NYEFD-Bridal Blog on Floral Design and Planning

Our booth at the Villa Barone Hilltop Manor Bosco Bridal Show January 11, 2012

2012-01-12T13:43:00.000-05:00

If you missed us at the Villa Barone Hilltop Manor Bosco Bridal Show yesterday, here's what our booth space looked like. We featured a number of different floral styles, color combinations, and sizes.

It was so nice to meet all the beautiful brides to be! Have fun with the wedding plans and keep us in mind for your wedding flower decor and day of coordination needs.

Come See Us at the Bosco Bridal Show - Villa Barone Hilltop Manor, Mahopac, NY

2012-01-10T17:35:00.007-05:00

It's bridal show season! Our first stop is the Bosco Bridal Show at Villa Barone Hilltop Manor, 466 Rt 6, Mahopac, NY on Wednesday 1/11/2012 from 6:30pm - 9:30pm. Come see beautiful new designs being offered for 2012 by Engaging Floral Designs and learn about new planning packages offered through NY Engagements, LLC!

Photo is our booth at last January's Bosco Bridal Show.

Get your tickets at the door!

A Fieldtrip to The Roundhouse at Beacon Falls in Beacon, NY

2011-11-22T17:48:00.020-05:00

On Friday, November 18 I took a little field trip just down the road from our studio space to visit the site of a new 250 person event space, hotel, restaurant and spa in our town! The 200 year old buildings on the campus were old factories that are being remodeled for a renewed purpose!

The first two photos below are of the event space in the making- the rectangular openings will be large glass windows overlooking the falls and the beautiful landscape. This location offers a spectacular outdoor setting for wedding ceremonies with the sound and sight of the Beacon Falls in the background and views of the mountain tops surrounding the buildings. Alternatively, the main event space doubles as an indoor ceremony option for inclement weather. The architecture and design of the space is outstanding - exposed brick and wood beam ceilings, rustic barn wood doors and cement flooring are just some of the unique and edgy features of the space.

You have to see the renderings to appreciate how amazing the event space will be for wedding receptions:

These two buildings in the photo below will become luxurious hotels and a spa!

The next photo below shows the location for the new fabulous restaurant. A couple of overnight suites will be available to guests on the upper level!

Here are more photos of how all the buildings will look once complete! Click Here

If you're newly engaged and looking for a truly unique venue for your wedding ceremony and reception, you must know about The Roundhouse at Beacon Falls located in Beacon, New York. Bookings are already under way for weddings as the event space is scheduled to be completed in the summer of 2012!

Kristen Cronin, Marketing Manager, and Meghan McAlpine are welcoming couples to make an appointment to take a tour of the site and view the renderings of the finished spaces. They thought of everything to make this venue a one stop destination to truly relax and enjoy your wedding weekend!

To learn more about the space, visit http://www.roundhousebeacon.com/ or contact Kristen Cronin at 845.440.3327 x 306.

After booking your wedding with Roundhouse, come see Engaging Floral Designs about creating an unforgettable atmosphere with our unique floral designs, lighting and specialty rentals. If you are looking to relax on your wedding day, trust in our local planning company NY Engagements to tie all the loose ends together for one seamless event.

Winter Wonderland Wedding in October

2011-11-05T23:18:00.004-04:00

Here are some photos from a wedding that took place at The Garrison, in Garrison, NY on October 29, 2011 during the snow storm that almost brought this wedding to a hault!
It was an ironic sight to see - a fall theme wedding with over a foot of snow seen through the windows of the venue.
It was a challenging day for us as coordinators having to battle against the elements. Several of the band members from NYC were stuck driving up from NYC due to the state of emergency situation. Therefore, the band turned into a dj group for the evening. Four shuttle buses filled with guests for the wedding were stranded on the road for over 3 plus hours coming from the hotels where the guests boarded (normally the travel time would take just 20 minutes). It was a relief to see the guests arrive at the venue safely and the ceremony began soon after. But we weren't out of the clear... a bridesmaid ended up getting sick at the last minute just before making it down the processional.

Once down the aisle, it was a beautiful ceremony and the bride and groom handled the challenges with such grace even cracked a joke or two about the less than ideal weather. As the evening went on and the snow kept falling, we learn that the bus drivers were not allowed to leave until the roads were clear and the state of emergency was lifted. Therefore, all the bus drivers and guests taking the bus had to remain overnight at the venue. At the end of the event, guests retired for the night beneath tables, and used seat cushions as mattresses! The dj played some music for a while after the wedding ended since they were stranded as well for the time being. One of our assistants was at the venue overnight as her ride was stuck in the snow for 8 hours trying to get to her.

The next morning when we returned to pick up my other assistants' car and check on the load out, we were happy to see the buses finally plowed out and ready to load up with guests to go back to the hotel. The best part was that all the guests seemed to be in good spirits along with the company of the bride and groom. It was a wedding we'd never forget!

June 4 wedding in Cold Spring and at the Grandview in Poughkeepsie, NY

2011-06-07T07:36:00.010-04:00

The ceremony took place at Our Lady of Loretto Church in Cold Spring, NY. The mossy curly willow pillar rental pieces are exclusive to our company and is something a little different than the traditional urn arrangements. The bride chose all white pieces to keep them toned down vs. what was to come for the decor at the reception!

The bride's bouquet was an all white peony bouquet and the handle was wrapped with her mother's wedding dress fabric. Beneath the bouquet hung 3 small photos of her family there in spirit. The bridesmaids held small posies of hot pink peonies and vibrant orange roses to pop against their eggplant purple dresses.

At the cocktail hour at the Grandview in Poughkeepsie, NY, the bride selected floating flowers in the color scheme of the reception - hot pink open roses and purple dendrobium orchid heads. After the cocktail hour, these floating flowers were then moved to the reception tables to accent all the low centerpieces.

On the escort card table, our signature manzanita rental tree greeted guests as they found their table cards. The tree was draped in purple dendrobium orchids and hanging votives.

In the main ballroom, an impressive room of 20 oval tables in a purple, orange and hot pink color scheme awaited the guests. Half of the tables were low centerpieces containing orange asiatic lilies, hot pink peonies, purple stock, hot pink roses, and other flowers.

The tall centerpieces were designed in tall trumpet rental vases filled with clear beads and submersible lighting and a strand of purple dendrobium orchids hanging inside. The top piece was a very large display of purple hydrangeas, orange asiatic lilies, hot pink roses, curly willow tips, purple dendrobium orchids, lily grass whisps, stock, and other flowers.

The combination of tall and low pieces worked well in this very large room. At the end of the night the top of the arrangements could be removed for guests to take home along with all the low centerpieces.

A beautiful day for a wedding - June 3 at the Howland Cultural Center and Bear Mountain Overlook Lodge

2011-06-04T09:14:00.016-04:00

It was a spectacular day for a wedding on June 3 in the Hudson Valley! This bride had a beautiful vintage wedding dress that looked stunning against her romantic bouquet of anemones, poppies, peonies, cream roses, stock bupleurum and other local greenery.

The groom wore a peony boutonniere.

The bridesmaid dresses were a very soft pale pink color, so the bride chose to enhance some of the pink tones to make them pop against the creamy pink background.

The ceremony took place at the Howland Cultural Center. To decorate the site for this wedding, the bride chose 2 wreaths to adorn the pillars in front of the center. The wreaths will preserve nicely as well!

Inside, the ceremony area was marked by a set of ceremony arrangements on our white pedestal rentals inside the room.

At the Bear Mountain Overlook Lodge, the tables displayed a natural soft arrangement of peonies, garden roses, hydrangea, tulips, and local greenery. On each cocktail table was a single pale pink floating peony. And on the bridal party table, the bride's mother spent months collecting vintage mini bottles to scatter down the table with some of the bride's favorite flowers such as poppies, anemones, peonies and other seasonal flowers.

