Throwback Thursday: Chad and Sarah Ward

Couples Name:   Sarah and Chad Ward

How did you meet?   We met at a party after a basketball game over Thanksgiving break in 1996.  However, during the Pumpkin Fest Parade that same year I was working at the Sports Booster’s pork chop booth, and saw him on the Sycamore News Float in the parade and thought he was cute!  We went on our first date at the beginning of December and just before Christmas I saw a picture of him on the float and realized it was the same guy!!!

 When and how were you engaged?   We were engaged officially in January of 1998.  We had already selected the diamond from a friend in the US Virgin Islands and had the ring created there and shipped.  I expected him to propose at the Blackhawks game we went to the first weekend in January, but he didn’t.  The ring came in the mail on January 8^th and that same day Chad’s boss sporadically played a song that reminded him of me and he left work quickly, ran across the street, bought a red rose, and raced up to my classroom where he proposed. 

 

Wedding Snapshot:

Wedding Date:   11-28-98 (Happy 15th Wedding Anniversary, Sarah and Chad!!)

Ceremony Location:   Disciples United Methodist Church, Mt. Morris, Illinois

Reception Location:   Ballroom of a Hotel in Rock Falls, Illinois

Number of Guests:    between 275-300

First Dance Song:    Is it bad I can’t remember?  ; )  I’ll ask Chad. (neither one of us could remember!) ;)

Bridesmaid dress color:  Black

 

Most memorable wedding day moment?    My favorite part of the entire wedding weekend was the time spent with our closest friends AFTER the rehearsal dinner.  We hung out in the pub connected to the hotel and stayed up way too late laughing, talking, and reminiscing.  At that point in my life, many of my closest friends were far from home at grad school and working out of state. It was a gift to have them all together.

As for the wedding itself, the flowers (fire and ice roses) were absolutely stunning!  I wanted a holiday feel to the wedding and they really felt festive. 

If you could do it all over again would you change anything?  I would do a destination wedding!

 

What is one piece of advice you can give to our Bride and Grooms? 

Don’t let outside conflicts and opinions factor in – as much as possible.  More is not always better and in the end, looking at the photos should bring you joy, not bad memories.

If you are interested or would like to submit a family member or friend to be featured in an upcoming Throwback Thursday feature please contact amanda@ladievents.com

Throwback Thursday: Chuck and Glenda Stowe

 

Couples Name:

Chuck and Glenda Stowe

 

Wedding Snapshot:

Wedding Date: May 10,1980

Ceremony Location: Salem Lutheran Church, Sycamore, Illinois

Reception Location: DeKalb Elks Club

Number of Guests:250

First Dance Song: "Help Me Make It Through The Night"

Bridesmaid dress color: Light Blue

 

 

How did you meet?

We met when I applied for a job as Service Secretary at Appletree Stereo. I got the job after the other person turned it down! That was the beginning of Oct 1979.

 

When and how were you engaged?

We became engaged in Feb 1980. We had been dating for a couple months and I thought that it was going to cause problems with my job so I went to tell him that we should probably stop dating and he said "How about marrying me?" He came and picked me up the next day and we went to pick out an engagement ring.

 

Most memorable wedding day moment?

The best man lost his tie and it was in his pocket the whole time! When the wedding ceremony started it was dark and rainy. Then 20 minutes later when our pastor was ready to pronounce us husband and wife the sun came shining through the church window. The pastor said God had blessed this union!

 

If you could do it all over again would you change anything?

Well we would have had a  photographer who had a camera that worked! Half of our wedding pictures were supplied from our parent's Polaroid's. Also, the powder blue tuxedos!!

 

What is one piece of advice you can give to our Bride and Grooms?

That it's one day in your life together! My husband and I planned our wedding in 2 months! Treat it as a party, not a production! All you need is food, friends, and family- and Chuck says beer and a band! No DJ!

 

If you are interested or would like to submit a family member or friend to be featured in an upcoming Throwback Thursday feature please contact amanda@ladievents.com

Wedding Dress Shopping. It's never too early.

