To Knot or To Not

A funny thing happened as I was chatting with a caterer friend of mine yesterday. He said "Are you going to the "knot" party at the W on Thursday?" to which I replied "Yes I am going to The "NOT" party at the W ,but its on Sunday". This resulted in a major dialogue of "whose on first" type banter. We finally realized there are two big wedding industry events this week at the same venue.

1) The Knot is hosting an event on Thursday at the W Buckhead

2) The NOT Wedding is happening on Sunday at the same place.

Confused yet? So was I, but I'll be attending both Knot and Not events and Hope to have lots of fabulous things to share next week!

Send me a drink!

I read about the coolest concept in my InStyle Magazine this month! You can go to this site and send friends a drink for different occasions. Say your BFF just got engaged but lives in NYC, you can send her a glass (or 2) of champagne to toast the occasion! She gets and email saying you've sent her a drink and registers it with the site GiveReal.com and then can go on the town and use the credit at any place that takes credit cards! Cute idea if you want to celebrate a friend's birthday or other event but can't be there in person! There are loads of different drinks available to send!

P.S. My birthday is June 12 and I enjoy prosecco, and a good chardonnay! :)

These are a few of my favorite things!

Pink & Prosecco...

and now PINK PROSECCO!

I mean how cute!? And it tastes good, great for a wedding shower, baby shower, or Sunday Brunch! Serve on a table set with another favorite of mine..Peonies and voila instant spring soiree!

Shake your Bon Bon

Well its about time Tara!

The Talented Tara Guerard of Soiree has FINALLY launched a blog. Be sure to check out the Bon Bon Blog for amazing tips and ideas. I've been a fan and follower of Tara for 5 years, faithfully attending her speaking engagements and I never leave without a notebook full of amazing ideas! Tara is not one to keep her clever ideas to herself so if you are in need of inspiration pop on over to her fabulous blog!

Cheers to Soiree Charelston and Tara for launching the Bon Bon Blog!

What will they think of next?

Do you ever get stuck in the aisle seat of an airplane and want to rest your head but you forgot your pillow/cardigan/sweatshirt? Never-fear the pilo pilo ring will do the trick! As a wedding planner I am quite familiar with the "ring-pillow" (for ring-bearers) but the "pillow-ring" is a new concept to me. Its kind of silly but not a bad idea. Check out the site and see for yourself Pilo-Pilo.

Run Atlanta Run!

Tomorrow morning the annual Filene's Basement "Running of the Brides" descends on Atlanta. Girls will camp overnight outside the Buckhead store front in hopes of snagging their dream gown for hundreds, often thousands less than retail price.

I attended this phenomenon the very first time it came to Atlanta. I was the MOH in my childhood friends wedding and we thought it would be fun to see what all of the hype was about. It was pure insanity, we were the first people through the doors and within seconds every dress on the racks were being tossed, traded and strewn about! Mountains of tulle and taffeta paired with mother's screaming "I need a size 8 strapless, fit and flare". Needless to say we did not leave with a gown.

My advice? If you have the morning to take off work and go for the fun of it, I say do it. But don't expect to find a dress. I hate to be Debbie Downer but these dresses are shipped from city to city, thrown all all over the stores, and tried on by hundreds of people. All the dresses I saw were losing their beading, stained and some even torn.

Finding your wedding dress is such a magical moment that should involve twirling on a pedestal surrounded by mirrors with your mom tearing up at the sight of you. Not having a line of screaming brides waiting to rip the gown off you so they can have it too. Happy Running!

images: Impressions Bridal Salon (r) MSNBC (l)

And the Allie Award Goes To...

Sunday night I attended the 15th annual Allie Awards an event that honors Atlanta's best event professionals over a variety of categories. While I was not personally nominated, one of my events won for Best Use of Decorative Linens. Congratulations to Tabletoppers for the couture linens they created for us for the Special Event Leadership Brunch in Atlanta.

Click Here for a complete list of winners! Congratulations to everyone!

McGenius!!!

Cheerio!

If you know me, you know that I am totally in love and obsessed with St. Patrick's day, have been since high school. Living in Atlanta, its the first time people come out of hibernation from winter and there is always something fun to do and a great excuse to entertain. I just LOVE it!

Last year I had a St. Patty's themed pot-luck party with my supper club. Rather than bringing Irish food which no one seems to like, I asked everyone to bring something green to eat! We had pesto pasta, salads, apple martinis...the menu was a tad eclectic but it was super fun! I have a lot of great St. Patricks decor I've picked up over the years at Home Goods and such, but I just HAD to share the McGenius and budget-friendly ideas from Robyn over at Mix Mingle Glow came up with for St. Patricks Tablecsapes. If you are thinking of having a dinner party for the luck of the Irish check out her FANTASTIC ideas for kids and adults. I've included a few of her creations below, but Click Here for the entire post!! Cheers to Robyn, can I come to your party?

You NEED This!!

Calling all wedding planners, moms, brides, and girls. I stumbled across this in the airtran magazine and thought it was the perfect find. This mini emergency kit in a chic metallic case houses everything a damsel in distress may ever need to aid her. Contains hairspray, clear nail polish, nail polish remover, emery board, lip balm, earring backs, clear elastics, sewing kit, double-sided tape, stain remover, deodorant towelette, pain reliever, tampon, breath freshener, dental floss, and adhesive bandages. Any crafty gal could fix all of life's problems with this kit (can we say McGyver?) and its only $12. I've ordered one to keep in my bridal emergency kit and in my car. You can get yours too right here or on amazon.com

Slideshow

The always fabulous Laura Negri posted a slideshow if images from the event on Sunday. It's great, check out her dynamic work to see for yourself why we love her!

Click here for slideshow

Meet Caroline!

I'm thrilled to announce a new addition to the TOAST team, meet Caroline Lites. Caroline will be my right hand girl on wedding days and will even be running some events of her own. An interior designer by trade, Caroline brings an incredible eye for detail paired with a sweet southern demeanor that clients are sure to love! Caroline has great experience in the event industry, I hope you will get to meet her soon!

Fiesta Photos

Here are some (amateur) photos I took at the 50th Birthday Fiesta on Sunday.

Thank you to my always fantastic event partners:

Flowers :: Andy Beach

Invitations, Signs & Favors :: Decomarj

Balloons :: Balloons & Balloons

Guest Book :: Me via Snapfish 

Venue:: Cinco Mexican Cantina Suwanee

Photography :: Laura Negri Photography (note these are not her images, rather my feeble attempt at capturing some)

A Snowy Surprise

I've been working on a project for a few weeks that has been so fun, but since it was a surprise to the guest of honor I didn't want to give anything away. Its often so sad for me to say goodbye to a couple and family after working with them for nearly a year on their wedding. The father of one of my very special past weddings contacted me to help throw a Surprise 50th birthday for his lovely wife, and I jumped at the chance to be involved with the great family again. The task was daunting considering the 4 week lead time and printed invitations a "must", but together we worked to plan a grand fiesta at an upscale Mexican bistro. I was able to pull together a lot of the fantastic vendors that worked on the wedding to create a laid-back and fun event.

Then the snow came, the morning of the party Atlanta received buckets and buckets of snow. I usually take great delight in this being a Floridian but knowing how Atlantans generally freak out in the snow I was concerned about guests and vendors cancelling left and right. I was also worried that it may be difficult to lure the birthday girl out to dinner in the snow. However, despite a few canceled guests everyone made the trek and the birthday girl was totally floored. It was such a wonderful event I will share photos and vendor information with you soon.