Stylish Events

Image from the knot {photography by Belathee Photography}

Sophie’s Question: I love your blog and advice that you give to brides. I’m hoping you can help me with a dilemma I’m having. I’m getting married this May and our color palette is light pink, chocolate brown and cream. We’re having a brunch wedding reception in order to cut some costs. We’ve decided to serve mimosas and bloody mary’s as the two main alcoholic beverages, but we wanted to have a non-alcoholic signature drink. I really wanted something light pink to match our color palette, but I can’t think of anything. Any ideas?

April’s Answer: Hi Sophie! Thanks for writing in to Stylish Events and for the kind words. I do think I can help you. As soon as I read your question, an idea popped into my head: strawberry milk! It’s cheap and will look so cute, especially if you add some individual stirrer sticks to each one. They could say something like, “loves never been sweeter” or “be mine.” I hope this helps you out. Good luck with the rest of your wedding plans.

2 Comments | In: Ask April | tags: pink signature drink, stawberry milk. | #

Caitlin’s Question: I love your site and am a regular reader!  I especially love your fashion advice, which is what I’m seeking now.  I have this fabulous pair of red satin high heels (picture attached), and am looking for a dress to go with them.  I would love to be able to find a navy or similar dark blue color.  First, does that color combination work?  (I am going to a 4th of July wedding this year, which is what really inspired that idea in the first place).  Second, what are the rules about combining fabrics?  Should I avoid a satin dress with satin shoes?  Should I go for something simple and understated and use the shoes as a statement piece?  I am tall and slim, and my hips are slightly wider than my top.  My budget is fairly flexible but I would like to try to stay under $120.  Any ideas??  Thanks for your input!!

April’s Answer: Hi Caitlin! Thanks for the compliments. I love your shoes. They remind me a lot of the shoes I wore on my wedding day. If you’re trying to pair them with a dress for a Fourth of July wedding, I would keep the dress simple – but not casual. A navy or dark blue dress would definitely work with those shoes, even if it wasn’t July Fourth. The dress needs to be dressy and sexy, because those shoes are both. I would stay away from cotton dresses and sun dresses. I love the dresses available from Victoria’s Secret. Below are three that I thought would go well with your shoes – it just depends what style you like the best.

Cailtlin’s Pumps

Images from Victoria’s Secret

2 Comments | In: Ask April, Fashion and Beauty | tags: fashion advice, fourth of july, navy dress, red pumps. | #

Image from the knot {photography by Grey Zisser}

When you’re looking into hiring a makeup artist, schedule two or three interviews with different makeup artists. Ask them the following questions at your interview, so you can make a decision on who’s the best fit for you.

1. Have you ever done makeup for a bride?

2. When did you become a makeup artist and about how many brides do you work with a year? {This will give you a good idea of how much experience the person has. You probably don’t want to be her first bride unless you’re getting a HUGE discount.}

3. What ideas does she have in mind for you? {See if you’re on the same page.}

4. Will you bring your own supplies and makeup or do I need to supply them?

5. Will you come to me or do I need to meet you at a salon or your home? Is it extra for you to come to me?

6. How do you charge? Can you give me an estimate on how much it will cost?

7. If you’re paying for your bridesmaids to get their makeup done, you should ask a question about this. How long would it take for you to do my makeup plus two bridesmaids? Can you bring an assistant to do the bridesmaids’ makeup?

8. Do you ever plan more than one event on the same day? {You might not want someone who’s going to be in a rush to get to another event or running behind because of an earlier event.}

9. Will you stay throughout the event for touchups? If not, will you provide me with the knowledge and tools to do my own touchups?

10. Do you have two or three brides that I can call for references? {Always follow up and make those calls. You can learn a lot about a vendor from another bride.}

No Comments | In: Ask April | tags: hiring a makeup artist, interviewing a makeup artist, makeup for your wedding. | #

Emma’s Question: Hi April! Love your blog!!! I have a quick question for you. I’m purchasing my bridesmaids dresses for them. I’m only having 3 bridesmaids and they’re all traveling a long way to come to my wedding. I don’t want them to have buy a dress too. My fiancé and I have budgeted for $150 per dress, but I hate all the bridesmaids dresses I’ve looked at so far. They’ll are plain and not right for my casual wedding next spring. Do you have any ideas for me?

April’s Answer: Thanks for the kind words! I definitely have some ideas for you. First, I just want to say that it’s really considerate of you to buy your bridesmaids’ dresses and with $150 per dress you’ll definitely be able to find something that fits your style. When you’re choosing dresses, think outside the box and don’t look at traditional bridesmaid dresses. I love Anthropologie dresses for bridesmaids. I’ve seen a couple pictures where the bride chose printed dresses and they’re adorable. For a casual spring wedding, I love the 5 dresses below from Anthropologie and they’re all under $150.