Okay, I retract that.  I guess it's not NEVER too early.  If you're a single gal on the prowl, owning a poofy white dress "just in case" might set off some alarms in potential partners.  According to ABC news, though, apparently it's not that uncommon to dress shop pre-engagement.  I'm not here to judge.  Shop on ladies.

The point is that if you ARE engaged,  especially if you are planning to be engaged for a year or less, there's no need to feel silly about hitting the bridal salon circuit pretty early on.

Most bridal salons recommend that you purchase your dress at least 6-9 months before your wedding.  Here's why: unless you're buying a sample dress or are purchasing through a retailer like David's Bridal, it will take a while before your dress actually arrives at the store.  You do not get to take home the dress you try on. Once you "say yes to the dress,"  the bridal salon orders that dress from the designer.  In most cases, it takes 4-6 months from the time the bridal salon orders your dress to when the dress arrives at the store.

And even THEN, it's not like you can just pick up that dress and be all set for the big day. Wedding dresses come in a really limited selection of sizes, and if your shape roughly resembles that of a human person, odds are you'll need some alterations.  You will probably be fitted 2-4 times, with little changes made every time, before the dress fits just right.  If you're unfamiliar with the alteration process, here's a picture that should explain everything.

Aside from all of the logistics of getting the gown ready once you've picked it, there is the little matter of actually shopping for the dress.  If you are anything like me, Pinterest has probably convinced you that you are completely in love with about 6,000 dresses.  There are A LOT of options out there, and you want to give yourself time to try on dresses, think about them, and maybe make a few shopping trips before making your final decision.

So get shopping ladies! If you need a little inspiration, check out Glamour's slideshow of the top wedding dress trends of 2013.  And if all of this bridal boutique protocol has you thinking that you're a sample sale/David's Bridal type of girl, you might like Glamour Closet, a bridal store that only sells designer sample dresses.  You might also want to check out Melissa Sweet's line for David's Bridal, which I may or may not be obsessed with.  Okay, I am. The dresses are gorgeous.  I love them.  But I'll worry about me and you go shop.

La di Events Reviews

We have been so excited to have such a busy wedding season!!  We can't wait to get all of our real wedding photos to share with you.  But in the mean time check out what our brides and grooms are saying about us on weddingwire!!

DIY Wedding Decor

We just love working with WCIU, You and Me this Morning.  For our segment yesterday we focused on Bold Color a BIG trend this wedding season.  If you missed our segment yesterday you can view the video here.  Below I have listed all of the details and vendors involved  in this segment!  Enjoy!

All floral design was provided by my very talented sister-in-law Tiffany Burdick, Owner of The Petal Boutique.  We chose to design bold colored pomanders.  Each created with carnations!  Can you believe how gorgeous they are!  Pomanders can be carried by your bridesmaids or used as pew decor.  After the ceremony we suggest re-using them as the centerpieces as you see here.

Our Bold  Hot Pink linen was provided by Unique Party Rental!

 This escort card display is so easy to make.  We chose paint chips from a local home improvement store in the various colors of our theme. The very best part of this is the paint swatches are FREE! We punched out the circles with a 3 inch circle craft punch. So all you have to do is write out your table assignments and tack them right to the cork board!  We had some fun listing the names for the segment!  Zach Morris was invited!

 Here is our gorgeous bridal bouquet designed by Tiffany Burdick with The Petal Boutique.  It was created with white roses, white peonies, white ranaculus, and white lilacs.  We wanted the bouquet to be completely white but have alot of texture!  And might I add that the combination of the lilacs and peonies made this bouquet smell wonderful!

 To add our bold colors to the bouquet we added a colored ribbon wrap.  Doesn't this look fun!

 We work with Dessert Designer, Kelly Siebens with Lillycakes and I had been begging her to make a "lillycake cake," and this segment was the perfect opportunity for her to launch this new product!  Isn't it great!  We had the cakes decorated to match our bold theme as well.  This cake held 200 lillycakes!

 Bite-sized desserts are such a trend right now and I think this is a great way for Brides and Grooms to have a very fun and creative yet affordable wedding cake.

