This weekend we get a wonderful review of an amazing florist, Blossom and Basket

Boutique located in Mt. Airy, Maryland.

   Not only was Rene a dream to work with at my own August wedding, the Boutique

is also a 2009 & 2010 Wedding Wire’s Choice Winner as well as The Knot 2010 &

2011 DC Area Best of Weddings and The Knot 2011 Best of Baltimore Weddings.

    Rene Bonde of Blossom and Basket  got involved in floral design by taking a floral 

design class in high school. She also worked in local floral shops and entered many

floral design competitions through 4-H  where she snagged the prestigious award of

“Grand Award Winner” of the competition. These experiences fueled her passion she 

hasn’t looked back.

Katie-Where do you find inspiration for your floral arrangements?
 
Rene-The flowers themselves, fabrics, paintings, magazines, etc.
 
 
K-What kind of “homework” should a bride do before meeting with a florist?

R-  *Bring swatches and photos of fashion for bride and bridesmaids as     

       well as have color schemes picked.

• Bring a general list where you want to have flowers – i.e. bridesmaids, mothers, fathers, alter, centerpieces, church, etc.

K-What flowers would you recommend for a winter bride?

R-Roses, lilies, tulips, branches and winter greens.

K-Do you have any favorite winter color schemes for weddings?

R-I just did a black, white and silver theme with pops of dark burgundy with lots of sparkle and gems – absolutely awesome!

K-How can a bride incorporate the holidays into her wedding flowers?

R-

      *Ornaments as favors hanging on a tree in the reception room

• Have guests sign ornaments instead of a guest book – ready made decorations for the 1st Christmas together.
• Embrace the colors of the season – if your church will be decorated with red poinsettias for your day, don’t pick orange and yellow for your scheme. You will have to do too much to hide what is already there.

K-How can clients get in contact with you?

R-Phone and email are the best!

Blossom and Basket Boutique
3 N. Main Street
Mount Airy MD 21771
301-829-8300
www.blossomandbasketboutique.com
Facebook http://www.facebook.com/blossomandbasket
Twitter http://twitter.com/blossombasket

My Bridal Bouquet! We incorporated flowers and crystals.  We also including feathers in various centerpieces and in my husband’s boutonniere as a surprise .

I think it’s time my husband put a call in for birthday and Valentine’s day flowers.

-Katie

You’ve nailed down your guest list. The venue is set. The menu selected. A band has been secured. Response cards have poured in. Now comes the tricky part. Creating a place card or escort card that reflects your personality and wedding theme is just as important as your other stationery pieces.

What’s more, figuring out who will sit where and with who can be just as challenging. However, there are tips that can make this task less stressful and ensure that your guests mingle and get along.

First you need to decide if you are going to have escort cards and place cards or just escort cards. What’s the difference? An escort card lets your guest know which table they are seated at and a place card directs them to a specific seat at the table.  When trying to figure out if you need both escort cards and place cards, think about how specific you want your seating to be. Once you have made the decision between having both or just escorts, the fun really begins.

Creativity in the Escort Card

Though other wedding stationery might be more formal, the escort card/place card is an area where you can have more fun and let your personalities shine. The following ideas can set the mood and help to make the day pleasant for all in attendance:  

• “Shell” them the way to their table. Will your wedding be held at a beach destination? A seashell with each guest’s name scripted on to it is a fun way to incorporate the venue into the day. Scallop shells lend an elegant note to the event, can lay flat on the escort card table and will be easy to write guests’ names on. Guests’ names can be on the outer shell with the table number written on the inside. Drilling a hole into the top of each shell and then threading a ribbon in your wedding colors through it allows guests to receive a keepsake ornament. 

Take it or “leaf” it. Are you a nature lover? Hosting fall nuptials? Why not incorporate nature into your escort cards? Since we’re in the southeast, we are fortunate enough to have a proliferation of magnolia leaves. Either glossy green or bronzed by fall temperatures, magnolia leaves are a tasteful way to bring the outdoors in. Grab a beautiful metallic pen in gold or silver and write guests’ names in calligraphy on one side of each leaf and the table number on the other. 

• Spread the love. Throwing a green wedding? Purchase seed packets and then write each guest’s name and table number on them. After the wedding, your guests can spread your love further by planting the seeds. 
• Make it a two-for-one deal. Both clever and economical, the escort card or place card can also be the favor. A bag of fine chocolates can serve as the favor, while the outer packaging can point guests to their seats. Give your guests a lavish votive candle in an equally chic box that has their name and table on it. 

