Meghan knew what bridesmaid dresses she wanted even before she found her own dress! She knew she wanted navy blue, and had seen the dresses through a friends pictures on facebook. She did some research and found they were Twobirds Bridesmaid dresses. They were perfect, that is all except the price! Since Meghan was getting married in Philadelphia, her entire bridal party would be traveling from out of town. That means they would have to pay for flights and accommodations. Adding a $260 dress seemed a bit lavish. But, her bridesmaids were all willing to pay the hefty price for the perfect bridesmaid dress. After months of debating, Meghan searched the internet desperate to find a different dress, at a better price. And...she did!!! In fact she found the same dress made by isadoraclothing on etsy. The price $124, even better! I have to say Meghan was on pins and needles until the day they showed up. She had her fiancé take one out of the box and text her a picture while she was at work, and as soon as she was at home she tried one on and sent all her girls a picture of how perfect they turned out! The dresses were exactly what she wanted and at a great price. We would recommend isadoraclothing to anyone looking for a dress that is suitable for any body type, elegant, yet different! So, now that we found the perfect dress, we were on the hunt for some cool shoes to spice it up...yep that means green shoes! We found them after weeks of internet searching and reading many blogs about "green shoes!" We found the perfect pair on zappos, they are Nina Electra Apple Green, not only do they look great, but they are pretty comfortable for a 4" heel! The price, after a sale on zappos, $69.00! photos by The Studio B Photography
1 Comment
The venue Meghan and Taylor picked was beyond perfect! But, we wanted to bring in some color to the white chairs that filled the white space...our idea Pomander/Kissing Balls! Their colors are navy and green so the perfect flower to use is green button mums. They are easy to work with, can be found year round and are relatively cheap. They also last for days! First we wanted to make a prototype to see what size we wanted, how many flowers and pins and ribbon it would take to complete the project. Here is a tip, use Styrofoam balls instead of oasis balls. Any florist will tell you the opposite. We tried both, and the Styrofoam balls worked best. The oasis balls are more expensive and were VERY heavy, in fact the flowers did not stay secure and were droopy the day after we made them. First we wrapped navy ribbon around the Styrofoam balls and pinned them into place creating a loop at the top perfect to hang over the chairs. Next we began pinning the flowers around the ball using pearl colored corsage pins. For a cheaper option you could use straight pins. We liked the added effect of the pearl pins. We used a 4" ball and it took about 80 flowers to cover the entire ball. We averaged that each ball cost $10-$12. The florist quoted us a minimum of $20 a ball. We made 16 balls one for the flower girl and two ring bearer pillows. These were made just like the balls only using rectangles. To make sure the flowers did not shed we sprayed them with Aqua Net hairspray, and it worked! I did tons of research and used, The Flower Exchange and ordered the fowers 6 weeks before the wedding. The flowers were delivered on Wednesday and we placed them in buckets of water to make sure they were good and hydrated. We completed them Thursday before the wedding and hung them in my garage using a clothing rack hanger fit for my car. Side note: The temp was 40-50 degrees outside. We had also purchased tall glass vases from Target for $1.99 a piece so that after the ceremony they Pomander Balls could be used for additional decoration. photo by The Studio B Photography photo by The Studio B Photography
We would like to offer one happy couple a FREE wedding planner from Kyle Michelle Weddings for the day of your wedding! Who: Couples getting married who would love to have a professional in charge of the last minute details on the day of your wedding! What: A FREE wedding planner at your service for your "Big Day" valued at $1500! See Services page for details. When: If you are getting married between June and September 2011! Where: The South Jersey, Philadelphia area! Why: Beacuse you deserve to be pampered on your big day! How: To enter to win a "Big Day" package you will need to: 1. Tell us a brief story about how you and your fiance met. 2. Provide us with the date, time, location and a few details about your wedding. 3. Submit a photo of you and your fiance, not a professional picture. 4. Submit a testimonial about our services after event. 5. Allow Kyle Michelle Weddings to use your professional pictures on our website and in our portfolio. 6. Sign a contract for a FREE "Big Day" service and a Multi-Media Photo Release Agreement. Please submit your entries to kristin@kylemichelleweddings.com Winner will be contacted and announced May 10th 2011. So HURRY! Good Luck! Kristin Kyle Owner/Wedding Planner Kyle Michelle Weddings photo by The Studio B Photography
This will be an on going blog, highlighting all the different and unique touches that made Meghan and Taylor's day just as they invisioned! Our first project was the centerpieces. The reality is, flowers are crazy expensive! According to The Bridal Association of America, an average bride spends $1970 on flowers and $1272 on centerpieces alone. And although flowers can be gorgous, we felt that candles were the way to go! Our theme developed into old Philadelphia, meets new Philadelphia. Meghan wanted a contemporary twist on 1900 century Philadelphia. She thought of lantern centerpieces! So we searched the internet and the found the perfect lanterns at IKEA! image source: IKEA They are $15.00 and large enough to support our 60" round tables we had selected. Meghan decided she liked the look of three candles all of different sizes. (Side note; one large candle would work fine to save on cost.) We searched the internet looking for inexpensive candles and came across www.candles4less.com. After purchasing the candles and lanterns we headed to the dining room table to decide how we wanted the centerpiece to look. We knew candles in a lantern were just too simple! After playing around with it for hours we decided to wrap Navy and Green ribbon around all three candles. Next, the table names. We came up with the idea to use famous people who represented Philadelphia. For example, Betsy Ross and Rocky Balboa. We took cream cardstock and cut it into recktangles. We then put our father on the mission of burning the edges, adding an old look to the paper. Our mother then used her caligraphy skills and wrote out all the table names. We placed the table name in front of the three candles and secured it with a corsage pin. Done!
