Happy Holidays ...

From our families to yours, we wish you a very happy holiday season! May the magic of love twinkle in your lives throughout the holidays and the upcoming new year.


Love,
Courtney, Lacy, & Sarah


Photo Credit: Kelly Park Photography
Card created: Two Blue Doors, Inc.

I am engaged now what?

We often get this question from clients and potential clients.. I am engaged, so now what do we do? This question epitomizes “pandora’s box”. What I mean is, is that no matter who you ask this question to you will undoubtedly get a different answer, and often more information then you ever wanted in the first place. Well, I don’t know about anyone else, but I do know what my years of experience have taught me. I will share with you, our readers the answers I give.

These answers are in no way intended to replace or even usurp advice you have received from your wedding planner. This is just my opinion.

1) FIRST AND FOREMOST.. discuss the time of year you would like to be married, and then come up with a couple of dates you would like. More importantly come up with a couple of dates, that you would also be happy with as alternative dates. Too many times our clients have their mind set on one date and no other date will do, which also happens to be the busiest wedding day of the year, and then they are upset that they can’t have their dream venue or vendors. Flexibility is key!

2) Establish a working budget! Equally as important as #1 this needs to be done before you proceed any further. Sit down with every person who is planning to contribute to the overall budget or who will have a decision in vendors. It is imperative this is done before even getting out of the gate

3) BOOK A WEDDING PLANNER!! I am not just saying this because we happen to offer this service. I am saying this because I whole heartedly believe this should be the first thing, and not an after thought. Again I cannot speak for anyone else, but in our experience, the clients that sign us first before, venue, church, photographer, dj, etc benefit the most. We sit down and help review the budget, discuss pro’s and con’s of vendors and their price points, and make recommendations that often time the bride’s and groom’s haven’t even thought of.

4) After the Wedding Planner, comes the two venues. The ceremony venue and the reception venue, in many cases they could be one in the same. A full service wedding planner will make recommendations of venue’s that would be a good fit, and also are available on your date, in your budget. They have done the research for you, so as to eliminate you falling in love with something that A) you can’t afford or B) isn’t even an option for your day. See how steps 1 and 3 fold in nicely with step 4?

5) Next come all of the other vendors, ie..photographer, videographer, dj’s etc. Again step 3 will help you with this as well. A full service wedding planner will be able to call the vendors and find the perfect one for you.

I know this is not a full blown wedding plan, but it was intended more for our readers who might have just gotten engaged and aren’t exactly sure how to start. I find too many couples chose venues first before establishing a budget which leaves them no money for anything else. Or choosing a date that they are unwilling to budge on and therefore will not get the crème de la crème of vendors. But most importantly I find we get calls from people who have already done many of these steps but didn’t hire a wedding planner, and now things seem overwhelming.

Here’s to hoping that this will help at least a few brides from making the same mistake.

Happy Halloween

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays! When else is it ok to get dressed up as someone/something else? This year we didn't have a Halloween wedding, but last year we did. We wanted to reflect on that wedding. It was so much fun! The couple had a traditional wedding ceremony at Graham Chapel at Washington University St Louis. But the reception was anything but traditional!

The reception was held at the City Museum and was pure Halloween Fun, complete with costumes and the Bride of Frankenstein movie! This couple was celebrating their love for each other, and the love of Halloween which also was their first date!

This couple proved that having a wedding on Halloween can be amazing!






Happy Halloween to all!

Floral Design: Sisters Flowers
Photography: Von DeVore Photography
Cake: The Cakery
Lighting/Set Design: Exclusive Events, Inc.

NYC Bridal Market Recap...

I’ve just returned from New York Bridal Market. Bridal Market happens twice a year and is when bridal dress designers showcase their latest creations. The runway shows were amazing! I was also fortunate enough to attend two parties. The first one was hosted by the team at Martha Stewart Weddings in their offices, and was so much fun, and even Martha Stewart herself was in attendance. The Knot’s Market Gala celebrating their 15 year anniversary at the New York Public Library. This was my first time at the New York Public Library and The Knot did not disappoint. I can’t wait to share with you all the fashion. In the meantime, here are some photographs of me.

