Wedding Blog

I sent out a query earlier in the week to find some interesting wedding ideas from all around the country. I received an overwhelming response. Over the next few weeks, I will be sharing some of those items with you. Some are eco-friendly, some are money-savers and some are just cool. Today, I have something that is just cool to share with you.

Melissa Dinwiddie is an artist who creates custom wedding invitations, Ketubahs (Jewish marriage contracts) and Quaker wedding certificates… Actually, if its on paper, Melissa can create something extraordinary. Enjoy the photos of her work below!

I love this set of invitations with matching Ketubah. It would match beautifully with a peacock-themed wedding.

This is another example of a matching wedding invitation/Ketubah ensemble. Absolutely stunning.

Melissa gets her inspriation from by historical design (Arts & Crafts Movement, Art Nouveau), and lately she has been inspired by the calligraphic watercolors of Adolf Bernd.

Melissa meets with clients who want custom work, so they can design together. For couples who aren’t local to her studio in San Fransisco, Melissa works with them via fax and email. Custom designs can be expensive ($1000.00 and up), but fear not, she created a line of prints, which are printed with archival inks on the same watercolor paper she uses for her custom art, but much more affordable.

The new trend Melissa is seeing is to use Quaker marriage certificates in lieu of a guest book. She uses one of her beautiful designs and leaves space for guests to sign.

If you have any ideas or comments about wedding invitation ensembles, Ketubahs or Quaker marriage certificates, I want to hear about it. Post a message for me here or email me at susan.southerland(at)pwg.com.

Your partner in perfect planning,

Susan

Today I am thrilled to present a wedding that took place in one of my all-time favorite places: New York City. After changing their initial plans of a large wedding at a relative’s house in Maine, the happy couple skillfully managed to pull together a lovely, more intimate wedding for 50 guests in just five weeks.

Here is their story as told by the bride, Jen:

“[Jesse and I] got married at a garden on our block and then headed to our favorite restaurant in the West Village for our reception, Market Table. After I walked down the aisle, a double-decker tour bus rolled by and someone screamed, ‘Don’t do it.’ We got a great laugh and proceeded to have the most wonderful evening.

Truthfully, I was never much of a wedding person. We are at the age when we have them all of the time! In order for me to walk down the aisle, we needed to do this in our style… which is exactly what we did. We had an intimate, elegant, and affordable wedding that was just different than most of the weddings we all go to.

Some of the ways we did this:
- PHOTOGRAPHY: My father, Mark Portland, is a genius professional photographer. So he could walk me down the aisle, my Aunt Connie (while not a pro, she does an awesome job) took pictures of the ceremony. My father then took pics after he walked me down the aisle and at the reception.

- MUSIC: Originally we were going to go with an iPod for music. Two days before the wedding, we asked two of the guests who happen to have a cover band to play. They did this as a wedding gift to us. It was so much fun and different than your typical wedding band. The first song they sang was Joe Cocker’s ‘Feeling Alright’ with the groom and his father. [The band] now has been booked for other weddings as well!

- KEPT IT GREEN: while we did send out invitations (everyone vetoed my Evite wishes), RSVPs went to my email address. We also ditched having programs at the ceremony.

- BRIDAL PARTY: Since Jesse has been in so many weddings, it would be difficult to include everyone as his groomsmen… So he had his father and best friend as co best-men. My sister was my maid of honor and his sister was my bridesmaid.

- PARTY FAVORS: Were recipe cards with a pic of Jesse and I on it. The recipe was from the famous chef of Market Table, Mikey Price. We were able to print these on our home computer.

- MINISTER: Was Tom Speers, who Jesse has known his whole life. I also babysat for his children years ago when we lived in Philly. Tom made the ceremony lovely. It should be known that my mom is Jewish, my Dad is Catholic, and Jesse’s family is Presbyterian…and we created a loving ceremony that was for everyone.

In the end, we had a wedding for under $15K in the Big Apple. While that is not chump change, when it comes to weddings it is!

If you have questions on this or any other wedding related topic, please post for me here or send me an email to susan.southerland@pwg.com. Also become a fan on Facebook by clicking here and follow me on Twitter by clicking here.

Your partner in perfect planning,
Susan

This week’s installment of Honeymoon Monday takes us to the gorgeous island getaway of O’ahu, Hawaii!

Rich in history, beautiful scenery, fine dining, and nightlife to keep every taste entertained, the island of O’ahu is a great choice of destination for couples looking for a little bit of everything. Not to mention, Hawaii is one of the most romantic islands in the world, which means you’ll find plenty spots to snuggle up and get cozy. Some points of interest include:

Waikiki: A number of famous beaches, high-end shops and five-star restaurants. Waikiki has a thriving nightlife and is a popular destination for many first-timers.

East Shore: Get out and explore this area by foot. Great attractions such as Byodo-inTemple, Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve, Diamond Head Crater and Makapuu Point and Lighthouse makes this a favorite for outdoor lovers.

Resorts and spas: While visiting O’ahu, schedule a few hours at one of the islands many world-class spas. Hawaiian spas are well-known for their one-of-a-kind spa services, which infuse Eastern and Western techniques. The island boasts a number of resorts and day spas offering a number of services to treat the mind, body and soul.

North Shore: Home to world-famous destinations such as Sunset Beach and Banzai Pipeline. Perfect for a day filled with sun and surf.

For more information about Oahu, see the Visitors Bureau The O’ahu Chapter of the Hawaii Visitors & Convention Bureau at www.visit-oahu.com (they also provided all the lovely photos for this blog post).

If you’ve visited the island of O’ahu and have a few pointers or “must-see” items to share with our readers, please post a question/comment below. Or, if you have a wedding-related questions, post it here as well or send me an email to susan [dot] southerland [at] pwg.com. You can also follow me on Facebook and Twitter, or follow Perfect Wedding Guide on Facebook and Twitter as well.

Your partner in perfect planning,
Susan

Couples ask me all the time for appropriate ways to memorialize relatives and friends at their weddings. If you follow my blog, you will remember I did an entry in July where I discussed that memorializing a loved-one should be done carefully, because you do not want to detract from the wedding celebration. Well, yesterday, I did a beautiful wedding where the couple chose, what I thought, was a perfect rememberance for relatives who had passed as well an honor for those who are alive and significant in their lives.

The florist wired the frames to ribbon and hung the frames on the pews. Later, we removed the ribbons and displayed the photos on the DJ table at the reception. All the guests loved it! I thought it was an especially nice touch that some of the photos were wedding photos of the brides and groom’s parents.

If you have questions on this or any other wedding related topic, please post for me here or send me an email to susan.southerland@pwg.com. Also become a fan on Facebook by clicking here and follow me on Twitter by clicking here.

Your partner in perfect planning,

Susan