Posts Tagged ‘weddings’
Bride of the Week: Mirka Fetté
Friday, February 24th, 2012“Distance is not for the fearful, it is for the bold. It’s for those who are willing to spend a lot of time alone in exchange for a little time with the one they love.”
– Unknown
The Wedding Guide would like to congratulate Wedding Guide bride Mirka Fetté on her engagement!
Mirka Fetté and Kjartan Døj met at Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany on Mirka’s birthday. They had each gone to Munich to attend a language school program, expecting to learn German to forward their respective careers, not to find an international romance. On paper, they have nothing in common. It seemed utterly impossible for an American student and a Danish engineer to form a lasting relationship based on a couple of weeks in Munich. On Kjartan’s last night in Munich he completely opened up to Mirka, suddenly this handsome but forgettable Dane became something much more. Kjartan flew back to Copenhagen, Denmark the next morning and it seemed like the end. After all, Mirka would return to America in a few months to start graduate school and he had a job, friends, and a whole life for him in Copenhagen.
The two kept in touch, how could they not? After time passed, they wanted to see each other again, so Kjartan flew Mirka up to Copenhagen for a long weekend. He planned everything: a tour of the new opera house, dinner, riding Icelandic horses, meeting his family, and sightseeing in the city. That one perfect weekend turned into a budding love. After her long weekend, Mirka returned to America and Kjartan stayed in Denmark. It seemed hopeless; they had only known each other for such a short amount of time and an international distance relationship seemed impossible at best.
They came to a crossroads, they needed to find a way to test their love or break it off. She had six months before she her program at UT started so she moved to Copenhagen for three months to find out if their love could last. After three years of visiting back and forth across the Atlantic Ocean their love, in fact, could last.
When she dropped everything and moved to Copenhagen to try their chances Kjartan told Mirka he would work anywhere in the world so she could follow her goals, he would be portable so she could pursue her career. On December 18, 2011 Kjartan proposed by the river in Princeton New Jersey, where Mirka is working on her PhD. Austin holds a special place in their hearts for nurturing their love and they will marry there this coming October 20, 2012.
Tags: Bride of the Week, engagements, weddingsPosted in Bride of the Week | No Comments »
Bride of the Week: Marianne Zeinert
Wednesday, August 3rd, 2011
“Ancient lovers believed a kiss would literally unite their souls, because the spirit was said to be carried in one’s breath.”
-Eve Glicksman
The Wedding Guide would like to congratulate Wedding Guide bride Marianne Zeinert on her engagement!
Marianne Zeinert and Todd Schmidt met through mutual friends when Marianne was the maid-of-honor in a friend’s wedding and Todd was a groomsman. Todd and Marianne were the only singles in the group, so they were always getting thrown together. Throughout the planning process the two spent a lot of time together. Marianne says, “Todd was very shy but I kept talking to him.”
At the bachelor/bachelorette party the two were paired up again. Marianne kept pulling Todd to the dance floor, and they ended up hitting it off. Even though they were in a long-distance relationship, by May 2011 the couple was in love.
On July 4, 2011, Todd proposed and Marianne said yes! The couple plans to marry on March 10, 2012.
Tags: Bride of the Week, engagement, San Antonio, weddingsPosted in Bride of the Week | No Comments »
Feature Friday: The Elegant Bee
Friday, July 22nd, 2011The Elegant Bee believes your wedding should be something stunning, extraordinary, and extravagant; it is after all, the day you’ve dreamed of. There is no room in this very celebratory experience for the ordinary. “So let them eat cake,” and intoxicate their senses with the delectable aroma of lavish lilies, romantic roses and a visual tapestry of exquisite flowers.
The Elegant Bee’s goal and vision is to create an event that captures your vision, exceeds your expectations, mesmerizes your guests, captivates their senses, creates exceptions to the ordinary, and leaves everyone talking.
It can be daunting for couples to adequately express their vision for their wedding, and that is where The Elegant Bee’s expertise sets them apart. At The Elegant Bee they celebrate marriage – your marriage. They take the time to get to know you, your interests, your passions, your personalities in order to cultivate a look and create a divine style that is “just for you.” Whether traditional and elegant, modern and chic, or out of the box, The Elegant Bee combines creativity and uncompromising quality for a stunning events that leave everyone talking.
