2008: A look back

I've been thinking back on 2008 this past week and it's always so sad to see the year come to an end, but I'm so excited to see what 2009 holds.

Here's a quick look back at some of the highlights from the year.

Janaury
I attended the Special Event show in Atlanta, GA. It was such a great learning experience and networking opportunity. I'm looking forward to January 2009 for TSE in San Diego!

February
Greg & Fefe tied the knot at Holy Cross and wowed their guests with a one of a kind reception on OSU's campus.

March
Our blog Bliss & That launches.

April
We spent this month gearing up for all of our May weddings...check our our schedule below!

May
We had 5 couples get married this month! It was such a whirlwind for us but totally worth it. Each wedding was so unique and different it kept us inspired all month!
Kathy & Cavett on May 3
Kim & Matt on May 10
Erin & Justin on May 17
Sarah & David on May 18
Aftyn & Stephen on May 24
The new and very beautiful Bliss Weddings & Events website launches!

June
Michelle & Vince were married on June 7 in Cleveland, OH
We created a Rockin Bar Mitzvah for Matt
Gena & Mike were married on June 21 at the Ohio Historical Society

July
We officially become the proud owners of 15 W 1st Ave
I had the pleasure of assisting Emilie with one of her weddings this year!

August
15 is officially open for business! We had a great opening night with our friends, families and clients to help us celebrate.
Kelsey joined the Bliss Weddings & Events staff!
Heather & Tom were married on August 31 and had the most gorgeous reception at the Columbus Museum of Art.

September
Darlene & Howie were married on September 3
Andrea & Robby were married on September 13
Carrie & Jacob were married on September 13
Kim & Derek were married on September 19
Jen & Brian were married on September 20. Side Note: I just received their Christmas card with their wedding picture on it and it is SO ADORABLE! I love getting things like that!!
We helped the Victorian Village Society with their 34th Home & Garden Tour Preview Event.

October
I attended Engage!08: the encore in Orlando Florida. I met some amazing and talented people there, including Liene from Blue Orchid Designs, Lara & her team from the Bliss Event Group and Southern Weddings, Ali Phillips from Engaging Events by Ali, and Isha from Isha Foss Events just to name a few!

Nykie & Joe were married on Halloween in a Nightmare Before Christmas inspired wedding

November
Lauren & Matt were married Nov 8 at St Josephs Cathedral.

December
We helped plan an Association of Bridal Consultants Vendor Appreciation Party. Thank you to Creekside for sponsoring our event. I can't wait to post the pictures from Amy at C Studios sometime in January! It was a great night to thank our vendors for everything they have done for us this past year.

We wanted to say thank you to everyone - our wonderful clients, our amazing vendors, our supportive friends and family and to YOU our wonderful and loyal readers! We had a GREAT 08 and we are going to run full speed into 2009! First up is Erica & Nate's wedding in Cleveland at the end of January. We have so many exciting things planned for 09 so stay tuned!

Happy New Year!

xo
Kasey & Kelsey

Happy Anniversary: Jen & Colin

It's our last 1st for 2008. Happy 1st Anniversary to Jen & Colin!

Jen wanted a New Years Eve party that just happened to be their wedding reception too. We were at Hawk Galleries for their very intimate ceremony where Jen's sister officiated. The Venue at Smith Brothers was the reception location. We had a perfect view of the city skyline and fireworks at midnight. I thought it was the perfect end to their perfect day.

Here's a few of my favorite pictures from their day:

Images courtesy of Timary Lee Unveiled Photography

Drink Up: Sangria

I love this recipe. A friend of ours shared this several years back and it's become one of our favorite drinks to make. I'm making this to accompany our Christmas dinner today. It's super easy and I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

Sangria

1 medium jug of Sangria wine (or your favorite dry red wine will work too!)

1 orange - sliced

1 lemon - sliced and quartered

1 lime - sliced and quartered

1/2 cup of lemonade drink mix ( I personally use Country Time - a childhood fav)

splash of Pellegrino (club soda or tonic water works too in a pinch!)

Slice and cut fruit. Mix lemonade and wine in a pitcher, add the fruit, Pellegrino and stir. Chill and serve! You can be creative and add other fruits - grapes, apples, strawberries. They're all good in this recipe.

Enjoy!

ps - the wine soaked oranges are the best, but beware if you eat too many of them (evil grin and giggle)...you might not know what hit you! ; )

Image courtesy of Recipe Girl

SNEAK PEEK: Lauren & Matt

Lauren & Matt were married November 8, 2008 at St Joseph Cathedral in Downtown Columbus. It was such a beautiful wedding! Lauren looked gorgeous in her lace gown that was a perfect fit for her.

