Featured Wedding-Andy & Elizabeth | Four Seasons 5.17.09

All Images by Altf.com Photography

Your Las Vegas Wedding Concierge had the great pleasure of planning & directing the absolutely beautiful (if I do say so myself) wedding of Andy & Elizabeth at the always elegant Four Seasons Resort, Las Vegas this past May 17th. 

It has been one of my absolute favorite weddings this year for so many reasons beginning of course with a couple who I have come to know & love over the past 15 months. 

The wedding locations took some twists and turns from when we first started out but, I'm a firm believer in "beshert" (Hebrew for "destined to be") & the celebration could not have been more perfect than in the gorgeous Fountain Terrace of the Four Seasons thanks to the fantastic Asst. Director of Catering, Dennis Silknitter. 

Andy & Elizabeth incorporated not only the beautiful green color but also as many "Green" elements they could into their wedding. From cutting down on paper & having an elegant seating chart/menu combination to bio-fueled luxury transportation for guests and environmentally, socially responsible wedding bands, the affair reflected this couples wish to celebrate in style & with respect for the environment. 

It was a wonderful evening and truly a celebration of love, family & friends enjoying a beautiful environment, a fabulous Las Vegas night, delectable food & drink (Donut Bar & Eskimo Pies included) & live entertainment all night long. It wasn't just a wedding, it was a PARTY!!

Thank you to the unbelievable, talented team of Wedding Professionals who made this event such a success. It's a pleasure & honor to work alongside you. You make me look GREAT & you all ROCK!

Weddings like this & couples like Elizabeth & Andy are why I truly love my job!

• Tifany of Gourmet Invitations for the amazing custom "linen inspired" invitations & reception pieces. 
  
• Randi of Naakiti Floral & Sit on This Chair for the gorgeous florals, decor, linens & chairs who is just a joy to work with & always goes above & beyond my expectations.
  
• The uber-talented John Michael & Dalisa Cooper of Alt F Photography. It took 6 years to work with you FINALLY, & it was worth the wait:)-I'm going to make sure it won't take that long again. 
  
• Lori White who is one of my absolute favorite hair & makeup stylists to work with. 
  
• SWANK A/V for those super cool light balloons.
  
• The Steve Beyer Band for keeping us rockin' all night long.
  
• Vegas Photo Booths for all the photo fun. What WAS going on inside that cabana?;)!!
  
• Pat Harris & the awesome Sight N' Sound Events Video Team
  
• Nicole from Earth Limos for the Eco-Luxury Rehearsal Dinner Transportation
  

And Thank YOU Andy & Elizabeth for allowing me to be a part of your lives this past year & help you bring your vision of your wedding to life. It was truly an honor & pleasure! Mazal Tov you two & may you have a long life (120 years or so) full of good fortune, good health, lots of laughs and of course, much love all ways and for always! X0

T.

Wedding Concierge Goes Green for WIPA in the OC!!

Ceremony setup at Italian Wedding Rotunda by the ocean, Pelican Hill Resort

Your Las Vegas Wedding Concierge  is in Newport Beach, California right now enjoying the beautiful weather, the ocean and a gorgeous morning. 

I am in town to attend the May 6th meeting of   WIPA, (Wedding Industry Professionals Association)  being held at the luxurious 5 diamond Resort at Pelican Hill.

I could not think of  a more beautiful and natural setting, against the majestic Pacific Ocean backdrop, to focus on the topic of "Green Weddings" for this event. I am looking forward to this program as we will not only learn about how to plan environmentally sustainable and socially conscious events but how high end venues, resorts and wedding professionals are helping couples marry their wedding vision and their wish to incorporate "green" ideas and elements into a great, personal wedding style.

I look forward to sharing what I learn and pictures as well. 

I will be back in Las Vegas on Thursday. Have a fabulous & Stylish Day!!

Virtually Yours-6 Sites for Sending Stylish, "Cents"sible, Sociable & Eco-Conscious Invites & Cards!

Logos - by lvwedconcierge on Polyvore.com"

When I was a young girl, one of my favorite things to do was go the stationery/paper store and buy all kinds of papers, boxed card sets, pens, stickers and more. I loved sending them from camp, to my friends and used them to send "lovely notes" (that sometimes my mother had to remind me to write-thanks Mom!) of thanks to friends and family for gifts, sleep-overs, etc.

