Monday, September 12, 2011
This Thursday, we are hosting a wedding planning workshop with Kerried Away Couture. {See details and rsvp here.} If you aren't familiar with Kerried Away, we're here to tell you more about this special company.
When it comes to personalizing you wedding, nothing expresses your personality more than your wedding dress and when that dress is custom made for you by a company as talented as Kerried Away Couture, let's just say it can't really get better than that! Kerri Zelenik Burton, owner of Nashville based design shop, Kerried Away Couture, was kind enough to give us the inside info on her business, her passion for creating custom gowns and dress designing for her own wedding last summer. Sit back and settle in because it's time to let yourself get carried away by the beauty and talent of 'Kerried Away Couture'!
How did you get started in weddings?
A photographer learned of Kerried Away’s concept and saw the designs that we offer for everyday wear for women and made the suggestion that I look into working with brides. As I explored this market segment I realized that this was a perfect fit for brides. At the time I was engaged myself and I was having a hard time finding exactly what I wanted so I knew there were others out there struggling with finding the right bridesmaid dress or rehearsal dinner dress that also fit into their budget. Working with brides is now probably 80% of our business.
Beautiful fabric swatches at Kerri's showroom in Murfreesboro.
What do you like most about weddings?
We enjoy how each bride always has a unique idea, detail, or color they want to incorporate in their dresses. Most brides enjoy designing their bridesmaid dresses or a fun party dress that fits their personality – it’s really a fun process for all involved.
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Kerri at her wedding last summer with her bridesmaids in their custom designed dresses (made by Kerri of course)! Photo courtesy of Divine Images.
What is your service philosophy?
We want the bride to be happy and we will work to make sure the design process is enjoyable and stress free. With a variety of fabric and design options, we also strive to offer each bride the opportunity to design something unique but within their budget.
What are your strengths compared to others in your category? / Why should a bride hire you?
Our strength lies in the business concept. We are able to offer brides the ability to completely customize a dress and also have fittings with the actual seamstresses that make their dresses. In addition, we do not use rack sizing, instead we actually measure the bride or bridesmaids and do our best to fit their measurements on the top and bottom. We also offer a fitting package that brides and/or bridesmaids can choose to purchase in which we can guarantee a great fit – no need for alterations if they choose this package. We meet with each bride and keep in contact with them through the entire process so there is a personal aspect that we offer as well.
Who are your 5 favorite Nashville wedding vendors – helpfulness, professionalism, style?
There are so many wonderful vendors in Nashville its difficult to choose just a few but below are four that we have had a lot of experience working with and would recommend to anyone. Brides can take advice and recommendations but when it comes down to it the most important thing is that the bride feels comfortable and compatible with her vendors. We love working with -- Planner: Kerry Dunn, No Detail UnDunn; Planner: Tiffani Helms, Creative Design Events; Caterer: A Catered Affair; and Photographer: Divine Images.
Melanie, a designer for Kerried Away Couture, in a beautiful Kerried Away dress!
Who do you recommend when you’re not available/not a fit?
We would recommend Bella Bridesmaid or b.Hughes. Both have a variety dress options and provide great service.
What do you read/watch regularly to stay on top of wedding/event trends?
Ashley’s Bride Guide of course! We also follow the popular entertainment blog Pizzazzerie which has great party design ideas and fun projects. In regards to wedding magazines, we prefer Instyle Weddings. The Knot and Brides.com are also great online resources.
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The ladies of Kerried Away Couture and Paige's Pantry at the grand opening of their joint showroom in May!
What advice would you give to brides on the wedding planning process in general?
Enjoy this time in your life. It goes so quickly and there are times when it can be stressful and a bit busy but you will be so glad in the end if you really try to enjoy it and soak it all up all along the way. Also, choose vendors that you feel you have a good connection to you and your fiancé. Choosing the right vendors can really make all the difference in the entire planning process and ultimately the wedding day.
A BIG thanks to Kerri for giving us a glimpse into dress design. Can we just talk about those stunning bridesmaid dresses for a second?! Gorgeous! For more information on Kerried Away Couture be sure to check out her website right here or visit her showroom in Murfreesboro! And don't forget to mention ABG for a special discount!
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Posted by Genna |
Filed under: Our Featured Advertisers!, Attire - Bridal Gowns, Wedding Dresses & Accessories, Bridal Shows & Events, Bridesmaids & Bridal Party, Luxury Nashville Wedding Finds
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Thursday, June 9, 2011
Hi, It's Ashley of iHospitality {not to be confused with Ashley of ABG}. I offer green consulting and sourcing services. What's that mean? I can advise you on your green event or help you find great green supplies and vendors.