First up.. the super cute smile booth at the Martha Stewart party. I always think it's funny how much us wedding vendors love photobooths, and this party was no exception. Our friends at smilebooth had a setup that was in line with the glitter theme. Note the gold glitter that everyone is tossing up, that was stuck in my hair and dress for days, but was so much fun.


Me with the lovely Ali Phillips from Engaging Events By Ali, Inc. in Chicago

Next we headed over to the Knot party, and as we walked into the New York Public Library, in the middle of the room was a larger than life 14 foot replica of a bride created by Preston Bailey which was inspired by a Monique Lhuillier gown. It was absolutely mind blowing, and was made entirely of flowers! Next to the bride, were two small poodles made of flowers as well. Amazing!
Images from Chrisitian Oth
Preston Bailey, Carley Roney, and Monique Lhuillier pose by their collaboration
More images of the stunning NYC Public Library

Me with, Ali Phillips, Harmony Walton, Lara Casey, Ceci Johnson, Stephanie Grimm Me posing with the floral poodles, which were too adorable.

Although my trip to NYC was entirely too short, and packed with events from morning till night, but I wouldn't trade my experience for anything. I can't wait to share with our LBE clients all of the latest bridal fashion.

Katie & Todd 9-18-10 Disco Ball Inspired Part 2

A couple of weeks ago we posted some images of this wedding. We wanted to share some additional detail shots. We loved that Katie loved her Chrisitian Louboutin shoes so much, it inspired our reception decor design.

In the top right hand picture you see her shoes. Our bride kept calling them her disco ball shoes, so it stuck! We incorporated disco balls into the design. Our very lovely (and patient) friends at Sisters' Flowers humored me. They suspended the balls inside of vases, and on the floral centerpieces.



To give the same mirrored look as the disco balls, mirrored vases were used 2 of the 3 centerpiece arrangments. In addition, we made custom disco ball napkin rings. The detail was mirrored on the silver charger plates.

The bold colors of wineberry, loden green, and federal blue, were used in all aspects of decor, the linens,floral, lighting, stationery, and cake.

Lighting by Millennium Productions
Two Blue Doors, Inc. created the custom artwork used on all of the stationery. It was stunning.

Parties & Props, Ltd. helped bring our vision of a dramatic entrance point to both the ceremony and the reception to life. Take a close look, we reused this gate at both the ceremony entrance and the reception entrance! It was such a converation piece.

Our clients, were great and really put their trust and faith in our design, and the talent of all of the vendors involved. Thank you to Katie, Todd, and Katie's mom for allowing us to create a design for you.
Extra special thanks to Gina Kelly (Lace Photography) for all of the amazing images!

Dream Team:
Event Stylist & Coordination: Lacy Branch Events
Ceremony: Event Lawn - Ameristar Casino Resort Spa St Charles
Reception: Discovery Ballroom-Ameristar Casino Resort Spa St Charles
Photography: Lace Photography
Floral Design: Sisters Flowers
Stationery: Two Blue Doors, Inc.
Lighting & Videography: Millennium Productions
DJ: CJ's Disc Jockey Service
Officiant: Lamira Martin
Rentals: The Aries Company
Linens: BBJ Linen
Hair & Makeup: Tami Scott Cosmetics Salon: Acadamie
Transportation: JED Limousine
Misc Decor Rental: Parties & Props, Ltd.

Engage10- The Breakers A Luxury Wedding Business Summit

Here is an stunning Slideshow of pictures by Donna Von Bruening DVB

For many of you that follow my blog you know that I attended a life changing conference of top industry professionals back in June in Grand Cayman. Well this week I attended the follow up Engage10! conference at the Breakers Hotel in Palm Beach, FL. It was 4 days of AMAZING! About a year and a half ago, my dear friend Ali Phillips from Engaging Events by Ali in Chicago convinced me to attend, and I am so glad she did!

