Weddings online...

Weddings have changed so much with the internet.  What bride has not been on The Knot Wedding Website (theknot.com).  There are so many tools at a bride's fingertips but I wonder are they using them to their benefit or is it making the process even more overwhelming?  Today I downloaded a Knot Wedding Application to my IPhone...now anytime of day, a bride can ask the wedding question that is on her mind!  Wow!  It is absolutely amazing! 

Today The Knot Wedding Website was very handy for one of our 2010 brides...we have been working on floral decor for her December wedding...she wanted me to know exactly what she wanted but was having difficulty describing it...so she sent me photos from The Knot gallery!  It was just a starting point but now I will take her intial direction and design the most elegant, romantic reception decor for her.  Our conversations via e-mail were a time saver for her and a push in the right direction for me.   From there, I have created a story board so that she can envision what I am suggesting!  She already loves one of my favorite design elements...a beautiful charger with a round menu card!  I love round menu cards! 

Photo courtesy of theknot.com and E. Sullivan Photography, Houston, TX.

Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving is a time to be with family and friends...it is a time to look back and be thankful for what we have and what we have been given this year!  It is a time to look to the future and be thankful for the blessings that will soon be in our lives.  Weddings are a gift to couples and their families.  It is an amazing day where two families merge into one and look to the future to see how their family will grow with this lovely couple.

Happy Thanksgiving!  And congratulations to the brides and grooms that are getting engaged in the days to come!  It will be a memory that will last a lifetime!

California...

California or bust... Annually my husband's family and I head West to California for Thanksgiving!  What a fabulous place to be...  The weather is outstanding and the company is wonderful!  As I sit by the pool with my family, I think about weddings in California!  Would you ever need a back-up plan? They have perfect wedding weather every weekend...amazing!  But no matter how gorgeous California is, I will forever love Chicago.  I love the various seasons and I love brides that love winter weddings or brides that select the hottest month of the year!    It makes Chicago a unique place to live!  It adds wonderment to the planning process.  I am looking forward to my 2010 weddings and cannot wait to hear from the new brides that get engaged over the holiday season.  What a magical time of year!

Chicago...

Chicago is an absolutely amazing place to get married...from the hotels to the unique venues, there is something for every bride!  One of my favorite wedding venues is the Chicago History Museum (http://www.chicagohs.org/).  We have a wonderful bride and groom hosting their ceremony and reception there tomorrow!  It is going to be a beautiful day for a wedding!  Who knew this weather was possible in November in Chicago. 

We love the windy city! 

I will of course share photos from tomorrow's wedding when I receive them but to hold us over and get us in the holiday spirit...Here is a photo of one of our favorite couples who had a beautiful December Wedding in Chicago!  The bride even braved the weather to capture some of the amazing twinkle lights throughout the city!  Photo courtesy of Jeffrey Kash Photography (http://www.jfkphoto.com/).

For those that don't know...the twinkle lights in Chicago will be turned on tomorrow at the Festival of Lights on Michigan Avenue...at the end of the day, Michigan Avenue will be twinkling with more than one million lights!  It is amazing!

Edible and Usable...

Wedding Favors???  Yes or No?  What do you prefer?  We love favors WHEN they add to the decor of an event, when they are interesting, when they are unique, and most most importantly when they are EDIBLE and USABLE!!!  We love delicious favors...we inquire with our clients to think of what they love best.  What would remind their guests about themselves?  For one of our Spring weddings, we recommended a local caramel company, Katherine Anne Confections (http://katherine-anne.com/.)  The caramels are absolutely yummy and it was one of the bride's favorite treats!  The caramels are individually packaged but for this wedding, we added table decor by selecting a great favor box from BT Elements; a company we represent in-house.  Each favor box was packaged with 2 caramels.  The boxes come in various sizes and colors, which makes it easy to coordinate with a bride's color palette. 

Photo courtesy of Stephen Green Photography (http://www.sgreenphoto.com/)

Who is Tying the Knot....

Tying the Knot has successfully created many beautiful, memorable, extraordinary events in Chicago and throughout the suburbs since 1999...Tying the Knot is owned and operated by Christine Stone and me, Brooke Righeimer.  We love designing, planning and coordinating weddings!  We are both members of the Association of Bridal Consultants (http://www.bridalassn.com/) and have recently attended the ABC Annual Conference.  This year it was located in Indianapolis...we had a fabulous time, met tons of great wedding professionals and are looking forward to implementing new tools into our business.  One of the highlights was meeting Sylvia Weinstock (http://www.sylviaweinstock.com/).   She was a featured speaker at the conference...she produces amazing cakes!  She is the woman in the center of the photo...Christine and I are the others! 

Unique Place Card Tables...

I love place card tables...it is often the first thing your wedding guests see when they arrive at your reception...it often sets the tone to what they are about to see when the ballroom doors open to your grand reception!  One of our favorites this year is from May...the theme was French Wine Country...photos by Stephen Green Photography (http://www.sgreenphoto.com/).  When designing the tented reception...the bride was looking for elegance and wine country elements...the place card holders were real wine works and they were sitting atop moss amongst this beautiful Manzanita Tree.

Hinsdale Wedding Walk...

Prizes, unique ideas, great company, and tons of talk about weddings...Every year in March, a group of Hinsdale Business owners get together and host the Hinsdale Wedding Walk...it is a wonderful event that allows bride's to walk the downtown area of Hinsdale and get inspiration for their upcoming wedding...the bonus of our walk is that we giveaway fabulous prizes!!!!  Last year, a bride won a trip to Hawaii!!!!  Click here for more details... http://www.hinsdaleweddingresource.com/hwwhome.html
This year we are planning on yummy hors d'oeuvres, great music, and unique ideas from all of the host businesses!  We hope to see you there!

It's all about the unique touches...

Wedding season is almost over for Tying the Knot...now we are moving onto planning season...new ideas for our clients...we love the details...thinking about unique touches that transform a wedding to a "one of kind event"! One of our favorites for next year is our Garrett's Popcorn Station...what a yummy idea! We open the station right after dancing gets started...we create a lounge area around it and suddenly your guests are saying "wow, what a wedding...they have thought of everything!" And don't forget about the coordinating stationary elements from station signs, popcorn signage and popcorn bags!