Another Free Invitation Design Winner!

Congratulations to Korena who won free custom design for her wedding invitations! Korena has had some great ideas for other bloggers and good questions as well.

Korena's wedding will be a bright fuschia, pale green and chocolate brown. Her wedding theme will be "Sweet Dreams" and will be cenetered around candy bars and sweet treats which I absolute want to sink my teeth into :) This is going to be a very "tasteful" wedding!

I encourage everyone to keep blogging and talking about their plans and ideas. Keep reading because there will be more talk about your December 28th White Wedding at Parkway Place bridal show!

White Wedding at Parkway - December 28th

Parkway Place is proud and excited to be announcing White Wedding at Parkway Place"; a bridal show that brings all the wedding professionals to you!

The Show is December 28th from 11:00am to 3:00 pm at Parkway Place in Maumee. Admission is only $6.00 and each bride will receive our signature "White Bags" filled with deals and useful information from Toledo area wedding professionals.

ENJOY THIS TIME WITH FRIENDS AND FAMILY
While you're home for the Holidays with your family and friends, bring everyone along to make memories of your time to plan. Get the girls together and come to the show to meet professionals, have lunch at the show, have a glass of wine at the Wine Tasting, watch a Runway Show of the latest gowns, and hopefully win some prizes along the way!

PRIZES
Enter to win the White Wedding Grand Prize Give-A-Way; your chance to win at least $500.00 in products or services from a collaboration of wedding professionals! Can you even believe that?! We've assembled a group of must-have wedding elements so that one lucky couple will win a near next-to-nothing wedding. Must be present to win.

Also enter to win an array of other prizes being given away throughout the show from area wedding professionals.

BRING YOUR CHECKBOOKS
Brides, this is your chance to book all the pieces of your big day. Don't miss out on your date by booking with your number one choices right at the show. You'll find everything you need at White Wedding at Parkway Place.

Stay tuned for more information on "White Wedding at Parkway Place" and we hope to see you there!

Stunning Cakes From Parkway and Cambridge Place

Did you know that Parkway and Cambridge Place can provide you with a beautiful cake for your event? We offer full cake services from design, to assembly, to delivery. Your cake will be prepared by our experienced bakers to your specifications. Our goal is to make the centerpiece of your reception uniquely "you".

All of our standard cakes allow you to choose from an array of sizes, flavors, designs and tastes. Cakes can also be ordered with special fillings of your choice and either Butter Cream or Fondant frosting for an additional charge.

Take a look at some of the cakes we've done in the past then call and get started on your own! Oh, and try and keep the drooling to a minimum ;)

My Modern Day Vineyard Fairytale

Okay, okay. I know what you're going to think... but a girl's allowed to show off her one and only day! :) Really, I just want to share ideas on this blog and maybe you'll see a photo that inspires you or you'll find the vendor you needed!? You never know.

On May 17, I was married to the love of my life, Jason. We were married at St. Paul's Lutheran Church and then had our reception at Parkway Place. I wanted to share with you some photos, all taken by Decisive Moment Photojournalism in Toledo, of our event some links of vendors we used. Maybe it will spark some ideas for you.

We had a wine themed wedding decorated with dark aubergine purple and chartreuse green. We used grape clusters and vines, large purple roses, natural branching, wine crates, wine bottles and green orchids to make our modern day vineyard come to life. Our party favors were home made bottles of wine with a custom label. The whole place looked magical... well if you ask me! The best thing is, Parkway doesn't need hardly a thing to look stunning.
Our guests received a bottle of home made Red Zinfandel wine with a recipe card chosen by Jason and me recommended to compliment. Our flowers were all silk! You'd never even know! What a HUGE budget saver and we were able to get triple the flowers and decorations because of it. Rainbow Flowers were the masterminds behind the floral madness and what friendly people too.


I like to do things myself, so instead of buying a guest book I designed it! We took our engagement photos and turned them into a book at Blurb.com. We put a photo on the left and space to sign on the right. Our guests loved seeing our photos and it makes a great keepsake.



