Wednesday, March 25, 2009

M+R's Fuschia and Gold Wedding

Last August, a good friend of mine was married to the love of her life on the same weekend I was marrying mine!
I never blogged about her wedding but thought I would share some photos from her GORGEOUS 2-day, 500+ guest affair, because well--they are so GORGEOUS!  Enjoy!
Preparing for a longgggg day. Day 1 of an Ethiopian wedding starts at around 10am and usually doesnt end till like 2am. It's almost always a whole day of activity for everyone and starts with the husband-to-be coming to pick up the bride from her parents home in the morning...

What a GREAT looking bridal party! Geez!










M in traditional Ethiopian Melsi on day #2. Day 1 of the Ethiopian marriage celebration is when you get married; day 2 is the first day you are presented to your family as a wife.

There are those programs! I remember that trip to Papersource!





Vendors
Catering: Dama Restaurant
Photography: Gediyon Kifle
Bouquets and bouts: Davinci Florist
Decor: Mimi Decor

Friday, March 20, 2009

Tips to Green Your Wedding: Treading Lightly

"Going green" and "green living" are such buzz phrases right now--and there's no exception when it comes to the idea of having a 'green wedding.' So over the next few months I will periodically share tips on ways you can be thoughtful in planning your wedding or event to tread a little more lightly on the earth!
Tip #1: Local, Local, Local
Food
A great way to have huge impact is to consider your menu and the foods you will serve at the wedding. When you or your caterer uses seasonal, locally-grown foods from area farmers and producers you are accomplishing many things at once. When you serve local foods you are: supporting sustainable agriculture where fruit and veggies are grown naturally and meat is often raised without antibiotics= helathier for you; cutting down on food miles/the cost to transport food; supporting an alternative to industrial agriculture which has many negative environmental impacts.

The easisest way to go about a local menu is to seek out caterers in your area that work with local, seasonal ingredients and have partnerships with local food producers. You can find local producers in your area by visiting LocalHarvest.org or going to the USDA's local farmer's market finder here.
TIP: Northeast Ohio caterer Spice of Life is one that uses ALL regional, seasonal and sustainable ingredients in their menus. Check them out here. They even include on their web site a list of f amily farms they have partnerships with.
Wine
Same idea as food: get it locally or choose organic wine (grapes grown without chemical pesticides). Purchasing wine by the case from area vineyards is also normally a very cost-effective option.
Flowers
Instead of ordering and having flowers shipped from across or outside of the country, explore options at local farmers markets or flower markets. This will be easier in some areas of the country than others, but it's worth checking into.

If you are using a florist for your wedding, tell him or her that it is important to you to use local blooms and work with them to select flowers that are in season and available in your area. Not only is this 'green,' it will also many times save you money!

Lastly, if you want to really take it 'grassroots,' try growing your own wheatgrass centerpieces! (Takes about 7-10 days) Believe it or not, this decor option works well with many wedding styles--from casual to more formal and is a super easy (and cheap)project which requires just wheatgrass seed, containers and soil. Get creative with your containers to fit the feel of your wedding--and guests can even take these home as favors! Directions on how to grow your own wheatgrass centerpieces here.

Of course, you can forego flowers as centerpieces altogether. I'll talk about that another day!

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Back! And Happy St. Patty's!!

We recharged in some beautiful/perfect Miami/Bahamas weather and are now back--awaiting spring and the cherry blossoms:) 
Savvy toddler and I in Nassau:

And on SOBE:



On another note, today always makes me miss college days more than a little bit...oh...kegs and eggs! A roadtrip to Athens is wayyyy overdue.

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Bienvenido a Miami!

Me and the hubby and toddler are heading to SOBE tomorrow and then going on a short cruise to recharge/re-up/revive! Will return mid next week. If you try to contact me between now and then, I'll return your message post March 18. Ciao!

Oh! And I know I haven't formally introduced her yet, so meet Savvy Toddler!


Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Turquoise and Chartreuse


Seriously....can I plan something around this picture and this picture alone??? (J.Crew yumminess {Havona tank})!!

Friday, March 6, 2009

Getting Creative With Carnations

There are lots of old posts in Savvy blog about carnations (we were ahead of this trend!)--namely about how I really love this forsaken flower when it's arranged right! So, of course I enjoyed the visuals of a recent Hostess blog post on carns!




And last but not least, my own reception centers!

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Catan's Plus Size Bridal Trunk Show


Catan's Bridal Trunk Show to Feature Designer of Full Figured Bridal Couture: Bara Luxe

Bridal gown sample sizes have typically been a diminutive 6 or 8, sometimes a 10 but that left out the bride who was size 16 and over. From March 12-15, the Bara Luxe couture bridal collection, which specializes in full figure gowns, will host a trunk show at Catan's.

Size 16W, 20W, 24W and 28W samples will be available for try ons. In addition, consumers will also be given 15% off gowns that are ordered during the show. And a free dress will be raffled off on Sunday March 15th.

WHEN: March 12th through 15th, 2009
12:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. on Friday and 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Saturday

Catan’s Bridal Express
12925 Pearl Road
Strongsville, OH
Call for appointment:(440) 846-2519