From the time we arrived, until the time we left Rebecca Grinnals and Kathryn Arce of Engaging Concepts and the whole entire Breakers staff made us feel like royalty. We had a list of speakers that consisted of some of the top names in the industry. To name a few, Randy Fenoli from Say Yes to the Dress, Sylvia Weinstock, Abby Larson, Todd Fiscus, Darcy Miller, Mindy Weiss, Carley Roney, Marcy Blum, David Beahm ,and Bryan Rafanelli (yes, THE Brian Rafenelli known for planning Chelsea Clinton's wedding). Each one of them dove deep into their professional and personal lives to share with us their stories. It was truly inspirational! However, the speakers are only part of the Engage experience. I know that from my pictures it looks like we did nothing but have fun, well that was the case actually, we did have fun. But it was so much more. From the morning breakfast sessions, we networked and connected with professionals from all over the world. Then we had daily speakers, as I mentioned before who kept us on the edge of our seat. Then each evening we had events, that allowed us to further connect, network, and share experiences. I think for me that was the most valuable.

Mindy Weiss Presenting
Me with Randy Fenoli

Unfortunately for me, I was sick with a head cold the entire time, so I wasn’t able to meet as many people as I would have liked. But I am blessed that I got to experience this again, and cannot wait to take the information back to my business and our clients. Thank you to Kathryn and Rebecca for doing such a great job, and for all of the lifelong connections both personal and professional that I have made.

Here is a video recap from the SUPER talented Cloud Nine Creative Inc.:

Engage 10 {Day One} from Cloud Nine Creative on Vimeo.

Engage '10 {Day 2 + 3} from Cloud Nine Creative on Vimeo.

On a side note, thank you to the following speakers who also have inspired me to push myself further. Simon T. Bailey, Harmony Walton, Liene Stevens, Ali Phillips, and Bernadette Coveney Smith

These pictures were of me enjoying the events:
This is the dessert each and every one of us was served on the final night! No that is not a prop! Just deliciously amazing

This picture is of me with Anthony Luscia from Martha Stewart Weddings, and Photographer Sara Kauss

Me with Ali Phillips

Me with the always inspirational Simon T. Bailey

Romantic Pink and Black Garden Rehearsal Dinner..

When our client Melissa first contacted us, we knew this was going to be a fantastic event! Melissa had been busy planning the finishing details regarding her wedding day, when she realized that she now needed to do the rehearsal dinner. She was completely out of energy and inspiration and wasn't sure where to start to make her families stunning backyard functional for a formal rehearsal dinner.

She basically picked out the color scheme, and allowed us to come up with the entire design concept. This was so much fun, and the color palette was not at all like her wedding colors, so this would be an event all on it's own.

We used the hot pink in the accents like floral, favor boxes, and ribbon for the place cards. Since this dinner was outside we had to keep the possible St Louis weather in mind. The edible favors, yummy brownies by Holly Berry Baking, were put in a hot pink take out box. Then Two Blue Doors, Inc. created tags that said "love is sweet." Also, to prevent place cards from blowing away they were tied to the back of the chairs adding just the right personal touch.

How much more dramatic then guests entering the property with hot pink luminary bags flanking the driveway. They were then met with a long romantic dinner table, complete with white paper lanterns hanging from the trees. The lanterns also sported a hot pink ribbon to give just the right pop of color.



We used hot pink roses, Gomphrena, Carnations,and Coxcomb in modern black vases. When the sun went down the table lit up with romance from the large amount of candles we used. The day was perfect weather for the couple to enjoy their family before their wedding day. Thanks Melissa for allowing us to design your rehearsal dinner.

Dream Team:
Event Styled/Designed: Lacy Branch Events
Photography: Lisa McDowell
Stationery: Two Blue Doors, Inc.
Rentals: The Aries Company
Floral: Belli Fiori
Favors: Holly Berry Baking Company

Couture Celebrations, A day in the life of a wedding planner diva.: Traditional Wedding Party Roles

I wanted to share this post from Couture Celebrations in California because I think it's always great to have a refresher! Couture Celebrations, A day in the life of a wedding planner diva.: Traditional Wedding Party Roles

Katie & Todd 9-18-10.. Disco ball inspired..Post 1 of 2

Photography Credit: Lace Photography

When we first met Katie and her mom Rhonda, they had just begun the planning process. They quickly realized that the date they had selected, September 18th was extremely popular. They also realized that they had differing views on the style and decor of the wedding. In January they selected us and we hit the ground running.

Immediately, we secured Ameristar as the both the ceremony location as well as the reception. The couple wanted a small outdoor ceremony, so the event lawn was the perfect location. The discovery ballroom was the perfect reception venue.

