Double Trouble!

I've found the shoes that will take you from the first holiday cocktail party all the way through New Year's!

Hello, lover! Let me introduce you to Badgley Mischka's Platinum Humbie Pump

The shoe has reversible sequins, transforming your blue shoes to silver or your black shoes to silver with just a flip. The shoes retail for $200 (which if you think about it is really $100 a pair) and are available now on endless.com

You don't know what you've got 'till its gone...

This post has nothing to do with weddings, trends, or parties. Its an excerpt from an email from my brother Mike who is currently serving on a medical mission in Tanzania. The message in his story really hit me. As Southerners we think that what we offer is "hospitality", it sure pales in comparison to the Tanzanian way.

"Glasses"

I’ve been in Africa for over two weeks now and am starting to pick up nuances into the culture and people that are quite telling. I’ve learned that the average income for a family of four in Mwaanza is $100 US dollars per month. The cost of goods here is cheaper, but not significantly enough to offset how little money this is. Meat for dinner is a rarity and the majority of the home meals consist of a mashed corn dish similar to maize paired with a sautéed sweet potato.Most people work six to seven days per week. Our housekeepers who clean, do laundry and cook our lunch and dinner work all seven days taking only Saturday afternoon off. Despite this schedule, they sing all day long and never stop smiling. As I’m writing this now, Marina, out housekeeper is sweeping and singing a beautiful melody that is competing with the chirping birds outside – very Snow White. Very Tanzanian.The cab drivers give you their cell phones so you can text them to pick you up no matter what time of day or night. I’ve been using a man named Emmanuel who responds to each ride request with a cheerful text that says, “Be right there doc.” When he drops us of somewhere, such as the market or a restaurant, he arranges a time to pick us up and insists that we don’t pay for the first leg until he brings us home safely later. Our tailor Moosa won’t accept payment until the clothes fit just right. He happily walks the two miles back home to make the alterations and arranges a time at our convenience to bring them back. No questions. No attitude. When we asked Moses if we could pay for a cooking lesson, he said he and his wife would be honored to cook for us, and refused any discussion of a possible payment. When Namrata’s luggage got taken by mistake, the man at the airport office in the Dar Es Salaam airport, let us into his office, offered us tea, allowed us to use his phone to call long distance, gave Namrata a fifty dollar shopping card, arranged for transport to a clothing shop, called the Bugando medical center housing to let them know we’d be late in Swahili, and arranged for his friend to pick us up at the airport. He then asked if we liked Obama and if we thought the healthcare plan would go through. Can you imagine this kind of service back home? It’s almost un-American. Apparently it’s very Tanzanian.The word for thank you in Swahili is Asante. When you say it to someone here, they respond Asante Kuchiku which literally means “thank you for saying thank you.” This is like sending someone a thank you card for their thank you card. Unnecessarily polite. Very Tanzanian.So much of what is difficult to adjust to here revolves around its inconvenience to me: power outages leading to cold showers, no internet, phone service interruptions, hot days, lab tests that take days at the hospital. The Tazanians don’t see it that way. They are grateful for the days there are warm showers and thankful for the occasional access to slow internet that allows them to keep in touch with their families. They don’t resent a hot day – in fact, the hottest day makes it all the easier to appreciate a cool breeze. They are proud of their hospital being the most modern around, and while they acknowledge that they need to continue moving forward, they are pleased to be able to work with what they have. I am certain, that despite the fact the Tanzanians have so much less, they are happier then we are on average back home. They don’t complain about what they don’t have; they praise God for what they’ve been given. The streets are filled with song and dance at night. The kids laugh and play games running home from school. Men and women hold hands in the street. I think it’s time for a paradigm shift back home don’t you?We have all come to realize how true the cliché “you don’t know what it’s got until it’s gone” means here. It’s a daily, almost tangible, feeling. But at first this feeling was about voids created by the luxuries we left behind. But I’ve learned that standards can change. On our three days on Safari we would have given anything for a cold shower, something we’d been complaining about just days before. Luxury was redefined by circumstance. Now I’m starting to realize as well that not knowing what you’ve got until it’s gone is just as applicable to bad things. I didn’t realize how stressed I was back home until I noticed it wasn’t there anymore here. Didn’t notice how short tempered I could be until all things became relative here and I felt my fuse lengthen. I had a friend who told me she never knew she had poor vision until the first day she wore glasses. She recalls noticing for the first time that the tops of trees were pointed and said she remembers feeling robbed by her first seven years of poor vision. I may have arrived here a foreigner, probably the easiest to identify muzungu in the town, but one thing is for certain. I plan to leave with a touch of Tanzanian. This experience has been my glasses.

Match Point

As my clients and stationery vendors know, I am slightly fixated on all colors being a close or exact match throughout all wedding related items. I’m a huge fan of the Pantone Matching System and often bring the color swatches to design meetings to clients can pick the EXACT shade they want throughout their printing materials and other elements.

I was over the moon when The Dessy Group launched The Pantone Wedding Collection. The colors of the dresses correspond to the Pantone system so even the hue of your girls frock will match the ink on the programs precisely. Furthermore, you can create inspiration boards using their dresses and order Pantone swatches to give your vendors so everyone is on the same page!

It’s a wonderful tool to help you pair colors and play around before deciding on the official hues for your big day.

Thank you Dessy Group for this innovative idea!

The Great Pumpkins

As I sit here watching Charlie Brown's Great Pumpkin , I thought I'd share the pumpkins I have created the last few years. Happy Halloween!

Atlanta Brides Casting Call

Want to be on Get Married TV? Check out this casting call ASAP!


http://www.getmarried.com/eblast/casting-atl/index.html

Whitney + Winn

9.19.09
My dear friend Whitney was married September 19 in the quaint town of Bristol, Virginia. Having been there from the moment the couple met, and through their courtship, this was a very special wedding for me to attend. It was so fun helping Whitney through the planning process and lining things up for them on-site. Not a detail was left behind and even the weather held out for this picturesque mountain wedding weekend. Here are some photos from the bride’s personal collection so you can see for yourself how gorgeous everything turned out. Congratulations to the Everharts xoxo!

I am just loving the Style Cirle over on Style Me Pretty's website. This morning I have been working on a board for a potential client using the fun combination of Tiffany Blue and Red.

Credits: Mark Brooke, Lisa Lefkowitz, Meg Perotti

All Hung Up!

As a wedding planner it is my job to notice every tiny detail to make things perfect. My latest obsession and hang-up (literally), are the hangers that bridal gowns come on. Nearly every bride wants the "dress shot"; you know the one were the gown hangs from the door, or an armoire just before she puts it on. These shots are beautiful, and gives everyone a chance to see all the details of the gown in all of her glory and there it sits on some cheap-o plastic hanger. You may think I am a bit Joan Crawford-esque by obsessing over this detail, but that’s why I do what I do!

I’ve found some great alternatives on Esty.com that would make a great keepsake for any bride. Check out HollySews shop and KimGrantInk for great ideas! Not only will the photos look great and memorable, but the gown can rest on this pretty hanger forever.
Cheers!

Happy 1st Anniversary to the Rawlings

Happy Anniversary Reed + Jessica! Image: Tina Rowden

"I Do" or "I Will"

At a wedding rehearsal last weekend the pastor asked the couple to say "I Will" rather than the more common vow agreement "I Do". We asked him why and his answer was simple and perfect, "I do represents the present tense, I Will represents the future". I loved that.