I STILL love going to the stationery store and visiting stationery sites and now it's a bonus as looking for great invitations & correspondence is part of my job as a wedding planner.

There is NO substitute for the special touch that a hand written note that says "thank you" or "thinking of you" or "You are Invited" brings. 

However, in these constant on the go days of instant internet communication, Face book, twittering, etc, many people (especially generations who have grown up with computers) are taking less time to write as they feel they are always "on" with their friends anyway. Sad:(

I will always recommend a hand written note when it comes to sending "Thank You" cards to your wedding guests but there are some really great sites these days that allow you to correspond with your friends, business associates and even wedding guests in a stylish, economical (since cost of stamps are going up again) and environmentally conscience way. Many of them also feature Social Media interaction as well with connectivity to Face book and twitter. 

Here are 6 of my recent favorites and yes, I have tried and use them all! 

• Merry Ribbon: A real folded card that you open (with a custom design option) comes out of a real envelope. This is a very new product/site so the stock images are limited for now.
  
• Iomoi E-Stationery: Stylish and oh so chic designs allow you to email cards and invitations with Style! Also LOVE their lucite trays, coasters, printed cards, calling cards and other products. One of my latest obsessions. 
  
• Plaxo Premium E-Cards: Part of the Plaxo suite of services that make it easy to send a greeting or customized greeting (upload your own). 
  
• Sendomatic.com: All of the many designs can be used as either a card, announcement or invitation for social or business use with RSVP, polling, mapping, weather features and more. Invitation delivery includes envelope or stylish blue box. Small fees to guest lists 5-100 ++
  
• Pingg.com: Create a card or invitation with email, print, web, SMS, Facebook & twitter interaction. Very cool!
• Evite.com: Online invitation site that has been around for a little while & still going strong!

I just found out about Pingg.com from my friend Rachel Globus at Event Solutions Magazine through twitter! 

As a cost saving or time saving option for inviting people to a wedding or any kind of party, these sites 

(especially the last 3) give you so many amazing options for communicating in Style with your guests.

Remember you should still follow proper letter writing and invitation etiquette, even online!

Virtually yours,

Tracey

Wedding Concierge Clients Invitations Featured on Gourmet Invitations!

"Black & White Ribbon" Linen from Cloth Connection

Invitation Ensemble Image appears courtesy of Gourmet Invitations

Your Las Vegas Wedding Concierge has been having a blast working with an amazing local Las Vegas couple, Elizabeth & Andy, on their May 2009 wedding at the gorgeous Four Seasons, Las Vegas Resort

Elizabeth follows my blog (smart lady she is!) and discovered Tifany Wunschl from Gourmet Invitations in Detroit, MI when I featured her Seating Charts on my blog.

Being a couple who are very concerned about the environment and who wanted to make their wedding as "green" as possible including reducing paper, the Seating Chart/Menu was a stylish choice. Fortunately, Elizabeth & Andy decided to go one step further and work with Tifany on creating their wedding stationery ensemble as well. 

After selecting their signature linen (seen above), through Cloth Connection, it became the element to tie their black and white and green-"green" wedding together. Elizabeth asked Tifany if she could create an invitation inspired by the linen design. 

And boy oh boy, did she get inspired! What a beautiful creation this invitation ensemble is!

We are all so thrilled with the results which you can see featured on the Gourmet Invitations Blog and it is such a perfect reflection of this couple and I can't wait to see them in person; along with the other reception pieces including the Seating Chart that started this creative ball rolling. 

THANK YOU TIFANY for being such an amazing partner to work with and for your brilliant creativity in helping Elizabeth & Andy to bring their design vision to life. 

Bridal Fashion Goes Glamorous & Green from the Inside & Out

The "Double Dare" Gown by Hanna Hartnell

Santa Monica, California based gown designer Hanna Hartnell, whose beautiful and Hollywood glamorous gowns have been worn by celebrities from Barbara Streisand to Gwyneth Paltrow, has designed a real triple threat gown that Your Las Vegas Wedding Concierge thinks is a fantastic idea.

I received an email today from Hanna about this sexy  "Double Dare" gown she has designed that is both pocketbook and green friendly. This wedding gown style has a lot going for it on the INSIDE!