There are so many amazing vendors and elements that went into this wedding. During our first design/styling meeting, Katie told us about her gorgeous Christian Louboutin shoes, she called them disco balls! She had not seemed that excited about anything (besides marrying Todd) up until that point. I knew right then.. that was our inspiration. Disco balls it was!!! After that we solidified the color palette, and designed three separate tablescapes for the reception.


Our friends at Two Blue Doors, Inc created a custom pattern that we used on all the stationery from save the dates, to invites, to day of stationery. They even took it one step further and did the design for this GORGEOUS runner.




Gorgeous flowers done by Sisters Flowers.

You can see the beautiful lighting around the perimeter done by Millennium Productions. Note, on the left the projection of the custom artwork pattern that we used in the stationery.

Katie originally wanted to have a photobooth for their guests in lieu of favors. However, we suggested stepping a little further "out of the box" and have a caricature artist provide renderings. Both Katie and her mom were excited, and boy was it a HIT!! Guests loved it.



Katie's hair and makeup done by the fabulous Tami Scott

Thank you Katie & Todd for letting us be part of your big day! A special thanks to Ameristar for being so flexible!

Stay tuned for post 2 with tablescape details showcasing the "disco balls"!

Dream Team:
Event Stylist & Coordination: Lacy Branch Events
Ceremony: Event Lawn - Ameristar Casino Resort Spa St Charles
Reception: Discovery Ballroom-Ameristar Casino Resort Spa St Charles
Photography: Lace Photography
Floral Design: Sisters Flowers
Stationery: Two Blue Doors, Inc.
Lighting & Videography: Millennium Productions
DJ: CJ's Disc Jockey Service
Officiant: Lamira Martin
Rentals: The Aries Company
Linens: BBJ Linen
Hair & Makeup: Tami Scott Cosmetics Salon: Acadamie
Transportation: JED Limousine
Misc Decor Rental: Parties & Props, Ltd.

Rochelle & Jeff 06/26/2010

We met Rochelle and Jeff in January of this year. They are quite a unique couple, both are avid fitness buffs. During the planning of the wedding they took on another BIG task of opening a Cross Fit Gym. Needless, to say planning a wedding can be stressful enough but add opening a gym to the list and that's down right taxing. Lucky for the couple they decided early on that they needed assistance, and reached out to us.

They had already selected a reception venue in St Charles, and a photographer. However, shortly after we signed the couple we found out they had decided not to use their current photographer. In addition, the new reception venue would not be complete in time for the invites, etc. So we knowing their style we quickly put them in contact with our friends Coby & Diane at CMAX Photography who we could not believe were available, and the couple was extatic.

Next task, find them a venue, no easy task due to them insisting on staying in St Charles, and their wedding date was less then 3 months away. After interviewing them further we realized they had gotten engaged earlier that year at Ameristar! Ding, ding...I knew just who to call. Contacted Jodie at Ameristar and quickly the couple had a venue...but not just any venue..HOME Nightclub which is where they had gotten engaged! Can you say divine intervention? We can..

This story is a great example of why having a professional Wedding Coordinator on your team is key. We helped Rochelle & Jeff overcome what could have been a disasterous situation. But instead they were able to enjoy the benefits. Their guests were then able to continue to party down after the reception when HOME Nightclub opened to the public. (Special Thanks to Jodie & Jamie at Ameristar)



In the next few months we finalized the details, and got Sisters Flowers onboard to help the bride create her vintage yellow and black wedding.

Thanks to all of our vendors who sustained the 100+ degree heat to make this wedding a huge success.

Dream Team:
Photography: CMAX Photography
Floral Design: Sisters Flowers
Cake: The Cakery
DJ: Millennium Music
Reception Venue: HOME Nightclub at Ameristar Casino Resort Spa St Charles
Ceremony venue: The Chapel at New Town

Save the Date: The Blissful Wishes Ball & Wish Upon a Wedding

As most of you know, I am the President for Wish Upon a Wedding St Louis Chapter, a non-profit 501 (c) 3 organization started last year in the San Francisco Bay Area which by January 2011 will boast 25 chapters Nationwide. Wish Upon a Wedding provides weddings for couples faced with terminal illness regardless of sexual orientation at any of our National chapters. Each chapter has its own board of directors lead by the most trendsetting, committed, business minded people in the wedding industry. I'm proud to introduce to you an amazing way for you to give back to these courageous couples and allow healthy couples to secure your services for their own wedding.