I hope you enjoyed all the details!  If you have further questions or would like to speak with us about designing your wedding you can contact us here.'

Wedding Puzzle

 This is a custom wedding puzzle used as a guest book by BellaPuzzlesToo shop on Etsy.  Not only is it a great activity but a great heirloom to keep.  As guests arrive at your wedding they can sign  the back of a puzzle piece with a special message for the Bride and Groom.  Then throughout the night many of your guests may attempt to put the entire puzzle together

This puzzle has about 60 pieces large enough for signing. They come on 10 piece increments to suite any wedding size. They recommend that you get enough pieces for 70% of your guestlist. But make sure to place your order early as these custom pieces take 14 weeks to produce!

 They can even create custom cuts at your request, here are some examples:

1. Two names with a maximum of twelve letters (for example, “Sam & Lindsay”)

2. The couple’s initials (for example, “S & L”).

3. Event date (format will be “Jun 26 2011” or “26 Jun 2011” with no punctuation)
4. Two figure pieces (heart, leaf, animal, or state)

Each puzzle comes packaged with two pens perfect for signing on the pieces.

Here are the steps to place your order!!

- You purchase your puzzle and provide instructions for personalization.

- You send me high-resolution .jpg image file (minimum 200dpi, 1MB).

- They confirm details of order with you.

- They design and create your puzzle.

- They ship the puzzle to you with USPS Priority Mail (insurance, tracking, and delivery confirmation are included).

- Guests at your event sign the puzzle pieces. There is space on each piece for a name and short message.

Check out their site here!

Build your own Tuxedo!

This if for all our Grooms out there!  We are always creating design boards for our clients and I am just in LOVE with the Build a Tux feature that JoS A. Bank has created!  This allows me to create a look for the the gentleman in our design boards very easily.  I have created one for you today to show you the steps and how easy it is for you to design your own tuxedos! 

Step One: Select your Jacket

Step Two: Select your Pants

Step Three: Select your Shirt

Step Four: Select your Vest Pattern and Color

Step Five: Select your Tie Style and Color

Step 6: Select your Shoes

After you are finished it will give you a full report of your selections for you to print out and take with you to one of their local storefronts!

Here is the link for you to start Building your tuxedos!

Photo Galleries

We have updated our wedding and event planning galleries!  Check out all the fun we have been having!!

Wedding Dress Trend 2011

This year is full of fabulous wedding gowns. We wanted to share with you one of the wedding gown trends we love this season! The One Shoulder dress! Take a look at these beautiful gowns!

   

http://www.moniquelhuillier.com/

                                           

http://www.jennypackham.com/

http://www.amsale.com/



www.jlmcouture.com/Lazaro



http://www.carolinaherrera.com/

http://www.verawang.com/

Aubrey is getting Married!!!!

Our  fabulous Wedding Consultant, Aubrey is a bride herself!  We are so excited for Aubrey and Nick! Click here to see their beautiful engagement photographs by husband and wife photographers Miller + Miller.

La Di Real Wedding Video: Danica and Eugene

Last week we featured the Real wedding of our clients Danica and Eugene.  We are so excited to share with you the video review of their beautiful Chicago wedding.  A big thanks you Logi Productions for filming this amazing video!





Danica and Eugen June 12th, 2010 from Emmett T. on Vimeo.

We're in the latest issue of Chicago Social Brides!

We are so excited that our clients Courtney and Kevin were featured in the current issue of Chicago Social Brides.  Click here to see the digital copy of this issue. You will find this feature on page 180.

To see more of Courtney and Kevin's wedding you can check out their real wedding post right here on our blog!

Engagement Party

You are engaged!! 

Well the Engagement Party is the time to announce your engagement and celebrate with family and friends.  But recently I was asked what is the "correct" etiquette for an engagement party.  So here is the answer straight from the source of all wedding etiquette, Emily Posts Wedding Etiquette by Peggy Post.

Who Hosts?
The Parents of the Bride host the Engagement Party.

What kind of Party?
There is actually no standard party format.  The most popular types are cocktail and dinner parties,

Who is invited?
Generally the guest list is limited to the couples relatives and close friends.