Posted in Feature Friday, Flowers | No Comments »
Bride of the Week: Taelyr Brieden
Wednesday, July 20th, 2011“I can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens me.”
Phillipians 4:13
The Wedding Guide would like to congratulate Wedding Guide bride Taelyr Brieden on her engagement!
Taelyr and Clay Coleman met through a mail order prescription mix-up in November of 2009. The pharmacy mistakenly mixed up Clay and Taelyr’s mothers’ medications and when Clay’s mother arranged to meet Tarlyr’s mother to exchange the medications, their children met as well. Clay and Taelyr were immediately attracted to one another and exchanged phone numbers.
After seven months of dating, Clay planned a special dinner for Taelyr with an even more special surprise. On the drive to dinner, Clay mentioned that he needed to drop off some medication to his mother. When they arrived at Clay’s mother’s house, Taelyr was surprised to find her mother there as well.
Clay’s mother handed the pill bottle to Taelyr and asked her to read the label to make sure it was the right bottle and there wasn’t another mix up. Taelyr looked at the bottle and read, “Taelyr N’Kol Brieden, I love you very much…WILL YOU MARRY ME?”
Clay got down on one knee and pulled out a ring. Taelyr said, “YES!” She said, “It was the perfect proposal. He asked my parents and invited my family to celebrate with us.”
The happy couple plan to marry on November 12, 2011.
Tags: Bride of the Week, engagement, wedding, wedding engagement, weddings
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Photofusion: bring still images to life!
Monday, July 18th, 2011
Submitted by Tony Gatlin, Strictly Art Photography
Photofusion is an exciting, new multi-media technique that brings still images to life with high-definition video. Imagine a wedding as a music video, and that is photofusion. The technique combines state-of-the-art imaging hardware and software, still images, video, audio and music from the wedding day and brings it all to life in high definition. This technique is not the old-fashioned still images pieced together with odd video clips of the day; rather, the photofusion concept is to fuse stills and HD video together into an entirely new, seamless product that brings a wedding day to life, over and over again.
The concept of combining still images with video is not new to the field of wedding photography. From the days of film photography and 8mm video, creative wedding photographers have been putting the two together to create more-or-less a slide show of the wedding, interspersed with video, set to music. Sadly, the end product was usually pieced together somewhat like a Frankenstein’s monster and looked something like an old silent movie set to sappy piano music. You may have seen your grandparents in one of these atrocities. As equipment and technique got better, the results got better, but the outcome was still a video documentary of the day with some still images thrown in for visual interest. Your parents may have one of these gems gathering dust in the VHS cabinet. Thankfully, photofusion is not your grandmother’s wedding video, or even your mom’s for that matter.
The new generation of photographic, video and audio equipment far surpasses anything photographers had just a decade ago. You know how they say that we’ve got more computing power in our digital watches than the astronauts had on the Apollo missions to the moon? Well, the same is true in media capture and editing. We have more creative power at our fingertips today than movie production companies had at their disposal just ten years ago. We have come so far since I started shooting 35mm film in the early 1980’s that, today, television producers have the ability to film entire TV episodes on their hand-held digital cameras. By harnessing all this digital imaging and editing power, photographers can create stunning visual works of art with still images and digital HD video.
Photofusion transforms wedding photos and videos into works of art that are far greater than the sum of each part on its own. Once the photographer and videographer capture the images from the day, a team of artists can assemble a photofusion product within hours. Using cutting-edge digital editing software, fusion photographers and editors blend the stills and the video together with music and audio clips to create a flowing representation of the day. The end product is not a choppy silent movie or bad slide show, but instead, is an entirely new work of art that stands on its own as a timeless recreation of the most intimate day in most people’s lives.
Enjoy this example of a photofusion video from The Bui Brothers!
Tags: photofusion, Strictly Art Photography, The Bui Brothers, videography, wedding memories, wedding photofusion, wedding photography, wedding videography, weddings
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Bride of the Week: Suncerae Smith
Wednesday, July 13th, 2011
“Ancient lovers believed a kiss would literally unite their souls, because the spirit was said to be carried in one’s breath.”