Show Them to Their Place with Grace and Good Manners

Now that you’ve selected a creative escort card and/or place card, consider the following tips to ensure that all have a good time: 

• Set up your escort card table at the entrance of the reception. Being able to access table assignments and directions at the entrance to the reception will circumvent guests from wandering aimlessly.
• Be aware of where you are seating your guests in your venue. Your more senior guests want to have a good time as well. They also want to be able to hear what’s going on around them. Placing them away from the band will enable them to enjoy the festivities.  
• Mix up your place cards. Guests won’t mingle or get to know one another if you don’t mix it up a bit. Seat more outgoing guests with shier ones. Don’t place spouses or significant others right next to each other. They’ll tend to talk to one another and not the other guests at the table. Above all, do not place guests that you know don’t get along at the same table (hopefully, you don’t have this problem).

 With a little ingenuity and good planning, you can set the tone for a magical day. Inject your personality in the escort cards and/or place cards to create excitement. Then thoughtfully arrange your guests. Do both and you’re guaranteed to have a memorable wedding that everyone will enjoy.

Over 60 vendors featured at this resort in Ellicott City, Maryland.

Besides vendors there will also be ”cocktail and hors d’oeuvres displays,

a  three-course seated dinner and a fully

choreographed fashion show highlighting today’s hottest wedding trends.”

 For tickets and more information go to

http://www.turfvalley.com/baltimore-bridal-show.php

Stay warm out there!

Katie

Being a District Bride is a very fabulous thing.   We have a lively city and a great proximity to beautiful countryside in Maryland and Virginia.  If the big city prices or venue don’t appeal to you, you should look into hosting your wedding at Circle D Farm.

Circle D Farm is located in Woodbine, Maryland. It is  family owned and operated and you will be in great hands with Kate, the lead event coordinator.

Here are some more stats about Circle D Farm:

*Indoor/outdoor ceremony location. Your options are a large ballroom with an expansive balcony, a lounge with a great redskins themed bar, picnic grounds and greens complete with a gazebo that is perfect for a horse drawn carriage entrance.
*Receptions to accommodate 275
*Vaulted ceilings
*Cozy fireplace
*Large balcony to enjoy the beautiful landscape
*Complementary decorating time
*Flexible menu and bar options ~ sample ~ Herb chicken, Sliced roast beef, Baked ziti, red roasted potatoes, green beans almondine, garden salad, and, rolls. Happy to prepare family recipes or customize the menu for allergies or dietary restrictions.

For more information go to www.circledfarm.com

Happy Sunday!

Katie

http://talesofaweddingbelle.blogspot.com/

The Dandelion Patch will be hosting the Green Bride Guide author, Kate Harrison at their Vienna location who will share her “10 Simple Ways to ‘Green” Your Wedding”.

The holidays are a popular time to get engaged. Perhaps your sweetheart proposed to you in Times Square on New Year’s Eve. Your significant other might pop the question on Valentine’s Day.

 Regardless of the time and place, most newly engaged couples want to share their good news with everyone. It then begs the question: To send an engagement announcement or not? If so, what are the etiquette guidelines?

These tips will ensure that the recipients of your announcement are just as elated as you and not offended instead:

Stop the Presses!

Okay. So you are set on sending an engagement announcement. Great! But before you do, consider those who deserve to be told personally before you spread the news to the rest of the world.

If you have children from a previous marriage or relationship: In a perfect world, they will be fully prepared and expecting such an announcement. What’s more, they will be just as excited as you are. But the world isn’t perfect, so it is important that you thoughtfully break the news to them. They should be your priority, so tell them before anyone else. Encourage them to voice any concerns or questions they may have and answer them honestly. Reassure them that your fiancé/fiancée will not replace their father/mother.

Your parents: If you didn’t go the traditional route (asking the bride’s father/parents for her hand in marriage), then both sets of parents are the next to be informed and in person (or by phone if they don’t live near you). Ideally, you should be both present for this announcement and the bride’s parents are traditionally told first. Then the groom’s parents.

Relatives and close friends: Next in line are the grandparents. Tell them, then other relatives; followed by close friends, if you choose.

Announce the Big News with Style and Good Manners

Aside from announcing your engagement in the newspaper or with a party, you might consider sending engagement announcements. The engagement announcement is an ideal way to set the tone for your big day.

However, there are several etiquette dos and don’ts you should follow:

• Don’t send an announcement to anyone who will not be invited to the wedding. Plain and simple, it is poor form. It’s akin to telling a friend that you are throwing a fabulous party but not inviting them. Check and double-check your list to make sure you that you don’t make this mistake.
• Do be sure that it is worded as an engagement announcement. The last thing you want is to lead people into thinking that it is a wedding invitation (it does happen, especially to recipients like your 90-year-old Aunt Bessie). Wording will be similar to the wedding invitation but will state “Mr. and Mrs. George Smith announce the engagement of their daughter, Ann….”
• Do give recipients a general idea of when you will marry. You don’t have to include a specific date. However, it is nice to approximate a timeframe such as: “The couple plan to marry in the spring.” This allows guests to plan accordingly.
• Don’t send both a save the date card and an engagement announcement. One or the other will suffice, particularly if the engagement announcement includes the nuptial date or timeframe.
• Don’t include information about your wedding registry. In a word, tacky. Don’t worry. They’ll eventually find out where you’re registered and what you want.
• Do send the announcement promptly. There’s no point in going to the trouble and expense to send an announcement long after the actual engagement, particularly if the news has already spread. Send them shortly after the engagement.

