Congratulations Jessie & Nathan!

I know it's been hard for me to keep up with blogs for all these amazing weddings, but THIS one was definitely noteworthy! One of my all-time favorite clients, Jessie and Nate were married Saturday in Lakewood NY after 7 months of working with Lavish. The ceremony was at Sacred Heart, and the reception was at Jessie's mother's beautiful home in Lakewood. (ALSO a warning, these photos were taken by the Lavish team, they aren't the professional images. Those will be soon to come!)

BEFORE the wedding:

I have been working with Jessie and Nate since early December making sure that all their "ducks" were in a row (you'll get that later on...). All the planning led up to the weekend of the event. I had a fabulous team of 6 planners assist me on a large scale, outdoor, tented set-up for 2 full days!

The Reception:

Looked fabulous...if I do say so myself! Two large pole tents were filled with beautiful chocolate brown, tiffany blue, and apple green linens, as well as tissue paper pom poms and paper lanterns lining the reception tables. There was a nice little lounge area for guests to kick up their feet near the bar (where it was most needed!), also a large dance floor fit to party on surrounded with hi-boy tables.

The Entertainment:

A 16 piece swing band kicked off cocktail hour in time for Julie and Mark Solinger to take over with their DJ skills!

The Goodies:

Per the groom's request, we had a fabulous cigar bar/smoking patio for the guests to sample cigars and Grand Marnier. And WOW does this couple love their food! During cocktail hour, guests helped themselves to a smorgasbord of upscale barbecue hors d'oeuvres, then strawberry salads were served, followed by an unbelievable menu of prime rib, chicken with fruit salsa, fresh haddock, green beans and summer squash, and tons of other delicious fixin's! All of that was followed up with a huge candy and cookie buffet, and an absolutely beautiful and delicious cake by Joyce and Peggy of Fredonia. THE BAR was the most booming part of the wedding! The caterer (Andriaccio's--fabulous by the way!) said she'd never gone through so much booze at one event! These people knew how to party! You'd think that would have been enough to satisfy their appetites but later in the evening mini fruit tarts and chocolate desserts were served!

The Duckies:

There was a very subtle and suprise theme at this wedding of rubber duckies. You see, the groom...leaving out some details...proposed with a ring around a rubber duckie's neck!!! So in honor of that, Lavish created a signature drink of a "Duckie-Tini" which consisted of vanilla vodka, pineapple juice, and a splash of grenadine. There were also two little bride and groom duckies on either side of the cake!

The most important part....

The couple! Jessie and Nathan were absolutely amazing through the whole process. They were easy going and trusted us to do our job! They remained completely calm and stress free, and had a fabulous time at their wedding. They made me feel a part of their family, even invited my assistant Jamie and I to their rehearsal dinner to relax a bit before the wedding festivities. Barbara (M.O.B) was an extremely gracious host allowing for this large scale event to take place in her BACK YARD, all while giving away her little girl! Congratulations to Mr. and Mrs. Vahling!!!!

...also a huge thank you to my Lavish assistants Jamie, Stephanie, Steff, Amanda, and Kelly for their help! I definitely needed all the hands I could get for this one!

DIY Father's Day Projects!

Thank goodness I'm a Martha Stewart blog-stalker! Check out these fab ideas for your father this father's day! Top left photo is button-down shirt cards, top right photo is father's day BBQ sauce, bottom left (MY FAVORITE) is tee-time cupcakes! The bottom right photo is "dad's travel kit" which is a box stuffed with everythng he may need including a map (or if you were a really good kid you could put a GPS in there), notepad, flashlight, phonebook, tissues, and anything else you could think of! Gifts are so much more meaningful if they're homemade! So be sure to create something for your dad!!!

Ribbons, Ribbons everywhere!

I am definitely up to my eyeballs in ribbons this morning as I attempt to wrap up the prep work for a long-time coming wedding next weekend. One of my favorite clients, Jessie, who booked me way back in December, will be getting married to Nathan in a sea of chocolate brown, chartreuse green, and tiffany blue on Saturday! This week I'll be finishing up her programs, pom-poms, and seating chart, and making hundreds of phone calls to make sure the vendors are all on the same page!

Yesterday one of my other favorites, Mia was married on a beautiful yacht! Guests were served a yummy surf and turf menu, and a ton of fabulous mini-deserts! Congratulations to Mia and her new hubby! They will be honeymooning in Napal!

