Calgary Wedding Planner - Inspired Occasions » monograms

Jodie & Jordan: Calgary Zoo Wedding

admin — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 06:51:12 +0000

I am so excited to FINALLY share Jodie and Jordan’s fabulous, fun, and funky wedding that took place this summer at the Calgary Zoo. I had the privilege of working with Jodie and Jordan for 18 months to design and plan their monogram themed, green and brown wedding and I absolutely love how everything came together. These two are so in love that you can’t help but smile every time you are in the same room with them. I had an absolute blast throughout the entire process and loved every minute of their amazing wedding day. It’s couples like this that make me feel so lucky to do the amazing job that I do. A special thanks to TLAW Photography and Lifeseven Photography for capturing their day with perfection. I can’t wait to see the film that IMAGO captured of their day.

The double J monogram was a theme throughout the wedding and was incorporated onto their invitations, ceremony programs, water bottles, GOBO on the dance floor, wedding favours, and signage throughout the reception. The green uplighting, available through Inspired Occasions, dazzled their guests. As a unique touch, each table was assigned a different name or memorable locations in and around their hometown. For the back of the table cards I came up with the idea of Jodie and Jordan answering unique questions about their lives, interested, passions, hobbies, etc. We also incorporated pictures from their engagement session which added even more of a fun touch to the “he said” “she said” answers. They even kept their answers a secret from each other so that they would be as surprised as their guests. This was definitely one of my favourite unique wedding details on their special day.

I loved the “guest book” which was a tree where guests could “leaf” their thumb prints and sign their names. It went perfectly with our theme and added yet another unexpected touch. To play up their colours as well as the rustic elements in the Safari Lodge, I created centerpieces using curly willow, granny smith apples, and mini cymbidium orchids. These added instant impact when guests entered the reception room. I also incorporated apples along the front of the head table with candles interspersed in between. Their choreographed first dance upon entering the reception had everyone cheering and let their guests know they were in for a very fun celebration.

Congratulations Jodie and Jordan!

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Romantic & Rustic Fall Wedding

admin — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 17:13:22 +0000

Yesterday I celebrated my 3 year wedding anniversary. In celebration of the season (and my recent anniversary) I thought I would share my favourite fall wedding that I have designed and planned to date. Two years ago on my anniversary I was contacted by Kristin, the bride, to plan her fall wedding at the River Cafe. When I first read her email I have to admit I got goose bumps. She was contacting me on my wedding anniversary, interested in having me design and plan her wedding for the following year at the River Cafe. I first discovered the River Cafe just over 6 years ago when I went on my first date with my now husband. If we had chosen to get married in Calgary, the River Cafe would have been a top contender for a venue no doubt. I jumped at the chance to work with this amazing couple and now every time I have the delight of dining at the River Cafe, I not only remember my first date with TLAW fondly, but I also remember Kristin and Shelby’s amazing, love filled celebration.

The bride and groom wanted a rustic fall wedding infused with romance and some vintage touches incorporating yellow, orange, purple and brown. I loved designing with this colour palate and adored every minute working with this amazing couple. I’ll share some of my tips below for creating a cohesive design and making your dollars stretch using this fabulous wedding as an example! Thanks to Kristi Sneddon for the amazing photos you see below.

For the ceremony, the bride and groom wanted to display some of their engagement photos. I designed a table that incorporated a rustic centerpiece, displayed in a tree stump, and surrounded the photos with moss, amaranths, rocks and candles. The centerpiece, candles, rocks and greenery did double duty as they were also used later at the reception.

I loved, loved, loved Kristin’s bouquet. To incorporate a unique and rustic element, we had the florist wrap the stem with some bark wire. The results speak for themselves.

One of my tips for making your bridal bucks stretch is to ask yourself how you can make the most use of the items you are ordering. This is especially important in terms of items for the ceremony since this is a relatively short period of the wedding day. I designed pew markers that could also be used as centerpieces at the reception.

If you are wanting special transportation for you and your new hubby, such as this vintage 1955 Rolls Royce, make sure you take advantage of it and snap some great photos with your photographer that showcase the car as well as the couple.

The River Cafe is the ideal venue for an intimate rustic wedding. If you are wanting a Calgary wedding but want the feeling of being surrounded by nature, this is one venue worth checking out. The food is divine, the service is impeccable, and the venue’s natural decor is so fantastic that you don’t need much to add your own touch and make it truly memorable for your guests.

