Welcome to the biz!

Though my wedding is months off, I have been thinking about recent trends, styles and how I want to style my own wedding almost non-stop. I am aiming for a wedding with a timeless feel, and I've chosen my ceremony venue, reception venue, caterer, bar service, etc. But as I make a final decision on my dress, bridesmaids' dresses and décor, I have decided to consult with a good friend who - though she is not new to the business of event design and overall style - has just recently decided to enter the world of weddings!

Liz Demos is the owner of @Home here in Savannah – a wonderful and unique store filled with furnishings, antiques, textiles, home and garden accessories and so much more! Well, Liz has decided to jump into the world of Event Design and Styling – something that, as your planner, we can absolutely help you with, but we always welcome Event Designers because it is fun to collaborate and see a fresh take wedding style.

I have a decent idea of a color scheme and what I'd like the overall feel to be; but with this being MY wedding, I am having much more trouble focusing then I ever thought I would. I have decided that a little consulting with such a fabulous stylist is just the thing! Keep your eyes out for some great things from Liz!

Tricia Huddas & Co. Real Wedding: Martha Stewart Weddings Magazine

I just received my issue of the Summer 2009 Martha Stewart Weddings and it has me so excited for the next issue to come out - Fall 2009, due around August or September. I had the pleasure to work with Grace Bonney of Design*Sponge to plan her April 2009 Savannah wedding and it will be featured in the Fall Issue of Martha Stewart Weddings!!!

The wedding and reception were absolutely spectacular, and the local vendors, as well as the Martha Stewart team, were all so great to work with that I know you are going to be blown away! I wish I could tell you all of the details and show you pictures, but I have to keep my mouth shut until the issue comes out so you can all fully enjoy the beauty of this event as it was captured by the pros. Grace, of course, has magnificent style; and her wedding truly reflected her and Aaron's personalities!

I will remind you when to go and buy the Fall issue once it comes out; until then, you can read the blog history on The Brides Guide where Grace chatted about her wedding planning- just search for Grace Bonney or Design Sponge on the blog!

PS - go buy the summer issue while you are at it - it is full of great DIY projects, perfect in today's economy!

Paint Chip Place Cards

I'm a big fan of Real Simple Magazine. It's the only magazine that I actually save apart from bridal magazines for work. The recipes are simple (duh) and delicious and each issue is chock full of great ideas. They always feature New Uses for Old Things, and the new issue had one that I thought would interest brides.

Behold, Paint Chip Place Cards!

I have been a fan of the hardware store paint section as a source of wedding color inspiration for a while now, and Tricia is currently toting around her wedding's color scheme in the form of paint chips she picked out while she was supposed to be choosing colors for her new home. So this idea is naturally appealing to me. They certainly aren't formal; but I would say they are modern and, of course, inexpensive place card alternatives. They would have been perfect for a couple that I know who has their own business flipping houses! They always had paint chips around - in every drawer, in his car, in her purse - so it would have been a cute little joke that most people would have understood as part of their wedding.

If you had, as they say on the description above, a "technicolor" wedding palette, you could make each table a different color family.... Ohh, so many ideas from this one page in a magazine!

Wedding Q&A Thursday - Peony Alternatives

Q: I love Peonies but I just found out that they are not a good option for my October wedding because they are not in season and will be hard to come by. I'm a die-hard Peony Fan! Are there any flowers that are similar and more seasonal in the fall?

A: Many a fall bride is temporarily set back by her love affair with spring wedding flowers. There is so much inspiration from all seasons available with little reference to the season in which the wedding is taking place, and when a fall bride is doing a lot of her planning, it is usually in the spring - when the greatest selection of flowers is available, including the lovely peony. But there are big, cabbage-y alternatives - like Garden Roses.

If you are like many many brides that we work with, I know that you probably start off your flower story something like this, "I don't like roses." I understand the compulsion to rule them out, but such a statement is usually made about Standard Roses. But there are over 100 species of Roses! And there are probably 10 (I'm just making up the number...but it's a good variety for sure) types of garden roses that look like Peonies...there's even a breed called the Peony Rose.

