Great News!!

Hello All! Happy belated Earth Day!!

Yesterday, I had this really great Earth Day post planned out but I received some really great news! WPNY was given the green light for a future event we have planned in NYC next year! I'm so excited but promised my team and everyone involved I would keep it under wraps until due time! Please check back for more info!

Honeymoon Jet-setting

Ready. Set. Jet!

For all you couples planning a multi-destination honeymoon, checking out these site will do you great good!

www.flight001.com- your one stop travel shop! Flight 001 has all the essentials for the jet-setting couple. If your the type of traveler who hates waiting around the conveyor belt looking for the same black suitcase as the person next to you , you'll find their eclectic selection of luggage pretty appealing. The also offer "security-friendly" amentity kits for on-board "emergencies".

"Make Seat D, Row 14 your home away from home. Includes lightweight travel socks, lint brush/shoehorn, reusable earplugs, inflatable neck rest, eye mask, mints and a bookmark. All in a reusable water-resistant, slide lock bag." $25.00

www.luggageforward.com- This site you'll love! (I do!) With all the airlines hiking up luggage fees for anything over 5 lbs! (I know, I'm overly exaggerating!) We can all use a service that ships our luggage directly to our hotels. . .and thats exactly what Luggage Forward does! Shipping to over 200 countries, Luggage Forward offers a luggage delivery service guarantee "if the service causes your luggage to be delayed we'll provide a refund and cover upto $500 in incidental expenses". Top that!

Happy Honeymoon!

Nip/Tuck -Tackling the Guest List

Achieving the almost impossible goal of trimming your guest list is an all time bridal accomplishment, worthy of an award. Follow these tips to guide you and your hubby-to-be through creating your wedding guest list.

• One of the most important first steps is to clearly define your parents' involvement in the wedding. Odds are, if they're the ones coughing up most of the cash for your nuptials, then they're going to be eager to invite everyone on their guest list. And its only proper for the two of you to extend that courtesy. If this is the case, you and your fiance should workout some type of formula for your guests and the guests of your parents, like 60/40.

• Know your budget and how many people you can afford to invite.
  

• Grab some alone time together and create a list titled "must" and another titled "maybe". Go through the names of everyone you want to invite and add their names to either list. With my experience, 2 out of 10 guests who were added to the "maybe" list, were. . well, let's say they were "eventually sent a wedding announcement". You know what we're trying to say.

• You and your fiance's guest list should be fairly equal, unless otherwise agreed upon.
  

• Remember to have fun! Try making a sweethearts game out of it! Don't consume or devote your entire weekend together to creating your guest list. It'll only add more stress to an already lengthy planning process.
  

Trimming your guest list won't be such an agonizing wedding task if you set clear cut rules that apply to everyone! ; (i.e. no co-workers, no third cousins, no friends of a friend, etc.) When you begin to make exceptions, the horrible feelings you were once looking to steer clear of, will begin to surface.

Good Luck!

New York Weddings

Every season, New York wedding planners and New York brides-to-be await the arrival of the new issue of New York Weddings Magazine, a highly established bridal magazine by the producers of New York Mag. New York weddings is the A-Z guide for everything weddings in New York! If your thinking of getting married in the Big Apple, come equipped with this magazine and a New York wedding planner who knows her way around and trust me when I say you'll have the time of your life!

Check out how these New York City couples tied the knot! (photos from www.nymag.com/weddings/)

Is Our Shrinking Economy, Shrinking Your Wedding Budget?

Yesterday, I came across an article on Bloomberg.com titled, "Brides Kiss Dream Weddings Goodbye as U.S. Recession Takes Over". As a planner, I know that reading anything with a title such as this one, can be intimidating and discouraging, especially for couples who have become victims of our shrinking economy.

Of course, I extend my greatest sympathy towards brides and grooms who have spent $22,000 in venue and catering expenses, only to find out that the banquet hall's owner has filled for bankruptcy, leaving them and their 250 guests, no place to celebrate. Or the brides that paid for gowns right before La Bella Sposa in Charlotte, North Carolina closed for good last June. (Brides have even formed a Facebook group called "La Bella Sposa Victims", dedicated to refunding brides "who were promised the dress of their dreams from La Bella Sposa in Charlotte, NC and were only left with a nightmare.")

If anything, the condition of this economy is teaching us planners, brides and grooms alike, is to clearly define our needs vs. our wants. Question whether we should splurge or save and most of all to be wary. Wary of vendors who may be well aware of their financial status but continue to take money for services they ultimately can't provide. Protect yourself by questioning your vendors and their services. Don't be afraid to ask for refferals or if they have liabilty insurance.