Instead of using numbers, we used different names of wine to name our tables.

We had been gathering empty wine bottles for months! We also found old wine crates and lots of grape bunches to ceodrate between the pillars. It really defined the mood. We also used wine corks to display the name cards for seating assignments. We just cut a flat edge and then created a groove for the paper to set in. They were so fun!

See the dinner menus? I designed those for our guests. We opted for the buffet, but the charger plates really added some elegance to the tables.
I don't like the traditional cake stand so we had our cake placed on top of some old wine crates to keep with the theme. Who made it, you ask? Paula Daughtery - 419-885-4004
Jason and I love to try new things, so we took lessons from The Ballroom Company in Maumee. We performed a Rumba to "Everything" by Michael Bublé and even let the bridal Party jump in at the end! Yes, they learned the dance too! It was so much fun and our guests TOTALLY loved it!
This is Holly Trolley! She was our ride from the church to the reception.

Decisive Moment Photojournalism did the photography for our wedding and engagement session. This is one of our favorite photos. We enjoied our Photographer, Brenna :)
The decorated archway at the entrance of the church really made the entrance more fun. We also lined the aisle runner with purple and a touch of green flower petals to make it dramatic! My mom made the runner from white satin with lace on either end. That really meant a lot to me.

Recognize that Bridesmaid??? Yup! That's our very own Event Coordinator, Elizabeth Simon! One of my best friends since high school Elizabeth was absolutely one of the most important people standing next to us at our wedding. Not-to-mention she about did everything when it came to setting up and making sure things went smoothly. Thanks Elizabeth! You're next, Bride-to-be :)

Send me photos of your wedding with your ideas! What did you do that might inspire other brides? Or just tell me about what you're planning.

The Guest Book Make Over

I got the idea for this post from Stephanie who's been participating in the blog recently. So thanks Steph!

I've never entertained the idea of a white satin book lined with lace and pearls as a signature collector at a wedding. It's more like work for your guests to have to stand in line to sign their names as if proving they attended a high school extra credit event. The books always end up in a closet somewhere never to be looked at again.

So when I was married, I decided the guest book needed a make-over. I wanted it to be something I would enjoy looking at from time-to-time, that could be a decorative piece in my home as well as a fun memory of those who shared our day. But it also had to be something my guests wouldn't find annoying.

My solution: I designed a photo book that consisted of one of our engagement photos on the left page and a place to write well wishes on the right page! I used Blurb.com to create my book. I downloaded the program from their site, uploaded my photos from my computer, and then designed my book using their super easy tools. When it was finished I ordered the book online for $30 and it arrived in a few short days. I love this book because it was a fun way to display our favorite photos from our engagement for our guests to see. But more importantly my husband and I got a beautiful collection of our photos with wonderful notes and signatures from those who not only shared our big day with us but those who have shaped our lives growing up and encouraged our relationship as husband and wife. Our book sits on our coffee table for friends and family to enjoy and to remind us how lucky we are.













Some Other Ideas For Your "Guest Book"
• blurb.com photo book
• create a scrapbook with photos of the couple
• frame your favorite image with large white matting and leave a black marker for guests to sign it.
• Leave a blank album, a Polaroid camera, and a black marker on a table. Assign someone to snap a photo of guests as they arrive and allow them to sign their names or write a note on the photo with a black marker. Then stick the photo in an album for the bride and groom to remember.
• Set up a video camera and let guests tape special messages and warm wishes. That will be fun to watch later!

Have another idea? Share them with me!

The Future Mrs. Rairigh

Congratulations to Parkway's own Elizabeth Simon who became engaged on Monday morning! Our very own wedding coordinator has begun planning her own wedding to her soon-to-be hubby, Mark Rairigh who sent her on a scavenger hunt, of sorts, that lead to him on one knee. *sigh*
There simply is no one better to plan such a day than Elizabeth herself and we are just thrilled for her, Mark and their families. Congrats you two!