Monday, January 14, 2013
Planning a wedding can be a difficult task – even for those who normally enjoy planning parties. The high level of emotions, energy and pressure can come together to turn almost anyone into an infamous Bridezilla. Luckily, in the DC area, there are several great wedding and event planners to turn to so that you can have your perfect wedding without driving yourself crazy.
Bliss
Owner Emilie Staats Hilsenrath has been planning weddings and events professionally since 2007 and is a member of the Association of Bridal Consultants. She and her team of experts specialize in walking their clients through the entire planning process before they walk down the aisle. Bliss covers everything from budget planning to design services.
Ultimate Events
Ultimate Events takes on party and wedding planning literally from conception all the way through to completion. Their clients don’t even have to know what they want their wedding to be like. Clients can work directly with the Ultimate Events planning staff to develop a concept for the wedding and then work on how to make it happen. Their unique approach to wedding planning means the possibilities are endless and that Ultimate Events is truly a one stop shop.
True Wedding Events
Aimee Hardenbergh launched True Wedding Events after a successful career as a Special Event Coordinator where she earned the nickname ‘The Idea Girl’ for her brainstorming skills. Today she brings a flair for the creative as well as a strong background in management, organization and professional contacts to her private wedding clients. That creative streak coupled with her eye for detail means she’s able to give her clients the wedding of a lifetime with every detail in place – from the venue selection to reception activities.
Pineapple Productions
Pineapple Productions is based out of Washington DC but their flair for event planning has them frequently working major events in Florida, Cape Cod and California. Pineapple made a name for themselves by planning events at historic properties and exclusive private properties. They tailor each event to their client’s needs so that every detail reflects the life, vision and spirit of their client couple.
Cherry Blossom Events
The Cherry Blossom team of designers and coordinators has been working to deliver memorable weddings and events since 2006. Their award-winning team has established connections with some of the most highly sought-after vendors in the area and has coordinated weddings in truly memorable venues such as art galleries and historic hotels around the DC area.
Junebug Weddings
Junebug co-founders Blair de Laubenfels and Christy Weber first met in photography school. The two have risen through the ranks together working first as wedding photographers and then taking on a more comprehensive role in the entire area of wedding planning. The result is a wedding that is not only one to remember, but one that is literally made to be photographed. Their combined eye for style has ensured artistic and visually striking weddings for all of their clients.
Blue Canary Events
Blue Canary events is made up of planners with plenty of experience who have been featured in The Knot magazine as well as recognized by Bride & Groom, Wedding Wire and So You’re EnGAYged. Their modern and fanciful take on wedding planning means they’re able to deliver stunning weddings that manage to combine timeless class and beauty with a modern twist. Their team has even taken wedding planning to the next level and were contributors on the book ‘The Father of the Bride Wedding Guide’.
Invited Special Events
Invited Special Events bill themselves as a boutique event production firm which means each event is a truly unique experience. Pavaune Pearson began the firm in 2007 after having spent time as both a corporate event coordinator and an interior designer. Her combined skills and years of experience mean that she and her team can deliver a visually stunning event. Invited Special events has been featured in Washingtonian Bride & Groom magazine and has also made waves on nationally associated websites like WeddingBee, BridePOP and Premier Bride magazine.
Event Accomplished
Event Accomplished covers everything from rehearsal dinner venues through to accommodation for out of town guests and the full service wedding package. They go out of their way to focus on every detail so that the happy couple is free to relax and enjoy their special event without having to worry about the minutiae. They’ve been serving clients since 2004 and have been able to coordinate weddings that combine art deco with sports or lend a touch of Carnival to a classic wedding theme.
Elegantly Chic Events
Elegantly Chic prides themselves on reviving the classic images of chic sophistication with a touch of timeless beauty. The result is exactly what you think – part Audrey Hepburn, part Jackie O. They’ve built their reputation on customized weddings that lend this touch of classic elegance to any personality so even if your own style is more bohemian, they’ll be able to ensure your personality shines through.
A. Dominick Events
A. Dominick Events has become synonymous with some of those most visually engaging events in the DC area. Their focus is entirely customer driven and they remain one of the few coordinators who do not work with vendors based on commission. Though this is a fairly common practice in the world of event planning, A. Dominick maintains a detached but professional relationship so that their clients know any vendor they suggest is based on them being a good fit and nothing else. This level of dedication has resulted in their coordinating one of a kind events throughout the DC area as well as Mexico, the Bahamas and southern France. As a result, their events have been featured in Bride & Groom, BizBash, Destination I Do and Style Me Pretty, to name a few.
These are the wedding and event planners making waves and headlines in Washington, DC. So, if you’re still on the fence about creating and designing your own wedding or hiring a serious professional to make your dream come to life, check out the Bridal Dozen, you’ll be amazed and inspired!
