Real Weddings: Abby and Zack

It's hard to believe that Abby and Zack's wedding was almost a year ago! Working with this wonderful couple was one of the highlights of our season. The beauty and personalization of this wedding shows what can be achieved when the couple is committed to making their wedding special and works closely with us on all the details from start to finish creating a style that is all about them! Their wedding day reflected their personalities, their relationship and celebrated and honored their family and friends. The ceremony and reception were held at the Twentieth Century Club in Buffalo. Here are some of the photos courtesy of Knight Studio.

Thanks to the following  "dream team" of  awesome vendors for their contributions to the day:  Flowers by Johnny, Belletristics, Dessert Deli, Joyride Band, Knight Studio, APV Productions, Rev. Sue Samuels, Buffalo Trolleys.

Real Weddings: Kristyn and Nick

In July of last year, we had the pleasure of coordinating and designing Kristyn and Nick's wedding. Robert from Knight Studio did and awesome job capturing all the special moments at this wedding.  The ceremony took place at her parent's beautiful waterfront home in Grand Island, NY.  Can you guess what Kristyn's favorite color is?

After the ceremony, the bridal party took a short ride to the reception site on a boat.  The reception was held at The Buffalo Launch Club, with cocktail hour taking place inside and on the back patio.

Dinner and Dancing took place in a tent right next to the launch club and just steps from the water.  It was so lovely to be right on the water on this steamy July day.  When guests entered the tent they were absolutely wowed by the decor and the details!  Obviously the bride's favorite color is purple - it was everywhere-including in the tent liner lighting which looked fantastic later in the evening.

The dramatic centerpieces from Flowers by Johnny were outstanding and enhanced the feel of the traditional yet contemporary reception.

The head table was a captain's table with the bridal party sitting on all sides...linens by Distinctive Occasions were beautiful shimmery braided overlays.

The stationery was so pretty and matched the decor and feel of the wedding perfectly thanks to Sarah of Belletristics. 

We also used this design for a gobo that lit up the dance floor with Kristen and Nick's names.  Here is a photo of the Bride and Groom during their first dance.

Thanks for allowing us the honor to be part of your day - we had a blast!

Tablescapes: Napkin Rings

Napkin rings are a great and inexpensive way to add depth, color, and interest to a tablescape.  Whatever the feel or theme of your wedding (or any kind of event for that matter) you can find a napkin ring to enhance your decor.  

Etsy is an amazing resource for unique napkin rings, from vintage to modern, handmade to custom made.                                                                                          

You can go with something as simple as a silk flower:

This cute napkin ring is from The Brass Brassiere Blog; scroll down on the site for DIY instructions for making it. You can change the colors, flower and band to create a look to suit any style.

If you are all about sparkle and bling you can add something ornate like this to your table:

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You can place a feather in the napkin ring for extra dimension:

  Photo from http://www.projectwedding.com/

Or you can add a flower or a little bunch of flowers to match your centerpieces:

Photo from http://www.elizabethannedesigns.com/

Having the napkin ring serve double duty as a favor for your guests to take home is a unique idea and a great way to cut your expenses:

This red napkin ring from beau-coup is also a vase.  It makes a lovely gift for guests and can cost as little as $1.50 each!  Other take home napkin ring ideas include luggage tags, and mouse pads. 

This simple die cut napkin ring from wedding star adds elegance to any table setting and can be customized with your guests names to serve as place cards, and even better - they cost under $1.00 each!

I hope this has given you some great ideas and resources to give your table that little extra something special.

Happy Planning!

Media: Distinctive Occasions Interviewed for Buffalo Brides Magazine

We were pleased to be asked to contribute to a recent article on wedding planning in Buffalo Brides Magazine - here is the article!

The wedding planning puzzle

Fitting the pieces together to create your perfect day

By Erin Morris

Planning a wedding is no easy feat. The joy of being newly engaged can be soon eclipsed by dread as you realize the
enormous task before you. A plan of action makes the process easier, but with so many details to handle and so many decisions to make, the challenge is knowing where to begin.

It’s the age-old “what comes first” question.  Is it setting the date? Creating the guest list? Choosing your venue? Or establishing your budget?

Local wedding planner Dawn Schregel, owner of Distinctive Occasions LLC in Amherst, suggests starting with the big picture and working your way down to the details.

First, establish your overall “vision.”

“Discuss the style and feel, what you’re looking to get out of the day and what aspects are most important to you,” said Schregel. 

Your vision will include things like whether you see it as a day or evening celebration; whether you want something large and festive or small and intimate; and the level of formality (casual beach wedding or black-tie dinner)?