Another memorial day weekend wedding

2011-05-29T16:53:00.005-04:00

Fortunately, the Engaging Floral Designs team beat the anticipated traffic for memorial day weekend festivities to deliver bouquets, personal flowers and ceremony arrangements for a wedding at West Park Winery today. A small order, but the selected pieces will go far in creating the overall look for their pink, white and green color pallet at the winery. These pieces await the bride when her and her party arrive shorty. In the meantime, the pieces are staying cool inside as it's been a brutally hot weekend - flowers hate to be too warm!

A beautiful Club Wedding in Rye - Pink, White and Green Tones

2011-05-28T17:03:00.012-04:00

Engaging Floral Designs was proud to be a part of a beautifully designed wedding featuring a soft color pallet of pinks, whites and greens for a summer wedding in the Westchester area. The bride's bouquet was an absolute jaw dropper - a hand picked bouquet feel...everything from astilbe, ranunculus, wax flower, veronica, peonies, spray roses and bupleurum fit into this cascading piece. Very romantic!

The reception was held at the Coveleigh Club in Rye, NY - one of our favorite clubs to work at!

Photo Shoot for Luxury Lifestyle Magazine Featuring Engaging Floral Designs!

2011-05-26T14:32:00.004-04:00

Coming Soon to Luxury Lifestyle Magazine - A Summer Garden Themed Wedding designed by Engaging Floral Designs in Beacon, NY and NY Engagements, LLC. The photo shoot took place at Bykenhulle House in Hopewell Junction, New York. It is a hidden gem for an intimate wedding venue outside of the norm with beautiful gardens, a nostalgic Bed and Breakfast and sunny ballroom with it's own unique charm. The photographer for the shoot (and for all images posted on this blog page) was Jackie Pfefer of Click Pictures located at 544 Main Street in Beacon, NY.

We are Recipients of the Bride’s Choice Awards™ 2011!

2011-02-09T08:51:00.004-05:00

Beacon, NY– February 9, 2011 - WeddingWire, the nation’s leading wedding technology company, is thrilled to announce NY Engagements, LLC. & Engaging Floral Designs has been selected to receive the prestigious annual WeddingWire Bride’s Choice Awards™ 2011 for Wedding Planning Services and Floral Design!

Recognition for the Bride’s Choice Awards™ 2011 is determined by recent reviews and extensive surveys from over 750,000 WeddingWire newlyweds. Our past clients are among those that shared their experiences on WeddingWire, the largest wedding review site in the nation.

NY Engagements, LLC. & Engaging Floral Designs stands among the top five percent of wedding professionals in the WeddingWire community, representing quality and service excellence within the wedding industry. Awards were given to the top wedding professionals across 20 service categories, from wedding venues to wedding photographers, and were based on the overall professional achievements throughout the past year.

“WeddingWire is honored to celebrate the success of the top-rated wedding professionals within the WeddingWire community,” said Timothy Chi, WeddingWire’s Chief Executive Officer. “With the annual Bride’s Choice Awards™ program, WeddingWire has the unique opportunity to recognize the best wedding professionals across the US and Canada. We applaud Sarah Lusardi and team at NY Engagements, LLC. for their professionalism and dedication to enhancing the wedding planning experience last year.”

We are happy to announce that NY Engagements, LLC. & Engaging Floral Designs is among the very best wedding planning and floral design companies within the WeddingWire Network, which includes leading wedding planning sites WeddingWire, Martha Stewart Weddings, Project Wedding and Weddingbee. We would like to thank our past clients for nominating us to receive the Bride’s Choice Awards™ 2011.

For more information, please visit our WeddingWire Storefront today!
For more information on the Bride’s Choice Awards™ 2011, please visit http://www.weddingwire.com/.

About WeddingWire, Inc.
WeddingWire.com, the nation's leading technology company serving the $70 billion wedding industry, is the only online wedding planning resource designed to empower both engaged couples and wedding professionals. For engaged couples, WeddingWire offers the ability to search, compare and book over 200,000 local wedding vendors, from wedding venues to wedding photographers to wedding cakes. WeddingWire also offers an online community and a suite of cutting-edge planning tools for weddings, including wedding websites and wedding checklists, all at no charge. For wedding professionals, WeddingWire provides free online management tools creating the only market opportunity that gives local businesses control over their clients, reviews, leads and performance. Businesses that join the WeddingWire Network appear on WeddingWire.com and other leading sites, including MarthaStewartWeddings.com (NYSE: MSO), ProjectWedding.com and Weddingbee.com (both part of eHarmony), and Celebrations.com (part of the 1-800-Flowers family of brands, NASDAQ: FLWS).

2011 Bridal Show Schedule - See NY Engagements / Engaging Floral Designs for yourself!

2011-01-01T23:11:00.008-05:00

Recently engaged and looking for ideas or is your wedding fast approaching and you're in search of a floral designer or day of coordination company to tend to the details of your day? Come visit our two companies, Engaging Floral Designs and NY Engagements, LLC. in person and see for yourself why we're a top 5 star rated, award winning team at your service! Don't forget to pre-register to get discounts off your tickets or call (914-393-2295) or email us for a complimentary ticket (while supplies last)!

Bosco Bridal Show: Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Villa Barone Hilltop Manor
466 Route 6
Mahopac, NY
6:30pm-9:30pm
Tickets: $5 if you pre-register, $10 at the door
Register Online and Save $5
We have one complimentary admission ticket to the show - be the first to contact us via email and we'll send it to you and see you at the show!

******

11th Annual Westchester County Bridal Expo: Saturday, January 29, 2011
Westchester County Center
198 Central Avenue
White Plains, NY
Tickets: $8
11am-4pm
Visit us at booth #:65 near the food area
Register Online to Receive $1 off your entry fee
We have 6 complimentary admission tickets to the show - be the first six brides to contact us via email and we'll send it to you and hope to see you at the show!

Come for the fun, get inspired, feel like a pampered bride to be, and start booking your wedding professionals! It's a great feeling to check items off your wedding to do list - the shows make it easy for one stop shopping for the busy girl on the go!

Looking Back - 2010's Weddings and Event Highlights....

2011-01-01T21:03:00.006-05:00

A Chilly December wedding - Personal flowers for the ceremony at Our Lady of the Rosary in Poughkeepsie, NY and Reception at The Grandview

Flowers by Engaging Floral Designs

The boutonnieres were wintery sprigs with spray roses and the groom's boutonniere contained a ranunculus flower. Sarah helped the guys pin on their boutonnieres. The church was beautiful and set back - such a beautiful gem of a place for a religous ceremony.

The bridal bouquet was stunning - a wintery purple and silver look using purple hydrangea, juniper berries, purple peonies, white ranunculus, and purple roses and spray roses.

Here are a few words sent in an email from the bride to Engaging Floral Designs after the wedding:

***

Hi Sarah,

Sorry I'm just getting back to you now. We just got back recently from our honeymoon. Chuck and I both would like to say thank you SO much for doing such a wonderful job with the flowers. I loved my bouquet and some of my favorite pictures are the ones that highlight my bouquet. The bridesmaids bouquets were wonderful. The white hydrangeas really popped against their purple dresses. All the flowers lasted really well throughout the day too! I loved that there were peonies in my bouquet and the silver berries were perfect. You do beautiful work! My mom also wanted me to tell you that she loved her corsage. It was the perfect size.

I attached a preview picture. My aunt took this picture after we came out of the Church and after the rice throwing. I love how it shows off the bouquet :)

Thank you again and Merry Christmas!

Aimee

***

Looking Back - 2010's Weddings and Event Highlights....

2011-01-01T20:54:00.006-05:00

A Natural November Wedding of Purples and Reds at the Bear Mountain Overlook Lodge
Flowers by Engaging Floral Designs

The perfect setting for a natural woodsy favored wedding is at the Overlook Lodge at Bear Mountain in Orange County, New York. The ceremony took place at the Cliff House on the premises.