If you didn't see it Friday night, TLC loves their reruns so check it out, Say Yes to the Dress; Randy Knows Best, 10 Biggest Bridal Mistakes! It was short and sweet, funny and completely out of context! Meghan was very prepared, she had pictures and in fact told Audrey specifically what she wanted, what they failed to show; they didn't have the dress she wanted! So, back to dress shopping, t he next day we had two appointments, at bridal salons. And yes, they were scheduled for the correct day and time! The first place we visited was, Jay West Bridal in Haddonfield, NJ. Meghan was able to look through the racks and pick and choose what dresses she would try on. She chose 6 or 7 dresses. I have to say the girl we had was young, but she was fun and completely open to Meghan finding her perfect dress. Meghan liked a couple, but none were "her dress!" Even the flower girl Reagan got into shopping that day! After a brief stop at Starbucks, we headed to our next appointment at The Bridal Garden, in Marlton, NJ. The Bridal Garden is set up much like Kleinfeld’s. You sit in a room; tell the consultant what you want and she goes and fetches what she thinks you want. The first dress came in and Meghan's face lit up! She put the dress on and I think she knew it was the one. My mom and I loved it, and were waiting for her to tell us she loved it too! It was a contender and she sent Mary Ellen off to find more dresses. She came back with two more, one was a no from the moment she put it on, but there was another one that caught Meghan's eye. But, it just wasn't perfect. In Meghan's words, "I've never been a simple personality," and this dress was much too simple! So, back to the first dress-the Kenneth Pool, not too simple, but a very elegant dress! Meghan called her fiancé and the deal was done! Editors Note: DO NOT SHOP AT THE BRIDAL GARDEN. MORE INFORMATION TO FOLLOW.
o With the venue booked, our next step, finding the perfect dress! We booked two days of wedding dress shopping, February 13th and 14th 2010. Since we live about an hour and half from NYC we had to make the trip to Kleinfelds! As the maid of honor and wedding planner I booked the appointment months in advance to be sure we could get a good time and the weekend our mother would be in town. One problem, as I proceeded to check in at the front desk we realized that we were there a day early!!!! Yes, that's right, I booked the appointment for Sunday Feb. 14th and we were there Saturday the 13th. I was mortified, Meghan was mad and our mother, she was ready to take the train back to Philly and return on Sunday. Luckily the gracious people at Kleinfelds squeezed us in! At this point we were all a little frazzled! I suppose that is why moments later we were approached by the producer of Say Yes to The Dress! I assume they saw there might be drama with this crew and before we knew it we were signing papers and being mic'd up to be filmed for the show. I have to be honest, I was very excited! The process is much different than it appears on TV. We were treated like any other bride and told to be seated and wait for our consultant to come get us. Soon, Audrey arrived and took us back to the room. At this point everyone was acting like we weren’t mic'd, the odd thing...camera people everywhere. Your only instructions were not to look into the camera, my natural instinct...to look into the camera. Meghan was seated and Audrey started to ask her about her budget, her fiancé, and her perfect dress. Meghan was very prepared. She knew exactly the type of dress she wanted. She had pictures and was ready to purchase her dress from Kleinfelds. For most people Meghan would be your perfect bride. Apparently, not so much! My mom and I were seated in the hallway while Meghan got ready for Audrey to bring her dresses. We waited, and waited, finally Audrey appeared with two or three dresses. As they passed in front of us I was shocked at what Audrey had picked. I distinctly remember leaning over to get Meghan's attention and telling her she better be honest and tell her that's not what she's looking for. Here's a little back story on Meghan, she doesn't like to hurt people's feeling or make it awkward in anyway. She is the opposite of confrontational, that's what I 'm there for.
It was time for her to come out in the first dress. It was nice, the right shape and style, just not perfect. We were pleased that at least we were headed in the right direction. Back in the room Meghan went and there in the hallway sat my mom and me. At this point a producer popped out from behind the corner to ask us questions and to get us discussing the dress Meghan had just tried on. I guess we were just sitting there staring at each other and maybe that doesn't make for good TV. Audrey was now off searching their 1,700 dresses in hopes of finding Meghan her perfect dress. It was about 15 or 20 minutes later and Audrey appeared with two dresses, and smelling like cigarette smoke...interesting! Anyway, Meghan appeared soon after in another dress, it was even closer to what she wanted, however you could see it in her face, and it wasn't the one. Onto the next dress. Again my mom and I were instructed to discuss Meghan and the dress. About 10 minutes later Meghan appeared in dress number 3... So, I'm not going to tell you anymore. Now you need to watch Say Yes to The Dress this Friday April 15th at 9:30pm to find out if Meghan said Yes! We did it all, from vendors to decor. Meghan and Taylor's vision came to life as we spent many hours preparing for the big day. It started February 2010. After days of searching online for the perfect venue, we planned a day in Philadelphia to tour two venues. One, the Seaport Museum. It was different, not your normal hotel. One problem, the most beautiful part about the space was the rooftop view of Philadelphia, and the wedding was planned for March. Our next, and last stop, The Trust Venue! From the moment we parked the car we knew we had found the place. The entrance was grand! It was unique and interesting. We fell in love with the space, a blank canvas, ready for us to design the perfect wedding.
|