INTIMATE WEDDING DETAILS

First 8 images: Jared Slater

Last image: Denise Fasanello via Flickr

Today I am happy to share with you some images of Emmie and Michael's beautifully intimate wedding at Alger House...remember them? The couple enlisted my services barely a couple months before their wedding day, when they decided to reevaluate the scope of their event, when they realized it was becoming more about the "wedding" and less about the two of them. We quickly got together and sat down so that I could learn more about the couple in order to infuse their personalities into the big day. Learning about my couples is really one of the highlights of my job and is paramount to getting the job done. Ultimately we decided to redesign the entire event to make it more personal and intimate, which was exactly what they had really wanted all along.

The morning started off with hair and makeup at The New Yorker Hotel. I was really excited to be working with makeup artist Anni Bruno of NYC Faces for the first time, such a sweetheart! The only other vendor that the couple had on board was their photographer Jared Slater, it was my first time working with him and it was a pleasure.

After we had a clear vision in mind for the event I knew the first person I had to call was Denise Fasanello to run with the floral design of the evening. I love working with Denise because she treats flowers as another medium of art and never ceases to amaze me. Everything seamlessly fell into place and Gail at Broadway Party Rentals finished off the decor with all of her lovely rentals for the evening.

Emmie and Michael communicated to me that they were avid readers and wanted to somehow incorporate that into their day. We decided to name each table after a NYC themed New Yorker Magazine cover. One of my favorite design aspects of the evening were the hand engraved bookmarks that served not only as the escort cards, but also the guests favors. Diane Russell at A Plus Engraving engraved each guests name onto the front and engraved the back with the table name.

Lastly...cake...yum cake. For something whimsical we went with Betsy at Nine Cakes. I'm such a huge fan of her cakes because they always look so darn pretty...but taste even better! If I ever personally have an event I want Betsy to make me a cake like this. Okay, now I need cake!

GIANDO ON THE WATER

Photos: Courtney Davidson Photography

The day before Thanksgiving I find myself reflecting on the past year. I have accomplished so much and I have so much to be thankful for. I really have to pinch myself sometimes when I realize how lucky I am to be making my dreams come true and making so many couples happy along the way.

Every wedding I work on holds a special place in my mind and every so often a couple truly captures my heart. I can not even begin to describe what a pleasure it was to work with Ron and Zena (pictured above).

Zena and I scouted a lot of venues for her and Ron's wedding day and we were pleasantly surprised when we stumbled upon Giando on the Water. It's one of those places you imagine only exists in the movies...with breathtaking views and a staff that treats you like family. Heading the staff at Giando is Joe Leone, what a fantastic guy!

I was also excited to be working with Courtney Davidson for the first time and her mentor Kenny Pang. Her images of the day did not disappoint. I can't remember the last time a couple of mine had so many amazing portraits of their wedding day to choose from.

One of the best parts of my job are all fabulous people that make the wedding day come to life! A big thank you is in order to Denise Fasanello Floral Design. Denise is a true artist and she always amazes me with her designs and creations, such a rare talent! This was my first time working with Ajalon Printing & Design, famous for their amazing letterpress special. I worked with them to create a custom letterpress invitation for my couple. We were all so pleased with the final result (which included Hebrew as well), that we immediately hired them to design ALL of the paper products for the wedding day, which we offset print. I can't forget to mention East Coast Band, who had the dance floor packed all night!

Wishing everyone reading this a wonderful Thanksgiving and congrats again to Ron and Zena!

What are you thankful for this Thanksgiving?

NJ WEDDING: THE MANOR

Photos: Turn Loose the Art

I'm always a little disappointed right before I do a blog post of a wedding I worked on. Why??? Because the images on my blog are so darn tiny and you won't be able to appreciate them. Luckily you can see bigger images on Turn Loose the Art's Blog! If you are not familiar with Britney and Joe from Turn Loose the Art you must check them out! I'll be blogging another wedding soon that I worked on with them that is the complete opposite of this one...which is always fun!

I loved this wedding. Everything was inspired by Bertini's Italian Plume print. The print was carried through in all of the paper products and were designed by Bespoke Affairs. The print also inspired the color palette which was very natural and organic. Remember this post? Well, I was so thrilled to see the use of cabbage at this wedding. Fresh Art in Millburn, NJ did a wonderful job designing the florals and made the bride (and groom) very happy.

Are you a fan of Bespoke Affairs on Facebook? If so you can see more images here from this event.

E & M SNEAK PEAK

Images: J and J Photography

The last few weeks have been bonkers. Lots of weddings and on top of that I've been in the process of moving. WHEW!

I was so excited when Jared of J and J Photography sent me a few images from last Saturday's wedding at Alger House. This was my first time working with Jared, he is such a talented and nice guy to spend the day with. Comic Con was also in full effect that weekend, such fun!