The bouquets were red and purple tones of flowers.

At the reception, the centerpieces were displayed on birch rounds to give it a more natural look:

Looking Back - 2010's Weddings and Event Highlights....

2011-01-01T20:17:00.005-05:00

A Sleepy Hollow Country Club Wedding on a Cold and Windy Day in October
Day of Coordination by NY Engagements, LLC

The day started with the girls getting pampered by their hair stylist Nicole from Beauty by Nicole and their makeup artist was none other than Meredith Hayman.

The grounds of Sleepy Hollow Country Club are spectacular. The perfect setting for an outdoor wedding is on the terrace of the main "Estate" where it overlooks the rolling golf course and beyond.
It was so cold, the coordinators kept the guests indoors to stay warm until the very last minute when they were asked to find a seat and were greeted by Suzanne Chapman and the other ladies in the string trio from Maura and Co. I gave them a lot of credit to withstand the cold and play for an hour in frigid temperatures! It was a very touching ceremony as the bride's father officiated the wedding.

At the end of the ceremony, guests waved these adorable muslin fabric flags with "Yay" and "Yippee!" signs on them. You can also see the wedding programs. Since it was so windy outside, the flags and programs were passed out by the ushers indoors as guests waited to be seated.

At the reception, the room was decorated beautifully with large centerpieces provided by Diana Gould.
The cocktail spread included a seafood station, sushi station, and antipasto station along with many passed hors d'ouevres.

At the end of the event, guests were shuttled off in buses back to the hotel but didn't leave empty handed. They received a tote bag with the Sleepy Hollow logo on the front and when they returned to the hotel, a pizza cart awaited them. During the couple of weeks before the wedding when we started working on the day of plans, we learned that the site doesn't allow outside food vendors to serve food outdoors so we had to relocate the pizza to the hotel for as soon as they got off the buses. It worked out perfectly and we saved the bride and groom from the stress of handling the change of plans on their own!

If you want to see more photos of this wedding, visit their photographer's website (Jeff Tisman Photography) to glance at his blog.

Looking Back - 2010's Weddings and Event Highlights....

2011-01-01T19:55:00.007-05:00

A Chic October Wedding at St. John the Baptist in Yonkers and Reception at Villa Barone Hilltop Manor in Mahopac, NY
Flowers by Engaging Floral Designs

You can view a video of this wedding courtesy of Moving Pictures LLC HERE

At the ceremony site, the Engaging Floral Design team pinned on the boutonnieres for the groom's bridal party:

The bridesmaid bouquets looks terrific against their bright red dresses. And the flower girl looked adorable with the crown of flowers adorning her curly hair.

The aisle markers were very simple baby's breath clusters with brown sheer ribbons to coordinate the fall theme the bride requested. At the altar, two colorful fall arrangements were placed on rental white pedestals brought in by Engaging Floral Designs. The pieces were transferred to the reception site after the ceremony to be re-used at the sweetheart table.

At the reception, the centerpieces were a trio of brown toned square contemporary vases to line the length of the long oval tables. Originally the bride wanted a more pink fall toned centerpiece, so we had adjusted the piece slightly from the first sample piece we did:

Looking Back - 2010's Weddings and Event Highlights....

2011-01-01T19:39:00.006-05:00

An October wedding at Round Hill (F.E.A.S.T. Caterers) in Washingtonville, New York
Flowers by Engaging Floral Designs

After a great photo shoot for Well Wed Magazine earlier in the summer, we return to Round Hill for a beautiful fall themed wedding.

The ceremony took place outdoors and it was just the right temperature for a fall ceremony. The bride decided on 2 large potted mum plants for the ceremony arrangements on pedestals and the aisle accented with colorful fall aisle markers and fall leaves lining the sides of the aisle. This was a photo we took while setting up onsite:

See some of the beautiful photos taken below by Susan Baker Photography.

Looking Back - 2010's Weddings and Event Highlights....

2011-01-01T19:03:00.006-05:00

An October Wedding Ceremony at St. Patrick's Church in Bedford, NY and Reception at Waccabuc Country Club in Waccabuc, NY
Day of Coordinators: NY Engagements, LLC

This was a very smooth flowing wedding from start to finish. The day started with the bride getting ready at her parents house with makeup artist Sue Berkoff from Makeup Artistry by Susan

The photographer Suzie O'Rourke from Pamela Benepe Erin Kiernan & Co took some getting ready shots of the bride while our coordinator from NY Engagements checked in on the guys at the hotel to ensure they got into their transportation to head to the church. The guests were also greeted by the NY Engagements coordinator to ensure they were boarding the correct bus and set a non-stressful mood for the guests.

At the ceremony site, the NY Engagements coordinators checked on the flower setup and reviewed the music selections with the string quartet and then helped pin on boutonnieres, hand out corsages and line up the bridal party.

During the wedding when the coordinators are usually just looking out for late arriving guests or interruptions, Sarah Lusardi, the couple's coordinator noticed that part way through the ceremony there was clapping and she knew that would throw off the string quartet as usually they are programmed to start recessional music when they hear clapping. Sure enough, she snuck down a side aisle just as the musicians started to play the upbeat recessional song and got there at a great point to conduct the musicians to an quick ending point to make it like it was an intentional background song to the event that was happening. She knew they realized that they mistook the clapping for the end of the ceremony and by default began playing so they knew to play it for real at the actual end of the ceremony. A guest sitting next to the group found Sarah during the cocktail hour and said that was brilliant!

Sarah Lusardi checked on the setup at Waccabuc Country Club earlier in the morning and everything was coming together. The florist, Larry Greene, was a family friend of the bride's mother. At each chair, a personalized goodie box was hung for guests to fill up at the cookie bar at the dessert hour to take back with them.

The couple also had a smores fire and sparkler setup outside the reception tent:

After a long time of photos, the NY Engagements team had some sample plates of hors'douevres waiting for the bride and groom so they could enjoy their cocktail hour:
The spread of food during the cocktail hour kept the guests satisfied.

The entertainment for the reception was absolutely wonderful! Barbara LaValle, the band leader and singer along with the other musicians of Heartbeat Danceband did a great job of keeping the flow moving and worked well with the kitchen and coordinators to ensure they knew when to keep guests moving or sitting down for the next event. The whole crowd was up on the dance floor and it was a very lively evening!

At the end of the night, a manned pretzel stand awaited the guests as they boarded the shuttle buses back to the hotel.

Looking Back - 2010's Weddings and Event Highlights....

2011-01-01T17:34:00.005-05:00

A Challenging September wedding at West Park Winery
Day of Coordination by NY Engagements, LLC.

With all the weeks of planning and care that goes into each event as a day of coordinator, there's always one that a planner picks up that comes pre-packaged with a whirlwind of potential challenges that we will be walking into - from working with vendors who are brand new to the wedding industry, potential weather related issues at mainly outdoor venues/tented weddings, high traffic holiday weekends that can leave vendors traveling long distances stranded... yes this all affected us. In addition, there are the challenges that you'll least expect - like a ceremony participant knocking over and breaking a ceremonial teapot for a Korean tea ceremony, a dj having a corrupt music file for the bride's ceremony entrance music that we had to remedy quickly for him, a rickety chuppah that falls down with an intense gush of tornado wind just as the ceremony ends, a dj that didn't know he was to play for the cocktail hour and had to remind him, and a dj that had power failures for part of the evening with his equipment and playing loud dance music even at times they were told to turn to dinner music... this is just part of it. Thankfully, with constant adjustments to scheduling, working closely with the great staff at West Park Winery, having coordinators everywhere helping, and working around vendor issues to help everyone continue working, we all teamed together and had the wedding moving forward with minor blemishes that could have turned into some major issues. A wedding is never perfect...the imperfections are just disguised through working with a good planning team to keep on a positive face and make the best of the resources we have to work with at the time.

