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!

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!

As a current intern, I can tell you that there is no better job out there! Don’t be fooled though, all of the fun that we have is only met with working five times as hard! We play hard but work HARDER! Rayna and Mallory are absolutely amazing to work for and it is the most incredible job! Be prepared to have lots of fun but also expect the unexpected and be willing to put in the effort it takes to create such fabulous events!

If you apply, here are some important details:

• Do not call or send an inquiry via our website.  Clients and vendors call me and potential clients submit an inquiry on the site.  If you want to be associated with Always Planned you must MAIL OR EMAIL Rayna your cover letter and your resume. No exception.
• This is a NON-Paid position.  It is best suited for someone working towards a college degree and who will receive credit for the hours or for someone wanting to break into the wedding/event field.
• You MUST be fun, energetic, organized, detail oriented, creative and patient.  If this is not you- please look into other intern opportunities.

Please send your resume and a short note to Rayna at rayna@alwaysplanned.com.  Always Planned is a great company to work for and we look forward to meeting you soon!

The Guest Book has been a wedding staple for decades but many modern brides are hesitant to simply place out a signature book that they know will be placed in a box later and possibly forgotten about in the process. Your guests are a HUGE part of your wedding, you have invited each of these family members and friends to be a part of your love story and the guest book is a great way to remember all of the wonderful support and love you both have from them.

The good news is, if the traditional signature guest book is not for you, many creative minds have been at work and new, fun, inventive keepsakes are slowly taking its place. At a wedding I went to in June, the bride and groom had chosen a guest interactive approach and given each guest a fun page to fill out with wishes, your own drawing of the bride and groom and special memories you had of them! After the wedding, she was able to put each of them in a beautiful scrapbook and they were able to share some fun laughs as a couple reading over them weeks later! Last week, Sarah and Ron chose to have their guests sign decorative plates that can be mounted on the wall or displayed somewhere in their home with well wishes and encouragement that will remind them of that special day they shared with all of their loved ones!

The guest book can be as traditional or as creative as you would like, but I encourage you to look into other ideas and find the one that best fits your personalities. Find something you can have for years to come that won’t just sit in a box, but will be a daily reminder of the love and support your friends and family have for the two of you during this next journey in your lives together!!!

Happy Planning!

Venue Hop is the perfect event for Brides, Grooms, Friends and Family to come and see some of Lexington’s most beautiful venue’s in all of their Wedding Glory! We have some fabulous vendors taking part this year including Gold Shield Transportation who will be providing fabulous transportation for you and your guests! Don’t forget the scrumptious food and drinks provided by these wonderful vendors at each venue!

Follow the link here and sign up for the Venue Hop! Early Registration is $15 per person but as a special limited time offer, if you use the discount code: BBS you will receive $10 off each ticket which means it’s only $5 DOLLARS A PERSON right now!!!

Email us or give us a call at 859.317.9023 if you have any questions!

Have a beautiful day & Happy Planning!

I couldn’t wait to pass along this AWESOME deal today for one of our favorite products here in the office!!! We all know that the LAST thing you want to be worrying about on your wedding day is your smile and Kiss My Face Products are the perfect solution to get you ready for your big day!!! For over 30 years, this incredible company has been creating Natural Products that make you “feel great… on the INSIDE and OUT!!!”

Right now they are offering a huge promotion on their website when you buy A Value Pack of their Kiss My Face Toothpaste and Mouthwash!! You save over 33% on a Value Pack of their Toothpaste and 50% on their Spearmint Breathblast!!

This company really is ALL about you and making sure that you are Happy, Healthy and feel beautiful on the inside and out!!!

Check out their website at www.KissMyFace.com for a full listing of all of their products! I haven’t seen one that I’m not dying to try if I haven’t already! I can’t wait to order their lip gloss too! They just have EVERYTHING! Love them!!!

Happy Planning! & Enjoy your new Smile!!!