Kelly and Scott's families were incredibly nice to be around all day and I think that they all deserved a happy and enjoyable wedding day.

Kelly and I designed her wedding details with her love for sapphire blues, candlelight and water in mind. I think that Scott was pretty impressed with the work we did! :-)

It was a pleasure to work with a photographer I've known for a while, Michael Steinberg, who provided me with these awesome shots!! Congratulations Kelly, Scott, Hope and Jordan!

Exciting Events in May

2009-05-07T10:46:00.002-04:00

Our event season is about to go crazy and the Kirkbrides team can't wait! We have a lot of exciting events brewing right now and will be of course posting pictures of all of them. Here's what we have in store for May:

a moonlit garden Central Park themed wedding for a couple who grew up on the same street!

an "East Meets West" 3 day long Indian wedding celebration

a Great Gatsby themed prom

a spring themed outdoor wedding ceremony and then reception

and an all blue, champagne and gold "light and water" themed wedding!

Check back often for pictures and please leave your comments when you do. Happy Spring!

The White House

2009-04-23T14:32:00.006-04:00

I was recently asked to participate in an industry wide networking event, held by L'Nique. I was grouped with a florist, cake baker and caterer to create and design a room. Guests who attended the event enjoyed 4 different rooms, all with other teams made up of an event planner, cake baker, florist and caterer. It was an amazing event and all of the rooms looked beautiful! I was able to meet many other vendors and get inspired by creative ideas!

Here are some pictures of our room. I named it "The White House" because it was decorated all in white, cream and crystals! I thought it looked absolutely amazing and we received a ton of compliments. Of course I'm sure you'll recognize the Kirkbrides menus, placecards, table names and easels. I was paired up with Arne Klein of Blooms by Plantscaping, Marianne and Lauren from The White Flower Cake Shoppe and Bob Sferra Catering. Enjoy the pictures!

A Cuban Themed Affair

2009-04-02T13:29:00.010-04:00

I first received a call from a very polite groom named Brian in March of 2008. He actually read about Kirkbrides in the Shore magazine. If you remember, this was a special article written about the wedding planning services I offer that came out in January 2008. When I met with him and his fiance, Becca, they told me they wanted a barn for their September 2008 wedding.

To make a long story short, they ended up changing their minds a bit and we ended up at the Hyatt at the Arcade on March 28, 2009 instead! Once we got that finalized, the planning was a breeze. They both love Cuban food, music and culture, so they knew right away they wanted to incorporate those details into their wedding.

I have to say that this wedding was just picture perfect. Special thanks to Easywind Studio for taking the gorgeous pictures! The bride was just stunning and the ceremony was beautiful in every way. It was the first time my clients used the DJ for their ceremony music and I was very pleasantly surprised. The people watching over the railing from high above added to the festivities! Also take note of the fun globe lighting the florists strung across the reception area!
I created all of the menus detailing our delicious cuban themed dinner and named them "Menu de la Cena", and we named each table after cigars, with the corresponding cigar boxes prominently displayed on each table. The wedding cupcakes were designed with tropical flowers and the outside "Becca and Brian" sticker from their wedding invitations! The blue glasses really added a tropical feel, as well as the pomegranate mojitos specialty drinks.

Another interesting aspect of this wedding is that Becca's dad owned a shop here in the 80's, so she and Brian ordered tons of the chocolates he used to sell and had those available for guests at a chocolate station for dessert.

The bride's mom told us that she wanted to get married again just so Kirkbrides can do her wedding!

Congratulations Brian and Becca! It was so awesome to work with you and I will miss talking to you as often as we have been for the past year! Thanks for being some of the most easygoing and enjoyable clients to work with. I hope that you get to take that trip to Cuba someday!

Wedding Posted on Style me Pretty!

2009-04-01T08:05:00.003-04:00

If you are a regular reader of this blog, you probably remember Tracy and Jeff and their beautiful, bright colored fate and destiny themed wedding last August.

Their wedding has just been published on the Style me Pretty blog. The pictures from Genevieve Nisly are just gorgeous. I love this wedding! Take a look by clicking here!