The "Double Dare" gown collection is very attractively priced for a bridal gown at $1,200-$1,800, but with a completely different color fabric, all you truly savvy and stylish soon to be newlywed readers of mine can get double use by turning it out and stepping out to another occasion in a whole new dress! 

"Here’s how it works – by simplifying the sensuous elegance inherent to her gowns, she found that the sophisticated construction allowed her to line the gowns in the same silk as the gown itself – but with a different divine color the dress becomes REVERSIBLE! Available in three different designs, a well placed side slit gives a peek at the gown’s secret life to be lived at some future date… a guest at another’s wedding, a dressy night on the honeymoon or a slow dance on their anniversary. A glorious flower pin made of both colors pulls everything together perfectly on each side.

As an avowed “greenie”, Hanna wanted the gowns to have a double impact – and what could be more Green and Financially sustainable than a reusable, recycled and reduced wedding gown – if you want to cut your gown to dinner length, they'll be happy to do it for you at Hartnell. A double treat for your checkbook, the planet and you!" *From Hanna Hartnell PR Email.*

Love it!  

I have always encouraged my brides to consider double duty gowns that are definitely "bridal" but can perhaps carry them through to the honeymoon and beyond; especially with the anything goes nature and sexy sophistication of Las Vegas. These sleek, glamorous gowns (as with all of Hanna's designs), remind me of the way women dressed to go out on the town here with their handsome debonairly dressed gentlemen grooms. I would love to to see that trend return. Nothing looks sexier and more stylish than a happy, lucky-in-love, good looking and well turned out couple; not just in Las Vegas, but anywhere!

Wedding Seating Charts Get Creative in Replacing "the place card".

Your Las Vegas Wedding Concierge is loving wedding seating charts these days! 

I find myself scouring the internet for all kinds of examples but there are just so many kinds; from elegant to funky, ecru to the wildest colors and beyond, simple table plan to including wedding party, the reception menu, quotes and beyond. 

One of my favorite sites I have found with some really pretty & creative ones is my new friend in Detroit, Tiffany Wunschl of Gourmet Invitations. All the work on her beautiful invitations and paper products are of great and unique quality and I love how she incorporates all the pieces such as the seating chart together. Check out her gallery on her website.

There are many advantages to using a seating chart over place cards even though you still do have to do your home work to create the initial seating plan.

1. Eliminate the tedious and painstaking and time consuming job of writing everyone's name on little 3x5 cards.

2. Save some "green" by not having to buy special place card holders.

3. Go "green" and again, save some green by incorporating your reception menu into the seating chart instead of creating menus for every place setting.

4. Your custom seating chart, can be custom framed and be a wonderful memento of your wedding as most are created in sizes at least 16"x20" and will stay in perfect shape all night long (unlike place cards).

5. You may save money on linen & additional floral & decor by not having to decorate a place card table.

6. You can get much more creative with your design, your font, colors as well as opting for a photo chart, interesting backgrounds etc. that you couldn't dream of with place cards.

7. Generally, seating charts are easier for guests to see as well. Instead of squinting and bending to locate their card, guests can comfortably find their name.

Another company I have enjoyed working with is Documents and Designs who also create very stylish wedding seating charts as well in addition to other wedding ceremony & reception stationery items (programs, place cards, table holders, etc.). They have some very elegant designs, monogram styles, flourishes, florals and more and you can customize anything you can dream up as well. 

Have a Stylish Day.

Tag, I'm it! The Wedding Concierge Takes on the Green Challenge

My friend Mark Kingsdorf, the fabulous Queen of Hearts Wedding Consultant in Philadelphia, PA, has tagged me to take on the "Green Challenge" and list 3 things that I am doing either in my company or home to reduce the impact on the environment & then tag 5 more of my blogger friends to do the same...so here it is...

1) The majority of my marketing materials are distributed in digital format by email in the form of a PDF brochure to minimize paper, printing and ink and is only printed "on-demand" on recycled paper. Furthermore, the bulk of my marketing budget (98%) goes to internet marketing and not print marketing which also promotes using less paper.

2) We conserve energy in our home by using energy efficient lightbulbs throughout, leaving lights off that we are not using, and take advantage of the dry desert air by air drying much of our laundry instead of the dryer.

3) We have installed a filter for our cold water at home so we don't need to purchase cases of bottled water.

So now, it's your turn...

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