Start your special day on the right foot. Follow these tips and you’ll set the tone for a joyous event and no hurt feelings.

It’s that time of year again for persons young and old to resolve to make themselves better.  A New Year usually means a clean slate from past grievances.  However, since most brides and grooms to be usually start the planning process prior to the year they wed, I thought it would be fun to institute some Wedding Resolutions to help keep you mentally focused for the New Year.

10.  Resolve:  Trust the people you paid for.

 Wedding vendors are hired to work for you.  They’re not long time friends, nor are they slaves.  Vendors are hired to relieve stress—not cause you any.  Be sure to do background checks on your vendors to ensure no funny business on the day of your wedding!  Also make sure your day-of coordinator has a copy of your contracts on-site to make sure you are getting what you’ve paid for.  But come the big day, do not micromanage, trust that you’ve have hired the best person for the task and enjoy the service they offer you.

9.  Resolve:  Not all ideas are good ideas…

In the age of YouTube Sensations and internet blogs, you may want to reconsider your “genius” idea if everyone you tell gives you the K face when you reveal your big idea!  You may not want to end up living in infamy like these unlucky couples who all need a serious dose of David Tutera:

8.  Resolve:  Go Against the Grain!

Don’t pull out your “Weddings by Numbers” book if you like to color outside the lines!  Weddings are a long-standing tradition, but nowhere does it say you have to be traditional in how you format your event.  If you’re a trendsetter and like standing receptions versus banquet style dinners, don’t have a seated dinner!  If dancing outweighs the inevitable (and sometimes awkward) Best Man speech, nix speeches all together and get to doing the Electric Slide.  Guests want to see your take on a “traditional” wedding, but when in doubt, see Resolution #9.

7.  Resolve:  Sweat the small stuff.

Weddings are the only time where obsessing over miniscule details matters.  Guests will have quite a bit of time to absorb all your details while they await your arrival (and dinner for that matter).  Be sure to give them something memorable or sentimental to feast their eyes on (again, keep in mind Resolution #9 if you become a bit outlandish with your creativity). 

6.  Resolve:  Thank you is more than a word…

It’s also a card you send in the mail thanking your guests for enjoying this monumental occasion with you!  Be sure to thank your friends and family for gifts as well as their presence.  And it’s suggested that you send them as soon as humanly possible, but better late than never is also a good rule of thumb.  People will feel slighted and hurt if they don’t receive a thank you (and some may go out of their way to let you know how they feel)! 

5.  Resolve:  Love doesn’t have a limit; your credit card does!

If at the commencement of your planning you’ve decided on a dollar amount not to exceed, DO NOT EXCEED IT!  Unless you’ve been gifted a pot of gold by your long lost uncle who just so happened to be a leprechaun, don’t overextend your bank account!  The last thing any new couple wants to do is start a new life in the gutter (unless your deluxe model cardboard box has electricity for you to enjoy that new blender from Aunt Jackie).

4.  Resolve:  Stick to the script.

Only Sleeping Beauty can change color schemes at the flick of a wand!  Once you’ve made a decision, DO NOT GO BACK!  Do not pass go, do not collect $200!  We’ve all heard horror stories of brides buying more than one wedding gown because she didn’t stop shopping after purchasing the first! Or cancelling venues or vendors on a whim because you opened the latest wedding mag and found something you liked more!  Wedding planning isn’t for the faint of heart! You don’t want to be the horror that a story is being told about.  Remain true to yourself and you will have the wedding of your dreams (not a wedding of the monthly magazine editor’s desire).

3.  Resolve:  Sh!t happens; but at the end of the day, you will still be married.

Unless your spouse, officiant and two witnesses are no shows; no matter what happens at your wedding, you will still be married.  I’ve been a guest at a wedding where the caterer didn’t secure the legs of the table holding the cake.  What happened to the poor cake?  The floor had a feast because that’s where the cake ended up!  The bride didn’t get to serve her cake, but she didn’t let a sugar debacle ruin her day! She still became a Mrs. and enjoyed her friends and family.  Moral of the story:  don’t go crying over spilled cake.  You can’t take it back if it happens.  Just know at the end of the day, you’re walking away with the love of your life and nothing else matters.