Custom twig monograms are an easy DIY project (some metal clothes hangers, twigs, and raffia) and can add another element to the overall design.

This gorgeous tall arrangement of curly willow, dahlias, orchids, gerberas, lilies, and amaranths was a show stopper at both the ceremony (as 2 focal point arrangements framing the couple) as well as the reception.

Here is another item I designed to do double duty. Instead of folded tent cards directing guests to their tables, I played up the rustic theme and hung the cards from manzanita branches, placed in vases of rocks. There was a sign directing guests to find their seating assignment on the tree and then write their love and good wishes for the couple of the back of their name cards. This created a unique focal point in the room and also doubled as a “guest book.”

At the guest tables, a rock was placed on each napkin to indicate the guest seat. The rocks fit perfectly with the theme and are a great, inexpensive alternative to a paper place card.

Here you can see the “pew markers” being used as centerpieces. They were perfect for the design at both the church and the reception at the River Cafe. I sourced the buckets at the dollar store, which is another great tip. Look for your supplies in unexpected places as well. These buckets were baby blue with a bunch of butterflies painted all over them when purchased. A little brown spray paint later and they were both perfect and affordable.

The bride wanted lots of candles used at the reception. We lined all the window sills with votives and filled the fireplace with pillar candles for a soft romantic glow. For the tables, I wanted to do something a little different so we created these twig votives which were another easy DIY project. The twigs were cut to length and then affixed to the votives using raffia. They added another custom rustic element to the dining tables. We opted to skip using table cloths (and as such skipped the extra charge) as the natural wooden table tops were the perfect compliment to the rustic, natural theme.

Instead of paper table numbers and metal stands, I had wooden table numbers custom made that incorporated the leave motif that was used on the couple’s invitations, programs, and other paper products featured at the wedding.

Some of the “pew markers” were also used to decorate the head table, along with some amaranths for added texture.

Here you can see the centerpiece in the tree stump that I mentioned having been used at the ceremony on the table featuring engagement pictures. At the reception I placed it on the bar where it tied in beautifully with the other rustic elements present in the room.

Here the leaf motif was incorporated into custom water bottles that were handed out to the live band and given to the wedding party during their photo shoot. Just one example of the many special touches Inspired Occasions clients are treated to on their wedding day.

Guests were greeted upon arrival with a delicious signature cocktail that tied in with the colour theme. These were definitely a hit with all in attendance.

Guests were also appreciative of the tray passed hors d’oeuvres during cocktail hour.

A live band set the perfect tone for this intimate affair. Classics from the likes of Frank Sinatra were played, along with some more contemporary selections. The live music was divine during cocktail hour and dinner and had the guests packing the dance floor into the wee hours.

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Personalize Your Wedding Day Attire

admin — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 18:19:00 +0000

Here are a few ideas to personalize your wedding day attire and even add in your “something blue” to boot!

1. It’s important to wear something comfortable and easy to remove for the morning of while you are busy getting ready. Why not have a custom hoodie made to mark the occasion? There are many suppliers who offer “Soon to be Mrs. Smith” or “Future Mrs. Smith” hoodies for just this occasion. My personal favourite are the ones that say your new name and Est. with your wedding date as pictured on Knottie OKCBride2B below. This way you can wear them long after the wedding day!

2. Have your monogram and wedding date or your new name embroidered in blue and then have it sewn into your dress. If you decide not to keep your wedding dress you can always keep this little memento of your special day. Alternatively you could have your monogram embroidered in blue onto your garter. Just be sure this one doesn’t get tossed!

Monogrammed dress tag: Knottie meg&ksexton via Wedding Bee

Dress tag featuring new name: Jason Angelini Photography

Monogrammed Garter: Knottie meg&ksexton

Add a little dazzle to the under side of your wedding shoes by applying blue rhinestones. You could include your monogram, your wedding date or a cute little message such as “I Do!”

Rhinestone embellished shoes: Inspired Goodness

Keep in mind that monogramming CAN go too far. I once saw a picture where the bride had large monogams embroidered across the tops of the bridesmaid dresses. Just say no to this kind of idea! I wish I could locate the picture for your viewing pleasure but alas I can’t recall where I saw it.