I can't even begin to tell you how much I fell in love with this couple, such a generous, kind and fun loving duo. So much more on this wedding (including all the fabulous vendors) when I have more images to share...without further ado, here are some of my favorites from Jared's sneak peak!

SNEAK PEAK: R+N

Images: Weddings by Two

GRRRRR. I know I say this about all my couples...but...I REALLY love these two. I miss speaking with the bride daily about her wedding, a lot! I'm also counting the days until I work with Laura of Weddings by Two who took these killer images. Wow, she uber sweet and talented. I'm also ultra obsessed with her vintage cameras!

This was a very fun wedding to coordinate and I was stoked to bring some quirky details into play like school buses and a vintage ride courtesy of Merci New York. OHHH, and wait until you see the floral and event design that the ladies at Poppies and Posies whipped up. More to come.

WHIMSICAL DELIGHT

Photo Credit: Meredith Davenport of Christian Oth Studio

I seriously could gush endlessly about all my couples. Since I run a small boutique agency, I make sure to work with the best couples ever. I am very lucky that all of my brides (and grooms!) are so incredibly stylish and outright awesome!

Today I want to share with you a few pictures from Heidi and Allan's wedding at Angel Orensanz Foundation. I was jumping for joy when they hired me because Angel Orensanz is within blocks of my old apartment that I called home for so long. I'm not kidding you when I say I miss these two everyday! They were such a fun and laid back couple, and Heidi should seriously consider a career change into event design! Whenever your ready Heidi!!

I was also really amped to get to work with Melanie at Melrosa on the flowers. I had my eye on her designs ever since I saw these pictures of the flowers she did for a photographer I worked with back in June '09.

This was also the first time I would have the pleasure of working with Meredith Davenport of Christian Oth Studio. All of her photographs of the day take my breathe away! Also a HUGE shout out to Meredith's assistant for the day, Brian DeMello (who along with Meredith ROCKED it out)!!

I know I will get to see Heidi and Allan again soon because they just told me the good news...they are expecting!! Congrats again to Heidi and Allan on your wedding and the baby! I can never thank you enough for trusting me with your big day. LOVE you both!

A few more pictures of this beautiful wedding are on my Bespoke Affairs' Facebook Page (which I'm trying to get better at updating...promise).

GIVEAWAY!! FREE WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY!!

Photo: Aga Images

It's no secret...Aga and Marcin from Aga Images are just about two of my favorite people. They are both the crazy talented photographers behind my own wedding day (self loved wedding pic above!)

Every year they have an insanely cool contest...they give away their services to one deserving couple. How cool is that? How cool are they?! If you have never heard of Aga Images you need to visit their blog, it's full of so much eye candy. Their photographs are pieces of art, every single one of them!

Read all the rules and enter here!! AND notice Kim and Tim in the contest pic! LOVE IT!

DAY AFTER (KIM & TIM)

Photos: Aga Images

I am so incredibly giddy to share these pictures with you today! I first met Aga and Marcin of Aga Images when Vince and I hired them to shoot our wedding day. It was love at first site...with them AND their images! They are both totally awesome and uber talented, check out their blog and you'll be hooked. Even if I weren't in this line of work, I would be in touch with Aga and Marcin indefinitely! Awhile back I posted a few pictures of Monmouth University (where I met my hubby)...a couple emails and a few phone calls later we decided to coordinate a shoot there. You see I had the perfect couple, and the perfect photographers!!! The small pics on my blog can't do these images justice! Check out the full size images here.

Kim and Tim were married in February at the beautiful Addison Park in NJ. They had a picture perfect wedding day. The weather was mild and Laffler Photography captured all the beautiful images of their wedding day. Click here to see pictures from Kim and Tim's wedding...and BTW Kim made her centerpieces herself! Talk about DIY!

Thanks again to Aga, Marcin, Kim and Tim...It was wonderful spending the day with you all. One more thing...Flowers by Diane in Hoboken provided the bouquet!

JAMIE & ARNOLD PART 4

Photo Credit: Art of Love

Details, details, details. This wedding had so many LUXE details! Capitale is the perfect setting for an opulent wedding like Jamie and Arnold's. The escort card table was really organic and  Michele Clark's beautiful calligraphy graced the escort cards. Jamie wanted her wedding to stand out from the norm...so chargers and custom linens were ordered. Jamie designed the menus herself and then had For Your Party print them. The room was filled with round, square, and long rectangular tables to make the room even more interesting. Another thing that added more texture and depth to the room were the flowers. Flowers by Reuven did an outstanding job in the ballroom. They designed three different table scapes for each of the different sized tables. The lighting was magnificent and made every detail in the room pop. Starlight Orchestra's Rebecca Blake kept everyone on their feet all night, except for when the guests were enjoying the photo booth! 

A big thank you is in store to Art of Love for all of these beautiful images! An even bigger thank you to the Newlyweds for trusting me with their big day. Cheers to a lifetime of happiness...can't wait to see your video from Classic Photo & Video!