Ashley & Ross

Ashley and Ross
August 23, 2008

Congratulations to Ashley and Ross! They were married at the Scottish Rite Cathedral this Saturday. The ceremony took place in the South Lounge. This was my first ceremony in lounge; it was so intimate and romantic. The wedding ceremony went smooth especially after Ashley Long (Scottish Rite events manager) showed me all the secret passage ways in the building. We were all over the place and knew the secret ways to get from this place to that one by the end of the night. My favorite part about Ashley and Ross’ wedding had to be her wedding gown, Melissa Sweet spectacular (Saks 5th Ave). It had pockets in it! I’ve never seen a wedding dress with pockets, it was the cutest thing you had ever seen. We came up with this plan to grab a picture of Ashley in the middle of her reception ballroom twirling in her dress with her hands in her pocket. Can’t wait to see that picture Dawn!
The ceremony was sweet and short and then the guests were escorted upstairs to the 3rd floor for cocktail hour. The colors were beautiful and the flowers were amazing. It was refreshing to see such a color palette come to life. Ashley just loved it. She mixed buttercup yellow with a copper and celadon bichon. The flowers tied everything together. Ashley came up with the idea to label the tables with chronological years and show pictures from those years. The guests loved the idea and walked around to enjoy the pictures of the kids, unique personal touch (you know I love that).

Did I mention this was the wedding Jacqueline Keen (Mullen) was her matron of honor? She was our March bride at the Omni. I know you guys remember that ballroom with the swing band and feathers. Check it out if you forget that one, it was so swanky (Jacqueline and Dave). What an amazing year to see two best friends get married and be in each other wedding’s. I was truly blessed to be a part of both of their days. Another moment really touched me this time…..the father/daughter dance. For some reason it took me in the future when Mike will have his father/daughter dance with Katelyn. I got choked up imagining my daughter at her wedding (Okay, I know she’s only 9). Mr. Brinson really had to hold back the tears during that moment. Everyone had a great time and the boys finished up the night with a group dance to Soulja Boy! Way to go Ross.

Have fun in Maui, can’t wait to hear all about it.

Frank and Darby

Frank & Darby

August 16,2008

Indiana State House and Skyline Club

Frank and Darby are wonderful!!! I had such a great time helping them plan their wedding. When Darby told me that her reception was going to be at the Skyline Club, I was so excited. The Skyline Club is very special to me because that's where my husband and I had our reception almost 4 years ago (August 28th).

Darby's wedding day was so relaxed and smooth. We started of course with hair and makeup in the morning. Then headed over to the Indiana State House for Darby and Frank to see each other for the first time. I love when couples see each other before the wedding. It seems like all the nervous butterflies leave, you have plenty of time for pictures and it gives the couple time to actually talk and see each other before the I dos.

The State House is gorgeous by itself so our decor plan was very minimal. We placed two pedestals with ferns at the beginning of the aisle and another two on both sides of the alter. Behind the alter was a large floral design of pinks and greens,their wedding colors.

The ceremony went off without a hitch the only problem was that one of the flowers girls had blisters on her foot so she walked down the aisle barefoot. HOW CUTE!

Darby was beautiful, she wore simple ivory/white gown and adorned with a amethyst broach from her grandmother. She also wore the family veil. It has been a tradition in her family since 1819. Darby also told me about another tradition in her family "the bell". At her parents house the children always would ring a huge dinner bell. I guess that her parents got tired of it being rung all the time so they made a rule that you could only ring the bell if you were pregnant or if you were getting married. So once they were pronounced man and wife, Darby and Frank walked down the aisle and I was there with a bell for them to ring!

When Darby and I talked about the reception decor she told me that she wanted it to be cool and refreshing. So we came up with a plan to use lemons, limes, and a bright pink. The place card table was very cool. We used wheat grass on the table then placed the place cards in the grass. The table was also accented with little limes and callalilly heads. At the bar, there were huge jars filled with fresh strawberries, limes, water and ice. The centerpieces on the tables were so fun. We did two different designs, 1 with cylinders jars filled with limes and on the top of the jars were orbs of green button mums and pink carnations on the others tables we did a square vase with huge hydrangeas. Before the first dance, Frank serenaded Darby with a song. I loved it. The evening was magical. Darby kept telling me "Everything is perfect." And that's why I love what I do. Its so rewarding to me to see everything come together and help be a part of the wedding day. A big thanks to everyone involved, Lauren and Rob with Openfield Photography( I can't wait to see the professional pictures), Traci and her staff at the Skyline Club, Tracy Jones at the State House and Julie, the flowers were amazing as always. I couldn't of pulled it off with their help. Darby and Frank are off to Jamaica!

