Some We Love

We all know the Wedding World changes everyday. It can be hard to keep up with current trends and awesome ideas by just reading quarterly publication. So, this post is all about the blogs we follow for new ideas, inspiration, and well, fun. But be warned - once you start reading these blogs, you'll be as hooked as we are!

The Off Beat Bride

The Off Beat Bride is one of my favorites! (Yes, it's totally worth italics and an exclamation point. It's that awesome.) Off Beat features weddings that are just that - off beat. The "Wedding Porn" tab features real weddings from around the country and what new and innovative ideas the couple's incorporate. Every article has great pictures of wedding and insights from the bride about her funniest moment and what surprisingly turned out to be a hit.

My absolute favorite part of this blog is the "DIY" section. It's got the best ideas! They're out of the box, fun, and crafts you an actually do. One of my pet peeves about some DIY projects is that they're impossible to do or to find all the things you need. These aren't like that. And the instructions are realistic; one of them actually lists "patience" as one of the things you'll need for the project. I appreciate knowing that upfront before getting in over my head.

Green Wedding Shoes

The best thing about Green Wedding Shoes is the "Real Weddings" section. They include a great range of weddings, from backyard to vintage. I love how real the coverage of these weddings is. Every one of these weddings includes a truly personal touch from the bride and groom. You almost feel like you've met the couple by browsing through their wedding page and seeing how they added their personality to their big day.

I also love the "Inspiration Board" section under the "Galleries" tab. This is an awesome resource for both the bride looking for her colors and the bride who's decided on her palette. Need theme inspiration? Look here for that too. These inspiration boards offer beautiful images and ideas to kick start your wedding decorations. (My favorite is Inspiration Board #26 because I adore travelling!)

While we love these two blogs, they aren't the only ones. Check back for more "Some We Love" posts!

Words For Our Work with the 2010 Chapel Hill-Carrboro Holiday Parade

On Saturday, December 11, 2010, we were part of the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Holiday Parade. The parade drew thousands of oberservers to downtown Chapel Hill and Carrboro to see over eighty festive parade floats made by local community groups, non-profit organizations, and area businesses.

Words from our Client:

I am writing to give my recommendation to Natasha Wayne for her excellent services as event planner. In the summer of 2010, I volunteered as a member of the Chapel Hill Jaycees to lead preparations for the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Holiday parade, taking place in December of that year. Our local chapter hired Ms. Wayne to assist with parade planning and organization details.

Throughout the time Ms. Wayne and I worked together, Ms. Wayne was diligent, energetic and detail-oriented. From the onset she offered innovative strategies to economically market the event. She kept on task, made sure we met important deadlines, and offered creative approaches in all facets of planning. I was also impressed with her leadership skills and the care she took to maintain the Jaycees’ stylistic preferences for the occasion.

The 2010 Chapel Hill-Carrboro Holiday Parade was a great success, in large part because of Ms. Wayne’s conscientious efforts. Without hesitation, I would reselect her to plan any future event on our calendar.

Sincerely,

Katherine Bandy

2010 Chapel Hill-Carrboro Holiday Parade
Saturday, December 11, 2010

Happy Birthday to Us!

Today is a very exciting day for Natasha F. Wayne Events. It's our first birthday! A year ago today, we signed our first wedding clients. Since then, we have been involved in three weddings, a dance marathon fundraiser, and a parade.

We've come a long way in a year. Thank you every one who has helped us this year and all our clients who took a chance on a small, start up event planning company

It's been a great year and we're looking forward to turning 2!

WE tv Wedding Mall Tour

Today the WE tv Wedding Mall Tour came to Streets of Southpoint Mall in Durham. Mark Ingram of WE tv was in attendance, shaking hands and offering tips to brides-to-be.

I met several awesome local vendors at the event as well. The first was David Cox of Arthur Murray Dance Studio. David recommends that couples begin taking dance lessons six months before their wedding days. The studio offers classes of all kinds of dance from the Argentine Tango to the Waltz. And dance classes aren't just for the bride and groom. The professionals at the studio are happy to help parents prepare for Mother/Son and Father/Daughter dances also.

I also met Theresa Syros of Celebration Photobooth. I had seen photo booths in bridal magazines before, but never been able to try one out. It was really a blast! The company offers photo booths for all kinds of events, including weddings. Someone from the company stays with the booth all times to troubleshoot any problems, so no one misses out on the fun. Guests can take photos in the booth all night long and post them to a memory book with their well wishes to the bride and groom. Celebration Photobooth is also available for birthdays, anniversaries, fundraisers...and just about any other event.

Quick Tip: Fabric Color Swatches

I got this little tip from a friend of mine who works in a bridal dress shop. When you get the color swatch of the fabric for your bridesmaids dresses, take the swatch to a paint store. Compare it to the paint sample cards until you find the closest match, then grab a bunch of them. Use these for the florist, to match shoes, or anytime you need to pick out items in the wedding colors. Pass out the cards and you'll never lose your original swatch.

You can also use paint samples when trying to decide what your wedding colors will be. Grab a bunch of samples that catch your eye and try matching them to each other. Mix and match your favorite cards before making your final orders. This will help keep you from being surprised by poorly matching colors on your big day.

Image courtesy of http://tangledeye.com/pages/plenty/paint_samples.html.

Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Patrick!

On September 19th, Angie and Jeremy got married! I loved working with them throughout the planning of thier wedding, and wish them all the happiness in the world.

Words from the Bride and Groom

"We knew from the start that we weren't interested in a long engagement, so we started looking into planning our wedding almost immediately after getting engaged. We had a vague idea of what we wanted our wedding to be like, but after diving into the world of planning, we were feeling quite overwhelmed. Fortunately, a friend referred us to Natasha. Natasha helped get us on track with a timeline of what needed to happen when, suggestions on where to get supplies, gathering venue information, taking care of the wedding decorations, and even helping us put together our DIY favors! Having Natasha as our wedding planner was SUCH a relief and a huge help. With only five months to plan, Natasha helped us have a BEAUTIFUL wedding that we've gotten tons of compliments on. Natasha got our wedding on track, has an abundance of knowledge in event planning, and was so easy to get along with! We highly recommend her!"

- Jeremy and Angie Patrick

Make It Your Own!

We all know that a wedding is the most important day in a couple's life. It should also be one of the most personal events of their lives also.

There are millions of ways to incorporate personal touches into a wedding. Personal touches aren't just making sure that your color theme is carried through everything from the bridesmaid dresses to the favors. It's adding those little things that scream "YOU!"

Using your own skills is a great way to put a personal touch on your wedding day. The centerpiece and favor to the right are from a wedding I attended last spring. The bride designed the artwork on the favor bag: two birds kissing under a heart. These love birds were tied into every part of the ceremony and reception from the save-the-date cards to the favor bags. In addition to the bird graphic, an ornamental bird cage was used to collect cards from guests on the gift table. By carrying the bird imagery throughout the wedding, the bride and groom put their own stamp on their big day.

Including a personal story is another great way to make your wedding say "you". The roses to the left are actually an example of how one couple was able to tie their history into their wedding. When the couple met, the groom wanted to bring the bride a gift on their first date. The groom taught himself how to make the origami roses seen here and took them to the bride as a gift. On their wedding day, the couple chose to share this part of their history with friends and family by making origami roses as favors. The roses are red and yellow to match the day's color scheme. In this way, the couple was able to both honor their own love story and share it with those they care for.

Remember that your wedding day is ultimately yours. It should reflect who you and your fiance's tastes and the little things that make you the couple you are.