-Eve Glicksman
The Wedding Guide would like to congratulate Wedding Guide bride Suncerae Smith on her engagement!
Suncerae Smith and Josiah Spence developed a friendship during their junior year of high school. It was an unlikely pairing; Suncerae was quiet and studious, while Josiah was a popular “bad” boy with black boots and a leather jacket. Their friendship turned into a relationship.
In 2010, with Suncerae nearing graduation with her PhD in chemistry, she thought Josiah would never be able to surprise her with an engagement because they had already been together so long and shared so much. She was wrong! Josiah surprised her completely, showing up unexpectedly in front of the Bellagio fountains in Las Vegas while she was on a school conference trip. He proposed, she said “YES!”, and the fountains went off to the tune of Elvis’ Viva Las Vegas!
Suncerae and Josiah are planning to hold a vintage themed reception at the Umlauf Sculpture Garden on September 10, 2011.
Tags: Bride of the Week, engagement, weddingsPosted in Bride of the Week | No Comments »
Ways to save for your wedding
Tuesday, July 12th, 2011
Submitted by Brass Tacks Events
The average wedding in the U.S. costs about $27,800 and most weddings you see on TV cost well above $50,000. As much as we all would like to believe that money is no object when it comes to your wedding, it is. A budget is crucial to wedding planning; you want to stay within your means but still make your wedding that best it could be. Just like when you go clothes or grocery shopping, you are looking for a bargain, why not find ways to help you cut costs for your wedding. Here are some great ways to stay within your budget for your wedding.
RECEPTION
- Cut the guest list. This will reduce your catering costs and save on invitations and even the number of centerpieces
- Avoid “peak” wedding months: April, May, June and September, October, November
- Hold your ceremony and reception in one location
- Get married on a Friday or Sunday instead of Saturday
- Have bigger tables so you need fewer centerpieces and tablecloths
- Shop the off-season for extra decor — buy twinkle lights the day after Christmas, get modern black vases on sale after Halloween and pretty pink ones after Valentine’s Day
FOOD & DRINK
- Serve beer, wine, and a signature cocktail instead of a full bar
- Choose a venue that allows you to bring in your own alcohol
- Buffets are much less expensive than plated dinners
- ONly provide champagne for you and your wedding party for the toast
FLOWERS
- Use more greenery than flowers
- Swap out costly flowers — peonies can be five times more expensive than roses
- Stick to just one or two kinds of flowers
- Buy flowers that are in season
- Include non-florals, like lanterns, candelabras, floating candles in water filled vases
- Reuse ceremony flowers and bouquets for the cake table and centerpieces
CAKES
- If you have 100 guests, you do not need 100 servings of cake – typically, only about half of your guests will actually eat cake
- Order a small one or two-tiered cake and then supplement with a larger sheet cake hidden back in the kitchen
- Skip exotic fillings like guava and mango
STATIONERY & FAVORS
- Get single-page invites to save on postage
- Give out one favor per couple
- Have favors double as place cards
- Email your save-the-dates
- Make your own menu cards and place cards
PHOTO & MUSIC
- If you know of a photographer that you want to hire but cannot quite afford, ask them if their second shooter is available for less
- Shop around for DJ and Photographers to see where you get the best price
Tags: Brass Tacks Events, Budget, wedding, wedding budget, wedding planning, weddings
Posted in Advice, Budget | No Comments »
Feature Friday: A-Awesome Limos
Friday, July 8th, 2011
A-Awesome Limos provides it’s chauffeur services throughout Texas. Weddings, airport transfers, theatre events and executive travel services to individuals and companies on short term and long term contract basis.
Our fleet holds a variety of luxury cars, SUVs, buses and from classic limousines to stretch
Hummers fully loaded with modern GPS navigation, surround sound, privacy divider, tinted windows and are no more than 16 months old.
A-Awesome Limos provides service for events such as :
- Weddings
- Anniversaries
- Quinceneras
- Bachelor & Bachelorette Parties
- Sports events
- Graduations
- Proms
- Birthdays
- Airport pick-up
- Corporate clients
- A night on the town!