Okay, so this month I went on the hunt for a green minded invitation & stationary company in Nashville. This search was way more daunting than expected, but I can now say I found one. Actually, I found a pretty awesome company along with including one of my favorite event planning company's and a pretty cool Georgia wedding.
Arboreal Paper (ArborealPaper.com) - provides lovely, earth-loving wedding invitations
Contact: Erin Pfister
Email: hello at arborealpaper dot com
Twitter: @arborealpaper
ABG adds - We loved Aboreal at first sight! We saw their work at The Bride Room's party and believe us, it's even prettier in person.
Arboreal is an invitation & stationary company based right here in Music City. I definitely feel my search was worth the wait because I absolutely love their products. Erin Pfister is the brains behind the company and the designs. She really has a knack for merging eco-friendly paper with upscale, sleek designs that brides will love. She credits her knowledge of all things paper to her days at Social Graces in Hillsboro Village. Erin’s role at the store allowed her a chance to really listen and learn what brides were looking for. She realized they did care about the environment but still wanted great looking invitations that did not have the usually flecked or “dirty” paper look as you see with many eco-friendly style papers. So, in December 2009 Arboreal was launched right inside Erin’s Nashville home with a focus on eco-friendly paper, soy inks and great design. Of course, the great design was effortless as Erin has been a graphic designer for over 10 years.
When I first found the Arboreal site, I was clicking through like a kid in the candy store…uncovering a new style of eco conscious stationary & invitations. I sent her a quick email then waited and hoped she would have a teeny bit of time to chat with me. Thank goodness she did! Erin was a wealth of knowledge and I could truly tell how much she loved what she did. She also wants to sit down and chat with each one of her brides to make sure they will love their custom invitations. Erin kicks it into high gear delivering flawless custom invitations meant just for your big day. Personalized service and her ability to add “green” to her projects is what sets Erin a part from the crowd. Arboreal also carries a full line of stationary and recently introduced journals & hang tags in several boutiques in Tennessee, Alabama & Florida.
dandyLion Events (DandyLionEvents.com) - a sustainable event planning company
Contact: Lindsey
Telephone: 615.439.0652
Email: Lindsey at dandylionevents dot com
Twitter: @dandyLionevents
dandyLion Events is a sustainable event planning company and one of the first true green event vendors I encountered in Music City. They offer floral design, photography, event design & planning with sustainability always in mind. Lindsey Huddleston is the owner and I actually meet her when she did a blog post on my little ole company back in 2010. Lindsey has a great spirit and even greater ideas, just check out the company name (yes the lowercase “d” is on purpose). This company is perfect for the bride looking for a unique wedding day experience.
dandyLion started in February 2009 and this 3 women team creates experiences for their clients by incorporating reclaimed, recycled & upcycled items while encouraging clients to use their own home decor pieces in their event. They are all about taking a blank canvas and transforming it from top to bottom. Being green is also part of their core operation as they operate paperless and use local vendors. This will also not be the last post on dandyLion, as I think the owner is great plus they have several green inspired events coming up, including a Nashvegas inspired wedding along with a dark carnival theme wedding. Stay tuned, I definitely can’t wait.
Green Wedding Inspiration
I thought it only fitting to highlight one of dandyLion event weddings as our Real Green Wedding feature this month. dandyLion put on a sweet, simple wedding on April 30, 2011 at The Solarium in Decatur, GA. Brent & Jessi Cerrato choose dandyLion for their design and event planning. The couple went with local vendors for each aspect of their wedding including locally grown food at their reception. I love the handmade paper cranes incorporated in the ceremony décor.
Their invitations included a perforated rsvp card that could be mailed back as a postcard (how flipping neat is that). They also incorporated personal items for their reception décor along with reusable pieces. The exposed duct work and wood floors provided a great palette for their paper lantern inspired design. Brent & Jessi really dove head first into making their big day absolutely memorable and green.
If you are a wedding vendor in town that incorporates green into your mix, I want to hear from you! Contact me at ashley at ihospitalitytn dot com or visit www.ihospitalitytn.com. Seeking green vendors for your event? See how iHospitality can help.
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Posted by Green Nashville Weds |
Filed under: Eco-Friendly Weddings, Invitations & Paper Goods, Luxury Nashville Wedding Finds, Wedding Planners & Coordinators, Wedding Resources
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Wednesday, April 27, 2011
We are huge proponents of the mantra “you get what you pay for” especially when it comes to weddings. Whether it’s photography, décor or food, you have your priorities and you will do all the research needed to figure out how you’re getting the most bang for your buck. For the bride whose priority item is her cake, and even if it’s not, today’s post will give you a better idea of why a custom designed cake is the right choice for you as we go one-on-one with Signature Cakes by Vicki’s own Vicki Nelson who lets us in one what goes into one of her beautiful and delicious cakes.