Once you’ve established the overall feel, Schregel said that budgeting is the next step.

Newlywed Christina Warren of Tonawanda agrees. “The budget definitely puts things into perspective for any couple planning a wedding,” she said. “You can narrow down what seems like an endless amount of choices to a few that are manageable.”

It may not seem romantic, but creating a budget will ensure that you start off on the right foot financially.

“You really need to know where the funds are coming from, who will pay for what, the division of expenses,” said Schregel.  “That’s something you want to figure out before you start thinking about how many guests you’re going to have, or going to visit venues.”

Once you know what you have to work with, the next step is setting your priorities.

“I sometimes tell couples to make a list of non-negotiables,“ said Schregel. Discuss what elements of the wedding are most important to you. For some couples, it’s the music – they wouldn’t dream of getting married without their favorite 10-piece band.  For others it’s a certain restaurant or menu.

Then – if your heart is set on serving surf-and-turf and top-shelf liquor – you can start making adjustments to accommodate your budget, like forgoing the designer gown or high-profile photographer.

“In the planning stages it is very easy to get carried away with all of the excitement,” said Warren. By setting a budget up front, “you will be able to figure out what you are willing or able to spend, and what accommodations or changes you need to make [in order] to have your dream wedding.”

Establishing a budget early on will also help you make other big decisions – like how many guests you’ll invite. For most couples, food and beverage costs are the largest single wedding expense – so the more guests you invite, the greater your costs.  The size of your guest list will also help you narrow down your venue choices. If you decide on 300 guests, for instance, you’ve ruled out a lot of possibilities right off the bat. 

It’s at this point when you’ll want to start considering the date.  If you lock it in too early, keep in mind that you may lose out on the ceremony site or reception location you want.

And remember to always keep Plan B in mind.

“Usually things don’t go terribly wrong,” said Schregel, “but sometimes dates are already booked, venues close or vendors go out of business, these things happen.”

Don’t “throw away all of your research once the big decisions are made,” added Warren. “You never know what will happen.”

There is no right or wrong way to plan a wedding, but oftentimes, when certain decisions are made before others, plans can go awry.

Sometimes brides and grooms “get a little bit ahead of themselves,” said Schregel. “Booking vendors before you set a budget, choosing a date before finalizing a location, doing things like that can make the planning more difficult than it needs to be.“

No matter what roadblocks you may hit or how stressful the planning process may seem, the most important thing is to not get overwhelmed. Once the big decisions are made, everything else will fall into place.

Above all, Schregel advises to “make it fun. It’s all about you as a couple. Keep in perspective what this day is, it’s your wedding and should be all about the celebration of you as a couple. If you take it slowly and don’t stress about the little things, the planning will be much more enjoyable.”

Party Time: Where the Wild Things Are 1st Birthday

Last month we had the pleasure of planning a birthday bash for an adorable little boy that was turning 1!

For the theme his parents chose one of his favorite books, "Where the Wild Things Are"

The decor was inspired by both the classic children's book by Maurice Sendak and the more recent movie.

We were lucky enough to have the party at The Sonoma Grille in Williamsville, NY.  They do such a great job, it is always awesome to work with them.  

 We chose to do the room in two shades of green with pops of orange in the hanging pompoms and the centerpieces.

For the seating tables we used a moss crushed shimmer linen, with a complimentary lime linen on the bistro tables tied with a moss shimmer bow.  To give the room a "wild" feel we decorated all the stations with vines, leaves and branches.

Balloon Masters made these amazing balloon trees with hanging Max's that almost touched the ceiling!

For the centerpieces we used lime green Sixlets in hurricane vases and added bright orange Gerbera Daisys and Tulips.  They really stood out against the dark green linens.

The hosts wanted their guests to mingle and have a good time so we found some entertainment for both the adults and the kiddos, and we asked Terry's photo Studio to document all the fun.

The pictures below are courtesy of Terry.  

The beautiful cake from Muscoreil's was placed on the table with the blue punch waterfall.  All of the stations had custom signs by Distinctive Occasions inspired by lines from the book. 

There was even a boat.

The magical Bill Butski strolled around the room and entertained all guests, children and adults alike.

And Christina Reilly set up shop and had a line the entire evening for her caricatures! 

Favors for all the children were small boxed Where the Wild Things are puzzles.  Next to the favors is the wishing tree where the guest left personal birthday wishes for Yasin.  What a nice thing for him and his parents to look at in the future or use for a scrapbook!

Like perfect hosts they were the last ones to get their caricatures drawn.  What a great souvenir! 

The adorable guest of honor very politely digs into his smoosh cake.  We hope you had a happy birthday Yasin and we wish you many more!!