Images from Anthropologie

No Comments | In: Ask April, Fashion and Beauty | tags: bridesmaid dresses, casual spring wedding. | #

Image from the knot {photography by James Christianson Photographers}

Grace’s Question: My best friend from college just got engaged, and she asked me to be her maid-of-honor. The only problem is that we live a plane ride away. She lives in New York and I live in Florida. I’ve been a bridesmaid and maid-of-honor before but never for someone who lives so far away. I want to be her maid-of-honor but I can’t afford to go to NY to help her dress shop or throw her a bridal shower. She already asked me to come to her engagement party and give a toast. I can go to it, but that’s the only time I can fly there until the wedding. I can fly up there a few days before the wedding, but that’s the best I can do. What do I tell her?

April’s Answer: The bride asked you to be her maid-of-honor for a reason. You’re a great friend. Hopefully, she already realizes that you won’t be able to be a part of the planning process as much as you’d like to be, but I would gently remind her of that by saying something like, “I’m so excited you asked me to be your maid-of-honor but I bummed that I won’t be able to do the “maid-of-honor” type things like throw you a bridal shower and go dress shopping.” Let her know that if she wants to reconsider and give that title to another bridesmaid, you would totally understand. If she says that she wants you to be the maid-of-honor and all that other stuff doesn’t matter, then it doesn’t matter.

Be honest with the bride. Let her know that you can only come into town two weekends. One time before the wedding and the other time for the wedding. See if she wants the first time to be for the engagement party. If so, see if she can plan to do other things that weekend as well. For instance, you might be able to hit up a bridal shop and go bridesmaid dress shopping at the same time. Tell her that you want to be involved with as much as possible and work together to squeeze in as much as you can that weekend.

You can still help out and be a part of the planning process from Florida. If you know the other bridesmaids, contact them as soon as possible. If you don’t know them, get to know them. Ask the bride for their phone numbers and e-mail addresses. Let them know where you live and the issues you have. Ask another bridesmaid to take over the duty of planning of the bridal shower or see if they’ll do it together.

Use the methods of communication that you have. Call the bride on a regular basis to check in. You might not be able to go to the stationer to help her choose the invitations, but you can listen to her and be supportive. If you can’t be there for the dress shopping, have the bride send you pictures of dresses she likes through email. There are plenty of wedding planning websites and blogs {such as mine} that you can get inspiration from. She’ll know that you care if you send her pictures of bouquets that are made with her favorite flowers or wedding cakes matching her color palette.

On the day of the wedding, be the best wedding attendant possible. This will make up for any lack of involvement before the big day.

BTW, all of my bridesmaids lived in other locations while I was planning my wedding and it worked out just fine. I loved the three ladies that I asked, and I really just wanted them to be a special part of my wedding day. I bet your bride feels the same way.

Want me to answer your event-related questions? Send them my way stylisheventsblog@gmail.com, and I’ll do my best to answer!

1 Comment | In: Ask April | tags: bridesmaid, maid of honor. | #

Image from the knot {photography by Jared Wilson Photography}

Libby’s Question: I’m getting married in a little church this June, and we’re having a daytime ceremony and reception to save money. Our floral and decoration budget for the ceremony is low. My fiancé doesn’t really care about decorations at the ceremony, but I don’t want it to be completely plain. I would at least like to have something decorating the aisle or something hanging from the end of the pews. I also want to carry a pretty bouquet, but can’t afford to spend much. Can you help me?

April’s Question: I can’t think of anything more romantic and inexpensive for a June wedding than baby’s breath. It’s a flower that shouldn’t be avoided, especially if you’re running low on cash. If you just use baby’s breath without any other flowers, it’ll look amazing. Trust me. Above is a wreath made of only baby’s breath and it probably didn’t cost much. Hang them on every other pew to save money and have aisle décor. An all baby’s breath bouquet will look just as great. You can even have your bridesmaids carry smaller bouquets of baby’s breath. Keep it simple.

2 Comments | In: Ask April | tags: aisle decorations, baby's breath, ceremony decorations, wreaths for pew. | #

Ashley’s Dilemma: I need advice on engagement pictures. They are next month in the French Quarter of New Orleans. We want them to be pretty casual but not jeans and tshirts kind of casual. I think we want at least 3 outfits. 1 dressey dress, 1 casual dress w flats/flip flops and 1 jeans and heels kind of casual. PLEASE HELP ME! I’m clueless!

April’s Answer: First, congrats on your engagement. Don’t freak out. Have fun when you shop for your engagement picture outfits and let your personality lead the way. Below I’ve suggested an idea for each outfit – but don’t wear something that makes you feel uncomfortable. You want to look like yourself in your pictures. Also, stick with timeless pieces instead of choosing something incredibly trendy that you’ll be embarrassed about in five years.

For the casual dress with flip flops, I love this dress sweater combo. You can take the sweater off for some pictures and leave it on for others. The dress is $68 and the sweater is $29 and you can buy them at the same time on the Victoria’s Secret website. If ordering clothes online, do it as soon as possible. That way you can find something else if it doesn’t look as good on or return them for other sizes if needed. Pair this outfit with a neutral colored sandal.