Here are a few key pointers to keep in mind as you plan your wedding to reduce risk of potential mishaps:

1) Work with reputable, seasoned wedding professionals that know the ropes. For example, djs should be responsive in communications throughout the planning process, understand what they are providing onsite, know what equipment they need to bring for the type of venue, have backup copies of important music, understand timing of a reception with the kitchen schedule to know when to turn to dinner music, and when it's great to have a full out dance set on the floor to finish out the evening. The dj from this wedding really gave us challenges on all fronts and we couldn't leave the room without worrying if everything would be ok for a minute.

2) Work with wedding professionals that are not too far from your ceremony or reception venue if your wedding falls on a high-traffic holiday weekend such as memorial day, labor day, etc... Many clients from the city having Hudson Valley destination weddings hire city vendors without thinking ahead of the possibility of high traffic on a holiday weekend. For example, the florist at this wedding, had they been local, would have been able to set up everything with time to spare so that the photographer wouldn't be behind in her formal photos, we would have been able to have the bride do a look through to see if her flowers were satisfactory in the room, and maybe the chuppah wouldn't have fallen if there was more time for a quality check over before they left.

3) Too many unfinished diy projects onsite leaves little time to take care of other issues that could potentially arise. Try to get as much prep work done prior to arriving onsite for your vendors to set up. Our client gave us boxes of items that we thought were pre-assembled and ready to just set out. However, onsite we realized that we had to divert our resources to helping assemble lantern pieces, finding votive holders for candles provided that had no holders for them, and taking stickers off of containers. It was great this bride had coordinators working onsite. However, for brides that don't have coordinators, don't assume the wait staff will have time to take care of diy projects as they have challenges of their own in the kitchen and with their setup. The more vendors can focus on their main roles, the smoother the event will run and be on schedule, and the less things will be overlooked.

4) Prepare for inclement weather (you never know even high winds are good cause to have an event indoors if you don't want to risk fly away programs, veils, arrangements, etc). The bride had umbrellas that she wanted the guests to use to block the sun and for a cute photo...but there was no sun and guests would have taken off like Mary Poppins with the gusts of wind that day. Backup plan - nix the umbrella photo idea.

5) Hire a day of coordinator because you just never know... this bride was very well organized and knew what she wanted but when it came time to re-structuring onsite while she was busy enjoying her day and taking photos, we had the know how to keep things moving along as smoothly as possible and keeping other vendors moving with the flow as well.

Here are some photos of what we had time to capture of the decor for that day.

The bride really put a lot of personalized details into their day that really did make it special. They also did a great dance routine to Dirty Dancing "Time of My Life" and the groom performed on his acoustic guitar for the bride which was sweet.

Looking Back - 2010's Weddings and Event Highlights....

2011-01-01T16:58:00.007-05:00

A September Wedding at The Grandview in Poughkeepsie, NY
Flowers by Engaging Floral Designs
Many photos in this blog post are courtesy of Nick Carter Photography

The day started with a 10am delivery of all the personal flowers to the Poughkeepsie Grand Hotel where the bridal party was getting ready.

The bridesmaid bouquets were a combination of orange and peachy/pink roses with green hypericum berry accents and pittosporum leaves to complement their sage colored dresses. Photo by Nick Carter Photography

The bridal bouquet was a combination of hydrangeas, cream roses and spray roses with crystals accenting the handle.

At the ceremony site, the wind was really picking up due to a tornado watch in the area albeit a beautiful September day. The ceremony backdrop was a gorgeous view of the Hudson River and two pale pink and cream arrangements adorned each side of the area where the bride and groom would stand for the ceremony. Hand tied aisle markers lined the way for the bridal party to make their entrance and used flowers that were found in the ceremony pieces. Photos by Nick Carter Photography

Inside in the reception room, a manzanita tree rental greeted guests as they picked up their escort cards. When lit, the hanging votives set a beautiful ambiance for the evening.

This tree has white dendrobium orchids strewn among the branches with hanging votives. The base was covered with pink toned roses. A very romantic look. This photo of the manzanita tree was taken using my camera phone (not a professional photo by Nick Carter).

The cake topper used fresh flowers and was a simple look to complete a sleek design (Photo by Nick Carter Photography):

On the long oval reception tables, a trio of arrangements accented the length. The best part about using these kinds of centerpieces is that there are 3 per table so every couple could take one home at the end of the night. The large center arrangement contains white hydrangea, green hydrangea, orange and pale pink roses, and greenery. The two smaller arrangements contain all roses with snow on the mountain greenery. The last photo here of the centerpieces was taken by Engaging Floral Designs and is not a professional photo.

Looking Back - 2010's Weddings and Event Highlights....

2010-12-31T16:42:00.006-05:00

A Goddess Love in Paris - September Wedding at La Panetiere in Rye, New York
Flowers by Engaging Floral Designs
Day of Coordination by NY Engagements, LLC

The bride and her bridesmaids had a very early morning getting ready at 5am at The Tarrytown House with their hair stylist Massimo. Their photographer, Ivaylo Markov from The Pros Entertainment Services arrived at 8am to capture the getting ready shots and photos of the bouquets when they arrived from Engaging Floral Designs.

The ceremony was held at Blessed Sacrament Church in New Rochelle, New York. It's a very strict church as we've worked there numerous times so our best advice is for couples to get prior approval on everything so that the rehearsal doesn't come as a surprise when you find out they only allow one way to walk down the aisle...girls solo with the guys already all up front. Fortunately, the coordinating team from NY Engagements, LLC was able to work with the Monsr. to compromise and allow the couple to have their bridal party walk down the aisle in pairs. Woohoo! The bride was thrilled and saved her night.

The harpist for the ceremony was none other than Margaret Sanzo Sneddon - she's fabulous to work with and has an amplifier to ensure guests can hear her beautiful songs!

Onward at the reception: The centerpieces were small glass containers filled with a similar assortment of pink and orangey toned roses/spray roses which were placed on the guest tables at the restaurant. At each table, the bride had a greek goddess table name in beautiful frames.
On each napkin, every guest received a single rose since the bride loved the flower so much. It was a romantic, intimate setting at the restaurant.

The dj, Gabriela Jeffrey, did well in keeping the flow of events moving even though the dance floor was in a completely separate room from the dinner area.

More pictures will hopefully follow to provide more images of the beautiful setup at the wedding.

Looking Back - 2010's Weddings and Event Highlights....

2010-12-31T15:49:00.008-05:00

A Red Hot August Wedding at the Hyatt Regency in Old Greenwich, CT
Flowers by Engaging Floral Designs

This couple loved some of the contemporary work Engaging Floral Designs did for Project Show, a couture fashion trade show held at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, NV. We featured a trio of floating white flower balls in large glass cylinder vases for a sleek, modern and sophisticated style.

For the wedding, we did an all red fabric aisle runner leading up to a red fabric covered platform. The string duet warming up in the corner before the guests arrived are Randy and Topu I believe from NY Ceremony Music.

Here are some pictures of the bridal bouquets:
The bouquets contained roses, cymbidium orchids, calla lilies, and dahlias.

The centerpieces were very sleek and simple trios of vases each with some of their favorite flowers in them in fall color tones. Engaging Floral Designs provided the rental gold linens for the tables. The place card arrangement was also designed off a piece we did for an exhibitor at Project Show in Las Vegas.

Looking Back - 2010's Weddings and Event Highlights.....

