2012 Fabulous Valentine’s Day Gift Guide

For the Special Man in Your Life

Give him the gift of style with the Devora Libin “Ben” bracelet.  This functional / durable, black rubber cord offers a fun alternative to leather.

Sterling silver clasp, 7.5 inches, Handmade in NYC. www.devoralibinjewels.com

For the Doting Dad and/or Brotherly Love

Help him look and feel his best with a Commonwealth Proper custom suit or shirt.  Everything that bears the Commonwealth Proper label is made, by heart and hand, in the United States. Each Commonwealth Proper garment is crafted by this country’s most experienced and respected cutters, tailors and finishers. Quality is never compromised.  It is this combination – the proper clothing and proper advice – that gives clients a sense of security and confidence that they are looking their best, be it at work or after hours. www.commonwealthproper.com

For your mom

The Devora Libin “Bow” will make mom smile! With its elegant adornment, this bracelet is delicate, feminine and makes a simple statement with its bow detail.

Sterling silver, Adjustable closure, Handmade in NYC. www.devoralibinjewels.com

For Your Best Friend

The Devora Libin “Brass Bar” bracelet is the perfect way to spread the love to your bestie.  This beaded ID bracelet puts a trendsetting spin on a classic style.

• Yellow brass bar and 14k gold filled findings
• 6.75 inches long
• Handmade in NYC

www.devoralibinjewels.com

For the Stylish Sister

The “You are my Milky Way” 1979 cropped t-shirt is the perfect V-Day gift for your fashion forward sister.  This Rachel Bilson favorite is sure to make your sister heart you!

one size. www.1979couture.com

And may I point out that quite a few of these would make fabulous bridesmaids or groomsmen gifts??! I just love how fun and unique each piece is!! Hope you enjoyed these fun ideas for Valentines Day, Wedding Day or ANY DAY!!

Happy Planning!

The one downside to these fabulous linens can be the cost but I have put together a couple tips that we love to pass along to our amazing brides:

1. Check out options that your venue may provide! (MAKE SURE THEY ARE FLOOR LENGTH THOUGH!) Many venues will offer a basic linen at little to possibly no charge but quite a few of these options tend to be shorter and will not be floor length, lending to a more casual atmosphere
2. Maybe instead of worrying about draping each guest table in your more expensive dream linen, choose a more cost effective, single color linen for your guest tables and splurge on your dream linen that may cost a bit more for your head table and/or cake table! This is a great way to create texture and bring in different colors!

Hopefully this helped open your mind to so many different options but if you are still a bit confused and want to look at options, feel free to call us or email us and come into the studio! We have linen books from some of our favorite companies like La Tavola & BBJ Linens and would love to sit down and talk linens with you!!!

Happy Planning!

How cute is this! I love mason jars and I love twinkle lights! I thought this would be a cute idea for the railings around the cabin because it is such a dark structure. It would bring in soft lighting to the outside (with candles placed in them) as well as a way for people to see where they are going. I was also thinking it would be cute to put mason jars in the surrounding trees is possible, or use them to light the pathway around the reception area. These twinkle lights would probably be put in the building to also function as a way to light up the two staircases. I just love the rustic feel of the mason jars hanging and I love the more modern touch of the twinkle lights. I think it would be a great little feature for the wedding and would bring some warmness to such a dark structure. I hope she likes it because I sure do!

For those of you who may have missed out on the fabulous Fall Series, this is a Must-Plan to Do on your calendar!! (And if you were able to come to the Fall Series, there are plenty of fabulous new ideas and vendors, so please join us again!!! We’ve missed you!)

Bridal Benchmark is a Five Week Educational Series for Brides that focuses on everything from design elements and staying organized to creating a seamless and unique event! This Spring, Benchmark is sponsored by such fabulous vendors as: Affordable Invitations, Always Planned, AP Luxury Travel, Lundy’s Catering and Gold Shield Transportation! But look forward to hearing from so many other vendors from Photographers to Venues and DJ’s! And don’t forget the fabulous Door Prizes and look out to be entered into a drawing for a fabulous Grand Prize for attending ALL five weeks!!!

“I loved being able to see and listen to a variety of vendors without setting it up myself. Such a time saver!” – Fall 2012 Bride

“I really enjoyed meeting so many wonderful people and getting my questions answered!” – Fall 2012 Bride

Bridal Benchmark begins on February 8^th from 6-8pm and continues every Wednesday evening until March 7^th! The admission for the series is ONLY $10 per person for all Five Weeks!

“The DIY crafts were my favorite! I really began to think outside the box for favor ideas!” –Fall 2012 Bride

Come out and join us at Simply Love Studio and enjoy five wonderful evenings of exciting and fabulous wedding preparation bliss!!

We Designed and Planned!  We helped 19 gorgeous couples plan and design their perfect wedding celebrations and/or fabulous rehearsal dinners.

We Moved!  We moved into a much larger studio with warehouse space – big enough for all of our decor, rentals, glassware and plenty of workspace for our floral division A Perfect Posy.  With our current client list for 2012 we may need more space!

We traveled!  We started the year off with a trip to Las Vegas for the Idea Factory.  Mallory and I traveled to a combined 5 Sandals Resorts and 1 Beaches Resort, and ended the year with a fun cabin trip to Asheville, NC to visit the Biltmore for Christmas – and it SNOWED while we were there!

