Showered With Love

I think the best thing about being in this business is having the opportunity to have a party of our own once in a while!  Having all the resources at hand to make it really special.  I really enjoy planning parties, and carrying a theme through the entire event, from the first moment that the guests receive their invitations. 
Last Sunday we had Megan's baby shower!  Her little baby girl is due in mid May.  We started planning this in December, and my office has been totally overwhelmed with  stuff for the shower!

We chose a letterpress invitation from Spark! Letterpress Love for the shower (sorry about the white blotch, but I had to blot out some private contact info there).  It was printed in taupe and lavender, and set the theme for the entire event--bird's nests, birds, bird houses--as well as the colors--lavender, pink, soft green.  The colors were inspired by the colors of Dutch Mints--my favorite candy!  I've always not only loved the wonderful minty taste, but also the soft pastel colors of these mints.

We had so much fun planning the theme and all the little touches we could add.  My kitchen staff went above and beyond the call with the luncheon!  It was amazing!  So many cute little touches.  The deviled eggs that looked like little chicks were adorable! 

Megan was kept on a "need to know" basis, which about drove her crazy!  We didn't really tell her what the whole plan was beforehand, so it was so much fun to surprise her.  Her reaction when she saw the room and all that we had done, made it all SO worthwhile!

I'm just going to post all the photos here for you to enjoy.  It was such a fun afternoon. I can't tell you all how much I appreciate the help of everyone at Aberdeen, especially Patti, Jen and Kim!  They did an amazing job with the lunch!  Kathy was a huge help setting everything up, and Julie and Becca and Kathy did such a great job of keeping everything rolling and managing everything so that I could sit down and enjoy the shower.  We have such a wonderful team at Aberdeen.  It is so much fun to work with all of our awesome coworkers!  What a pleasure.  After 13 years at Aberdeen I still love going to work every day.

Here are some photos of the shower for you to enjoy:

Apologies for the somewhat random order  of these photos!  I am a better party planner than I am a Blogger!!  :)

We served two punches, a peach-strawberry sangria and a non alcoholic fruit punch. 

My oldest daughter, Amy, was a huge help with the invitations and keeping track of the RSVP's.  She also took care of the wish cards, and the bingo cards.  Most importantly, she did the impromptu MCing of the party, and saved me from "public speaking" which is something I really don't feel comfortable with! :)

On the table as guests arrived, we had the "Wish Cards" for everyone to fill out for Kate.  It was a little idea we all had loved on Pinterest.  We have a little album for them to go into, and took photos of each of the guests at the shower to put with their wish card.  I think it will be something that Kate will treasure for years to come. 

We didn't get into a lot of shower games.  We did bingo boards for the guests to check off different gifts as they were opened.  I like that one because it gives folks something to do while the gifts are being opened.  Kacie, one of Megan's dear friends, provided some terrific little prizes for that.  Megan's mother in law, Marie, took care of the "diaper raffle" for us, and did a smashing job!

My sister in law, Kathy, helped me put together and decorate all the little birdhouse favors.  They turned out so cute.  We filled them with Dutch Mints (of course!)

Trey pin spotted the centerpieces, which really made them pop, even with the daylight outside.  He also put a lavender uplight on the trees in the corners which was a nice little touch. 

So now Megan has lots of lovely new things for her little baby!  Their living room looked like a pink bomb had hit it on Sunday night!

Thanks for indulging me, I hope you enjoy seeing our little party.  It was so much fun, I just want to do it all over again!

Letterpress Love

At Affairs, the letterpress company we deal with is Spark! Letterpress Love.  I know now where their name comes from.  I always thought it was just that they "loved" the final product--the deeply impressed print, the yummy papers--I had no idea.  Then I went with a friend to the Old Mill House Gallery and Printing Museum.   The owner, Jim Anderson, is an encyclopedia of information on printing, printing equipment, processes, and basically, everything related to the printed word.