How do you invite guests?
Written or printed invitations are normally sent, but for an intimate gathering phoned invitations are acceptable.

Do you open the gifts at the party?
Only if gifts are given by everyone should the gifts be opened at the engagement party.  After opening the couple should personally thank each guest. However, written thank you's are still required.

What type of engagement party is your family planning?

Engagement Ring Trends

I am often asked about trends in the wedding industry, so I wanted to share with you some of the beautiful trends we are seeing in Engagement rings this season.

1. Pave

We are seeing micro pave diamonds on engagement rings and bands.  We are seeing a trend of pave diamonds with all diamond shapes and settings.  We are even seeing rings with pave diamonds on the prongs of the ring. The pave diamonds fit so closely together that you can hardly see any metal.  Just what all the ladies want, more sparkle! This ring is by one of my favorite designers Michael B. 

 2. Halo

This is a trend that started last year and has really taken off.  Halo stands for a Halo of diamonds surrounding the main stone.  This is being done with all stone types.  In most cases the Halo is made up of Pave diamonds. This beautiful Halo ring above is by Simon G.

3. The Solitaire

This is one ring trend that will never fade.  There is nothing more beautiful than a round diamond solitaire.  It really is a timeless ring and will never be out of style.  Another great benefit to the solitaire is that you can dress it up with the wedding band, or just leave its simple elegance.  The sparkling solitaire above is from Tiffany and Co.

What engagement ring trends are you seeing?



2 days left! Bid your Wish!

Couples planning to be married can bid for wedding-related auction items

online NOW! Only 2 days left, with all proceeds benefiting Wish Upon a Wedding . This new organization is the world's first nonprofit that provides weddings for individuals facing life-threatening illness.

La di Events has donated a Day of Coordination Package to the Auction!  Jump online and bid on it today!

Last Minute Halloween Party Ideas!

Are you interested in throwing a Halloween Party but don't have the time or maybe the budget?  Here are some easy and affordable ideas for food, decor and music this Halloween!

FOOD

Pumpkin Cheese Ball 

You can change your traditional cheese ball into a pumpkin!  All you need to do is cover it with Dorito chips and make the face with black olives and the stem with a pickle!

Pretzel Fingers

Also if you look to the left of this picture you will see "finger food"  You can cover pretzel rods with white chocolate and add chopped almonds for the fingernails.  Then for the container you can cover a cup with an old shirt sleeve! So Easy!

Spooky Dips

An easy way to make your dip more festive is to just add food coloring!  Here you can see not only did we dye the dips but we also placed them in small plastic cups and cut out the top of the pumpkins to display them in.

Ear Wax Sticks

This snack is creepy and fun!! These sticks are made to look like used q-tips. Place a small marshmellow on either side of a small pretzel, then dip the marshmallow's in butterscotch!! So Yummy!

Worms

Buy a few different types on gummy worms and arrange them all on a platter.  You can add a few fake spiders for decor! 

DECOR

Spiderwebs 

No need to go out and buy a bunch of decorations  Just cover your current decor with spiderwebs! You can find bags of fake spiderwebs at the dollar store.  A little goes a long way...literally.  Stretch the spiderwebs all around your home. Add tiny plastic spiders for a finishing touch.

Lighting

Everything looks scarier in the dark.  Change out some of your traditional lights and replace then with black lights.  You can find these in the Halloween section at most stores.  Or also check the local hardware stores.

Candles are also great to create that haunted look.  Stop by the dollar store and get some black or white tapers to light throughout your home. 

MUSIC

Satellite Music

If you have digital cable you probably have a series of music channels. You can turn on the seasonal channel and listen to spooky selections all night!!

AOL Radio

You can stream the AOL Radio Halloween Station from your Computer for free!

Ipod

You could also make a fun playlist for your party on your IPOD.  Some of the songs that are on my playlist include:

"The Monster Mash"

"Thriller"

"The Witch Doctor"

"The Time Warp", and

"Ghostbusters"!!

Happy Halloween Everyone!!!