Happy Wedding Planning: Every Bride is a Luxury Bride!

Every Bride is a luxury bride, despite her wedding budget. Because every bride has one, two, maybe three items that are very important to her… and that is were she will SPLURGE and become that luxury bride.

These things are different for every bride, but we have a few suggestions that will give your event that luxurious touch.

Along with more bang for your buck; because after you have purchased catering for 141 guests, pay the florist for 14 guest tables centerpieces & 1 head table centerpiece there isn’t a lot of funds left over for extras….

5 great things to splurge on:

1. Professional lighting- great way to dress up a room, can cost less then other decor.

2. More Music time- for between your band’s sets or an after party for you & your friends

3. More Service- extra waitstaff can really make a great difference to your guests & your reception timeline…

4. Extra Time to Capture Memories-  adding additional time to your photography to capture all those moments & your grand exit!

5. Guest Entertainment- renting a photo booth is a great way to keep the guest going all night, and double as guest favors… more bang for your buck!

There are many great ways to splurge for your wedding day but remember not to break the bank doing it…. Happy Wedding Planning!

www.sweetdreamsweddings.com

It is Bridal Show Season!

Portland’s 2011-2012 bridal show season begins, so all those bridal couples that are just beginning the planning process for your upcoming wedding this is where you need to start.

First, here is are a few things you will need to make it through all the fantastic bridal shows this season;

Water bottles, energy bars, tissues & patience.

Most shows you can purchase tickets on their websites, this is a good way to avoid standing in the long ticket lines.

Tip: contact the wedding and event planners in the shows for possible free passes.

Also, when your on the shows website look for a floor plan to see where the professionals are located that you are most interested in. Planning your route will make it easier on you and all your friends & family that are joining you.

All these shows are full of amazing wedding professionals that will have plenty of marketing materials for you to take home to look at afterwards, so bring a sturdy bag.

Tip: Try to spend 3-5 minutes per booth to really get the true connection with the fabulous people.

While you are looking at flowers..

Flowers by Event Floral/ Photo by Alyssa Jul Photography

Cakes…

Cake by Ja Civa’s/ Photo by Alyssa Jul Photography

Decor…

All the wedding professionals want you t0 sign up f0r their promotional specials, so bring a few sheets of printed adhesive labels with your contact information.

Full name

Wedding Date

Address

Email

Best contact number

You want to make sure they all have your information so you don’t miss out on any opportunity to save on your big day. Most importantly, ask the wedding professionals you feel are a good match for you and your event for an after show follow up appointment. This way you can sit down and have more personal time to tell them all about your wedding day!

We will see you at the shows, Happy Wedding Planning!

Sweet Dreams Weddings & Events

Oregon Bridal Shows Dates for 2012

Attention all Bride & Grooms to-be! Now that we told you how to get through a bridal show, here is a list of the upcoming shows in the Portland & Vancouver Area…

(* we are featuring a booth in these shows)

Sept. 11th- Tour d’Brides

*Sept. 25th- Very Engaging Bridal Event

*Oct. 8th & 9th- Rose City Bridal Showcase

*Oct. 21st- Committed! Portland’s Alternative Bridal Event

Oct. 29th- Association of Bridal Consultants, The Wedding Event

* Nov. 6th- Bravo Wedding Affair

Jan. 7th to 8th 2012- The Original Portland Bridal Show

*Jan. 19th 2012- The Art of Weddings

*Jan. 22nd 2012- Bravo Wedding Affair

Jan. 28th to 29th 2012- Oregon Wedding Showcase

Jan. 29th 2012- Greater Vancouver Showcase

Mar. 8th 2012- Luxe Bridal Event

Mar. 10th to 11th 2012- NW Wedding Scoop

If you missed our post on bridal shows tips “It’s Bridal Show Season” check it out before you attend your first bridal show… We will see you there, Happy Wedding Planning!

Real Wedding: Portland Spring Beauty

Spring time is natures way for new beginnings, so it was the greatest time of the year for Carrie & Rafael to celebrate their union as husband & wife. The couple wanted to keep it simple, intimate & romantic with a twist of fun. Aquariva Italian Restaurant and The Avalon Hotel & Spa was the venues they chose to host their memorable wedding day. To capture all these amazing memories for the couple to look back on was Sara Vandepas of Sara Vandepas Photography.

 

 

 

 

 

 

To help create the bride’s blooming spring setting indoors was Leslie of Country Florals.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Using decor & floral wasn’t the only way the couple brought their personal touches to the wedding, they offered sweets from Le Cookie Monkey. Delicious flavored mini cupcakes, Elvis cookies and an amazing sweet heart cake.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The couple wanted the day to be a celebration for them and all their guests, so to get their party started and keep the guest dancing the night away. Carrie & Rafael also wanted to share his culture with all their family & friends… so the hired a Mariachi band to entertain everyone at the wedding.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Decor is always a great way to bring personality to any special day, like using names of special places for table names or textured linens and lighting in rich tones. Linens & lighting by Barclay Event Rentals.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At then end of every wedding day is the beginning of a new life together for every couple… Happy Wedding Planning!

Real Wedding: Downtown Modern & Chic

Imagine a downtown four star hotel with modern artwork, chic furniture, fabulous open areas that would make the perfect backdrop for your modern-chic wedding.

The Nines Hotel downtown Portland was our bride’s choice… and it was the best location for her wedding celebration.

The bride chose to create the ambiance for her ceremony in the open forum by adding candle light to mark her aisle & adding texture to the backdrop with 9 foot pluums  she rented from WCEP. Being the area was open she used purple up-lighting on the pillars to dress up the room with her colors.

Here color pallet included purple tones, deep pinks & black… then took it up a notch with adding pewter accents. She also added textures to her decor with feathers, damask prints & pin-tuck linens.

Our beautiful bride personalized her tables with markers that said “love” in different languages.

Both her table markers and her escort cards were hand written by Alesia, of Alesia Zorn Calligraphy.

Her texture didn’t stop with linens or table centerpieces, she brought it in with her paisley cake and different flowered cupcakes by AK Cake Design.

With the large ballroom that she had her reception in we used purple up-lighting to dress the walls and created the couple initials on the dance floor to add that personal touch.

Using great linens, creative color pallet, with textures is the right combination for your modern- chic wedding! Don’t be afraid of using color & creative ways to bring your personality into your wedding day celebration.

Remember the first step to planning your wedding is to give us a call! Happy Wedding Planning!