Before Laura was engaged, she read and kept up with the Kirkbrides blog. It was very flattering when she told me that, when she got in touch with us soon after securing the Allen Theatre at Playhouse Square for her reception. We soon began working on the plans and design for her January 16 wedding day! Laura and Chuck are some of the nicest clients I've worked with, even going so far as to thank me at the reception as the "best wedding planner in the world". That's just Chuck's personality! :)

I absolutely LOVED all of our vendors for the day! Most notably, it was an amazing experience working with Bobbi and Mike, one of the most well known photography teams in the country. They came in from Indiana for the big day and we had so much fun working with and getting to know them!

You can see the magenta, purple, gold and silver jewel toned wedding decor in the fabulous pictures below. Floral provided by Grande Designs and these sophisticated cupcakes and small cutting cake created by Flour Girl. Laura and I also decided to accent the rotunda dance floor area (which by the way has an uncanny ability to be an echo chamber when only a few people are in there, but no echo when the Jerry Bruno Orchestra is playing and the dance floor packed with 200 people) with the fab lights that changed colors throughout the night, as well as our black and white dance floor. There are so many other details here that I'll let the pics speak for themselves.

Laura is one of those clients who I'd definitely be friends with if I met her outside of weddings, and one that I know I will undoubtedly keep in touch with. Congratulations Laura and Chuck! It was such a pleasure working with you on your beautiful January wedding day!

Laura's review on Wedding Wire:
Valarie is absolutely the best in Cleveland! She worked with me over 8 months planning our wedding, and it truly was the best day ever. She has great ideas, her knowledge of other vendors in the area is an enormous help - I never had to worry that I was choosing someone that wasn't going to be perfect :) Her organizational skills are insane - my family didn't have to worry about a thing the entire day! Just all around, a super cool, classy wedding planner. Loved every minute of working with Kirkbrides!

Getting a jump start on this post for the month of May since we are super busy with weddings starting up the season!

Here are a few fun ideas we have come across lately:

Frame the Date: great idea for wedding gifts for others and possibly yourself!

Retail me not:
An excellent site for all of the favor, outfits for bridal shower, bachelorette party, engagement party and bridal party gift shopping!

A Bride's Ride: A Blog dedicated all to vintage car grand exits and Just Married kits for decorating!  Only in Arizona, California and Florida so far, but maybe I can get my readers to change that!


Custom Handpainted Signs at the Back Porch Shoppe: I will be using this site for sign orders for a large farm and barn location where we are planning our vintage Halloween wedding in October

Have you ever wanted to make your own rhinestones out of candy?  No?  Well here's a fun idea for anyone wanting to incorporate these within their reception design.  DIY Candy Rhinestones


I've noticed the use of vintage brooches on cake and floral bouquets lately.  I LOVE this idea and feel that it would fit in with almost any style including contemporary, glam, vintage, victorian, you name it!

Feel like reading a wedding related fiction book?  Savor the Moment by Nora Roberts is coming out in May (it's 3rd in line of the Bride's Quartet series)!

(from  Amazon.com) Happily-ever-afters continue to bloom in book three of Roberts's sugary Bride Quartet (after Bed of Roses) as the spotlight shines on pastry chef extraordinaire Laurel McBane. Vows, the Greenwich, Conn., wedding business run by the four BFFs, is also a hotbed for romance, as two of the friends have already found true love and dream of their upcoming nuptials. Laurel, meanwhile, sets her sights on Del, the older brother of Vows partner Parker, a handsome lawyer she's secretly loved since they were teens. Passion erupts, but will they be able to make it last? Laurel's tart fairy tale romance offers few surprises, but it's impossible to deny Roberts's flair for sketching likable couples.

Holly and Dave are getting married on December 18, 2010.  Right now we are crafting a Sparkle and Shine Magenta and Red wedding with Christmas accents.  And purple, gold and silver too!  This one is definitely going down in the books as unique and jaw-droppingly gorgeous.  We came up with the idea to design her save the dates like the Breakfast at Tiffany's poster (which is my fave movie of all time by the way and poster hangs in my room for the past 10 years).  I wanted to post some of their pics from their recent engagement session with Easywind Studio.  I do believe Holly rocked the look, as she is the most adorable blonde Holly Golightly I have ever seen!  I will definitely post their finished save the date so check back soon!