Mint & Lemon Wedding

Spring has sprung! With daffodils blooming and the bright green buds of trees popping out, I couldn't help but be inspired. I think that pastels make a wonderful color palette for any spring wedding. This year, my favorite soft color pick is mint and lemon!

I love this color scheme because it isn't too girly. It screams fresh, young and modern. For event design, incorporate either bold 60's fabrics or go more traditional with stripes. With vintage weddings so popular it is easy to find mint green milk glass. Use it for centerpieces, cake stands or even dishes!

With so many fantastic scrapbooking papers, it would be a blast to create invitations with these colors. I envision bold flowers, polka-dots, stripes or modern patterns. Strong type mixed with a more flirty font.

This color combination is light and airy but you could easily add a pop of sophistication with mustard yellow or teal as an accent color. I love the idea of the gentlemen wearing light gray or taupe suits and yellow boutonnieres. For ladies, I would suggest flowy mint dresses, bright yellow bouquets, and mustard or teal accessories. Lemon colored heels for the bride would be awesome for pictures.

There are so many fun "foodie" accents you could do for this palette. Playing off of mint and lemon, serve lemon cupcakes with green tinted frosting. For beverages you could have a signature drink of hard lemonade with a sprig of mint and striped straws. I'm sure that your caterer could even create a tasty menu around these colors! (Although, that might be taking it a little bit too far. ;D)Wouldn't it be cute to have lemon drop favors in mint boxes?

Oh so many possibilities! I hope I've inspired you.


PHOTO CREDITS: Pinterest

Green Wedding Ideas - Terrarium Centerpieces

Hello Ladies (and maybe some Gentleman)!

I have an exciting blog post today that focuses on "green" wedding ideas. I'm a total permaculture supporter, in fact I already have my seedlings growing for my square foot gardens. Since I strongly believe in the principles of practicing sustainable living, I do whatever I can to support eco-friendly practices in event design.

In my household, we are discussing putting a greenhouse in our yard so that we can grow fresh herbs and veggies year round. (Not easy in our harsh Minnesota climate.) This left me with the idea of using terrariums or mini-green houses that essentially create their own ecosystems as centerpieces for guest tables! Cute and original. :)

Now, I realize that it might take a little more work to have this type of a centerpiece. You will definitely have to start in advance. Although making a terrarium centerpiece might take more time it probably will be less expensive than using flowers! I would start at least a couple months in advance of your wedding.

Here is what you will need to make a terrarium: glass containers, rocks, potting soil, and potted herbs/plants.

The first step in creating your terrarium centerpiece involves picking your container. You can use glass bubble vases from the dollar store, apothecary jars, small fish bowls or large pickle jars. There are so many possibilities!

The next step is to select your plants. I suggest using an odd number of plants with many different leaf styles to create aesthetic diversity. Mixing and matching the color of your plants is also a great way to make your terrarium interesting. Personally, I love the idea of including wonderful smelling herbs like Rosemary or Basil.

After you have your container and plants selected, line the bottom of your terrarium with rocks. Then add your soil on top until the container is about half-way full. Next put in your plants and make sure you like where they are situated before adding the rest of the soil. Secure the plants by packing down the soil and wallah, a terrarium!

It is super easy to care for your terrarium. Simply put it next to a window that receives a nice amount of sunlight and water regularly. You might even try to put interesting non-plant items in to create more interest. I like the idea of agate rocks, glass marbles, crystals or even costume jewelry.

Additionally, if you are doing terrarium centerpieces, make sure that they are no taller than your nose height if you are sitting down at a table. This makes sure that your guests sight line will be clear and they will be able to visit without distraction.

I also really love the idea of mini-terrariums as place-cards! You could fill small containers with rocks and tiny plants. Write the name of your guest on one large rock placed in the terrarium and you have a very cool place-card that can double as a favor! :)

Speaking of favors, another great "green" wedding favor is to give away trees for guests to plant on their property or at a public forest! Just like the mini-terrarium you can add guest names to them using paper tags. You can have them grouped all together or at each place setting.

I sincerely hope that I've inspired you to incorporate some eco-friendly event design into your wedding. Using natural elements given to us by mother nature is always beautiful and in style!

Happy Planning!

Barbie Party

Hello everyone!

I know that I've been a lazy blogger lately. I've just been so busy with my work life and my family life. My baby girl recently turned four.(Already? Sniff.) As an event planner, sometimes I go a little nuts on my kiddo's birthdays. When my daughter requested a Barbie Party I knew it was going to be a blast to plan.

I found a great deal online for Barbie napkins and that is what I built the color scheme around. Purple, hot pink and bright green made the party so funky and bright. However, I wanted to be careful to not use too much pre-made Barbie accessories. I think when you make decor you can really add personal touches that make the party special.

I made her birthday banner out of card stock and used my Silhouette cutter to make the circles and letters. I have white shutters from my collection of rental items and I used them to hang the birthday banner. (The community center room had restrictions on hanging stuff on the walls and I couldn't let that get in the way of having a cute party!)

In addition to the banner, I created a variety of tissue pom-poms and hung them from the ceiling. I was careful to stagger them so that some of them were higher than others and this created a lot of visual interest. I really love using paper to make event designs because it is inexpensive and versatile. For instance, instead of just using plain streamers, I sewed the crepe paper so that it became ruffled and frilly.

For the candy buffet table, I used a hot pink table cloth and sewed a white and purple polka dot runner to go over that. Then I loaded the table with a number of apothecary jars and filled them with color coordinating candy. I also used my daughter's Barbie car as a silverware holder! It was so stinking cute!