We Grew!  We have had some great interns throughout the years and this year was no exception.  So it worked out perfectly that we add our latest intern Stephanie to the team as a permanent fixture!  We are still figuring out all of the details, but you will definitely see more of Stephanie.

We Gave!  This year we sponsored Christmas for 34 young girls from the Hope Hill Children’s Home.  What an amazing blessing it was to be a part of their Christmas celebration.  I will never forget those girls.  We have vowed to continue each year and will increase our donation/involvement as we continue to grow.

We Loved!  We loved every magical moment we had the honor to be a part of.   We laughed (almost) every day we were together, If you know us this will come as no surprise.  We genuinely love what we do and being able to do it together as a family and team.

CHEERS TO 2011 – may the good memories last a lifetime and the bad fade away like the pages in a calendar.

HIP, HIP, HOORAY it’s 2012!  We are excited, ecstatic and ever so ready for the new adventures ahead.  Bring on 2012!

One of our fabulous friends, Rachael, sent us information about a fabulous product perfect for your honeymoon to keep from getting too “dirty’…….. LAUNDRY DETERGENT!

Many times, we try and pack FIVE, SIX, SEVEN or even EIGHT days worth of clothes into our small carry-on or have to sit on top of our bags to get them to close but with this product, you can pack less, worry less and enjoy more!

“Roux Maison is a unique collection of eco friendly laundry products that utilize all natural ingredients to produce fabric specific laundry detergent formulations. From sports gear to swimwear and lingerie, the range uses earth and fabric friendly ingredients to clean and conserve clothing.  Roux Maison laundry formulas are custom blended with 100% natural essential oils that are synthetic and preservative free.  The result is a deep natural clean that newlyweds can feel good about using.”- ROUX MAISON

Every product we’ve ever tried from them has been wonderful and we can’t wait to use these awesome products! With TSA guidelines so strict, they have come out with a line small enough to toss in your cosmetic bag and take with you on the fly!

From their Southern style “Sweet Tea” citrus based Essential Detergent to their Fragrance Free Swimwear Detergent and Stain Removers, Roux Maison has a little bit of “clean” for every “dirty” honeymoon!

Head over to their website www.rouxmaison.com and pick up a convenient 3-pack of 1 oz. bottles for your trip!!!

Happy Planning!

The wedding industry is forever evolving with the times and thanks to that little piece of technology we call the “internet”, we have SOO many resources at our disposal at the click of a button!

One of my favorites would have to be the ever-popular trend of the Personalized Wedding Website! Whether you have a very cute, basic Free site or if you splurge a little on the high tech: video, music, full on production site, your website is a great resource to use as the answer to all of those many, many questions! Freeing up your time for more snuggling and enjoying these next few months!

WeddingWire has an AMAZING FREE option with tons of beautiful designs that correspond with beautiful invitations! They even have Vera Wang paper and Martha Stewart Weddings pages!

The Knot gives you two great options: A FREE site with all the info you can imagine: including your love story, Hotel Room information with links, Directions to the Church and Reception and your own virtual guest book! OR the high tech version, which has a small monthly or yearly fee, that includes unlimited photos, music and video uploads and much more!

You can find these sites in many different places with a simple google search, it’s all about finding the one that fits you the most!

Get creative!!! As one of our fabulous brides has done recently, you can get online and make small business card magnets with their names, the date and their website to put in each envelope with their invites! Or even send it as a cute save the date! It is also a great way to put your registry out there without being too obvious! Hehe Wouldn’t it be easy for them to just click and shop?? I mean they are already online!

The Wedding Website can be a fun resource for you and your fiancé to share your love story and your journey to the altar! Get creative! Have fun! And send me any cute ideas you end up with!!!

Happy Planning! XOXO

I have seriously been lacking in my blogging skills in the last few weeks and I am SO SORRY! We have had quite a few busy weeks here at Always Planned, meeting with fabulous brides, planning for so many more and of course a gorgeous Style Shoot thrown in there as well! I can’t complain though, this has been the best few months of my life and I can’t wait to be a part of the beautiful weddings we have already for next year!

On to more fabulous business, my topic of the day: ESCORT CARDS!!

Last week, I sat down to put the finishing touches on the place cards for our upcoming wedding and I just fell in love with the creativity that is our Scrabble place cards!! Escort cards, an escort card display and place cards are a fun way to create a cute party favor, add a little bit of your “couple style” in the details or tell a cute story!

If you have considered having a seating chart for your wedding, think about the things that mean the most to you and your man! For instance, one of our wonderful grooms proposed using Scrabble tiles! Rayna worked her creative magic and now, 115(ish) place cards later, we have a fabulous Escort Card Scrabble board and a place setting, personalized for each guest that they can keep as a momento of that special day! For another one of our beautiful brides, travel and planes in particular hold a special meaning in her heart and we are going to have fabulous vintage 3D planes for her escort card table!

The sky is (literally) the limit! I can’t stress enough that your wedding day is meant to be a glimpse into the love that you two share, a way for you to show your family what your lives together will be forevermore! While traditions and the “norm” can sometimes cloud our decisions, it can be so meaningful and special to come up with some fun ways to incorporate yourselves into your day, even in the smallest details! It’s all about you all!

Happy Planning!