In such an unstable economy, investing in wedding insurance isn't such a bad idea. Wedsafe.com, provides ten levels of cancellation or postponement insurance ranging from $7,500 to $175,000. At this point, I encourage any bride to be safe, rather than sorry.

Color Inspiration Palette II- Plum, Chartreuse, Fuchsia & Aqua

Last week I showed you how to use a monochromatic color palette (a single color) to dazzle your guests on your wedding day. This week it's all about choosing a multi-color palette with harmony. Now, just because I say "multi-color", I'm in no way, telling you to have all your bridesmaids line up according to the colors of the rainbow! What I am saying, is that it is very possible to choose more than two colors for your wedding. As long as there is a sense of cohesion and harmony.

The color palette above is a great example of this. Here, I've chosen to use four different colors that manage to stand out, each on their own and yet flow together. (For me it's very reminiscent of a fairytale themed wedding.) You can easily accomplish choosing four harmonizing colors by examining their color relationship on a color wheel. To better understand I'll share with you a simple trick us designers use in any design process.

Take for example, the colors red and green. They sit across from one another on the color wheel, meaning that they are complimentary. Or, in other words, they "flatter" each other. You may not see how red and green compliment each other but as you begin to equal the values (lightness) of each color you'll see that they do. Hence the colors, fuchsia which is a lighter version of red and chartreuse, a lighter version of green!

If you're unsure as to which colors you want to choose for your wedding, take the designers route and explore different color relationships that you think fit you and your fiance's personality.

Welcoming Back Fascinators!

One of the hottest fashion trends of this year has got to be (hands down) bridal headpieces! Originally known as fascinators, these dainty hair accessories are worn mostly to the side of your head and are often embellished with ribbons, beads, feathers, crystals, or flowers and is secured with a comb attachment or with bobby pins.

These stylish hairpieces first appeared on the scene in the early 20th century as everyday fashion accessories. Today, they are making a strong comeback, especially in the bridal industry.

With so many styles to choose from, enhancing the beauty and style of any bridal ensemble isn't the least bit of difficult. Try something new, like using a fascinators instead of a tiara to dress up your head veils. Fascinators add the finishing touch to any look!

Be sure to check out some amazing headpieces @

• www.saragabriel.com
• www.leahc.com (fascinator pictured above)

P.S. I hope you are all enjoying WPNY's new look as much as we are!!

Grooms, Have Your Cake and Eat it Too!!

We all know that most grooms are often disassociated with the planning, designing and styling aspects of weddings. Former grooms I've had the pleasure of planning for, generally feel it's their job to support their future wives morally, financially and emotionally in their quest to planning the perfect wedding. However, it seems as the number grooms uninvolved in their own weddings is slowly but surely dwindling. According to The Knot Unveils 2008 Real Weddings Survey 36% of grooms were "very involved" and 58% of grooms were "somewhat involved". Nowadays, specialty wedding sites like TheManRegistry.com are geared towards the groom, offering advice, gifts, products and articles for their grooms-to-be. They even offer "a gameplan" for grooms writing their own wedding vows!

ThePinkCake Box.com offers a huge variety of cakes for the groom of the increasingly popular groom's cake, which is usually served at the wedding rehearsal dinner. The picture to the right features their "Rescue Me" themed cake, a groom climbing from his firetruck to rescue his darling wife. Pretty inventive!

This cake was designed by another groom's cake extraordinaire is New York's own, Lauri Ditunno's Cake Alchemy. You may recognize Lauri's name from the hit show from WeTV ‘s Amazing Wedding Cakes.

So ladies, get your beaus involved in the planning and design process and don't forget to check out those sites!

Inspiration Vignette

I just wanted to share with you all a portion of an inspiration vignette I designed for a former client. (Red carnations and brushed gold huckleberry twigs rest in a goblet shaped vase painted in metallic gold; red, gold and white invitations custom designed by WPNY; a plum satin ribbon is used to accent)

The purpose of my inspiration vignettes and/or inspiration or mood boards is to aid my brides and grooms in the visualization and development stage of the design process. Creating small physical set-ups inspired by the ideas of clients, help them visualize their ideas in a physical setting. As a designer, conveying a clear message and understanding the design plan and process is one of the most important steps in creating a visually appealing event. Before committing to a theme or design, see if your wedding planner/coordinator or designer can create a visual piece that represents how they would execute your ideas. From there, you can begin revising the design.

Want a custom designed invitation? Feel free to contact us at info@weddingpanacheNY.com.

