A lillipad wedding for Mark and Deanna

Mark and Deanna had purchased a beautiful home in Mason that had a beautiful backyard on Lillipad Court. We incorporated this new home, along with their love of good coffee and Graeters, into this relaxing, fun wedding day for them! I was so thrilled to be a part of their special day!

An air conditioned ten with clear, see-through panels looked out into the backyard. The white chivari chairs had mini-sleeves that matched the ivy-patterned overlay. Rentals from All Occasions Event Rental.

Ivy patterned chargers were complemented by lavender napkins and bamboo-handled flatware. Each guest received a packet of personalized coffee in either white chocolate, butter toffee or hazelnut from La Crema Coffee Company with a personalized Starbucks mug and the wedding date on it.

Guests walked on a carpeted, covered pathway to the tent and entered through real glass doors.

Close up of the chairs and mugs

Instead of a band or DJ, the couple chose to have a string trio play during the lunch reception. Toasts were made to celebrate the bride and groom's nuptials. Pictured here is Leah from Rose Trio.

Since yellow tulips were out of season, we opted for yellow roses. Design by Katie Elfers.

Napkings, programs, table numbers and seating chart made by Amo-Ink incorporated the lillipads into the design.

After the ceremony, the couple was escorted from the church to their home in a vintage Rolls Royce, provided by Motortoys.

Wedding Cake from Maribelle Cakery

Enroute to their wedding reception, the couple stopped by the Starbucks that they first met at and posed with the staff!

Nothing beats the heat like a bite of Graeters Ice Cream!

Deanna's daughter is an absolute sweetie pie and was smiling the whole day!

This was a wonderful, laid back afternoon for friends and family to celebrate and relax! It was a pleasure to be part of their big day. A huge thanks to Ron Shuller for the photography!

Wedding Wednesday: Candace and Doug at Manor House

Candace and Doug celebrated their wedding nuptials and reception at the lovely Manor House in Mason, Ohio. The ceremony took place outside by the gazebo. Destiny from Fassler Florist performed her magic on the beautiful flowers for the day. The amazing and talented Ron Shuller captured these amazing photos. Rounding out the day were Dale Moberly from Sounds Great Entertainment (DJ), Skeffington's (tuxedos and invitations) European Bridal for the dress; and Maribelle Cakery (yum yum yum!). The bride's brother performed the ceremony and Candace's mother took care of designing the programs and menu cards.

Some fun aspects to the reception? The groom is a huge Browns fan, the bride a huge Steelers fan. She had a garter with the Steelers colors and logo on it, and we handed out terrible towels to the men during the garter toss. The cake topper also matched the bride and groom's favorite pose, as you can see from their engagement photos. Fun fun!

Ironically, it was picture perfect weather during the ceremony. Instead of incorporating the dog into the ceremony, we had Layla come down for photos earlier in the day.
Just after the bouquet toss (right about the time the bride and groom were doing the Hora, a traditional Jewish dance), we had a tornado warning outside! Thank you, mother nature, for holding out for the picture perfect outdoor ceremony and keeping everyone safe during this fun filled reception!

Thanks Candace and Doug for letting the dreamgirls be a part of your special day!! =)

Carmen has inspired me to blog!

Last night, Carmen from Blink of an Eye Photography and I carpooled down to the grand opening of the studio with Glass Eye Video, TM Photography, Timothy's and Details by Dawn. We had an amazing time networking with lots of great vendors, including some of my favorites from Poeme, Ford-Ellington, Tres Bell, Maribelle's, Courtenay Lambert, Forever Wedding Video, just to name a few of the 100+ people there!

Anyway, Carmen finally helped me to understand the direction my blog needs to take. I have been reading other people's blogs and thinking to myself, "what is so interesting about me that people would want to read about?" She told me that the stories from wedding days that I have from behind the scenes, inside scoops on the industry, and the vendors I network with, in addition to wedding photos, are enticing to readers. So I hope you enjoy the new direction of this blog.

Thanks so much Carmen!!!

Hawaiian Wedding, Ault Park

These photos are from Michelle and Dennis's wedding at Ault Park. They were the neatest couple to work with! The couple owns a recycling company in Cincinnati. Their dream was to take all of their friends and family to Hawaii, but logistically that wasn't going to be possible. So, we brought Hawaii to Cincinnati for them!

In creating the look for this wedding, we didn't want to fall into the trap of all the traditional Hawaiian / Lou-ou (is that how its spelled?) decor like grass skirts, lays, which are readily available but can come off looking cheap and tacky at a wedding. Using coconut cups, lighting, bamboo chairs and the colors of pink, orange, green and brown, two dozen tiki torches and tropical flowers, we created an elegant event that impressed Michelle, Dennis and her guests! Instead of a guest book, we had a plasterboard where guests could etch their names into the (permanant) sand or put their fingerprints in. Guests placed their gift cards upright in a container of sand instead of a box or a birdcage. Each guest was presented with a personalized coconut cup, and most guests filled those up with margaritas or wine from Vinkolet Winery, which is owned by their friends! Enjoy the photos (compliments of Images by Daniel Michael). A huge thanks to Ford Ellington, Village Pantry, DJ Toad, Brideface, Goodwin Lighting and Maribelle's for their services that day.

Happy Planning!! :-)