To set up a little comparison, these are peonies...

Beautiful! I tell ya', I know it and plan on having as many Peonies at my wedding as my little budget will allow. But these are some Garden Roses...

They are nothing like the standard rose that many expect and object to – and they are absolutely beautiful with a similar full shape and number of petals. Maybe a little smaller, but available year round.

I think that is your best best to replace out-of-season peonies. Readers, can you think of another peony alternative?

Don't forget - we feature a new question every Thursday. Do you have any questions for us? Send yours to info@triciahuddas.com and we might feature your question next!

If the shoe fits...

...plan around it!

One of my new brides has chosen the fall wedding color palette for her big day based on the shoes that she is wearing. Not the other way around. And can you blame her?

The Stuart Weitzman 'Pomp' Pump

Last-Minute Wedding Planning

Some couples begin planning their weddings years prior to the event. Some put it off slightly longer (What are you doing in 3 weeks?!). Either method requires adaptability and communication in the weeks leading up to the affair, as even the best-laid plans can fall to the wayside in the face of a change in a major element of the wedding. If you remain calm and take things one step at a time, you will walk down the aisle a sane individual regardless of the obstacles that immediately precede the momentous occasion. Take a deep breath and begin with these tips:

Hire a wedding planner - If your budget permits, experienced planners are worth the money as they have the connections and knowledge that would cost you hours of research and leg work to match - hours that you may not have in a last-minute planning situation. If you can't hire a planner, gather recommendations from your other vendors as you hire them. After all, they are also industry insiders.

Start with your venue - After the ability to accommodate your guest count, the number of details that can be taken care of in-house at a venue should be a high-priority consideration in a crunch. Save time, gas and cell phone minutes by booking a full-service venue that includes the basics, such as tables, chairs, essential linens, catering and bar service.

Enlist loved ones - Ask the friends and family members with whom you have a calm working relationship and similar taste to help you out. Did you love your BFF's wedding design? Let her know your budget, color scheme and basic floral needs, introduce her to your florist, and let them surprise you with the decor!

Call and email immediately - Tradition and etiquette dictate that you send a formal wedding invitation via the good old USPS, but a more modern approach will be necessary to get the word out quickly in the case of a fast-approaching date or last-minute changes to locations and times that may have already been communicated to guests via formal invitation. You can follow up with a formal invitation per tradition, but give your guests as much time as possible to make their travel plans, babysitting arrangements and wardrobe decisions.

Wedding Websites

Today's wedding guest has quite a few logistical details to remember in order to attend a wedding, especially if he is traveling to the event. Naturally it's the responsibility of the bride and groom to organize these details and communicate them to their guests. There are a number of ways to do this - word of mouth, inserts with the save-the-date or formal invitation, a wedding website. Because of the varying ages of guests and the differences in your relationships with them, the best way to ensure that everyone is covered is to employ all three methods. But the use of a wedding website is the easiest way to communicate up-to-the-moment logistical details to your guests.

Obviously, right? But you would be surprised how many couples don't use one! They are easy to set up, often free and, when kept up-to-date, a great resource for your guests.

Here are just a couple of the providers that I suggest:


mywedding.com

• Templates designed by some of your favorite stationers - Minted, Papeterie and Wedding Paper Divas - to coordinate with some of their popular invitation designs
• Unlimited space for picture uploads
• 100% free (it's rare to hear that when planning a wedding...)

My favorite template is Dandelion by Papeterie.

eWedding.com

• Free web sites are available. Upgrades (from $4.95/month) allow you to create your own domain name, such as www.jackandjill.com or add extra space for uploads.
• Password Protection available.
• A Downloads page allows you to upload documents for your guests to download and print, such as maps and directions.

I'm working with a couple using the Vintage template, which is super fun and playful.