Fab Blog

It was suggested to me to let you know a bit about who I am.  If you knew me a couple years ago, you’d have known that a girl like me had no problem gabbing away at personal things, but in the last couple years I’ve become a bit of a recluse – ok, that was dramatic.  But a recluse in comparison to my former self.   So, in an effort to share more about the woman you’re supposed to hire to plan your wedding (!), I invite you to look at a little bit of ‘me.’

November edition?  What makes me laugh!  It’s going to be hard to get along if you take life too seriously.  Here are a few of my ‘happy’ places…

The Oatmeal

(I don’t know anything about cats, but this is helpful for future encounters)

Someecards

I firmly believe there is a Someecard for any and all occasions in life.

Cute Overload

How can this NOT brighten your day?!?

That’s it for now.  Take a gander… hope it entertains you as well.

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There is an ENDLESS number of inspirational blogs to waste your work day wandering through and I fully encourage you to get lost in the following blogs:

100 Layer Cake

JL Designs

Wedding Chicks

Southern Weddings Magazine

Inspired Bride

Nonpareil Magazine

I won’t be held responsible for your lack of productivity at work or for the laundry that piles up while you get lost in the talent and that graces the blogs.

p.s.  Happy Anniversary to my May 2009 couples!  I can’t believe it’s been a year already!!!

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I have the unenviable task of finding a dress for my sister’s rehearsal dinner – unenviable because WHO tries to pick out a dress during the holiday season with all the meals and parties and goodies?!  This girl.  As luck would have it, my sister and I have very similar tastes in dresses.  Often times we’d shop in cities hours apart and come home for the weekend to find we had bought the same shirt in different colors (hers in blue and mine in pink).  This time around it sounds like we picked out the exact same dress from Macys, only she purchased it first so I’m back to the drawing board.

While browsing through Nordstrom.coms, I found a few really cute dresses that would make the perfect short wedding dress (if you prefer some version of white or ivory) or could work if you need a dress on the quick for a reasonable price.  Just thought I’d share.  If my legs looked that good, I’d totally roll in a short dress like these.  Enjoy!

BGBGMAXAZRIA found on Nordstroms.com

(love the black ribbon detail!)

BCBGMAXAZRIA found on Nordstroms.com

Sue Wong Strapless Dress with Ostrich Feathers on Nordstroms.com

(love the bodice)

Aidan Mattox Niteline Strapless Tulle Dress on Nordstroms.com

fab.kirsten fab.find, fab.style, the Dress, totally you

The typical cost of a bridesmaid bouquet ranges anywhere from $50 – $85 (and can easily go up from there).  Yikes, right?!  Many times those bouquets are used as props for pictures then placed in vases on a standard headtable where they’re only enjoyed by the bridal party.  And they’ve had their fill of bouquets by that point.  This is a useful option, however the bouquets often times end up blocking the faces from photos and let’s face it, it’s something I see done very, very often.

This certainly isn’t a novel idea, but it’s one I’d like to see people use more often:  Use the wedding party bouquets as your centerpieces.  Think about it.  Most people have large wedding parties (the average number of bridesmaids is 5 and larger parties are on the rise) and also want varied centerpieces.  As with a couple of weddings I’m working on, the bridal party flowers make up for 1/3 of the centerpieces.  By reusing the bridesmaid bouquets on the tables, you’ve cut out cost and design time.  By adding more candles, surrouding the bouquet with floating candles in short cylinder vases, placing them in a decorative vase of colored glass, or even using the bouquet as one part of a cluster centerpiece by adding smaller arrangements around it, you’ve got a beautiful piece of floral art that can help create a beautiful tablescape without adding to the budget.

Make those bad boys work long after the night is over!  Have someone bring the flowers to the venue where the gift opening is being held and you don’t have to worry about extra decorating.  If you aren’t having a gift opening, ask family and friends to take the flowers home with them or see if you can slip your planner a little money to deliver the flowers to a nursing home or hospital.  These facilities are always happy to share such stylishly crafted floral arrangements with their patients and visitors.  Beautiful flowers have a tendancy to make anyone’s day a little better.

Happy Planning!

[photo by Heather Luebke]

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Something that has been around for a long time but hasn’t really been as popular as it is today are the “Save The Date” announcements.  Fondly referred to in the wedding world as STDs.  Don’t worry, these are the fun kind of STDs and besides, the p.c. term for the other kind is STIs.  Did I really just put that in a wedding blog?  I digress…

[a personal fave from MarthaStewart.com]

Save the dates are a great way to show off your engagement pictures or show off your crafty side and clue family in about the exact date of the wedding.  Don’t worry, even after they’re sent you’ll still get a lot of “do you have a date yet?” and “when is the wedding?!”  At that point you can kindly refer them to the beautiful piece of graphic art that should be prominently displayed on their fridge.  People have done everything from a postcard with either a picture or monogram on it, to magnets, photobooth strips, and even fake plane tickets for destination weddings.

[faux plane ticket Save the Dates found at Brides.com]

What is the point of an STD?  They are meant to announce the date of your wedding and give guests accommodation information.  Simply sending a picture of yourselves with a date stamped on it isn’t enough.  The pros suggest you add the following to your announcement: 

[ ArisingImages.com]

 My favorite kind of save the dates are ones that use the unique photos your photographer took from the engagement session.  Remember they don’t necessarily have to show your face as long as your names are stated on the announcement.  Sometimes those pictures have the most impact!

[magnet save the date from MagnetStreet.com]

When making a magnet or something that doesn’t allow all the pertinent information to be on the same item, make a flat or folded card with all the right information and attach the magnet or picture to it. 

If you’re trying to go green ( and by green I mean environmentally and monetarily cutting back) you can always do save the dates via email.  This works great in a tech savvy world, but just know that some traditionalists don’t like it.  You could skip the tree products and the expense of stamps to easily design something like the last two pictures shown above and attach in an email with all the information or you could try to send them out from some of the following websites:

Have fun making them and if you have any fun ideas or designs you’d like to share with the world, send them my way and I’ll post them here!

fab.kirsten create, fab.paper, fab.style, save.the.date, to-be-weds, totally you