2010-12-31T15:30:00.005-05:00

A colorful August wedding at The Garrison, in Garrison, New York
Flowers by Engaging Floral Designs
Photography on this blog courtesy of Scott Ross Photography

The color scheme was purples, fuscias and oranges for this bold summer wedding. The Jewish wedding was held beneath the tent on the grounds of The Garrison since the threat of rain was upon the day. Engaging Floral Designs has a stunning back up plan in the event of rain - an all birch chuppah that can be used both indoors and outdoors due to it's sturdy construction and can be adorned however the client wishes. For this clients' wedding, we draped the grand chuppah structure with white fabric and accented the front with a large floral cascade of snap dragons, stock, lilies, orange and purple roses, spider mums, cremone mums, and greenery. The structure is so bit it can comfortably fit the parents, bride, groom, and Rabbi inside it. The couple gave us their Tallis to hang on the roof of the chuppah.

The bride's bouquet was a dark eggplant calla lily and fuscia/purple rose bouquet and her bridesmaid bouquets were same eggplant calla but with orange roses and spray roses to complement their dresses.

Looking Back - 2010's Weddings and Event Highlights.....

2010-12-31T14:27:00.006-05:00

Get ready for Fall in August Wedding at Kol Ami in White Plains, New York
Flowers by Engaging Floral Designs

Here's our take on contemporary fall with interesting textures:

The bride had a European style hand tied bouquet of yellow calla lilies, tulips, dahlias, freesia, roses, lotus pods, craspedia balls, and hypericum berries. Each bouquet comes labeled with a tag so it's easy to know which bouquet goes to which bridal party member.

The centerpieces were low glass cylinders filled with an arrangement of pincushion protea, dahlias, tulips, spray roses, hypericum berries, mums, lotus pods, and accented with angel vine.

Looking Back - 2010's Weddings and Event Highlights.....

2010-12-30T17:03:00.009-05:00

A Vintage Chic Bicycle Themed Wedding at the Montauk Club in Brooklyn, NY in August

It was a last minute decision to book a day of coordinator but with a lot of diy projects to tend to onsite, the couple knew they needed to turn to NY Engagements, LLC to help them execute their visions for their wedding day.
The bride was an Audrey Hepburn look alike with her vintage style ballerina wedding dress with royal blue shoes and blue sash. Photo by Brad Ross Photography

The groom's father was the officiant and it made for a very personal ceremony! NY Engagements helped to set up the decor for the ceremony.

The wedding decor included many little accents of the theme - bicycling! Every table name was named after a different unique bicycle manufacturer...who knew there were so many different luxury designers in the bike industry! Photo by Brad Ross Photography

The dj Dan Kingman of Expressway Music kept the crowd up and dancing at every opportunity!

The cupcake tower looked and tasted amazing! The cupcakes were made by Butterlane. They are the best tasting cupcakes I've ever had... and you can't just have one!

Personal Flowers provided by The Park Florist

Looking Back - 2010's Weddings and Event Highlights..

2010-12-30T16:37:00.010-05:00

A Pretty in Pink July wedding at Harvest on Hudson in Hastings on Hudson, New York
Flowers by Engaging Floral Designs

This bride loved the pink and green color combination so her wedding was all about that! Her photographer, Nick Carter provided a couple of photos of the bride's bouquet above. The boutonnieres were green cymbidium orchids since guys aren't too keen on wearing pink. It was another rain prone/tornado warning kind of day and unfortunately, the sky opened and the rain came falling down hard. From the smiles in their photos, they didn't seem to let the rain fall down on their parade and looked as happy as ever. The groom and his family were all from Ireland so a little rain is definitely good luck!

Here are a couple of photos we took of the centerpieces. They were full of pink dahlias, matsumoto aster, fuscia roses, pink hydrangeas from holland, bells of ireland, green tick dianthus and green cymbidium orchids with greenery in low cylinder bowls.

Looking Back - 2010's Weddings and Event Highlights..

2010-12-30T15:37:00.006-05:00

Purple Powered July Wedding at Falkirk Estate and Country Club in Central Valley, NY
Flowers by Engaging Floral Designs

The mother of the bride worked with us directly on the floral scheme for her daughter's wedding since she lived out of the area. The bride wanted an all purple wedding with varied centerpieces on the tables.

The first of the three centerpiece styles was a trio of cylinder vases with submerged purple dendrobium orchid sprays in each and a floating candle that would be illuminated prior to guests entering the room for dinner and dancing.

The second of the three centerpieces was a low mounded arrangement of purple and fuscia toned flowers such as purple hydrangea, fuscia and purple stock, purple mums, lavender roses, and greenery. These photos we took to the left.

Below are professional photos taken by Allan Levine Photography:
The picture to the left is the third centerpiece style which is designed as a small elevated arrangement atop a contemporary tower vase. It's a slightly varied version of the low piece with the addition of dendrobium orchids spraying from the base.

The ceremony took place in a room downstairs. The weather was threatening with on and off rain overcast the whole time we were setting up. The bride really wanted it outside but with the rain falling, we quickly relocated the decor to the inside plan b room and it turned out just as lovely.

Looking Back - 2010's Weddings and Event Highlights..

2010-12-30T15:06:00.005-05:00

A Grand June Wedding at Trump National Golf Club in Briarcliff Manor, New York
Flowers by Engaging Floral Designs

The aisle markers that were used at the ceremony which took place at St. Theresa's Church in Trumbull, CT were repurposed to decorate the mantle and cocktail tables at Trump National Golf Club. It was a good way to get additional use out of the pieces site. Onsite we had replenished these pieces with beautiful hydrangeas, dahlias, roses, bells of ireland, lisianthus and other delicate flowers in the blue/creamy white/green color scheme.

The sweetheart table was adorned with a lush draping arrangement of the same flowers including white stock and ruscus.

There were 20 centerpieces in total so it was plenty to do half as low arrangements and the other half as tall candelabra centerpieces. It saved the bride some money to do some low instead of all high. The containers/candelabras were rental pieces that the florist provided and setup.

In the foyer, a large escort card table arrangement greeted guests as they found their table cards. The curly willow branches held hanging votives from their limbs adding additional candle ambiance to the room.

There were so many additional features of this wedding that we would have loved to capture with our camera but we ran out of shots. Stay tuned as we await professional photos to supplement our gallery.

Looking Back - 2010's Weddings and Event Highlights...

2010-12-30T14:40:00.004-05:00

A beautiful June Jewish Wedding at Temple Shaaray Tefila in Bedford Corners, New York
Flowers by Engaging Floral Designs

Our clients wanted a bright summery wedding look using blue, yellow, green and orange tones. We will post the professional photographers photos as soon as we get a hold of some. The photo on the left is of the chuppah we decorated using the color scheme. The flowers included orange lilies, blue hydrangeas, yellow football mums, hanging amaranthus, yellow snapdragons, and orange roses that open up beautifully!

The temple was just breathtaking! You have to see this place to believe it. And with a very lovely reception hall right across the way on the grounds, it makes for the perfect wedding reception site!

Looking Back - 2010's Weddings and Event Highlights....

2010-12-15T12:35:00.013-05:00

A Backyard Tented Wedding at a Country Inn - June 2010

Ceremony and Reception: The Bykenhulle House, Hopewell Junction, NY
All Photography in this post by Christopher Duggan of Threshold Visions

Engaging Floral Designs designed an elegant, vintage soft pink and white pallet of flowers for this backyard wedding. It was elegant yet not overly pompous - just the right mix for this country setting. Photos provided below courtesy of Christopher Duggan of Threshold Visions

Wedding Planner Sarah Lusardi and team at NY Engagements, LLC. provided day of coordination services for this happy couple's wedding in June 2010.

The NY Engagements team displayed her escort cards by pinning them with clothespins onto decorative ribbon hung between two wrought iron stands. It was a whimsical and sweet idea.

Customized matchbooks were placed at the bars.

At the ceremony, fans were placed on each chair for guests to cool themselves in the heat. The bride decided on a hanging arrangement over the ceremony which framed out their ceremony space nicely. Little tossing baskets with petals were hung from the sides of the aisle chairs for guests to toss petals...