Signature Cakes by Vicki is a custom wedding cake design company - they don’t work from templates. “We don’t have a point at the book cake” like grocery stores do Vicki tells me. This means when you meet with Vicki, she wants to know everything about you and your wedding to make you a cake that is unique to you and your tastes.
So...What Goes Into a Custom Designed Wedding Cake?
Example - This cake will serve 150 people and starts at $1000 / $850 with your ABG discount! This cake by Signature Cakes by Vicki is made with blue colored fondant and hand-painted, hand-molded gold embellishments. Photo by Alex Bee Photography
Per my conversation with Vicki, “The average cake has about 135 - 150 servings. That could be a four-tiered round cake or a three-tiered square cake.” Signature Cakes by Vicki starts at a minimum of $400 and increases depending on the number of servings, customization and embellishments. Basically, the more ornate the cake, the more work is involved and the more it will cost. Here is what drives the costs:
Local and Limited Baking – Signature Cakes dedicates each week to their cakes and this includes the baking, frosting and decorating. Many store bought cakes are shipped in frozen.
Vicki did inform me that if a baker says they bake your cake that day, to take it with a huge grain of salt: “Bakeries aren’t just baking your wedding cake. They may have up to 25 brides that week. It’s a process that professional bakers are not rushing through.”
She added, “It’s not impossible to make 20 cakes in one day, it would require a huge staff and it’s not a good idea. After all, once in a while everyone makes a mistake and extra time should be built into the schedule to allow for that.” For the bride who cares about her cake and wedding, a professional baker who puts the effort and care into her cake is worth every penny.
Quality Frosting - Signature Cakes by Vicki uses a buttercream made using the Italian Meringue method which uses egg whites, butter, boiling syrup and Madagascar vanilla. They have one person dedicated to making this buttercream fresh every week and the process lasts two days to make enough for all their cakes. Cakes are then stacked and frosted and ready to be decorated.
Exquisite Decorating - Before you say “ew” at the mention of fondant, note that with custom cake bakers like Signature Cakes and similar bakers, the fondant used is a quality fondant, not one that you get from a craft store, so it will taste better and is rolled and made fresh with everything else that goes into a cake. All the cakes are completed on Friday in time for Saturday deliveries.
Gold/silver/pearl paint is all hand-painted on the decorations. “We use an edible powder that we paint on with a paintbrush. Metallics cost more – park place: completely decorated, put together and the whole thing is painted with a paintbrush, mix powdered edible paint. Melissa’s cost more than superpearl.
This cake looks simple but took a long time to make because of the lavender fondant, extremely detailed piping and the gold colored ribbon.
Left – the cake was hand-painted with Superpearl edible coloring. Right, the gold paint costs a little more more than superpearl.
Signature Cakes by Vicki is best known for their sugar flowers which look almost real. Each flower is painstakingly shaped and crafted by hand. “We work in the off-season to do the more popular colors like pinks, reds, greens that normally go onto cakes.”
Left: How many varieties of very life-like sugar flowers can you find? Right: More sashes formed and painted by hand. So regal! (Photos by Ace Photography)
The flowers need to be cured and allowed to solidify for several days so if you want sugar flowers, know that you cannot make any design changes within 60 days of your wedding – “this is to keep price affordable and you can’t make them the week of the wedding. “
The fruit on the cake is made by hand and this labor-intensive cake costs more than $1000. The bride and groom kept the fruit to use as centerpieces at their holiday parties.
Larger than the picture shows, this cake clearly took a lot of time and handywork. Everything, including the gumpaste birds, are handmade. In this case, the tiny pink flowers were done fresh and laid soft onto the larger, cured flowers.
Signature Cakes places quality above all else. “I am first and foremost a baker and a wedding cake should taste amazing” said Vicki. “Remember, cake is food and there’s nothing worse than a beautiful cake that tastes horrible.”
Delivery costs in the greater Nashville area also included in the pricing of Vicki’s cake but it can vary depending on the baker so definitely ask up front what all the costs are. As for Signature Cakes, when you make your appointment with Vicki, she sends you a preliminary email with a list of what to bring with you and things to keep in mind. “Bring in anything that will help you design your cake – swatches, pictures, pictures of your flower, event space, gown, anything that has to do with the wedding that is important to you to give a good feel for the theme and design and colors.”