Image from Victoria’s Secret

For the dressier outfit, this dress is romantic and playful. I would pair this dress with black heels. It’s $59 from Newport News.

Image from Newport News

I’m not sure what your budget is, but I also love this dress for your dressier outfit. I would also pair it with black heels. It’s $168 from Anthropologie.

Image from Anthropologie

For the top to go with jeans, I really like this one from Anthropologie. It’s $128. It’s pricey, but you could wear it with a pair of jeans that you already have and the same black heels you wear with the dressy outfit. You could wear wide legged or fitted jeans with this top. This type of shirt (a wrap shirt style) looks amazing on almost any body type. It will make your waist look tiny while hiding anything that you don’t want to show. I’m a big believer in wrap dresses and tops.

Image from Anthropologie

If you don’t have a big budget, I also like this top from Forever21, and it’s only 19.80. Wear this top with fitted jeans.

Image from Forever21

I hope that this helps you out!

No Comments | In: Ask April, Engagement, Fashion and Beauty | tags: engagement picture outfits. | #

Bridget’s Question: Planning a wedding is so expensive! I’ve visited three floral shops in my area to discuss centerpiece ideas and how much they cost. I realized that we can’t afford anything I would want for our centerpieces. I think I would rather do something other than floral centerpieces now. Could you give me any ideas?

April’s Answer: You can definitely save money by going with non-floral centerpieces, but you don’t have to sacrifice style. Check out this post on non-floral centerpieces and Martha Stewart’s ideas for non-floral centerpieces. Good luck!

No Comments | In: Ask April | tags: nonfloral centerpieces. | #

Nancy’s Question: My fiance and I haven’t heard back from about one-third of our guests and the RSVP deadline is in less than a week. What should we do?

April’s Answer: As soon as the deadline passes you should contact each guest either by email or phone to ask if they are attending. If you have a lot to do and I imagine that you do since you’re so close to your big day, ask your mother to call your side of the family and your fiance’s mom to call his side of the family. If you haven’t heard back within a few days, make a second phone call saying something like, “If we haven’t heard back from you by Sunday then we’ll mark you down as a no. We’re sorry that we missed you and hope to catch up soon.” This way if they’re coming but just haven’t bothered to RSVP, they’ll know they better do it soon.

No Comments | In: Ask April | tags: etiquette, RSVP. | #

Image from the knot

Danielle’s Question: My fiance and I can’t find wedding favors that aren’t cheesy or too expensive. Do we have to give our guests wedding favors?

April’s Question: There are some people who think that you shouldn’t have to give wedding favors, because you’ve already paid for your guests to eat and drink; however, there are others that believe you should make the effort to give favors, because it shows your appreciation. Some of your guests have spent money and time traveling and money on lodging for your wedding. If you can’t find favors that you like, you could always donate to a charity that you want to support and leave small notes at every guest’s place setting letting them know that a donation has been made in their names.

No Comments | In: Ask April | tags: wedding favors. | #

Chloe’s Question: My fiancé and I just set up our wedding website, so we could send out the link with our save-the-dates. What information should we include on the site?

April’s Answer: Having a wedding website is a great way to keep all of your guests informed about the big day, rain plans, registry information and more. It’s up to you how much or how little you want to include on it. These are items I would definitely include: hotel information, directions to each event, the itinerary for the wedding weekend, attire guidelines for each event, links to your registry, and local transportation details. You could also include your love story, proposal story or the story of how you met, rain plans if it’s an outdoor wedding, a couple photos of you and your fiancé, and a little information about the bridal party. I think the more information, the better for your guests.

No Comments | In: Ask April | tags: wedding website. | #

Image from the knot {photograph by Images by Berit}

Jenny’s Question: I haven’t picked out my bridesmaids’ dresses yet and two of my bridesmaids are pregnant. One will be six months pregnant and the other will be eight months pregnant at the wedding. What do I need to consider when picking the dresses?

April’s Answer: Pregnant bridesmaids are not uncommon. There are a few designers that make bridesmaids dresses for pregnant women such as Watters & Watters. You can choose one of those dresses, pick a dress that has an empire waist or choose a color and allow each bridesmaid to choose their own dress. Don’t worry – you’ll find that you have plenty of options.

2 Comments | In: Ask April | tags: pregnant bridesmaid. | #

Image from the knot

Rebecca’s Question: I just got engaged!!! And I’m so excited. We’ve already told my parents, his parents and our siblings. We don’t want to send out formal engagement announcements, because it’s not in the budget and we’re a more casual couple. Would it be poor etiquette to send out e-mail announcements?

April’s Answer: Not at all. You should definitely send out email announcements. Not only are you saving money, but it’s also eco-friendly. A lot of couples are using the internet to announce their engagement and to send out save-the-dates.

I would include a little story about how he proposed or your relationship, because everyone’s going to want to know how he asked the big question. Get ready for a bunch of phone calls, because your friends and family are going to want to congratulate you!

No Comments | In: Ask April, Engagement | | #