Jim, also known as "Boe", grew up in Ybor City which is the Cuban area of Tampa where they had a big cigar industry years ago.  It's an interesting area. Incidentally, he also plays blues on the bass with other musicians, and he runs a little restaurant with authentic Cuban dishes.  In addition, he does reinactments of a freed slave named Fielder Harris at a local historical site.  Jim started out in the printing industry at age 14 and learned the trade.  He loved the old equipment and machines, and when computers started to obselete these beauties, he started buying them up.  He has some amazing machines.  My favorite is the Chandler Price press which is from the very early 1900's.  Just the sound of it is awesome.  I could listen to it purr for hours.   He has an amazing room full of old printing machines--linotype machines (used to set type automatically--a machine that works much like a computer actually! But that's another post!) printing presses of all different sizes, makes and shapes, and boxes and boxes and BOXES of type! 
So I asked Jim to explain the printing process to me so that I could take pictures and pass the information on to you, my blog readers, in hopes of conveying to you the art that this really is.  This type of printing is VERY labor intensive.  It isn't something where somebody pushes a few buttons and then goes off to do something else while it prints a thousand copies.  This requires a human to set it all up, feed it, and run it, every second that it is working.  When you receive a letterpress invitation, note card, or business card, you are actually receiving a little individual work of art--a treasure from the past that has been kept alive by a small group of dedicated, passionate individuals.

So, how does it all begin?  Before anything else can happen, the design has to be decided, and the type has to be set.  EACH LETTER is an individual piece.  You may have seen these wooden blocks with letters on them in antique stores.  The letters started out being made of wood, and later they were made from lead.

The type is taken, letter by letter, and placed into a "type stick"--a wood or metal tray which is held in one hand and the other hand picks up the individual letters and sets them into the stick to compose a line.

 Keep in mind, the line is composed backwards, and upside down!  AND all the letters are backwards. 

 The lines are then put together to make a page inside a metal frame called a "chase".  The printer uses a surface called a "stone" which is normally made from very smooth, flat, marble, to set the type which is known as "composing the type".   The surface has to be smooth and flat so that the pieces in the chase are all evenly high or low.  If the type is not set all at the same level, some letters will be darker and deeper than others, because they will pick up the ink differently on the press, and it won't look even. 

When the type is all positioned in the chase, the printer then has to fill in the spaces between the type, so that something will hold the print in place.  For this they use "furniture", little plain blocks, that are set lower than the type so that they won't pick up any ink when the chase is put in the press.

Then the printer uses a device called a "quoin" to lock the furniture and type tightly into place.  The whole assembly has to be perfectly tight, or it will slip and move when it's put on the press and the printed pieces won't all be the same, and they won't stay in nice neat lines.  The quoin is tightened with a key that expands it so that the type is all held tightly in place. 

When the chase is filled and locked with the quoins, it is called a "forme".  The forme is then placed into the press.

This is a picture of a small little tabletop press.  The circle of metal you see is the "ink disk" where the ink is placed.  The red cylinder below is the "ink roller" which when you operate the press, goes up to the ink disk and picks up the ink. The forme is below the ink disk in the sort of square area between the ink roller and the ink disk.  The individual piece of paper is placed in the area just below the handle you see on the front.  So when the operator pushes down on the handle, the whole assembly kind of clamps together, the ink roller goes up to the ink disk, picks up the ink and inks the forme, then it all pushes together to put the image on the paper.  Whew!!!  I have a little video I took of Jim operating this little press that might make all this a little more clear:

So, of course, a company that is making letterpress invitations isn't using a little tabletop model like the one you see here.  They are most likely using a much larger, heavier, floor standing motorized model.  But the initial set up work is still there,  whether it is done on a tabletop or a floor standing large press, it is still a little piece of art. 

I hope that this will give you more insight into the beauty of letterpress invitations.  Yes, they are more expensive than thermography or conventionally printed invitations, but they are so special!  When you send your guests a letterpress invitation, you are sending them a message about what your wedding is going to be--VERY special!  These are definitely refrigerator invitations!
Here is a video I found on Youtube showing a little more about the whole process, with some great commentary.

Oh, ok, one more:

So when you are choosing your invitations, whether they are thermographed, flat printed or letterpress, be sure that you think about the impression that your invitation will make when your guest opens the envelope and holds it in their hands.  What message will it convey? What will it tell your guest about your party? Will it tell your guest what to expect at your wedding? If you ask yourself these questions when you are choosing your invitations, you will find the perfect choice to send to your guests!
And remember, we are here to help you find that perfect invitation!

Cast Your Vote! Which do you like better?

When Megan and I were at the Association of Bridal Consultants conference in Baltimore last November, we found a company at the trade show that has these darling little wagons and carriages that would be PERFECT for a little ringbearer or flowergirl that weren't quite big enough to walk down the aisle themselves.  Yeah, I know, people use wagons.  Somehow the red wagon just doesn't work for me, unless the color for the wedding is red!  These are so pretty, and could be decorated with an appropriate color to match the wedding. 

