I first met up with Jacqui and her father, Jim, a year before the big day and to my surprise, Jacqui said that she and her fiance were 100% decided on a Halloween theme for their October wedding day. What a FUN and endless design idea for a wedding! So we set to work in coming up with all of the creative details for our barn and farm venue. I have to say that this was the first wedding where the father of the bride was an integral member of our planning team. Jim was such a fun dad to have around and provided us not only with down to earth jokes throughout the planning but also came up with some of these fun ideas as well!!! I wanted to keep working with Jacqui and her family forever and I truly wish we could do this all over again. They are such fun people, which I'm sure you can tell from this wedding! This post would be way too long if I went into detail about everything we ended up doing, so here is just a partial list of all that went into this incredibly fun, over the top, festive and amazing wedding day.

Congratulations Jacqui and Remy on your amazing wedding celebration! Let's recreate the wedding in a Halloween party for your 10th anniversary!!!

Cheryl Soltis-Muth Valarie...well, it's Thursday and Jim & I are still getting calls about how they just LOVED the wedding! Thank you so much! It was like a dream! Take care and stay in touch!

Jacqui Gareau Everything was absolutely perfect yesterday! It was far beyond our expectations, and it was our dream wedding to the millionth degree! I just wanted to tell you again, thank you so much for everything!!

(Letter from Cheryl, mother of the bride)

November 8, 2010

Valarie Kirkbride
Kirkbrides Wedding Planning & Design
8386 Findley Drive
Mentor, Ohio 44060



Dear Valarie,

Well, it’s been a little over three weeks since Jacqui and Rémy’s wedding and I am finally coming back down to earth… To say that the day was wonderful would be an understatement and I am actually finding it very difficult to come up with the words to describe how I feel about the planning and celebrating that we did in Jacqui and Rémy’s honor on October 16th, but, I will try!

It began with Jacqui and Jim reporting back from the initial meeting they had with you in October 2009. They both shared how wonderful you were and how excited they were about the wedding after having met with you. Jacqui even mentioned that you had Easywind Studio do the photography for your wedding and that was the photographer that she had already chosen for hers. In other words, this partnership was a match
made in heaven! So it was decided…Valarie and Kirkbrides Wedding Planning and Design would be an integral part of Jacqui’s wedding.

From that moment on, I felt we were truly in good hands having you at the helm of this monumental undertaking. The way you and Jacqui bounced ideas off each other was truly amazing and I know she trusted your advice and guidance explicitly. From the idea booklet you prepared for her to the budget you prepared for Jim and me, to the meetings, quick e-mail responses, and caring you showed in everything you did, your
professionalism and creativity shined through.

The first thing that really made an impression on me was the customer service you provided us. You were very attentive and supportive. You tracked every detail and communicated things very clearly and always in a timely manner. Your calm demeanor also helped to diffuse any stress that may have developed along the way. Your passion and attention made us feel like we were the only wedding you were planning, even though we knew you had wall-to-wall weddings. Jim and I especially appreciated your attention to the budget and keeping the wedding within that budget, a priceless service to us! Your great relationship with the Another thing that I cherished was your creativity and the joy you took in the details of the celebration. The design elements of the wedding were spectacular. We had so many guests comment on how lovely
everything was. From the gorgeous programs pinned to the ceremony chairs to the beautiful floral arrangements and chandeliers in the barn, from the dramatic lighting inside and out to the elegant tables and menus, from the rows of tiny pumpkins greeting the guests to the cozy wine and hot cider bars, from the ghoulish table names to the spectacular cupcake tree, people were in awe! What was really rather amusing to
me were some of the comments that I had gotten beforehand about the reception being in a barn…people really did not know what to expect. But when they peeked into the barn doors, they were transported to an elegant, whimsical place that totally blew away any preconceived notions that they may have had. And you, Jacqui and Rémy, and the wonderful vendors you worked with were the architects of that!

Valarie, I really believe that you were born to do this - you are so good at it! One thing that will stick with me forever was hearing you say that you feel privileged to share in one of the most important and special days in a family’s life. I can say that I am truly happy and grateful that you were there to share this day with us.

I wish you all of the luck in the world, although I suspect you won’t need it with your talent. Please keep in touch. I can’t wait to hear about all of the wonderful weddings to come!

With affection,

Cheryl

Candid pics taken by me throughout the day:

This post is part 1 of 2 features about Kara and Percy's amazing wedding weekend! I first met with these two way back in May 2009. I was thrilled when they decided to hire Kirkbrides to plan and design their 2 day Indian and Catholic wedding celebration!

On Friday, our focus was on the Parsi wedding celebration, complete with Saris and traditional Indian attire. Kara even had the aunts get saris for me and my assistant, Michelle, and that was so exciting! I have planned several Indian weddings before and always am in awe of how beautiful the saris look on all of the women, so was super excited to have and wear one of my own!

We wanted a very contemporary feeling celebration but nothing too over the top - we were saving that for Saturday. We used black and white completely throughout the art gallery venue. I loved the contrast of the more formal chandelier hung above the bride and groom's table, as well as our paper lanterns to soften up the space. I know their parents were nervous when seeing the venue undecorated, but everyone was so pleased and impressed with our finished result.

Thanks to Rob and Jackie at RAD photography for the fabulous pictures! Stay tuned for the post on the "main event" next week!

Is purple your favorite color? Do you love the way purple lighting makes every room look incredible? Purple is increasing in popularity as a wedding color; this inspiration board exemplifies this stunning trend.

This theme is elegant, classic and sophisticated, and makes for a romantic wedding theme! Would work with the accent of gold, silver or both! Think cameos on the bouquets, feminine fans, pink lemonade for an outdoor wedding and tea service, gorgeous!

If romance is what you want on your wedding day, this Moonlight Magic theme is perfect for you! Purple has been and still is a very popular wedding color and can be done in so many different ways. This board would be perfect for any type of outdoor, summery reception. I can just picture guests sipping lavender lemonade while relaxing outside on some beautiful patio furniture!

If you like an earthy, natural feel with simple and soft tones with touches of color, this is for you!

This theme is for the brides who love those deep, rich jewel tones. The combination is just gorgeous!