29 September
I’m so excited to share with you a recap of the experience that I had a few weeks ago at the Inspire Smart Success Experience in Orange, Virginia. Over the past year I have been researching several different conferences to attend because I’m a true believer in continuing to education. I’ve noticed an increase in people starting their own “workshops” but I knew that I wanted to attend an experience where I would truly learn from recognized seasoned professionals. I have been following ISS for sometime now and when I learned that they would be hosting an “experience” in Orange, Virginia AND one of my idols Preston Bailey would be attending…it was a no brainer that I would attend!
Stacie Francombe has been embedded in the wedding industry for over 12 years, starting her own wedding businesses including Get Married. Working as a producer and host for the Get Married TV show and serving as Editor-in-Chief of the quarterly publication Get Married Magazine, Stacie grew the brand into a multi-million dollar company, and sold it in 2008. Stacie Francombe is the founder of Inspire Smart Success, a three-tiered approach to helping wedding industry businesses grow and succeed utilizing the ISS Magazine, ISS Experience and ISS Mentoring.
The “experience” was held at The Inn at Willow Grove in Orange Virginia and it was just BEAUTIFUL. I can definitely see returning to enjoy the award winning boutique hotel for short getaways and even a place to visit and be inspired to work. I’m currently designing a wedding invitation suite that came to me as I worked while there. The “experience” was amazing. I met a lot of wonderful, motivated wedding professionals and Stacie was such a warm and generous hostess! Having the opportunity to meet, Preston Bailey, Sonny Ganguly {CMO of Wedding Wire}, Brooke Thomas {Creative Director of Weddings Unveiled magazine} and Katie Martin {Editor-in-Chief of Eco-Beautiful Weddings} was just phenomenal. I have lots of ideas and plans to work on over the next few months. #Excited!
Here are a few of my photos from the event!
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27 September
A few weeks ago I shared some of our first look photos from LaToia & Bernard’s grand affair, today I’m happy to be back with professional photographs from the amazing Amanda Gilley Photography. If you recall the grand affair was held at the breathtakingly beautiful Grand Lodge of Masonic Temple in Cockeysville, Maryland.
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21 September
Today I’m excited to share with you a few of our amateur photos from one of our recent weddings a couple of weekends ago. I have been working with Lori since December of last year and it was so lovely to see their wedding day go off without a hitch! Lori’s wedding was pretty much planned back in February which left us lots of time to focus on all of the lovely details that Lori so carefully picked out.
The beautiful affair with located at the lovely Sunset Crest Manor that is nestled in the rolling meadows of Chantilly, Virginia. Guest were captivated as they drove through the thick of trees and arrived at this sprawling venue. Tucked away from the hustle and bustle, over 160 guests joined Lori and Shun for the beautiful event. I can’t wait to share professional photos when they are ready!
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19 September
Yes, its true….that’s my uterus! We are expanding – LITERALLY…:) Couldn’t be happier. Lots of changes coming to make room for this little dude or diva’s arrivals!
Thanks for following our journey!
Thank you to The Purple Pug, Carolyn Horten Events, Lynlee Petite Cakes and Party Box Design for participating in my baby crawl!
14 September
It’s been almost a month since this party and I can’t believe that I’m just now posting these pictures. We have had a whirlwind the last few weeks in our family and I’m finally coming up for air. I’m so excited to share with you the photos from my daughter’s 6th birthday party. When I talked to Sadaia about her party months ago, she gave me a list of everything that she wanted to do… 1) Hello Kitty 2) Bouncy House 3) Special cookies that her friends have never had before like “Thin Mints” and 4) To watch a movie like Scooby Doo. OOOOOOOOOOKKKKKKKKK! So I thought to myself, how in the world am I going to pull all of those things together. I asked her again and she gave me the same answer. I am a FIRM believer in that when you are throwing a party for your child, it should really be FOR your child. As planners, we can sometimes go over the top with it and even I am at fault of that at times. For this party, I wanted to give her what she wanted AND try my best to keep it old school.
So I thought that I would throw a backyard moonlight cinema party for her. As much as she loves Hello Kitty, I tried to keep Miss Kitty confined to the dessert table only, with just a few touches throughout the party. The kids had a blast! They colored and bounced to their hearts content and then when the movie started that sat to still the entire movie, they were completely mesmerized by the canvas screen and projector. I’m sure that they were all tuckered out by the end of the evening. Sadaia said it was her “most favorite party ever” and that is just A-OK with me!
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29 August
It gives me great pleasure to share with you some of our amateur photos from our couple LaToia and Bernard’s wedding. We have been working with LaToia and Bernard for over 18 months and it is hard to believe that it’s over! When LaToia and I began discussing her ideas and visions, I knew instantly that this was going to be an absolutely beautiful wedding. LaToia’s posh sense of style is evident throughout every detail of this wedding.
This grand affair was held at the breathtakingly beautiful Grand Lodge of Masonic Temple in Cockeysville, Maryland. You may remember their wedding invitations that we also designed. Guests were certainly astonished as they drove through the private gates of this historic temple and viewed the sprawling gardens. The foyer is marble with a beautiful staircase and glamorous chandeliers. The ceremony was held in the Masonic Temple that features an elaborate double wide aisle. LaToia wanted the aisle lined with beautiful pewter urns with oversized arrangements featuring hydrangea in white and pink, shades of pink and white roses and dendrobium orchids. Between each arrangement were glass cylinder vases of varying heights with floating candles. The couple exchanges vows under a beautiful arch draped in luxurious white fabric embellished with curly willow and white orchids. Alongside the arch were beautiful orbs of pink hydrangea atop pewter columns and urns. Simply stunning!
While the bridal party took photographs on the ground, guests enjoyed a four piece band and delicious hor d’oeuvres. For the grand finale, their guests entered the beautifully illuminated ballroom where the dance floor was lit in pink and each one the luxurious 3 1/3 foot tall arrangements were pinned spotted. The arrangements featured hanging crystal votive’s and floating dendrobium orchids. The gorgeous tablescape couldn’t be complete without the beautiful slate pintuck tablecloth, fuchsia napkins and silver chargers. LaToia and Bernard dined at a beautiful illuminated sweetheart table that was adorned with a fuchsia rosette table cloth and bedazzled silver chargers. Guests were impressed that no detail was forgotten.
I wish LaToia and Bernard many blessings and thank them abundantly for allowing us to be a part of their special day! I’ll share professional photos as soon as they become available.
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10 August
Happy Friday!
Today, I’m back with another set of gorgeous invitations that I completed sometime ago. Our boarding pass invitations continue to be one of our most ordered set. I’m always thrilled when I have the opportunity to do one a little bit differently from the typical tropical style invitation. This set is for a lovely couple that is getting married in Charleston, South Carolina. They wanted a nautical feel to the invitation using the colors navy and peach. — beautiful color combination! Instead of using a jacket sleeve, they opted for a long and narrow navy pocket-fold. We wrapped them with natural colored raffia and added an anchor charm!
Anchors Away…..
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8 August
Today, I’m back with some of our latest wedding invitations. I have been busy busy busy but I’m finally taking out some time to photograph some of our work. The gorgeous invitations are a shimmer slate grey square pocket-fold with soft pink and white accents. They are embellished with Swarovski crystals and black satin ribbon. Our bride wanted to keep the design clean and classic with an ornate font. Check Check and Check!
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