THIS IS THE CARRIAGE (above)

THIS IS THE WAGON

So here is the controversy.  Megan likes one and I like the other!  I'm not going to tell you who likes what because I don't want to taint the results.  So we need you all to cast your vote for which one you think is the cutest/would be the best for using in a wedding.  And if you think we are nuts and should just continue with the wagons, let us know that too! 
I'm looking forward to your comments! Thanks!

The Special Event--Really Special!!

This last week was a busy one for Megan and I!  We spent four days in Tampa, Florida for a conference which is put on by ISES, The International Special Event Society.  Can I just say, AWESOME!!!!!
We went to meetings and presentations on all sorts of event production related topics.  I attended sessions on floral design, general trends and directions that the event industry is headed, lighting, as well as some on the more nuts and bolts aspects of the business.  I feel like my head is going to explode with all the new stuff! :)

 This was from a class on doing simple things with flowers that don't necessarily require a florist.  This is something we do a lot!  We really got some terrific ideas for simple centerpieces, decor, aisle runners, etc.  This was an herb wreath that was tied to the bride's chair with a pretty ribbon.  The wreathes smelled divine! The little table was done with a "vintage romantic" theme.  Lots of silver mercury glass, roses, ranunculus, mums, candles.  It was lovely! The main speaker was Ian Prosser who had an entire alphabet of letters behind his name!  He also had an absolutely delightful accent and a terrific sense of humor.  Just listening to him was so entertaining!

 This class titled "Four Weddings and a Budget", discussed four wedding schemes with very expensive tables, where they showed how the table could be done more economically.  What was most interesting about this class was that the floral arrangements really drove the cost of the tables up! They showed one table where the centerpiece alone was $1200!!!!!  Not thinking we are going to see a lot of those at Aberdeen Manor!

This class was on having hard goods on hand that could be reused and repurposed.  We have accumulated quite an inventory at Aberdeen Manor.  It was fun to see some new and fresh ways of using some of the things we already have!

So what were some of the trends and directions that weddings are headed this year?  Well, according to Pantone--the world renown gurus of color--the color of the year is TANGERINE TANGO!  If I had to describe it, I guess I would call it a deep red orange.  Now since orange is probably my least favorite color, I'm sure you can guess how excited I was about this news!  Fortunately though, it's actually a pretty orange (I never thought I would say that about any orange!) and with the right accent colors it could be gorgeous!

Last year the "color of the year" was honeysuckle, which was actually a sort of dark pinky mauve.  We will probably start seeing more of it in weddings this year and next.  It takes us a while in Indiana for these things to filter in from the coasts! :)
Silver continues to hold firm as the metallic accent of choice, however gold is beginning to make a comeback.  And of course, bling, crystals, sparkly things, are all still huge in weddings.
The three big trends in weddings that we heard lots of talk about? 
First, the romantic, blingy, vintage theme is huge.  Lots of lace and ruffles, lush linens, extravagant centerpieces and florals with lots of hydrangea, roses, garden flowers, tons of candles.  soft colors or even all neutrals. 

Another popular theme, was the country/shabby chic direction.  Antiques, wildflowers, milk glass, mason jars, handpainted signs, homemade jam for favors, you get the idea.

The third trend we saw mentioned quite a bit, was Urban Sleek.  Lots of clean lines, minimal fuss, sharp contrasting color palettes, really, totally opposite to the other two trends! 

Of course the one thing we all agreed on was that when it comes to weddings, there are no rules!  And the trends and themes of weddings all get mixed and matched on a regular basis.  What is important is that all the elements hang together.  So you might be shooting for an urban sleek sort of wedding, but you love the "bling" so maybe you would have circles of faceted ribbon around the sleek cylinder vases on your tables. 

Another hot trend is the David Austin garden roses.  SO beautiful!  And they smell awesome!!

Take a closer look at the one in the center--that's called Green Eyes.  They are amazing! 

It's so different!  Here's an even closer look:

Isn't that an interesting look?  Can you see it in a very modern bouquet?  Or mixed with other flowers in a country bouquet?  I thought at first they had somehow stuck a green Trix in the middle of a white rose!

When push comes to shove, you go with what you love, and somehow it all ends up working together.  That's what's so much fun about weddings and being in "the biz"!  We get to play with all these themes and colors, designs and ideas--I LOVE MY JOB!!!!!!

There is so much more to talk about, but I'm concerned that all these photos are going to stop up the download, so I'm going to stop for now and see if this works.  I'll write more about the conference tomorrow! As if all of these fabulous sessions weren't enough, they had a huge trade show!!  OH MY!!!!  So there's lots more to report!  Stay tuned!

