Bride and Bridesmaids To Be!

You can't get married without your ladies by your side! 

Men come and go but friends are forever.... even when you already find the man of your dreams, you're girls have to be there to be by your side to support and most importantly: TO CELEBRATE WITH YOU! 

NOW, this is the store that I swear by. I love everything about Francesca's Boutique: their great quality product, the atmosphere of every boutique I go in, and the employees are always so cheerful and loving! They have very unique clothing, jewelry, and my favorite, the miscellaneous accessories!! And when I found out about all these wedding goodies that they have, I just had to make a post about it! You never know what you will find on that little table. Here are some fun little goodies for you, a soon to be bride, or for your brides maids! 

JUST SAY YES, BRIDESMAIDS! 

I just think this is so adorable! If your man already popped the question and you said yes, it's your turn to pop the question to your bridesmaid. The brides maid proposal doesn't have to be out of this world. A small little gesture for your ladies would do the trick. Sweet and simple! These earring would make a perfect gift and its something that your bridesmaid will most likely use and its so sweet and simple that it'll match with everything that they wear! 

Francesca's Boutique in Alderwood Mall! 

 

YOU'RE A BOMBSHELL BRIDE!

This little cute scrumptious bath bomb smells so good and it makes your skin glow! If you think LUSH only sells awesome bath bombs, think again! Drop this baby in your bathtub, get your new hubby, pop some champagne, and relax ALL night long! 

There are so many other cute little things at Francesca that are wedding related. If you're still stumped on gifts for the bride or brides maids. Come check it out at Francesca's Boutique. You will fall in LOVE just like I did! Here just some of the other bachelorette/bride products that I love! 

Enjoy online shopping till you're dropping! :) 

Grand Ridge Manor: Featured Venue

Grand Ridge Manor is a great venue! If you live north or south of Bellevue, this is a great venue to check out! This gorgeous mansion is located in Issaquah, Washington. It provides the perfect wedding in a secluded area but with very easy access to the city. The venue is surrounded by a beautiful scenery of forests and a view of Cougar & Tiger Mountain; perfect for wedding photos! The Grand Ridge Manor has a private 35 acres that has a natural pond with a running waterfall and fountain in the pond.  We have had a wedding planned with Karly and Brett, the couple that I wrote my previous blog on. I was an intern when I worked with this lovely couple and I was truly blessed to be working with them to make their day and night as perfect as they wanted it to be at The Grand Ridge Manor. The cooks and staff were so amazing and extremely helpful. I can honestly say that, this venue was one of the most beautiful venues I've ever seen in my wedding planning career! 

Here's a little tour of the place and some pictures taken of Karly and Brett at their wedding!

Awesome Ways to Announce Your Engagement!

We all know that the holiday seasons are approaching and so is engagement season. Many of you will be changing your Facebook relationship status from "In a relationship" to "Engaged"!!! If you are one of the lucky ones reading this right now, It's Your Day Events and Expressions congratulates you and your special one! 

First things first, how are you going to share your engagement to the whole world? Let me show you my top 5 favorite, creative, and cute ways to announce your engagement! Don't forget to call your parents... :)

1. Take it to Instagram!

People love to share the things that the love and enjoy on Instagram. Show off your ring, you can make it as obvious as you like! ;) 

Photo Credit: Francesca's Boutique

2. Engagement photo shoot

These shoots can get as creative as you'd like. Get super sweet and corny, hold up signs, and smile! 

Photo credit: Lauren Davidson

3. Scrabble and the Ring

Sweet and simple! 

Photo credits: AC Ellis Weddings

4. For coffee lovers

Nothing else says I love you more than a hot cup of coffee! Oops, maybe if a ring comes along with it! 

5. Saved the best one for last: Couple's best friend! 

Maybe you guys already started a little furry family. You need to include them too! 

Photo credits: Raven Red

There are so many other ways to share your engagement to the world but these are my top 5 favorites! 

 I would like to know, how did you guys share your engagement? :)

Written By Kailin Cheng, Event Assistant

5 Wedding sendoffs that don’t suck!

So, I was entirely sucked into the Wedding portion of Pinterest the other day, and started thinking about the wedding sendoff scene. As wedding season 2015 quickly approaches, let me share with you my top five list of clever sendoffs I hope to be seeing  this season. Of course traditionally, there are the classics like sparklers, rice, bubbles and rose petals. Now a days, rice isn’t even PC! - rumor has it that it hurts the birdies! Now I haven’t been able to find anything that confirms nor denies that particular claim, but better safe than sorry I suppose. Anyway, most weddings that we work do have a sendoff… don’t think that you HAVE to have one, but here are a few simple ideas to kick around.