In picture above - Rev. Jeanne Stark of Hudson Valley Ceremonies officiating the ceremony

The Botticelli Chamber Players performed beautifully as the bride walked down the aisle.

Dancing was of utmost importance to this couple so baskets of flip flops were placed near the dance floor in the tent for any guests who didn't want aching feet to ruin their dance groove.

The band, Live Radio, rocked the house all evening. The leader was Julie Foster and she was a pleasure to work with.

The bride's family had a special urn they wanted incorporated into the wedding displays so it was used to hold special notes the guests wrote to the bride and groom to read on their 1 year anniversary. The card box was a vintage bird cage.

In addition to setting up personal decor items such as the ones above, the day of coordinators are also there to buffer any issues that arise at the rehearsal and wedding day...

You never know what last minute things might pop up and having a day of coordinator helped this bride relax after discovering the caterer had the cook tent placed in a location she did not like as it obstructed the grassy lounge area. So as not to disrupt their rehearsal dinner plans, Sarah and the NY Engagements team worked behind the scenes with the caterer and tent company to have their team come back that night to re-position the cook tent to an area in a more discreet area. After Sarah worked out some logistical issues/concerns with the caterer, we all made it happen! Sarah met up with the tent company late that evening to assist the move and, by the time the bride returned to the Inn, the tent was already taken care of and she knew she was in good hands!

The caterer Bridge Creek Catering was amazing to work with. They had an amazing team and they really had a lot to compete with working the event... we had threatening tornado warnings and heavy thunder storms and rain approaching and with the tent being moved, their staff would have to run in the rain to get food served but they made it work. I've never seen the chefs plate food so quickly and wait staff serve food to the tables in record time! We had a very tight schedule and they made it happen. Thankfully the rain held out just long enough to clear tables and start the dancing portion of the evening. The food was also wonderful...and we taste a lot of wedding food in our business!

Another issue that came up during the evening that the NY Engagements team helped take care of was when the bartenders were running out of alcohol. It was a very hot day and with all the dancing under the tent, the alcohol was going fast. The NY Engagements team contacted their alcohol vendor and he was able to get a couple bottles sent over and picked up some extra cases of beer along the way for us. The bride and groom didn't know that there was ever a problem. They were having such a great time and didn't need to know of issues happening behind the scenes - when they eventually did found out later, they were so impressed that it was just all taken care of behind the scenes and they were left to enjoy their own wedding party!

Looking Back - 2010's Weddings and Event Highlights....

2010-12-15T11:52:00.009-05:00

Pretty in Pink and White - June 2010 Wedding
Ceremony: St. Joachim's Church in Beacon, NY Reception: Catlin Gardens in Slate Hill, NY
Flowers designed by Engaging Floral Designs in Beacon, NY

It was a great day for a wedding that began at a local church in Beacon where Engaging Floral Designs provided some tossing cones for the guests to toss to the bride and groom at the end of the ceremony outside.

The boutonnieres were calla lilies and roses - they are sturdy and last longer than other options of more delicate flowers so they are great for long photo sessions!

The bridesmaids and maids of honor carried a combination of all pink hydrangea or all hot pink rose bouquets. The bright pink really popped against their black dresses. The bride's bouquet was a really lush elegant white/cream bouquet of white stock, roses, hydrangea, lisianthus and calla lilies. It looked gorgeous with the bride's dress!

The reception was a simple setup but for a budget the pieces were just what the bride was looking for. She loved dendrobium and cymbidium orchids, floating candles, and aqua beads with submersible lights to create an enhanced pale pink glow on the tables. So that's exactly what we provided in the room.

And the wedding cake was just beautiful with the white peonies draping down each side. Too pretty to cut!

Looking Back - 2010's Weddings and Event Highlights....

2010-12-15T10:34:00.009-05:00

A BABY SHOWER AT THE HIGHLANDS COUNTRY CLUB - JANUARY 2010

In January 2010 Engaging Floral Designs in Beacon, NY designed wreath centerpieces for a chic baby shower held at The Highlands Country Club in Garrison, NY. The wreaths around each candelabra were designed with angel vine, white wax flower, spray roses, and standard white roses. All of these flowers dry nicely so that guests could take home the wreaths to hang on their door. The hostess really loved this idea and so did the guests! We provided organza ribbon to each guest to provide a decorative hanging element to the re-purposed centerpiece.

The hostess also requested a wheat horseshoe wreath be made for the mom to be to hang on her baby's nursery door. She got the idea from a Martha Stewart catalog of a wreath hung in a frame on the wall.

The hostess had so many adorable details that really looked great all set up at the club... Little bun in the oven escort card favors on a table with the mom-to-be's own baby outfit from when she was little.

The hostess did an amazing job on the dessert table with a white/cream and pale pink theme continuing throughout the room. Marzipan, cookies, meringues, cupcakes, Jordan almonds...it was a hit among the guests!

A look Back at 2010 - A Collection of our Top Weddings - Part I

2010-09-01T21:51:00.045-04:00

Before we know it the 2010 wedding season will be behind us. As we get ready to ring in a new year of weddings, we take this opportunity to look back on the year with noteworthy highlights. Thanks to all our past brides for making this year one of our best so far and we look forward to working with our future brides for the upcoming season!

The first wedding we'll cover is a very special one - owner Sarah Lusardi became a bride herself on April 17, 2010. Sarah and her husband James were married at the Chapel of Our Lady Restoration in Cold Spring, NY. (Photos courtesy of http://www.celimages.com/)

The Chapel of Our Lady Restoration fits 80-90 guests. The bride chose to have reserved seating at the church due to the small pews and odd number of guests that can fit in each. The team of coordinators from NY Engagements, LLC helped organize the setup of personal decor items at the church including the wedding programs and gerbera daisies at each seat, unity candle trio at the front, and a monogrammed plaque from a friend. The floral decor was designed by Engaging Floral Designs. (Photos courtesy of http://www.celimages.com/)

The soloist, Jeanne-Marie Lowell, sang "The Prayer" beautifully as the parents walked down the aisle to be seated. During the candle lighting, she performed "Moments to Remember". The pianist, Emmanuel from RedRoom Music, accompanied Jeanne-Marie with a flawless performance on the chapel's grand piano.

The ceremony officiant was Reverend John Merz. He worked with the couple to create a personalized ceremony. Even though he is from NYC, he came up to Cold Spring to meet the couple in person to learn about them.

Alistair from Catherine Leonard Photography, was the photographer for the day. He is an amazing photographer to work with. He works in an unobtrusive manner yet captures some amazing detail shots and intimate moments to let the couple be themselves without feeling the lens there forcing a moment unnaturally.

Alistair started the day at the bride's dressing location in Cold Spring, NY to capture getting ready shots, personal floral pictures and the first look with the bride and groom (examples of his work below):

The bride's hair and makeup was done by Elena Pemberty of Occasions by Elena located in White Plains, NY. She's a perfectionist of her craft and got the bride done in time for her closeup! (Photos courtesy of http://www.celimages.com/)

Skipping ahead, the reception was held at The Powelton Club in Newburgh, NY (photos courtesy of http://www.celimages.com/ )

The Powelton Club is a beautiful club with a warm intimate setting in the main dining room with exposed beams and tall ceilings, gold chandeliers, living room style seating, a grand piano, and a beautiful bar area. The bride and groom had a cocktail reception for 124 guests which kept the focus on mingling, dancing, and trying an assortment of stations and passed "finger friendly" appetizers. (Photos courtesy of http://www.celimages.com/)

Stations: Mediterranean, Sushi, Slider, Carving and Italian Stations

The floral decor was provided again by Engaging Floral Designs. The escort cards were little bud vases of flowers with the guests' names on each card. The guests could take the pieces to their tables to complete the floral decor look for their table. At the end of the night, each guest could take home their bud vase. In addition, guests were treated to a cookie and ice cream bar, home made cupcakes, water bottles and coffee/tea in to-go cups for their late night ride home. (Photos by http://www.celimages.com/)

To enhance the floral decor, special pin spots and color washes were set up by John Carver of BearFly Designs, LLC. Photo courtesy of Catherline Leonard Photography

Mark Cord from Energy Entertainment Group, Ltd out of Plainview, NY provided a combination dj/live band. They have a clean, professional setup and his group played popular music that kept the dance floor packed throughout the evening. The sound was amazing - it was like there was a 10 piece band with the combination! Photo courtesy of Catherine Leonard Photography

Many thanks to the top Hudson Valley wedding professionals mentioned in this blog that made it a truly memorable day!