Fully loaded with modern GPS navigation, surround sound, privacy divider, tinted windows and are no more than 16 months old.
Tags: A-Awesome Limos, Austin, Limos, limos for wedding, San Antonio, wedding, wedding limos, wedding transportation, weddings
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Silpada Designs Retiring Items
Thursday, July 7th, 2011Each year Silpada Designs retires a portion of thier fabulous jewelry collection in order to make room for new designs in their anual catalog. The jewlery, belts and watches featured in the 2010-2011 retiring items catelog will soon become part of Silpada’s history, but their quality and class will remain in style for a life time. These items have limited quantities, so get your sterling favorites before the are gone forever! Visit the online printable catalog now to view all the retiring jewelry.
If you are looking for Silpada jewlery in the Austin area visit Indapendent Representative, Monica Froboese’s page on our Austin website.
If you are looking for Silpada jewlery in the San Antonio area visit Indapendent Representative, Rhonda Chadwick’s page on our San Antonio website.
Tags: Austin, jewelry, Jewlery, Monica Froboese Independent Representative, Rhonda Chadwick Independent Representative Silpada Designs, San Antonio, Silpada, Silpada Designs, wedding, Wedding jewelry, weddingsPosted in Wedding Jewelry | No Comments »
A professional caterer is the way to go
Tuesday, July 5th, 2011
If your wedding reception is being held at a facility that does not provide catering, you should hire a professional caterer. Because a caterer is experienced in planning and working with large groups, they have the knowledge and expertise to ensure that a sufficient quantity of food will be available and that it will be properly refrigerated and/or heated on your special day. A professional caterer will work with you to select menus and ensure that your reception comes off without a hitch.
Hiring a caterer can be a time consuming, if delicious, chore. It is also a choice you do not want to put off too long. You should select your cater between 9 to 12 months before the wedding. You will want to visit with several before narrowing your choices to two or three.
Before you contact caterers you should know the date and location of your reception, the number of guests and your budget. By having this information before you start setting appointments you will not waste precious time interviewing caterers who are not available on your date or are out of your price range. Locally, you can expect to pay anywhere from $15 to $18 and up per person, plus tax and tip. Remember, in most cases, the cost of the meal proposed does not include these two amounts, which usually adds another 13% to 15% to the total cost of the plate.
After you have narrowed your choices to two or three caterers, ask for a test tasting of the proposed menu. When selecting a menu, consider your guests. Save the unusual dishes for your first dinner party and keep your reception food fairly middle of the road. Your caterer will assist you in selecting an appropriate menu for the time of day. One way to reduce your catering costs, other than reducing the number of guests, is holding your wedding and reception during a different part of the day. After a morning wedding you could provide a brunch reception, which would reduce the cost of the food as well as the alcohol. At a reception after a late afternoon wedding guests are going to expect a substantial meal.
You can also save money by carefully choosing the type of meal you would like. Smaller parties, less than 100, are best served by a sit down dinner while a buffet service usually works better for larger groups. While it is possible to host a sit down dinner for several hundred people, your costs for staffing will go up. While a staff of three to five people can handle a buffet meal, you need many more servers for a sit down dinner.
Not only does your caterer select, purchase and prepare the food, a full service caterer will do the set-up, serving and clean-up as well. Most catering services also provide table linens, china and silverware as part of their service as well as cake cutting and serving. Be sure to ask your caterer exactly what services are included in your price quote.
Using a professional caterer allows your family and friends to participate in your wedding and enjoy the day as guests, not workers. So, let a caterer attend to all the necessary tasks of making sure the punch bowl and hors d’oeuvres are always fresh and full.
A good caterer will also help arrange an appropriate floor plan with your rental facility to ensure that your guests are accommodated in the most comfortable way.
When shopping for a caterer, check references and look through photo albums of past wedding receptions. Interview each company to determine exactly what services you will be receiving. Make sure you are comfortable with the caterer and their staff. A competent, qualified caterer will welcome your questions, answer them, and make you feel confident that they can handle your reception with skill and ease.
To find a caterer in the San Antonio area, visit the catering section of our San Antonio website.
To find a caterer in the Austin area, visit the catering section of our Austin website.
Posted in Articles, Catering | No Comments »