And now for some deep thoughts, brought on by some recent life activity. To sum it up…I realize that with each wedding I work, each vendor I connect with and as I continue to build these amazing  relationships, this is the life I love! Making someone’s day unforgettable and special is what it’s all about for me! And as with anything you do in life, you should always do what you love and what makes you most happy! Don’t settle for less, especially not for any longer than you absolutely have to! Same goes for love and weddings!

So how does this apply to weddings you ask? Well, actually I say – how DOESN’T this apply to weddings?!? When you’re planning your wedding or even if you hire someone else to plan your wedding, remember to always follow your heart. If you’re not in love with the burnt orange, speak up! If you’d rather have calla lilies instead of roses, you better let it be known! If you want to include some LED place cards, then make it happen! (Sorry had to throw that one in there, I think I’m obsessed)

Every now and then, I’m offered an opportunity to share my love of blogging with other sites. Recently, I was offered one such opportunity with STL Weddings and by golly, I wasn’t going to pass that one up! I’m officially a blogger for STL Weddings now so be sure to head on over there and check out my VERY FIRST post – How to Create a Wedding Timeline!

Learn how to make the perfect wedding timeline by incorporating what I like to call the BIG ONES in your planning….

“The BIG ONES are those events and moments where you would absolutely balk if you did not get a photograph of them!

No, I’m not going to tell you where you should put them or where I think you might put them. But I will tell you MUST think about them when putting together your time line!”

Thanks to Tyler for asking me to be a part of STL Weddings! I’m truly honored!

And I promise not to neglect the Dishy site either, especially since I have plenty of upcoming weddings to blog about not to mention LOTS of Wish Upon a Wedding action to share!

More good things to come in the future! Cheers everyone!

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Hey, hey St. Louis and surrounding areas! I have great news to share with you from the Wish Upon a Wedding St. Louis Chapter! We’ve finalized logistics for our inaugural black-tie gala, the Blissful Wishes Ball, and we couldn’t be more excited to share the details! Are you ready for this?!?

Join us for a night of dinner, cocktails and dancing at the Starlight Roof at the Chase on Sunday, November 14, 2010 at 6:00pm! If you’re familiar with the Starlight Roof at the Chase, you know what an amazing VIEW and amazing space it truly is, so you won’t want to miss out! More details are being finalized daily along with specifics on all of the wonderful vendors (wish granters) donating their goods and services to make it all possible! Check back frequently as I’ll be updating this blog post with a current list of those vendors!

August 7th, 2010 was a magical day for a wonderful couple, and not just because it finally wasn’t 100 degrees in St. Louis, but because several local vendors banded together to make dreams come true! Lauren and Karl tied the knot in front of about 140 guests at St. Joseph’s Church in Clayton and topped the night off with a ROCKING reception at An American Place downtown!

I wanted to share a few of the snap shots I took during the wedding day, but I promise more fabulous photos will be coming from the very talented Robert George soon!

As all of my event planning professional friends here in St. Louis approach yet another wedding weekend in the Lou, I feel the need to throw some advice into the wind for all those blushing brides out there! Your wedding is a once (or twice) in a lifetime experience, one that you should enjoy and savor for as long as you can! For many of us, the wedding bug only hits once and therefore you must take advantage!

If you’re feeling a little stressed, so much so that you are putting your big day at risk, I highly recommend taking a small chill pill to keep it all together. Besides, it’s pretty likely you want to remember your wedding day as one of the most memorable events in your lifetime, and I don’t mean memorable because you spent the whole day freaking out!

If you were in St. Louis on Saturday, July 24th and didn’t make it to Jive and Wail in Maplewood for the Cupcake and Wine Pairing class put on by STL Wine Girl and Bunny Cakes STL, I must say YOU MISSED OUT! And I’m not just saying this because cupcakes and wine happen to be two of my most favorite things in the entire wide world! I’m saying it because it’s 100% true.

Angie (STL Wine Girl) and Melissa (Bunny Cakes STL) put together five pairings of wine and cupcakes that were delicious, with flavors that complimented each other perfectly. I know I was thoroughly impressed with how separately each were great, but together they were fantastic! Check out the cupcake and wine combos below, plus some fabulous photos taken by moi!

You know what time it is, time to talk wedding guests! Everyone’s favorite subject! The reason I bring up this topic is because at some point during the preparation for your wedding, it’s pretty important to consider how many people on your list are actually coming from out of town! Now think about how many of those guests will be staying in a hotel. It’s probably a decent number right? And even though you’ve been kind enough to secure a discounted room rate at a fabulous hotel, it might also be nice to consider distributing the infamous hospitality bag!

This handy dandy hospitality bag/box is a great way to make your guests feel at right home, no matter how many miles they’ve traveled to be with you! Checking into a hotel room after a long trip and being handed a nicely made goodie bag is a great feeling!

Until a few years ago, if someone had suggested you have a photobooth at your wedding reception, you probably would have laughed right in their face. And yet here we stand just a few years later where a photobooth has actually become quite a staple for all wedding receptions. With the increase in number of companies offering the service, a slew of new ideas on props for the booths and well just a crazy amount of fun, the photobooth has started to take over the wedding reception world! If it hasn’t in your town yet…just wait, it’ll be there soon, which means you have reason to be excited!

Alright, so I haven’t done a just for fun post in quite a while, so I thought I’d do a little hunting and see what kind of unique cake topper ideas I could come up with. Of course, it didn’t take too long to find some classic, humorous and even some really odd ones to share!

The cake topper has gone from super traditional to uber creative and I always thinks it’s fun to see what people come up with. Now I’m not suggesting traditional is bad, but it definitely is nice to see what else is out there! But don’t be afraid to go either way! As usual, nothing is wrong or right, it’s just about what you feel! See below for some great ideas!

If you live in or around the St. Louis, Missouri area (or the Midwest region in general) you know that we tend to have some vicious and unpredictable summers. If you’re planning a wedding in St. Louis, well, you know that you absolutely need to be prepared between the months of June and August for some serious heat! We’re talking 90 to 100 degree weather here!

So, if you’re thinking an outdoor wedding might be in your future, be sure to throw out some goodies or appropriate time frames to help your guests make it through the day. They’ll thank you for it, and you’ll probably thank yourself when you put on the fabulous dress, get your hair done and apply all that gorgeous make up!