1. Glitter: Ok, I know what you’re thinking…what a mess. I agree, but think of how lovely it would be!! I would be pretty upfront with your venue and see if you can even use glitter. I wouldn’t want to have this sendoff anywhere that I would have to be cleaning it up. This would be great for backyard weddings at your parents house or something! Glitter toss is something that can easily be matched with your theme, and everyone will go home with a piece on their get up- thereby remembering your special night! ;)

2. Lavender: Alright, this is a smell good, calming kinda sendoff. To personalize this one, hit the craft store and pick out some paper you want to fold into paper cones. Then you can think of a station to hold the cones up filled with the lovely scent of lavender. Heck! If you wanna stay simplistic…why not use actual ice cream cones!?  The bonus about this one….no environmental hindrance, and no clean up! 

3. Ribbon Bell: Hit the hardware store and pick up some dowels, cut them to a reasonable length, and drill a hole at one end large enough to thread some ribbon through. A project for the groom?? I think so! Then you can have your bridesmaids over to tie one end of the ribbon to the dowel, and one end to a bell… sounds like a Wine Wednesday kinda night to me!  Winter theme? Make it a holiday ribbon and a jingle bell! Head off to your getaway car like Santa leaving on Christmas! This sendoff will surely add some color to your getaway photos, and be something your guests haven’t seen before.

4. Leaf confetti: Runner up to my favorite new getaway is this genius idea! It’s probably best for a fall wedding. Take a stroll around your neighborhood and collect some of those vibrant falling leaves. Invite your girls over and grab that hole punch out of your desk drawer! Punch holes out of the leaves you collected, and BAM! Hello environmentally friendly confetti. Also, talk about a cheap, colorful spin on the sendoff. I would bet my bottom dollar that you haven’t seen this one at any wedding you’ve attended!

5. SPRINKLES!:  This one is my #1 pick for the 2015 wedding season! Sprinkles come in all shapes and colors- match to your wedding theme and keep it on the cheap. The pictures are full of color and fun, and you can distribute them as you like. I’ve seen small mesh bags with a cute phrase (SWEET sendoff @ 10pm), paper cones, or simply a basket your guests can grab a scoop out of. These will wash away with the rain, and don’t hurt any of our feathered friends. Ahh I love it! Please do this and send us some pictures!

The runners up include birdseed and sequins, but they don’t make the top 5 list in my opinion. As far as wedding sendoffs go, don’t spend too much time dwelling on how you want to do it, just stick with something fun. This will be the last bit of your evening before you leave your guests and head off to start your official married lives- I say…end it on a high note!

 

Until next time- the staff of IYDEE

Real Wedding: Marta & Sean- Woodinville, Wa

When you see the pictures below, you may think, no way, these aren't real people, they are too good looking they must be models?! We thought so too. That is why we used them as models in our fun photo shoot a few months before their wedding; a fun Mid-Century Industrial themed shoot with Cheryl Ford Photography at Westland Distillery. Anyway, Marta & Sean are an awesome (and yes, very good looking) couple from Kirkland that we just adore. In fact, Sean is the owner of Pike Street Press, which recently opened a second shop in Kirkland.

They got married at the always beautiful De Lille Cellars, the most picturesque winery location in Woodinville. The theme was simple yet beautiful, Eastern European yet Mediterranean with lots of greenery and hints of gold.

Guests enjoyed the fabulous music from Chris Anderson, who DJ'd and also serenaded guests during dinner. Tasty food was provided by Skillet and delicious cake from Hoffman's Fine Pastries and DERU Market.

Gorgeous flowers were provided by Fena and most importantly, beautiful photos from Carina Skrobecki Photography!

Table numbers as well as Wedding planning of course from us at It's Your Day Events & Expressions

Real Wedding ~Anissa & Brendan 4.12.14~

Talk about a beautiful April day! We really lucked out on the weather for this amazing wedding, the girls were prepared with rain jackets and umbrellas and didn't even need them! These two fun-loving lawyers, Anissa & Brendan celebrated their wedding in the gorgeous city of Mukilteo, WA near the waterfront. After the ceremony at St. John's Catholic Church, guests & the wedding party headed over to Rosehill Community Center to celebrate. Their photographer, Amanda Lloyd was able to catch some amazing shots. We are loving the photos of them in the getaway car! Talk about looking like stars of their own romance film!  Not to mention, Anissa's stunning dress and lovely flowers from Stem. Wonderful eats were provided by Cabbage Patch Catering and cake from Happy Cakes, as guests danced the night away to music from Bugsie Productions, even busting out some glow sticks for a dance party at the end of the night!  

Wedding Planning: It's Your Day Events & Expressions