Jordan and Barry

Jordan and Barry

August 9,2008

Riverwalk Lodge

Jordan and Barry are die hard Colts fans and it wasn't hard to tell if you attended their wedding. Jordan had countless ideas about how she wanted the ceremony and reception to look. After many revisions we finally came up with a elegant classy look that took pink and brown to a whole new level. The Riverwalk Lodge was totally transformed. The draping of tulle and Christmas lights made the biggest impact.

Jordan, Barry and I starting planning way back in October of 2007. Barry told me that he wanted Blue the Colts mascot to officiant their wedding. I thought he was kidding but he was dead serious. Thankfully, Jordan was against the idea as well. But I wanted to incorporate Barry's love for the Colts. So I came up with Blue making an appearance during the reception. This was Jordan's surprise gift to Barry. After dinner, the champagne toast, the first dance and the cupcake parade ( Barry dislikes cake ) Blue made his grand entrance. The timing was absolutely perfect and the look on Barry's face was priceless. Barry came up to me later in the evening and said other than saying "I Do" that was the best moment of my life!

The party rocked until the bar closed and kept on going at the after party. Jordan and Barry were wonderful to work and I will truly miss them.

Kristen and Ryan

The set up began early in the week and continued until the first guest arrived on site, this wedding was one to document for several reasons. First, the canal was absolutely breath-taking, secondly Kristen put her heart and soul into this wedding with all her creative ideas, and the exclamation point of the evening was when the bride and groom JUMPED into the canal at the end of the night!!!!!! (I wish I would have had my camera to get a picture of that)! When the tent went up and the rehearsal began, all the guests started to arrive wearing black and white. Then suddenly the bride appeared in a hot, sassy tiffany blue cocktail dress. WOW, now that’s a way to get the party started. The color combination of black, white, and tiffany blue was a perfect color palette for Kristen and Ryan. The canal (Vermont Street) brings many memories to CCP. This is where it all began with my bride and friend, Darcie. 4 years ago, Darcie got married on the canal in the exact same place, after her event she helped me plan her friend’s wedding, and then joined the CCP team! Vermont Street only has approx. 3-4 weddings on the canal a year. It’s a beast, but worth the fight. Between the public, the stairs, and the heat it’s not an easy task. Every single piece has to be brought down two flights of stairs, that doesn’t come cheap. My SUV was packed to the top full of décor and cute little touches that create the WOW factor at any event. Starting at 9 AM on Saturday morning I was on my way to begin the set up. On my way, I punctured my tire. My husband came to the rescue and changed the tire in under 45 minutes. Needless to say, I had staff down there waiting on me to arrive on site with all the décor. Finally behind almost 1.5 hours I made it on site and started to unload. The chiffon and Chinese lanterns along with the lights were hung the night before, but the linens and little (BIG) details needed to be implemented by 1PM on the wedding day. All my busy bees began right away and worked hard as the sweat came pouring down their cheeks. On one side the ceremony took place and then the guests entered the tent on the west side of Vermont street. The wedding was absolutely amazing thanks to this wonderful family and fun bride and groom. After Kristen’s grand entrance (thanks Louise) down the staircase the 200 guests watched her approach Ryan, the groom. During the ceremony the bridal party laid hands on the bride and groom during a moment of prayer. Her sister sang a special song during the water ceremony (similar to the sand ceremony). It was hot, but no one thought of the intense sun during this wonderful moment. After the ceremony, the guests were offered tiffany blue punch and asked to go on the bridge to watch as the couple left on the gondola. Rose petals were thrown as the bride and groom literally sailed away down the canal. You would have never thought you were downtown Indianapolis (see pictures). Finally the guests were asked to greet the bride and groom at the top of the bridge and enter the tent for dinner. Every little detail in the tent truly came to life with Brian Whitis’ tiffany blue uplighting, Julie’s flowers, and MBP food creating a picture perfect event. It was very rewarding to bring Kristen’s vision to life (my favorite part of the job). By 11 the party had to shut down due to the noise ordinance in the city, the bride and groom jumped into the canal, and the crew came back to tear everything down. The next morning, I arrived on the canal to double check the rental company had picked up the tent and other rentals. There I was on the canal with a few pieces of trash, 1 program fan, and an empty water bottle. You would have never known a wedding had just taken place hours before. It was a moment to sit and reflect, truly a transformation from concrete to filet mignon. It can be done, you find the place CCP makes it happen!

A special thanks to my new friend, Kristen Cambridge and her mom Louise Marsh. What a great woman!
Now I’m off to NYC for a weekend. Darcie it’s your turn.