Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Mariee Ami Wedding: Catherine and John


Catherine and John were married on May 21, 2011 at St. Stephen's Episcopal Church. It was one of the sweetest weddings I have seen in a long time. There were many things that made me smile, but one of my favorite aspects of the wedding was the roles each one of their four children had in the ceremony. Both Catherine and John brought two special people to the marriage and they wanted to make sure the entire day focused on two families coming together.



When I first met with Catherine and John they asked me how we could make their wedding sophisticated enough for the adults, but fun for the children. I decided to give my friends at Cafe Dupont a call to see what they thought about using their new restaurant, Mix. They not only said yes, but they also welcomed my "kid" friendly ideas.

The main floor at Mix is separated by a big, beautiful stairwell. This created the perfect setting for separate children and adult areas. I am all about neatness and control so I decided to have boxed dinners put together for the children prior to their arrival. We wrapped up chicken fingers, home-made chips and fruit like a present....teal blue tissue to match the decor, of course!


We wanted to have an activity that would keep the children occupied for a little longer than dinner, so I decided to have them decorate cookies for dessert. Mix went above and beyond and even made home-made icing in pastel colors. The turquoise M&Ms were the perfect touch!


I wanted the invitation to fit with the modern look I was going for, so I asked my friend Allene Neighbors to work her magic. Second marriages always call for a few questions when it comes to wording on the invitation. Since we were focusing on the families coming together, we decided to start the invitation with "Together with their children....."

Given the size of the wedding, Mariee Ami handled the decor for the reception. While we can handle pretty much all aspects of our clients decor, we always turn to the professionals for the flowers. Andy Hopper with K.G. Designs put together EXACTLY what we were looking for!



One of my favorite details was the floral pocket lapel that John wore instead of a boutonniere. I LOVED the way it turned out!



We hung a few paper lanterns to give the guests a little help when tracking down this hot new spot downtown.

The signature cocktail was a hit by all!


Second weddings are not usually a time for tradition. However, there is always a time and a place for dessert. We opted for everyone's favorite Pastry Bites and Dreamcakes mini cupcakes.



Catherine's dress looked like it was made for her! We had actually decided on a different dress the first time we visited Ivory and White, but the Edith was too pretty to pass up!




Many thanks to Beth Hontzas for her amazing work behind the camera and Celine Russell for her amazing talent with hair and make-up.
Happy Planning!
-NB

Sunday, June 26, 2011

Incredible Inspiration.....


I got an email this morning that has kept me busy for the last few hours. A mother of the bride in Greensboro, North Carolina, was on a mission to find inspiration for her daughter's wedding when she came across my blog. She was excited to see that I had posted a photo from her other daughter's wedding as inspiration for my readers. I had not remembered where I had found the photo so I gave credit to the "unknown" planner. Thanks to this sweet email, I found myself scanning through Salt Harbor Design's website and blog. Check this out!! It is amazing! I have actually pulled many of their photos for my inspiration collection. I am so glad to have a new blog to follow!!

Happy Planning!
-NB

Monday, June 13, 2011

My Partner, Laurie

Now that I have introduced the new studio to you, I thought it would be polite to introduce you to my new partner, Laurie Grantham. I can not describe Laurie in one word. She is fun, creative, smart, stylish, sophisticated and loyal. I can not ask for a better partner or friend. I hope you will stop by the studio to meet her. I am truly blessed to have her help carry Gather into the future of Mariee Ami!


Happy Planning!
-NB

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Mariee Ami Wedding: Amy and Hunter

I first met Amy and Hunter when they made an appointment to visit Swann Lake Stables. Amy was a sweet bride who knew what she wanted her wedding to be like. I had no doubt that Amy and her mom could handle the initial wedding planning. However, I was thrilled when they hired my team to help with the "month of" planning!

One of my favorite things about Amy's wedding was her photographer Allison Lewis. I had never worked with Allison before, but I had seen her work online and was very impressed. When I logged on to the computer today and found the photos, I was more than impressed!









Vendors:
Dreamcakes for the groom's cake
Swann Lake Stables
Allison Lewis Photography
Dean Hodge Florals
Aabco Rentals
Intelligent Parking

Happy Planning!
-NB

Late night snack...

For anyone looking for a different twist on passing out a late night snack, check out this cute idea! Passing sliders when the band is wrapping up is fun, but how cool would it be to have a coke, burger a fries in your lap for the ride home! It might keep you from making the late night Taco Bell Run!


Kudos to Lindsey Cheek from Salt Harbor Designs for coming up with this awesome idea!

Happy Planning!
-NB

Friday, June 3, 2011

Late Night at the office...

June is a busy month in the wedding world! With 5 weddings this month, I decided to spend a Friday night at the office cleaning out my inbox and getting my head around the last minute details of next weekend's weddings (The two this weekend are SO ready to go!!! There is nothing left to be done!).

I haven't had a bride use the color turquoise in the last two years and low and behold, it is the color of June 11th here at MariƩe Ami! Below are a few inspiration photos for our "kid friendly" wedding next weekend. Can't wait to show you the real thing!









Happy Planning!
-NB