Photo by Ashley's Bride Guide
Some last words of advice from Vicki: “Go with a vision, don’t be afraid to state your budget and ask your baker if they have any specials.” For more information on flavors, pricing and how to better prep for your meeting with your baker, visit Signature Cakes by Vicki online where you'll see many more samples of cakes they have done from weddings and other special events. Big thanks to Vicki for taking the time to share this all with us, we really appreciate it!
Be sure to mention that you're an ABG Bride to receive 20% off your custom wedding cake order!
Cake images by Signature Cakes by Vicki unless otherwise stated.
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Posted by Tabitha |
Filed under: Advice & Planning, Cakes & Catering, Luxury Nashville Wedding Finds
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Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Local wedding resource studio, StudioWed Nashville recently had an afternoon seminar session at Cedarwood to help engaged couples get a better idea of what a wedding day and wedding planning involves and I took a little drive out there to get the scoop!
The seminar portion of the Experience took place in the front room in the main house. Planners Mary Alice Sublett of StudioWed and A Delightful Day and Kristin Kaplan of Simply Stunning took the couples through "How To Get Started Planning Your Wedding & Wedding Budget," "Wedding Design Services" and "Etiquette & Wedding Day Tips."
This was followed by Hillary Robson of Brocade Designs who discussed "Bouquet & Boutonniere Styles," "Ceremony Decor" and "Reception and Linen Trends."
Everyone then broke for lunch outside on the back porch area where StudioWed Vendors were at the ready to meet and mingle. Lunch was provided by Chef's Market, and dessert was an assortment of decadent cupcakes by Crumb de la Crumb. It was a great opportunity for brides to converse with each wedding professional and the atmosphere was very relaxed. Everyone looked like they were having a great time and seemed to have all their questions answered! After lunch the seminar continued with presentations on photography by Lotus Blossom and videography by Focal Point Cinematic. Their topics covered their services as well as "Wedding Day Timeline and Tips," the various styles of photography/videography, and post-wedding options like DVDs and albums.
The afternoon was rounded off with a presentation on "Stationery: Trends, Timelines" and "Beyond Invitations - Wedding Day Stationery" by Amber Housley of Sweet Life Designs.
A very au-natural, white and yellow tabletop design by Brocade Design Arts
Fresh orchids cascade down the back of a chair for a chic, rustic look.
Sweet Life Designs' pretty table with sample stationery and some sweet treats.
A good spread by Chef's Market followed by cupcakes from Crumb de la Crumb helped get everyone's energy back on high.
Vendors who were also present at Cedarwood that Sunday afternoon for the StudioWed Experience were Photobooth Nashville, Cosmo Creations, Kristyn Hogan, Uncle Classic Barbershop and McNeal Wedding Films.
All in all I found the day very educational. StudioWed Nashville will offer another Experience next year but in the meantime you can still contact them about their vendors and wedding planning. It doesn't cost you anything to make an appointment with Mary Alice or Leigh and they will help you find a vendor who suits your wedding needs! So definitely visit their website for more information and be sure to let them know that you heard about them here!
Read more via the Lotus Blossom Photography event recap.
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Posted by Tabitha |
Filed under: Advice & Planning, Luxury Nashville Wedding Finds, Wedding Resources
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Friday, April 15, 2011
With so many current themes for weddings, from peacock feathers to whimiscal Anthropogie-style, I'm sure it's hard for couples to go in a different direction. Not Randi & Dan. This beautiful couple married in downtown Nashville at the War Memorial Auditorium and opted for a purely elegant wedding with polish and refined decor. Through their Nashville wedding feature, we take a step back and go with design that will stand the test of time.
The couple turned to StudioWed Nashville to help them find the wedding vendors for their big day. Special thanks to StudioWed Nashville for allowing us to share this wedding with you for some weekend inspiration.
StudoWed Vendors:
Photography: Kristyn Hogan
Bride’s Dress: The Bride Room | Priscilla of Boston
Bridesmaids’ Dresses: The Bride Room | Amsale
Grooms’ Attire: Street Tuxedo
Florist: Brocade Design Arts
Wedding Planner: Simply Stunning Events
Rentals: Classic Party Rentals
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Other vendors
Ceremony Venue: Cathedral of the Incarnation
Reception Venue: War Memorial
Lighting: Bradfield Stage Lighting
Event Design: Jonathan Savage
For the full post with more great pictures from Randi & Dan's wedding as well as helpful wedding planning tips and more real weddings in Nashville visit the StudioWed Nashville website.
All pictures courtesy of Kristyn Hogan.
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Posted by Ashley of Ashley's Bride Guide |
Filed under: Luxury Nashville Wedding Finds, Real Nashville Weddings
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