Aberdeen featured in Wedding Essentials Magazine!

We are very proud to tell you that the feature article in the current issue of Wedding Essentials was shot right here at Aberdeen Manor!  We had a great time with the staff and photographers from Wedding Essentials.  They spent an entire day here in late November, shooting all the pictures for the article.  And it turned out gorgeous!  The color palette was "peacock colors"--royal blue, teal green, deep purple-- awesome colors to work with!
For the shoot, we provided invitations, tables settings and linens, menu cards and place cards, hors d'oeuvres, an entree plate, tuxes, and the backdrop of our ballroom and chapel.  We decorated the cake table with peacock feathers, and even made it snow over the dance floor!  We had a great time planning all the different aspects of the photos and figuring out how we could best
Click on the link above to see the current issue online, or stop by and we'll be happy to give you your own personal copy--we'll even autograph it for you! :)

Being "Unique and Different"

Recently, I had an epiphany of sorts.  I was thinking about vendors and weddings and such.  It has always confused me that we would have brides who felt that they needed to choose vendors that were all new to us.  Nobody off of my Favorites List, all people we had never seen before.  Hmmmmmm.
So this is where my epiphany comes in.  It dawned on me that the reason some brides feel compelled to choose vendors that are different from the ones we normally use is because they think that having unique vendors will make their wedding unique!!!
In a nutshell, they couldn't be more wrong.

What makes your wedding unique?  What sets it apart from the weddings of all your friends?  I can tell you one thing that doesn't affect the uniqueness of your wedding, and that is your vendors.  Vendors are the framework that you build your wedding on.  They are the 2x4's and lumber that your house is constructed from, and upon which you decorate, furnish and paint to make your house unique.  It isn't the lumber that makes a house unique, it's the work that your architect does on the design, and the decorating that you do once the design is accomplished that make it so special.
So to carry that analogy along, you, my brides and grooms, are the homeowners, and I am your wedding architect/General Contractor (we do design/build weddings! :).  It is my job to help you design a beautiful and unique wedding.  Just as General Contractors have subs that they work with all the time, I have "subs" (that we call vendors) that I work with best.  We have our framers, our dry wallers, HVAC, windows, flooring, and painting, roofers, landscapers, concrete and asphalt contractors: all the different people that it takes to build a house.
It's my job as your "General" to bring all these people together, coordinate their work and schedule them so that your house is built efficiently and on schedule.  It's also my job, since we are "design/build" to help you tweak your floor plan to make it fit your family, to keep your design consistent throughout the changes we need to make, and to ultimately provide you with a home that reflects your tastes and your vision, and that you will be happy living in!
I have often said that I could use the SAME VENDORS for every single wedding we do, and our weddings would all still be unique and different!!!  Just as an interior decorator wouldn't do the same design in every house, a florist is going to talk with you and design something unique for your wedding. The DJ is going to play different music, suited to YOUR tastes, and provide the extra activities that you request.  Your cake designer will create the perfect cake for you.  It isn't WHO you choose that is important, it is THEIR LEVEL OF EXPERTISE!
The folks on our Favorites List have proven their expertise over and over and over again.  I could work with them week in and week out, and still have beautiful unique weddings every time.
I just finished reading a fun series of books by Nora Roberts, her "Wedding Day Series" which follows four women who start a wedding venue in the one friend's Mansion in Connecticut.  They are fun books, a little racey, because after all, it IS Nora Roberts!  Parker, who owns the Mansion, is the coordinator, Laurel makes the cakes, Emma does all the flowers, and Mackenzie is the photographer.  Together they create all these beautiful, unique weddings for their clients.  Basically the same people doing every wedding, but every wedding unique in its own way because they are professionals and know how to make them unique and flawless.
We often talk about "A-Team" weddings at Aberdeen.  These are the weddings that have all of OUR vendors for their event.  These weddings are as smooth as glass.  No worries about flowers that haven't shown up at 4:30, no cakes that are starting to slide apart, no DJ dragging his equipment in through the guests because he is late arriving.  These issues just don't happen when we have an A-Team Wedding.  Everything happens as it is supposed to, on schedule and perfectly timed.  Mike (the Transaudio DJ we work with most) and I have developed a psychic connection when it comes to orchestrating a ceremony and reception!  I look at him and he knows what to do!  It's magical!  We're like a pitcher and a catcher--we have our little signals that we pass back and forth, and the wedding progresses, perfectly timed and flawless.  The correct music plays, it fades beautifully in and out at the absolute perfect moment.  Who wouldn't want that sort of perfection for their wedding?
This same symbiosis occurs when Stringsounds plays for a wedding, or Cynthia Shelhart, or any of a number of other musicians on our list that work with me over and over again.  We all work together like a well oiled machine.  It doesn't mean that they play the same music each time, of course not!  Each wedding has its own unique music, what sets them apart is that they are flawless!
I could write a book about the issues we have had with vendors over the years.  Photographers and DJ's particularly because these are the people we work with throughout the event.  Some of them were just plain bad.  I've had to testify in court against a DJ who absolutely trashed a reception.  With others, I've had to try to fix the problems that they have created, either because they were unprofessional, inexperienced, or sometimes just unfamiliar with how we work and what we do.
It isn't that the people on our list are the only good vendors in Northwest Indiana; that's not my point at all.  There are, of course, other good vendors out there, it's just that they aren't necessarily familiar with our facility and us, and how we operate.  Consequently, it is much more difficult to create that perfectly timed, and flawlessly orchestrated wedding.
To continue our analogy, if your framing contractor isn't good, your house is eventually going to have structural problems, regardless of how beautifully you decorate it.  The walls will develop cracks your roof might leak, who knows what might happen?  If your landscape sub isn't up to par, you might have big problems with the sprinkling system, or the beautiful curly willow might be planted over your sewer line where it grows into it and creates problems later.
Even if you get lucky and choose good subs for your home contruction, if they aren't people that your General Contractor works with regularly, you could experience months of delay because he can't get them there to do the work.  When your GC uses a sub regularly, he has a lot more "clout" when it comes to scheduling them and getting them on HIS time table.
Obviously, the analogy could go on and on, and of course, it doesn't translate totally but you get the idea, right?   My point is this:  USE OUR FAVORITES LIST!  It's only purpose is to help you plan a flawlessly timed and orchestrated wedding!  It is YOUR personality, uniqueness, input, and ideas that will make your day unique and different from anyone else's.
And as ever, I am here for you to help you with the ideas portion.  If you need some help in that department, just let me know and we'll get together and see what we can come up with!!