2.  Resolve:  Remember that you’re marrying your partner—not the wedding planner.

It’s always a testament to the strength of a future marriage when both parties are equally involved in the planning.  It’s great to have a planner who holds your hand throughout the process, but it’s even better when that same hand will be the one traveling through life with you.  Don’t allow your partner to plan your wedding alone!  Take a hands-on approach and express both your individuality as well as your persona as a couple in your wedding plans! 

1.  Resolve:  Live, Laugh, Love!

You only get one shot to enjoy your wedding day.  You have a lifetime to enjoy your marriage.  Don’t forget to smell the roses; taste everything; laugh at the groomsmen’s shenanigans; cry when your parent sees you in your gown; enjoy all that the process has to offer because you only get one day to do so!  After you say “I Do” there’s no more fiancé, there’s Mr. & Mrs. or Mrs. & Mrs. or Mr. & Mr.  Enjoy it while it lasts…

 Happy New Year to all DBG Engaged Couples!

(Photo Courtesy of Ryan Este Photography)

______________________________________________________________

Sharia Barksdale is the CEO & Director of Events at Socialite Event Management; a Washington, DC based event & wedding planning boutique.

You get engaged and show off your bling, bling ring to the BFFs. There are “ooohs” and “aaahs” all around. You dance giddily with your gal pals. Then suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, the room falls silent. Perhaps it’s your mind that goes to that awful place. More likely, it’s one of your friends (ever so secretly) thinking, “Will she turn into a bridezilla now???!!!”

I know. I know. You will NEVER be that girl, right? If I’ve learned anything during my 16 years in the wedding stationery/planning business it is that you never say “never”. I have seen brides who appeared calmer than the Dali Lama at the onset, only to turn into raging bridezillas. Most of the time, they didn’t see it coming either (though I’m sure some of their bridesmaids and friends did).

There are several things that can ease the stress and smooth out the frayed nerves and hurt feelings:

• Be proactive. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure as Ben Franklin said. If you take a proactive approach to planning your wedding, you’ll automatically reduce your potential for stressful situations. Enlist the help of family and friends. Hire a wedding planner to oversee the details and ensure that you get hitched without a hitch. If you’re a do-it-yourselfer, pick up a pretty wedding organizer or utilize similar software to keep you on track and sane. A useful tip is to create a storyboard including preferred color palettes, backdrops and interests.
• Choose a starting point and build out from there.  You know that a theme for your wedding is an essential part of creating a memorable event. Start with your theme and build out from there. Once you know whether you’re having a traditional wedding or an unconventional one, a beach versus a county or city venue as well as other specifics, it will be much easier to plan the remaining details and will result in a more cohesive event. Not sure which direction you want to go? Not to worry. A wedding planner or your stationery vendor can help. They’ll ask you questions about your likes and dislikes, how you and your fiancée met, etc. From there, they’ll guide you in selecting the appropriate invitations, reception venues and more. The aforementioned story board can provide useful information for your planner or stationery vendor.
• Respect the professionals. Though you are paying them good money to assist you with your wedding, it doesn’t entitle you to treat them like indentured servants. Give them the respect they’re due and they undoubtedly will go above and beyond to ensure that your special day is beautiful, memorable and seamless.
• Be kind to your wedding party. True. They have agreed to serve as your bridesmaids. However, please do not take it literally (the maid part). Treat them as you would like to be treated if the roles were reversed (and they could be and we all know that payback can be brutal). Encourage them to take an active role in the planning (if you wish) and festivities. Then be sure to express your appreciation with a thoughtful (and preferably personalized) bridal party gift.
• Show your appreciation for your guests too. Some may have gone to great trouble and expense to share in your day. And no matter how great the food and how furiously the open bar is flowing, they still deserve a token of appreciation from you. The wedding favor is an opportunity to seal the deal and leave a lasting impression of your wedding.

A bride who plans well is a bride who fares well on her wedding day. Heed the advice above and you’ll most assuredly be the coolest, calmest and most collected bride of 2011.

One of the last items on your epic  wedding to do list is  buying groomsmen gifts. If you interested in getting them a fun and unique gift they will use consider Bear Pong ( trust me they already have enough engraved flasks).

Bear Pong is a Maryland based oversized portable beer pong game. There is no hassle of lugging a table around and you won’t be drinking beer with grass in it.

It makes the perfect gift for the a ( or bridesmaid)  that love games, tailgating, and like to have a good time. It even makes a great last minute Christmas gift!

Besides being an attendant gift, Bear Pong would be great to bring out to your wedding’s after party, down time on your wedding weekend or bachelor party, the option are endless!

I just played it this past weekend at a Holiday party, and it is alot of fun!

For more information, funny videos  and to buy Bear Pong visit http://bearpong.com

Have a great Holiday!

Katie

http://talesofaweddingbelle.blogspot.com/