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.

Franklin Hotel's 2nd Annual Bridal Boutique

I went to the Franklin Hotel's 2nd Annual Bridal Boutique in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, yesterday. This was the first time I'd ever been inside the Franklin Hotel. The hotel itself is beautiful! The lobby is inviting

The expo featured some of the area's best vendors. I sampled foods from Saffron of Chapel Hill, an Indian restaurant in Chapel Hill. It was AMAZING! The flavors were astounding and really popped. I was shocked at variety flavors, spices, and just plain deliciousness of their dishes. I didn't expect so much flavor to be packed into such a small bite. Saffron offers catering for weddings and is willing to travel. If you don't use them for an event, definitely try out their restaurant. I'm sure you'll like it!

For desert I sampled cupcakes from The Chocolate Door on Franklin Street. I tried the Mayan truffle cupcake. SO delicious! The Chocolate Door can take any of their chocolate truffle flavors and turn them into cupcakes. They can also do truffles in a variety of colors to create favors for events.

The best thing about Saffron and The Chocolate Door, as well as almost all the other vendors at the Franklin Hotel Bridal Boutique? They're all local. What better way to add a personal touch to your wedding than by buying local and supporting your town?

Our First Event!

This was our first event as Natasha F. Wayne Events! It was a dance marathon fundraiser for UNC and Duke Children's Hospitals. We were hired by the Wake Forest-Rolesville Middle School SOS Club to assist with publicity, contracting, and logistics. The dance marathon took place on Friday, June 4, 2010 at The Factory in Wake Forest, North Carolina.

This was the line to get into the dance. People were waiting outside the building! Everyone was so excited!

The evening featured a laser light show during dancing.

Check out that crowd! The event drew over 500 students from the Wake County School District.

Here all the students are waiting to hear the grand total raised in 2010 ... $18,033!

To see more event pictures, visit our Facebook album.

Awesome Raleigh Venues: North Carolina Museum of History

We're still exploring Raleigh's coolest and most unique venues. This time, it's the North Carolina Museum of History.

The building itself is amazing. Built out of marble and glass, the museum looks sleek, clean, and elegant. Even the steps entering the building are impressive. Imagine yourself walking down these all decked out in a wedding gown, or your guests milling on the landing while they sip cocktails. Pretty great image, isn't it?

The museum allows the use of the lower level of the building for large seated receptions. Your guests walk up marble stairs and through giant glass doors to enter the lobby. This venue is the ultimate is elegance, making your guests feel like stars before they even get inside. The lobby opens up to reveal the staircase and seating area.

While the museum exhibits are usually closed after hours, you can arrange for your guests to have special access during your event. Right now the museum is featuring an exhibit of a 1920s Drugstore. The picture to the right is of an old fashioned drugstore counter. The photo opportunities are endless!

The North Carolina Museum of History is an awesome Raleigh venue, and a great place to spend an afternoon. The staff are very helpful and willing to share information and photos of past events. During my visit, they allowed me to view pictures of previous events as well as watch the set up for a wedding taking place that evening. The building is exquisite, modern and can accommodate large parties. The lobby can hold up to 200 people at a seated dinner or 500 at a standing reception.

Keep this venue in mind the next time you're in the market for an event space, or drop by when you're looking for something interesting to do on a Saturday afternoon.

For more information on renting the North Carolina Museum of History, visit their website.