Tag Archives: vendors

May 27, 2010 · 10:52 am

Bridal Happy Hour

Think bridal show, add cocktails, subtract overwhelming amounts of vendors, add the opportunity to actually talk to vendors and of course add in some tasty food. The combination in its most simplistic form results in The Bridal Happy Hour organized by the amazing Dana Micklos of Glamorous Occasions. The event will be held at Thornager’s on Kiltie Lane and is a must for planning northern Arizona brides. Events such as this are how wedding planning is supposed to be: fun, classy, and relaxing. You won’t leave with a 20lb bag filled with brochures, business cards, and other pointless material that you will trash as soon as you get home but you may leave with some actual information about vendors that you will want to use. Hey, you may even book some and check something off your list. Productivity and cocktails, can you think of a better combination? Here are the details:

  • When: Wednesday, June 2nd
  • Time: 6pm-8pm
  • Cost: Brides are free and there is a small fee for Guests. Go HERE to register.
  • Become a fan on Facebook and stay up to date on future events.
  • What you don’t want to miss: Door prizes, outstanding specials,  FREE appetizers and drink specials.

The Vendors

These aren’t just any vendors ladies, these are the best of the best. How do I know? Several of them will be a part of my big day. Their attention to detail, passion for their work, and commitment to you is unmatched. At the very least, it’s Wednesday night, what else do you have to do?

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May 4, 2010 · 10:02 pm

A Sweet Dream Come True

Sweet because cake is involved and dream because well cake is involved. I have a firm belief that regardless of how much you eat, there is always room for dessert. I often plan my meals around whether or not I will eat dessert afterward and more than  once I have pushed myself to the limit by adding a tempting treat post meal. The queen of all desserts has to be the wedding cake and it just so happens that the Queen of Wedding Cake baking and design lives right here in Sedona. Donna Joy of Sedona Sweet Arts contacted me recently and today Kyle and I had the pleasure of meeting her. She was outstanding but the real pleasure was tasting her cakes. When I think wedding cake I think beautiful but dry and coated with a think layer of fondant i.e. some odd form of chemical tasting rubber that all but ruins even a good cake. This was not our experience today. Chocolate wasn’t even in our top list of flavor choices but her decadent chocolate cake with a chocolate mousse frosting nearly made me nix food all together in order to just serve that to my guests. Like I said, I love desserts and I have eaten A LOT of cake in my day and without a doubt this was the best. We also tried a strawberry champagne cake that puts Cristal to shame and a white cake with a butter cream frosting. Our flavor choices are red velvet and carrot cake but we felt no need to try them as the sample cakes gave us full trust in her cake making abilities. She said and I quote, “I don’t freeze wedding cakes, I don’t believe in it.” A lady with cake beliefs is right up my alley and I couldn’t agree more. To know our wedding cake will not only be beautiful but will arrive fresh and tasting amazing makes me extra excited. In all seriousness, we are extremely grateful and humbled by her willingness to be involved in this wedding as we know she is extremely busy and without question the best in town. She diligently creates all of her sugar flowers by hand often totaling 40+ hours for one cake. After they are sculpted, they are hand painted to get just the right look. The bonus to all this painstaking labor is the flowers will last forever which will be a nice memento of our big day. She posts most of her recent work on Facebook so be sure to check it out. You will be amazed. Thank you Donna for fulfilling and exceeding what will no doubt be our dream cake!

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February 22, 2010 · 2:36 pm

What We Have and What We Need

We feel fortunate to be moving along in the planning process. We have booked some important vendors but we still have a lot left to do. We would love suggestions or recommendations.

What we have:

  • An Officiant: Don Mapes, My wonderful stepfather
  • Two amazing photographers: Melissa Dunstan and Robin Reece
  • One creative and incredible event designer: Kim Duncan
  • A venue! The biggest hurdle of all!
  • A dress! Well maybe. Nothing has been created yet but I LOVED my experience at Victorian Cowgirl so I hope to proceed forward with Candace.
  • A rehearsal dinner at the delicious Heartline Cafe
  • Hair and makeup provided by my sister and her talented friend, Christine De Angelis.

What we need:

  • Music: Do you recommend a DJ or a band? What do you recommend for ceremony music?
  • Food: We have a couple places in mind for catering but nothing is official. Any favorites?
  • Cake: I LOVE cake and dessert in general so I need something delicious. Any favorite bakers? I’m not set on a fancy wedding cake. I like the idea of cupcakes or other forms of dessert.
  • Videographer: Do people recommend this service? Do you watch your wedding video? Is it worth it?
  • Flowers: We will likely purchase a lot of our own flowers for decorating purposes but may need some help creating bouquets for myself and the bridal party.
  • Invitations: We do plan to make our own but would love suggestions for the best places to buy paper or other invitation ideas.

There is no way that list is complete so help me remember what I am forgetting. My WeddingWire account loves to remind me how close I am getting and how many boxes I have yet to check off the list! As of today, we are officially 235 days away from our wedding!

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February 3, 2010 · 10:00 pm

Love-Honor-Cherish

Love, hope, happiness… this is what weddings are supposed to be about right? Somewhere along the way they turned into this monstrosity of flowers, lace, glitz and glamor. We say things like, “This is YOUR day, you deserve it” or “This only happens once, go for it.” These mind appeasers have created a wedding monster with the average wedding cost hitting around $40,000. (For one day.) Now, don’t get me wrong, I want a wedding that includes family and friends, a nice dress and a tasty meal but if I was going to spend $40,000 I’d much rather buy a car, a down payment on a house, or . . . donate it to charity. Thus, The Charity Wedding was born.

Our goal is to use our wedding not only as a chance to celebrate but also to fund raise for charities in need. I probably don’t have to tell you that we are in a recession. People are losing their homes, their jobs, and their lives as they once knew it. Weddings should reflect a couples style and well Kyle and I are simply not the type that loves being the center of attention. We lead a life of service, a life of gratitude, and we try to take any opportunity available to give back. It seems fitting that our wedding not solely revolve around us but rather a bigger picture.

The Terms:

Wedding Location: The wedding will be held in Sedona, Arizona. We welcome vendors from other areas.

Vendors: We will search for vendors who want to be a part of this process and agree to donate all or part of their time and services.  Each vendor will get to select a charity of their choosing and we will vote to determine the top 3. We will advertise their services through this blog, on our invitations and in various other ways. We encourage them to advertise their involvement as they see fit. Each vendor will work with the bride and groom to determine the details of their donation.

Our Budget: The maximum amount we are able to spend on this wedding is $10,000. We will pay any remaining costs of vendor services out of pocket and donate any remaining amount of the budget to charity.

Private Donations: Any individuals or groups who want to be apart of this process and would like to donate to help us cover the remaining cost of the wedding are welcomed to do so.

Our Part: In lieu of wedding gifts, we will ask our guests to donate cash which will go towards the total collected during the event process. This will be split among the top three charities we choose. This will be considered a tax write-off which I bet you can’t say about too many other wedding gifts!

Charities: We would like the charities to be local or at least benefit the people of Arizona. However, all suggestions will be considered. Please suggest your charity with a short explanation of what they do and why you think they should benefit.

*”The charity that is trifle to us can be precious to others” -Homer

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