(And by the way, do I need to say this again? WE DO NOT RECEIVE ANY KICKBACKS FROM OUR VENDORS!  The ONLY reason we recommend these folks is because we KNOW they are good, and we also know that they are familiar with our facility and each other.)

Ahhhhhhhhh!

After some terrifically busy weekends, and weekdays too for that matter, I finally have a day "off" to sit in my jammies all day (as in, it's 2:30 in the afternoon, and yes, I am still in the jams!)
So, what do I do on this golden day?  I read a beautiful book about EVENT PLANNING!!!!!  For the last 5 hours I have been pouring over an absolutely fantastic book---"Art of Celebration--New England".  I have stuck at least 20 markers into it, with notes written on them about the inspirations and ideas that the beautiful illustrations in this book have given me.  It's part of a series which includes a book for Georgia, Chicago, Northern California, Southern California, New York City, New England, South Florida, and maybe one more that isn't coming to me right now.  Oh, it's Washington D.C.
THESE ARE AWESOME BOOKS!!!!!!!  So many fabulous ideas for flowers, decor, lighting, food, linens, chair ties; you name it!  Obviously, the events featured in these books are gazillions of dollars.  They are, for the most part, REALLY high end events, but the beautiful thing is, so many of their ideas can be scaled back for the common man--or woman!  So many things can be done on maybe a slightly less grand scale, but still will add some great punch and spark to YOUR event.
I have these books at work, in my office, and I would be THRILLED to share them with anyone who would like to come by and look at them.  I'll even be happy to loan one out to you, just like the library, if you want to take it home with you and check it out.
An aside note:  There is a stationery designer in Boston by the name of Kelli Parker who does some truly lovely things with invitations and paper pieces for weddings and social functions, who was featured in this book.  I looked up her website, and on her blog she is having a contest to give a copy of this book to some lucky person!  Well actually, she already had the contest and nobody entered!  so maybe if a few people go to her blog and "enter" she'll give it to one of you!
And yet another aside note:  In one of her blogposts she mentions that the Dessy Bridal company is using Pantone colors for their gowns, and Pantone has an entire site dedicated to bridal colors and design.  You can order swatch colors, create mood boards for different combinations or for the colors that you have decided on; all kinds of fun things.  So if you are taking the day off today too, check it out!

Sorry, I have to get back to my book now, I think I should get dressed  before dinner time. :)