Couples planning to be married can bid for wedding-related auction items online starting in October or at a Blissful Wishes Balls Nationwide in November, with all proceeds benefiting Wish Upon a Wedding . This new organization is the world's first nonprofit that provides weddings for individuals facing life-threatening illness.



Wish Upon a Wedding is currently seeking donated products or services in 46 cities, ranging from wedding gowns to tuxedos, invitations to cakes, and limousine services to honeymoons. It only takes a moment to register and make a difference in someone's life at

https://www.biddingforgood.com/auction/AuctionHome.action?auctionId=115386483 !
Be sure to add your item to the correct category (city), and don’t forget to include your company logo and URL. What a great advertising opportunity~ and you'll be making a positive difference in someone's life who truly deserves it!

Engage10 recap continued

The second part of my recap from my Engage!10 experience. One of the highlights to attending is to meet talented ( and talented is an understatement) industry leaders. This post would be far too lengthy if I listed and showed pictures of every person I met. So I am going to take the very wise advice of Liene Stevens – CEO Splendid Communications, and keep it short.

Some of the highlights of my experience were:

1) Getting to meet Sylvia Weinstock again. She is such an icon, and quite a good dancer. She told us that she never ever skimps on quality ingredients. The basis of what she was telling us was that although you can get things “cheaper” they are not all created equally. Fine, expensive ingredients, are just that fine, and expensive. You could find similar or lesser quality ingredients that would be less expensive, but be aware they are not the same. This was so important to me, as it relates to what I do, and the questions I field every day.

2) Hearing Colin Cowie speak I have heard him once before and met him once before. However, when he takes the stage and explains the events he creates, I am immediately speechless. Which being speechless does not often happen to me. In his South African accent he keeps us captivated with his passion for the industry.


3) Using a photobooth- I know this doesn’t sound exciting to many of you. You might even be thinking, photobooth? You could get that anywhere, and you would be right. My excitement was the “experience of the photobooth”. I loved watching everyone, who see these photobooths every weekend, step up and smile! Mustaches, big lips, poses, it was precious, Here are some of mine.
With my friends Kelly Karli owner of Frosted Pink Weddings, and Erin McDonald from Heffernan Morgan Stanley

I love this picture of us from Top Left: Kelli Karli, Shawn Leech - Rain Salon in Orlando, Anthony Luscia from Martha Stewart, and on bottom Rusty James. See I told you the photobooth was entertaining.

Me with Ali Phillips who is from Chicago and is owner of Engaging Events By Ali, Inc.


4) Experiencing the royal treatment we received from the Ritz Carlton Grand Cayman. It’s funny but this kind of ties into Sylvia’s comments. I mean it was so refreshing to hear “it would be my pleasure”, or “good morning miss” EVERY single time a staff member passed me in the hallway. The customer service I received is nothing less than FABULOUS!

5) Getting to attend a fun evening event, and not having to worry about timelines, vendor arrivals, etc that I got to be a guest. The last night we were at Engage was bitter sweet. It was bitter sweet because we were leaving the next day, but fun because we really got to enjoy the fabulous party that was thrown for us.

6) Spending time with Randy Fenoli from the show Say Yes to the Dress. Randy has more energy than 4 people combined, and then some. However, hearing his insights on style was wonderful. Since we are Event Stylist, and Personal Stylist, this was invaluable to me.

6) I cannot even do these two justice but the fabulous and very inspiring Cindy Novotny, and Simon T. Bailey. Their energy and attitudes are contagious. If you ever are presented with a chance to hear them speak...DO!
Here I am with Simon

I am so happy that I got to share some of my highlights and images of Engage!10 with you. I got quite a few questions like “this looks like it was all celebration and no work”, or “how does going to paradise = working”. The images of more around the fun experiences but what I didn’t capture on film was the large amount of time we spent in educational, informational sessions. So there you go, although it was a lot of fun, it was work. Work that I would not trade for a second.

PS…sorry Liene this is 563 words… ( I tried)

Photobooth Images Courtesy of: Jennifer Domenick/Love Images