Wedding Chic Comfort Food

Of course, we all have our preferences as to what our favorite comfort food is, maybe its mac n' cheese, spaghetti and meatballs or even, cheeseburgers and fries. Whatever the case, I know we can all agree on is its reputation for its lackluster presentation. Giving good reason for most couples not to serve it at their weddings. But wait! Don't toss away the idea all together!

New York and Philadelphia Caterer, Peter Callahan is know for his ability to turn comfort food into enjoyable, tiny bite sized creations, that will have all your guests in a comfort-food-eating-frenzy! Below are a few of his mini-creations that add spunk to any celebration.

(mini grilled cheese sandwiches, mini cheeseburger and fries wrapped in parchment paper, mushrooms and cotton candy)

For those who aren't in the New York or Philadelphia area here are a few tips and tricks to help achieve this catering masterpiece on your own, cut your reception budget, maximize guest satisfaction and serve your beloved comfort food at your wedding!

1. Plan a day to get together with your bridesmaids, friends, future in-laws and family and let them know that with their help, you would like to cater your own wedding. (They'll look at it as their wedding gift to you and as a great opportunity to bond before the wedding!)
2. Jot down any ideas that you think would fit your wedding the style of your wedding. Remember to be open to input and any new ideas. They are doing this as a favor after all.
3. Assign who will be responsible for cooking each dish and how much of it you will need and how each dish will be plated.
4. Before you place a down payment on your venue be sure that you are extended the option of supplying your own food (which should be prepared by you, your friends and family ahead of time) and the usage of their kitchen staffs to re-heat and plate your mini creations. (It may be more helpful to the kitchen staff if you took a Polaroid of how you would like each dish plated, for their reference.) Consult with the venue manager regarding upgrading your china to something a little more modern like these porcelain Asian spoons from AmericanBridal.com which are great for bite sized appetizers and gives a modern touch to any celebration.
   
5. Arrange for your coordinator or planner to pick up the food and deliver it to the reception site. Also discuss with your planner what you expect of the venue and kitchen staff when they are preparing and serving your food, so he or she will be able convey your message ensuring a smooth flow.
6. Enjoy!
   

Color Inspiration Palette I - Mimosa

The hunt for this weeks color for WPNY's weekly color inspiration board consisted of attending a fabulous cocktail party and house warming on the Upper East Side with four of my closets ladies. Inspired by one of the night's many cocktails, I thought it would only be appropriate for our first color inspiration to be my favorite wedding cocktail. . . Mimosa! (To all my twitter followers, I told you, inspiration is everywhere!)

Convincing my brides that they don't need multiple wedding colors is often easy once they see the beauty in monochromatic color palettes. Using different lights of color will add beautiful values, depth, dimension and variety without the hodgepodge effect you get when using multiple colors.

Bold yet delicate this mimosa inspired color palette is perfect for spring and summer weddings. Pair it with a neutral white or a splash of tangerine for variation!

(Image credits: petal tossers, candy, floral bouquet and cake from brides.com , cake, JS Boutique Surplice Dress with Sequined Waist from Nordtrom.com, bangles by Juicy Couture)

Who says wedding gowns have to graze the floor?!

Looking for an alternative look for your wedding day? Look no further! Modern, chic and sophisticated, the a knee-length cocktail dress is always a hit for spring and summer weddings! The dress pictured to the right is a cocktail dress from Jenny Yoo's Wedding Alternative Collection. The boat neck, the keyhole detail and the bell shaped silhouette works well for brides of all shapes. And best of all, it's only $425! (What a steal!)

This style of dress is also appropriate for brides planning to change in between the ceremony and reception. Since your dress is knee length, why not kick it up a notch and go bold with shoes that match your wedding colors? Nothing screams confidence and center-of-attention than a simple yet chic dress and a bold pop of color at your toes! Like these violet satin shoes by Mee Too for only $88.95 at ! (Do I sense another steal?)

For the brides on the more traditional side, choose a knee length dress with beaded or lace embellishments.

Click here to check out Jenny Yoo's other chic wedding alternatives!

The Debut of Wedding Panache NY on BlogSpot!

Hello! And welcome to the debut of Wedding Panache NY (WPNY) on BlogSpot!!

I would first like to extend my warm welcome to all of my beautiful brides and grooms to be! Your wedding is an extraordinary start to a new journey in your lives and we hope to join in the planning, production and design process. Our obligation to you, (our brides & grooms) is to provide you with the most up-to-date wedding industry information, on fashion, style, wedding innovation and advice, straight from the trendsetting city of good ole' New York, New York!

Check back daily for new posts!

Best Wishes!

Chrisi