Although this wedding season is still just taking off, I'm already so sad that some of this year's weddings are past! I swear, I've got the best batch of brides and grooms this season, they're hard to say goodbye too. Just remember, guys, that I also plan baby showers and anniversary parties!

DIY projects

Martha Stewart's site has once again inspired me to do some DIY-ing the last week or so. And now that I'm laid up post-surgery (no big deal, but I have to be off my feet for a day or so) I finally have time to blog about them!


First was the spin off of the crystal tree and branch centerpiece. I'm sure you've all seen the crystal trees I am referring to. They're absolutely beautiful! However I wanted something slightly funkier. Here's some step by step instructions if you'd like to create them yourself...but please note it's time-consuming and semi-frustrating work! Lavish will be selling these from this point forward if you are interested in having us create a custom tree for your wedding or party.



Step 1: Go to your local craft store and buy the following supplies:
A sturdy base for your tree
Several different sizes and types of branches (note they do not have to be the same color)
Plaster of Paris
Glass faceted beads or crystals in your choice of color
Bead wire
Spray paint in your choice of color
Glitter spray coat in your choice of color
Styrofoam cone
Step 2: Place your styrofoam cone in the base
Step 3: Arrange your branches by sticking the ends of them in the styrofoam cone inside your base. Be sure to arrange them evenly so there are no bare spots.
Step 4: Mix the plaster of paris according to the instructions on the package. Immediately pour the mixture into the base of the tree, over the cone, and allowing about 2 inches of free room at the top of your base as the plaster will expand as it sets.
Step 5: Cover the base of your tree with a plastic bag and set on some newspaper to prepare for painting. Spray paint the branches of the tree with your choice of color. Once dried, spray a coat of the glitter spray.
Step 6: While waiting for your paint to dry and your plaster to set, begin to string your beads on the beading wire, being sure to tie knots at both ends. Use your discretion with the number of strands you'd like to use.
Step 7: When all is dry, begin twirling the bead strands around the branches and securing them with beading or floral wire.
Note here I used a bright chartreuse green base, and robin's egg blue spray paint for the branches. To create a distressed look to the branches, I only used one coat of paint so some of the brown of the branch could show through. I then sprayed clear coat with silver glitter all over the tree. Instead of stringing the beads yourself, you could save a lot of time and buy the beads or crystals already strung, however that can cost up to 8 times as much!


Next project was the lollipop stand! This came from the Martha Stewart website at the best time. For an upcoming June wedding for Jessie and Nathan, I was looking for a creative way to display lollipops without breaking the theme of the table. These are great little DIY projects...and again if you don't have the time to DIY, feel free to come to Lavish. We are now selling these little wonders in all sizes, colors, and shapes! I won't go into details on how to create them because I kind of winged it, but here are the instructions a la Martha

I apologize for the quality of the images I've posted today---all courtesy of my phone!

Be sure to check out our storefront on ETSY. If you haven't heard of it, check it out! It's a fabulous buyers and sellers community much like Ebay, but for all things homemade!

Quick Update...

So far this wedding season= madness! It's fun madness though! Lavish had 5 weddings yesterday, all in different cities! PHEW! What a day. Anyhow I wanted to say a quick congratulations to Etta and Mark of Las Vegas, Cheri and David of Chicago, Lisa and Chad of Honolulu, Angela and Clint of Philadelphia, and Jessica and Rico of NYC!

Today my day will consist of regrouping, and wedding crafting! I am working on a new project which is a combination of branch centerpieces and crystal trees. I wanted something like the crystal tree for an upcoming wedding, just a tad funkier rather than glamorous! I'll take a picture this evening when I finish!!!

Zero Gravity Wedding....

This couple would have won!

U-N-I-Q-U-E!

Calling all one-of-a-kinders: Do you have a really fab but different idea for your wedding or party? If you want to do all things different, please get in touch with us! Lavish would like to showcase one event in a new blog series: U-N-I-Q-U-E. The perk for you?: Free advice and planning from the Lavish Professional Planning Divas plus day-of-event coordination! Entry is limited to those who have a truly exceptionally unique idea for their wedding or party. Examples might be a wedding produced with all recycled products, or a party for which absolutely everything was purchased on Ebay. How about a pet wedding? Or an African Safari theme? The sky is the limit, but the more unique, the better! Your story and photos will be shared with the Lavish blog readers and possibly in magazine and television publications (with permission, of course!). Email your ideas to Kara Marie@LavishEventsOnline.com