Engaging Floral Designs - in the Fall 2010 issue of WellWed Magazine!

2010-08-25T08:30:00.007-04:00

Look for a featured spread of Engaging Floral Designs in the fall 2010 issue of WellWed Magazine. Some image samples from the magazine are below. The amazing photographer for the photo shoot was Cappy Hotchkiss Photography. The photo shoot took place at Round Hill F.E.A.S.T. Caterers in Washingtonville, NY.

A Winter Wedding to Kick off the New Year

2010-01-10T12:26:00.007-05:00

Yesterday, Sarah Lusardi (owner) and Jessica Salazar Mino (associate coordinator) at NY Engagements, LLC were onsite providing day of coordination services and floral decor at the CV Rich Mansion in White Plains, New York. It was a sunny yet chilly winter day - no snow fall thankfully. The day started for the bride at 1pm when she checked into the Crowne Plaza Hotel with her bridesmaids to start getting their hair and makeup done. The bride's makeup artist Meredith Hayman traveled on-site and did a fantastic job making her look natural and radiant. Her photographer, talented Jacqueline Pfeffer of Beacon, New York arrived at the hotel to capture the getting ready shots before heading to the mansion for the ceremony.

Behind the scenes, the NY Engagements team set up the ceremony and reception decor. In the ceremony room, Sarah and Jessica set flowers on the pedestals at the front, wedding programs on each chair, lanterns down the aisle, an aisle runner to pull prior to the processional, placed the breaking glass on the table, checked in with the officiant and the guitarist and reserved selected seats for honored guests and processional participants.
The bride carried a small bouquet of all fuscia gerbera daisies (her favorite flower) with a cameo ring accenting the handle of the bouquet (a ring passed down from generation to generation). Her two bridesmaids carried white gerbera daisies with black centers to accessorize their black dresses. All the flower arrangements were provided by Engaging Floral Designs.

In the cocktail area of the mansion, we adorned the tables with family photos of the couple, placed votive candles everywhere, and the escort cards were alphabetized and set up in rows down the table.

Back in the reception room, the cake arrives and we place the finishing touch on the top tier - a heirloom piece from the bride's family.
The dj was Carol from A Starry Night who had the guests on their feet dancing the night away to tunes that everyone enjoyed. Caperberry Events catered the event and provided very tasty food - we cleaned our plates! The team of staff at the CV Rich Mansion work hard to make sure every aspect of their clients' experience is top notch - Joanna and Dottie are wonderful and it was great to collaborate with them from behind the scenes and on the day of!

Bosco Bridal Show Jan 6 - Scavenger Hunt for the Prize

2010-01-06T09:18:00.005-05:00

Engaging Floral Designs and NY Engagements, LLC offer attending brides of the Villa Barone Bosco Bridal Show on January 6, 2010 a scavenger hunt promo for the grand prize! If you are a bride on the hunt for the prize, you're doing great and you could be the very first one to win the contest!

Your next task then would be to go onto http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/vowfactor and find the latest post by EngagingFlorals. After reading it, email the post (using the icon at the bottom of the article) to a friend and also to us (find our email on your promotional materials) with your show promo code.

Best of Luck to you and Happy New Year!

Sarah Lusardi

Wedding Salon in NYC at Roosevelt Hotel 11/2/09

2009-11-03T10:17:00.002-05:00

If you stopped by Maggie Heinzel-Neel's booth at the Wedding Salon bridal showcase at the Roosevelt Hotel in NYC last night, you will have also seen my floral design work on her table (see image to the left). Brides from all over swarmed to the Show and I make a point to attend every year. But I was honored this year when Maggie asked if she could display my floral work next to her amazing portfolios. I worked with Maggie on a wedding at the Tarrytown House in Tarrytown, NY this fall and she is wonderful to work with, very professional, and has an eye for detail. She has a very warm and friendly personality that instantly relaxes her brides. She really captures natural emotion in her photographs and tells a story of the day as you look through her albums. Like most vendors in the wedding industry, she travels all over for her events so whether your wedding is in NYC, upstate NY or beyond, she'll be there!

Quick tricks and tips in planning your wedding

2009-06-16T21:28:00.004-04:00

Here are some quick tips that come to mind to help navigate your way through planning your wedding. There are too many to mention in one sitting but here are a few to wet your appetite!
1) Sign up for an email address that you use specifically for wedding research - give it out at bridal shows, to prospective vendors, etc so that you can keep your regular email clear of clutter after the wedding.
2) Going with the vendor on a preferred vendor list doesn't necessarily mean they are the best of the best- certain sites require vendors to pay to be on their "preferred vendor lists" but it can also be a good starting point to see what's out there - compare notes and see who is mentioned a lot, read reviews, meet vendors in person and decide for yourself. Seeing an ad in a magazine or visiting a vendor's website is not enough to make a decision off of.
3) Make sure you order extra envelopes with your invitation order and make sure your rsvp address is one that is a stable address (aka you won't be moving anytime soon). Otherwise, get a po box to rent for 6 months. Also remember that invitation quantities are by the # of addresses to send to not by the total number of guests invited.
4) Honeymoon registries - they say they are free, but beware, your guests are paying a service fee to make the transaction of depositing money into your honeymoon registry. If they really want you to have the full quantity of the dollar amount they wish to give you, they should just write a check and give it to you in your wedding card.
5) Budget bride tips - keep the guest count to the bare necessities (saves on the number of centerpieces needed for each table, on the reception price per person, and on invitation quantities), keep the bridal party small (saves on the cost of extra bouquets and gifts), have the ceremony at the same place as the reception (saves on transportation costs) and a place that has overnight accommodations is ideal to get discounted rates on your room (if not complimentary).
6) Favors - We've seen it all from candles to frames to cute little corkscrews and teaspoons... how sweet. But to the guest that isn't new to the wedding world... it's just something that they wish you didn't spend the money on. At anywhere between $3-$8 x 100 guests... that could really add up. If you think about it, the food, music, desserts... it's all one big favor to say thank you to your guests for coming and celebrating your day.
7) Registry information should not go on the invitation itself - these days you see it on bridal shower invitations or on wedding websites but never should it go on the actual invitation. It's improper to assume your guests are expected to bring a gift.
8) Cash bar - no, limited bar - better option (limits guests to beer,wine and soft drinks/juices), full bar- best option.
9) Champagne toast - could be costly just for a 5 minute toast. Instead, just have guests use the wine or other beverage they have at their tables if you're looking to shave a little money off your reception cost.
10) A good MC will make the difference between an ok party and an amazing party! They keep the flow of the event going, read the crowd, work well with the site in transitioning between events that happen throughout the evening, and get people on the dance floor!
11) You should feel very comfortable with your photographer and relate on a more personal level to them since that will shine through in your photography. I strongly believe you should never book your photographer without meeting him/her in person. An engagement session is a great way to have a "dry run" with him/her to see how well they can capture your personality and chemistry together through the lens. Many large photo studios just book a photographer for a wedding and you never get to meet them. I much prefer independent photographers that work for themselves since they are more invested in the work they are doing.
12) After the wedding, be sure to send a thank you letter to not only your guests for their wedding gifts, but to ensure you thank the vendors that worked so hard to make your day so special. It means the world to them to have that recommendation to share with others. Even a picture of you with the photographer, the cake, the flowers, etc...
13) One client of mine decided to bring some Santa hats to her wedding so that during the reception, she could get some Christmas card photos taken care of with her photographer to send to her friends/family later in the year. Very clever... always think ahead!
14) Get a credit card that has good points/rewards - putting your reception site costs, wedding dress, rings, etc on that can rack up some great honeymoon travel points! Just make sure you're financially responsible and don't spend what you can't afford and start off your new married life in wedding debt!
15) Being a fantastic host/hostess at your wedding - it's your day to shine and show friends and family how much you appreciate their presence. In the real world, we've never witnessed a Bridezilla... it's reality TV that gives brides a bad name. Even the brides that think they are bridezillas are not... it's perfectly normal to feel anxious and nervous about the moment you walk down the aisle. Remember to just stay cool - you're proving you are a grown woman and if any issues should arise at your wedding (and you don't have a planner to take care of things behind the scenes), you need to stay focused, calm and clear about what your plan b is. Throwing a temper tantrum is not one of the multiple choice answers, fortunately! :)

Happy planning!