Posted in Washington DC Event Resources, Wedding Resources
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
Emily Post is unquestionably the Mother of Etiquette and her 1922 book ‘Etiquette’ remains a popular and regularly updated handbook for even the most modern party host. Post (and her successive reigning Guardians of Etiquette) have always suggested giving guests plenty of notice, with the average timed invitation back in her day going out about three weeks before the Big Day. However, as people have become more widely connected, the need to give guests even more notice about a wedding date has become part of the New Normal. It is now more common to send out invitations 3 months in advance if Save The Dates have been sent. Often, the wedding date is determined by the availability of the couple’s chosen venue, which in some cases are booked for years in advance. This kind of planning has made it easier for couples to notify far flung friends and relatives with plenty of time for them to budget for travel expenses, book time off with their employer or make other plans needed for cross country or even international travel plans. And when you only know the date, it’s impossible to send out a real invitation with all the details. Enter the perfect solution – the Save the Date card. Here’s our Save The Date guide for more information on when to send out those save the dates and invitations.
A Classy Heads Up
Save the Date cards became popular in the mid-2000s and have taken off in recent years. The cards do little more than announce the date of the wedding and are used as a way to tell guests simply to keep the date free and more details are on the way. As wedding websites become increasingly popular, it’s also a great way to communicate your website address to your guests at an early time, so they can have easy access to updated wedding details as they become available. This kind of initial notification was once done verbally among family and friends and, as the internet turned us into a global community, notifications were sent via email or even through Facebook or Twitter.
But when planning something like your wedding, many people want to avoid blasting mass emails or sending out electronic notifications on public social media websites. Save the Date cards fill this need perfectly while framing the entire wedding with a bit of class. These custom cards can be fun or formal, and are available in high end formats, including elegant letterpress, which can then be used as a basis for the style and feel of the entire wedding.
Save the Date – From Optional to Required
Save the Date cards are now considered to be pretty standard for any wedding. Even smaller wedding parties should use the cards as a way not only to formally announce the wedding itself, but also to allow guests the greatest chance of being able to attend. Work schedules alone have become more demanding for many people and getting time off to attend a wedding can be difficult. Add to that the expense of travel and the need for families and out of town guests to plan for, budget and shop around for travel options. All of it adds up to a lot of hassle, not to mention the expense. Using a Save the Date card gives your family and friends plenty of time to make their arrangements and is considered good manners. The added bonus to using these cards is that you’re able to blend style, sophistication and old world etiquette into modern life. Emily Post would be proud!
Posted in Wedding Resources
Friday, December 28, 2012
(Left to right: NPR reporter Elizabeth Blair, Heather Noss, NPR producer Liz Baker)
If you heard a recent interview on NPR with a local wedding invitation designer in DC who got her start on Etsy, it was in fact me, “Rose”, aka Heather Noss! Since I have heard from a lot of friends and clients who heard the story and had other questions, I thought I would expand on the story here!
NPR’s Elizabeth Blair came to the Digby & Rose studio in NW DC recently to talk to me about my experience starting the business, from a the perspective of a seller who successfully grew a business through Etsy. The story focused on Etsy’s growth and how it has changed over the years. Although it’s true that the focus of the site and profile of sellers has changed, when I started my own business at the end of 2008, it was a perfect place for a “micro” business to get a start. (At the time calling it a “small” business would have been too generous!)
I read once that every small business entrepreneur has had a moment of insanity, which strangely enough happens to coincide with the very moment they decide to start the business. My moment came when I decided that October 2008 was the perfect economic climate in which to quit my government job as a Foreign Service Officer at the State Department, become a professional artist and inventor, and start my own handcrafted paper business out of my home. The kitchen table became my workspace, and over time every other available space in my apartment became the home of boxes of envelopes, printers, paper cutters, and stacks of paper. Thankfully I had early encouragement, as within 3 weeks of starting the business I had my first sale, a box of 6 handmade thank you cards.
As a generous boss, I gave myself a lot of opportunities to work on all the sections and departments of the business. I was the head of Accounting, Chief Photographer, VP of Customer Service, IT guru, lead consultant for Special Projects, and of course “the one who makes the stuff”. Once I even scored Employee of the Month! For a long time it was on Etsy alone that my sales grew, and at the same time I was able to grow as an artist and a business owner.
At the beginning of 2010 the limit of operational capacity in my apartment was reached, and I was able to move into a first studio space, which is now one of three studio spaces at the current Digby & Rose retail location in NW Washington, DC. The business naturally moved beyond just selling on Etsy, as referrals from previous clients and a local reputation grew. (Also a worldwide reputation, as I’ve now done invitations for clients as far away as Uganda, Switzerland, and Argentina…and we’re really big in Australia!) By now I think we’ve graduated from “micro” to “small” business!
So I now get to work with customers that are at a particularly happy moment in their life, on a very personal item, their wedding invitations. It’s a chance to be creative and indulge a love of letterpress, where every finished order is like a new present. A big thank you goes out to all of my clients who have put their trust in me to make invitations they love. There was a lot of hard work involved with many of the ups and downs you’ll hear from many small businesses, but getting started was really made much more possible by the ability to sell my first items through Etsy. For all it has changed and all of the criticisms mentioned in the NPR piece, for myself I can only say Thanks Etsy for Helping Me Grow a New Life!
Posted in Washington DC Event Resources, Wedding Resources