I think my favorite part was the Barbie cake. It was $40 and totally worth it! My daughter gasped when she saw it. It looked fabulous on my white, three tiered cake stand. I also made cupcakes and dressed them in custom holders and picks made from scrapbooking paper. Each cupcake pick had one of the elements found on the Barbie party napkins.

As far as the actual party, it was pretty low key. We had it at the Maple Maze indoor playground at the Maple Grove Community Center. I ordered pizza and we let the kids eat then we spent the rest of the afternoon watching them run around in the park. Lily had a blast and I had a great time coming up with all the different decorations to make her Barbie party unique.

Happy Birthday to my sweet angel! I hope I get to do many, many more. :)

PHOTO CREDITS: WONDERFUL DAY WEDDINGS

Randy to the Rescue in MN!

Hello ladies!

So here is the scoop. Randy to the Rescue will be in Minnesota this April. How exciting is that?! For those of you who don't know, he is the fashion expert at Kleinfeld's in New York and is featured on "Say Yes to the Dress." Randy will be bringing his signature styling knowledge to lucky Minnesota brides!

If you are interested in appearing on "Randy to the Rescue" now is your chance. Email them with your name, age, wedding date, and location at randytotherescue@gmail.com! He will be here on April 15, 2012 so now is the time to get your information to the show. http://tlc.howstuffworks.com/tv/randy-to-the-rescue.

Absolutely fabulous.Good luck!

Emerging Trends - Hanging Glass Orbs

Oh. My. Goodness. I am just in love with this new centerpiece idea! I've always been a fan of tall branch centerpieces decorated with exotic flowers but adding the glass orb takes it to a whole new level.

Imagine having branches decorated with lush flowers and glass orbs hanging down from them with candles or exotic flowers inside. Beautiful, right?! I think this trend lends itself to a very sophisticated, modern, chic wedding.

The flowers that I would use with hanging orbs are on the exotic side. Birds of paradise, cactus, orchids or spider mums would look amazing! Pairing these flowers with lush greenery or moss would make for a very interesting orb. Of course, the other option is to have flower filled branches and arrange moss or candles within the glass orb. Wouldn't it be the epitome of whimsical?

This event design is definitely edgy, modern and bright. It is interesting! I totally envision a bright color palette with lots of up-lighting. Another idea just popped into my head. :) Wouldn't it be fun to do something really cool and have a personalized favor in each one? 8 hanging orbs with beautiful soap or pretty little boxes of chocolate? Hmmmm. So many options! I hope that I've inspired!

Happy planning, everyone!


PHOTO CREDITS: Crafts Direct, Event-Solutions.com

New Event Venue - 514 Studios

Here's the scoop! There is a new loft style event space in the Minneapolis warehouse district. It is 514 Studios and is available for photo shoots, cocktail parties and smaller wedding receptions and banquets. I love this type of space because it is a blank slate!

This building is incredibly hip! It has exposed beams and brick walls with white cement floors. Can you say character? There is a small kitchen area for catering. With a little creativity this area can be sectioned off so your guests would not see it.

You could make the studio a more traditional space by using ceiling draping, chair covers and full floral arrangements. The other option is to do something completely unconventional! Leave the wood beams and brick exposed and go for that urban chic vibe. Really simple clean lines with monochromatic colors would be fabulous!

514 Studios showcased this space with an environmentally friendly event design. They used tissue paper balls and newspaper flowers to create a feminine look in a more masculine space. For a wedding, I love the idea of hanging hundreds of staggered tissue paper pom poms from the beams of the ceiling. If you wanted to do something a little more upscale consider a variety of chandeliers.


Photogen showed off their photography skills by presenting their work on a rolling display board. This inspired my idea of lining the back brick wall of the space with a collage of engagement photos hanging from the ceiling using heavy duty monofilament to create a floating photo showcase. I would set the head table directly under it!Wouldn't this be so cool instead of a traditional slide show?

This space would be perfect for a dinner reception of under 100 people. For a cocktail reception you could fit a few more guests. Wouldn't it be cool to have heavy hors d'oeuvres stations instead of a sit down buffet?

The acoustics in the space are pretty good so a small band or a DJ would work perfectly for music. There is also an indie coffee shop located next door so if your guests need a little pick me up they could pop in!

For more information visit 514studios.com

Happy planning!

New Rentals!

As you may know, Wonderful Day Weddings has added unique and vintage rentals to our repertoire in the last year! As an antiquing junky, I've amassed a pretty cool collection of stuff. I need to beef up my furniture inventory a little bit and I'm always keeping my eye out for that perfect French provincial sofa or pair of weathered farm chairs.

Well, I found a stunner! Her name is Violet and she is an 1850's settee with plum upholstery. The ornate carvings on the piece make it so beautiful! This little sofa would be so great at an engagement photo shoot or if you want to have a vintage seating area at your wedding!

In addition to my darling settee, I also found a patina birdcage to add to my collection. I already have a shabby chic white one, and it is a top rental! I think that this new patina birdcage will do well too. I love using birdcages for cards but they can also be used as a decor element. Simply add vines and flowers for a stunning centerpiece!

Finally, I found a pair of awesome chicken-wire lanterns! They are not antiques but are still cool none the less! They have hurricane glass candle votives in the center and would look fantastic hanging from the trees at a rustic barn wedding.

I have a number of other items that will be available soon but I don't want to give them away yet! The rental inventory is always changing. We also make custom creations. I love coming up with unique ideas for event props and making them from scratch. Not everything has to be vintage to be cool! Sometimes the coolest event props are made with a specific theme in mind. I'll just leave you with that little tease.

I can't wait until summer so I can do a photo shoot and show you all of my new stuff in style! Wonderful Day Weddings rentals are exclusively for our clients and for our preferred photographers. If you are a photographer and would like to be included in the preferred vendor list for rentals, please contact me through the Wonderful Day Weddings website.