Gorgeous Eye Candy!

I am absolutely in love with Amy Atlas! Based out of New York city she is renowned for her amazing desert tables. I am drawn to the clean, crisp, and colorful designs! I'm oozing with inspiration from these images and even have used the yellow, black and white table as a source of inspiration for my own wedding. I love the precise details including, of course, the stationery! She uses the cutest tags and candy bar wrappers that co-ordinate perfectly! Check out her site of other amazing events here: www.amyatlas.com

Images via Hostess With the Mostest

The Question of Seating Guests

There are a couple of options available when directing guests to their seat at the dinner reception. A couple things to consider before you make your decision is your venue space and the flow of traffic as guests enter, as well as if you want to have assigned seating at each spot of the table or just assigned tables. If you have a large space or cocktails before dinner it nice to have guests circulate around a table to find their escort card. One problem with seating charts is they can cause a crowd of guests trying to see where they are sitting. To avoid this I suggest displaying two seating charts or positioning the single seating chart in a position where there is lots of room for the flow of traffic.

The first option is using a seating chart with coordinating numbers at each table. If you choose to have assigned seating at the table you will also need to include place cards at each setting. Below is an example of a seating chart courtesy of Martha Stewart Weddings. 

The next option is to use escort cards with coordinating numbers at each table. Again, if you want to have assigned seating at the table you will also need to include place cards at each setting, but this can be a bit redundant having two cards with the guest name on it. I really enjoy this option because you can get totally creative in the shape, size and presentation of the escort card. I had a couple double their favor of wine glasses with the escort card by getting me to design wine bases which had the guests name and table number on it. Below are some creative escort card examples courtesy of Martha Stewart Weddings.

Thank you Card Ettiquette

Although it is often neglected, a thank you card is one of the most important wedding stationery elements. A lot of couples get busy organizing budget and preparing for the wedding that they often forget or leave thank you cards to the last minute. According to Emily Post,  all thank you notes should be sent within 3 months of receiving the gift. As of late, I have been encouraging my couples to add thank you cards to their invitation order so they can budget accordingly and aren't scrambling to get them done amongst all the post-wedding activities and organization. 

There are a few options for the format of a thank you card including: a small folded card that is blank inside, a note card (similar to a recipe card), a picture card folder with slits for a 4x6 photo, or you can do a picture thank you. You can also carry through the theme of your invitations or make personalized stationery with your new initials as a married couple. 

The Emily Post website stresses that it is not acceptable to send pre-printed cards, make phone calls or send emails. Each thank you cards should be personally written acknowledging the gift given. For more tips and helpful forms, including a "wedding gift record" visit www.emilypost.com

Pinkpolka is heading to the Big Apple!

That's right! I am going to New York this May! I'm so excited to take in the big city for my first time and experience the National Stationery Show. Along with checking out new industry trends and getting some major inspiration I will also be attending educational sessions by Darcy Miller, Editorial Director of Martha Stewart Weddings and Peggy Post, Director at The Emily Post Institute Inc. I can't wait to come back and share all the exciting information and ideas with all my clients!

The Value of a Wedding Planner

Last Thursday I was at an event when I was talking to Jolyn Saramaga of Nuance Occasions and fully realized the value of a wedding planner. The room we were in had been transformed into a chic and modern cocktail venue and it was Jolyn who drew my attention to how they created the ambiance with something calling lighting gels. Well, I had no idea these gels would create such a dramatic difference in the light and mood of a room, nor would I have thought to use something like this for my own wedding.

Because I generally think in two dimension format I often can get a little confused by the three dimension stuff. I will have amazing stationery at my wedding, but have no idea how to create ambiance in a room, organize tables and seating, keep a flow of events for the evening, etc, etc. I am a details person, and want all these details to be perfect for my guests. The thought of having to research and have knowledge of these items seems overwhelming and exhausting. As Jolyn and I continued to talk we were discussing aisle runners and she told me a story where the aisle runner was not secure to the floor and the bride had a huge train. Jolyn had the expertise and foresight to know the aisle runner would have ended up at the alter with the bride if it wasn't held. She had two of her assistants on each side to secure the runner from moving with the bride. That is impressive!

So saying all of the above, I am convinced that a wedding planner is well worth the money! There are many qualified planners in the city, along with Jolyn, that wold be happy to meet with you to give you an idea of what they can offer!

The Winner is...

Congratulations to Lori, the winner of the russell + hazel wedding planner! I hope this awesome organizer helps her with all the craziness of planning a wedding!

Pinkpolka is Getting Married!

So I'm getting married! It's kinda a weird thing for me and my partner (now Financé), Terence, because we're not really interested in making a big deal about it. Since we've been together 6 years this weekend I thought this would be an appropriate time to share the news.

I'm definitely not your typical bride, and being in the wedding industry makes me a lot more critical of what I would want for a wedding. I was hoping to slip away for a chic Palm Springs wedding, but Terence insisted we have a wedding in Edmonton so all our family and friends could share the day with us. The compromise is a small cocktail party for approximately 75 - 100 guests. We also decided to spend a few weeks in Europe this summer so we aren't going to set the big day until sometime in August 2011.

Now that I am on the other side of the table, I think it will be an interesting journey for me to fully understand what all the couples that come to see me are going through. I think planning this wedding will be a great opportunity for me to get out and meet all the exciting vendors Edmonton has to offer. I'm going to journal  my experiences, stresses, and revelations as I go through this process–and of course, I'll share with you all the best local vendors I come across. We aren't going to start looking for venues until later this spring so I'll post more of the exciting details as they come! Of course, the major requirement for my wedding is the stationery has to be absolutely fabulous!