Avant Garde's "aha moments" in the world of floral design

2009-06-04T21:55:00.003-04:00

During my undergraduate years at Skidmore College, I took several art classes... one being avant garde. I didn't quite appreciate the concept until I actually started applying it over the years in my floral design and planning work. Avant garde is an innovative way of creating something out of the norm. How many times do you go looking for a vase for your flowers in the pipe section of your hardware store? Or see stretchy bracelets as a cool accessory to accent your bouquet? Sometimes it happens by accident. For example, one day when I was cleaning up the studio after a big event, I found one of my dangly earrings on the floor. I picked it up not wanting to lose it again and hung it over the top of my gooseneck vase. I thought to myself... "Now, how clever does that look! Vase jewelry!" Who knows if it will make it into a future bride's design ideas but at least it made me think a little more imaginatively about what can be done with a simple vase.

We're so used to following the rules, that when we train our brain to think outside the bubble, we see a whole world of options that are truly unique. Claim victory in defeating the rules of "you must do it this way, because that's always the way it's been done." Blah! If we all thought that way, we'd still be stuck with plastic bouquet holders with cascading bouquets of carnations and tulle. My inspirational thoughts for tonight would be to wake up tomorrow morning giving yourself the freedom to look past the obvious and let your mind find a new way to create something that turns into an "aha moment". At the studio, we are constantly experimenting to hit that moment and share it with our clients!

Flower Themed Centerpieces

2009-04-28T06:34:00.005-04:00

Imagine a different themed flower arrangement on each table in the reception room. One of our past clients asked us to create a flower arrangement for each table to create a garden effect as you looked through the room. The linens on the table were a vibrant kiwi green and the explosion of colors on each table was stunning. The bride loved flowers and this was the perfect concept to create a "garden" effect inside the reception hall.

Escort Cards vs. Place Cards

2009-04-22T05:24:00.002-04:00

The role of the Place cards and Escort Cards seemed to have morphed together over the years. Place card table, escort card table... what is your venue referring to? Let's go to the beginning to decipher the true meaning of the place card vs. the escort card.

The Escort Card - Is a small envelope with the guests' name on the outside and on the inside, their table number. These cards are placed in alphabetical order on the "escort card" table. Guests go to this table to look for their name and then open the card to determine the table number they are seated at. This method works very well since the bride can switch around tables that guests are seated at easily by switching the table numbers in the envelopes. With so many last minute changes to deal with, this is a great remedy for dealing with last minute RSVP's! The con to an escort card is that they lay flat on a table unless you get something to prop them up.

The Place Card- In the traditional term, it is a tent card that has the guests' name on it and is placed at the exact place setting on the table that the bride wishes for that guest to sit at. Today, not many brides ask their guests to sit at a particular place setting (unless maybe the bride made custom gifts for each guest and requires they sit in a certain seat to get the correct favor). The place card many times takes on the role instead of an "Escort card" and in addition to the guests' name, the table number appears on the card and is placed on the "escort card" table in alphabetical order by the guests' last name. Since place cards prop themselves up, there's no need for extra gadgets to hold them up unlike a true escort card. The downside is that any time there's a last minute change to a table, a new card needs to be made up since the table number is printed directly on the card. This is the more popular choice for brides today but it's true that the escort card is a little more practical from a planning standpoint in it's ease of switching around tables at the last minute.

So really, the place card has just turned into the role of the escort card and the table where guests go to pick up their name and table number is the "escort card" table.

For NYC brides looking to get out of the city

2009-04-03T19:37:00.002-04:00

If you're a bride in the city looking to get out and into the "country..", there are some hidden jewels that you might just miss if you're relying on big wedding magazines and internet searches instead of asking the pros who have seen it all.

One place I really admire for a small country wedding with a b&b feel is in Hopewell Junction, NY and it's called the Bykenhulle House. Tell Jackie I sent you and then call us to help you with any planning or floral design needs! - Sarah, NY Engagements, LLC.

Invitation Tip for a formal April 1st Wedding

2009-04-01T11:40:00.004-04:00

April Fool's Etiquette: Create a very expensive wedding invitation with an evening ceremony time and at the bottom right hand corner write, "Black Tie Casual"... that aught to leave your guests wondering for days what to wear (courtesy of one of my recent clients :) )

Real life tip: It was an evening wedding at a formal reception venue in New Rochelle....My clients had initially wanted to write some attire wording on the bottom of their invitation that they wanted guests to attend in "casual attire". That never would have happened given the reception venue and the fact that it was an evening wedding. If they were looking for a casual, down home wedding where guests were to attend in khaki's and sun dresses, it would have had to take place at a more casual venue and they would most likely have decided on an afternoon wedding. Without evening mentioning dress code on their actual invitation, their guests arrived in the most fashionable attire I've ever seen... It was like they received an invitation to the Oscars! What the guests deciphered based on the venue, the evening wedding details, and the beautiful invitation is that they have a chance to get dressed up for this wedding. So the rule of thumb is, the invitation formality and the time of day and location should scream to the guest how they should dress. An exception...If you really want guests to attend in the most formal attire, dictate White Tie and dictate Black Tie if you want guests in black tuxes. Some country clubs have a Jackets required policy, so you could also dictate "Jacket Required" on the lower right hand side of the invitation or on the reception card. If after all that, a guest arrives in flip flops and bermuda shorts, well the jokes on him/her and you have our permission to point and laugh out loud.

Happy April - Fools in Love!

A Versatile Wedding Canopy

2009-03-31T10:01:00.001-04:00

A wedding this past Saturday featured our latest wedding chuppah constructed of sturdy birch trunks and branches with an elegant sheer canopy top with swagged fabric across the front. Trailing up the trunks are flowering Quince branches (perfect for a March wedding indicating Spring is right around the corner!). Cascading down from the top of the canopy are two floral pieces with a combination of Anna and Virginia roses, dendrobium orchids, green mini and white hydrangeas. It's a beautiful structure to transform any space and is the perfect size! It's also versatile to decorate - imagine hanging glass votives from the inside of the chuppah, or special gobo lighting illuminating the canopy. Or imagine all the other uses for this structure- it's not just for Jewish ceremonies. This can be used to indicate the ceremony area for any type of wedding, indoors or outdoors. It can also be used as a canopy to place lounge furniture under for a chic beach canopy or lounge space in a tented or outdoor wedding.

Having a background in planning, we also understand the need to setup the chuppah in a way that permits the videographers, photographers, and officiants to maneuver around easily. In addition, if our chuppah is to be used in a location that is hosting both the ceremony and reception, we can easily assemble and disassemble the chuppah in a half an hour to transition the event space. It is available for rent and if you're interested please call us at 914.393.2295.