I can't wait to see the pro pictures from Adam of Adam Lowe Photography. Until then, here's a few I snapped as we were finishing the reception site and just before the ceremony at the cathedral.

A Bliss Filled Holiday!

We wanted to leave a quick note to wish everyone a Merry Christmas (or Happy Hanukkah) and Happy New Year! We had a wonderful 2008 with all of our amazing clients and look forward to a fabulous 2009.

We will be taking a small break to enjoy the holiday with our families. We are closing the Bliss offices from December 23 - January 4th. We'll return in the office on Monday, January 5th. There will still be new blog posts popping up here and there throughout our hiatus so keep visiting Bliss & That for fun, unique and everything wedding ideas.

Have a safe and wonderful holiday!
Kasey & Kelsey







Image compliments of Bakerella

Drink Up: The Ginger Pear Martini

This one feels a little wintry to me so I thought it would be a good fit for this week's cocktail.

Enjoy!

The Ginger Pear Martini

4 Parts ABSOLUT Pears

3 Parts Simple Syrup

2 Parts Lemon JuiceGinger

Fill a shaker with ice cubes. Add all ingredients. Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with 1 slice ginger.

Recipe from Absolute Drinks

My Favorite Things: A+R Store

A+R is a great little site I stumbled on a while back. They've got fun, unique and stylish goodies throughout the site. If you're looking for something different this is a good place to shop!

The Ice Orb is what led me to this site. It's one of the most useful and ingenious things I've ever found online!

Happy Shopping!

Style Note: Aisle Decor

There are so many things to choose from to dress up your aisle. There's the traditional aisle runner, flowers on the pews (or chairs for non church weddings), there are petals on the aisle and the list goes on and on. A good question to ask yourself is what is the best choice for my ceremony site? and what is permitted? Many venues have rules about what is allowed and what is not - size, materials, etc. Be sure to read up on everything before getting your heart set on something.

I thought I'd share a few of my favorite ideas with you. My piece of advice is, if you can, choose something that can be reused at the reception or cocktail hour. This can provide a nice bit of savings for you and your budget!

Images courtesy of (1) Erlina Kim, (2) Suzanne Guldenzopf, (3) Michelle Waters, and (4,5)Project Wedding

Happy Anniversary: Katie & Wade

We have another 1st anniversary to celebrate!

Katie and Wade were so great to work with. We had a great wedding at the Westin in Cincinnati for them and 100 of their closest friends and family. The ceremony was so beautiful - Katie wrote the entire thing and the cocktail reception was so beautiful overlooking Fountain Square.

Congratulations Katie & Wade! I wish you many more years of love and happiness!

xo

Kasey

My Favorite Things: Paper Source

Paper, paper and more paper and I love it!

Paper Source is one of my favorite online shopping sites. If you looking to DIY anything paper related to your wedding or party Paper Source is a great place to start. They carry a variety of colors, shapes and weights of paper, envelopes and everything related. I think they are reasonably priced as well.

Happy Shopping!

A Rockin' 100!

Wow! I can't believe this is my 100th post already. I feel like I just started this and I've had so much to say! I thought this would be a good time to share a few pictures from a rockin' bar mitzvah I had the privilege of planning this past summer for Matt.

He's love his Gibson guitars, so we made his three favorites into tables for his guests. At the end of the evening we took the giant guitars and rolled them up and he now has them hanging in his room at home. How fun! The adult guests sat in the main ballroom at very elegant black, ivory and gold table settings. All of the guests signed his Gibson guitar which he'll keep at home.

Rock on!

Photos courtesy of Amy at C Studios

Stationery Spotlight: Bliss Weddings & Events

I have a confession to make. I love paper products! So naturally when I opened the Bliss Weddings & Events studio I wanted to share this love of mine with my clients. This isn't something that I adverstise openly. That is because this service is only available to clients who have contracted the planning services of Bliss Weddings & Events.

Our collection of stationery books that is more on the contemporary side but with a nice touch of tradition and elegance.

Our collection consists of Modern Checkerboard Weddings, Something Different, Pockets, Candlelight Collection, Save the Date, and Paper Duvet. A common misconception about selecting invitations out of an album is that they can not be customized. This is only partially true. In a number of the albums we are able to customize the color of the paper, color of the inks, the font styles and the verses being used.

Also, since we love our clients so much. We offer a 10% discount on all invitation and accessory orders!

My Favorite Things: Verse It

Not quite sure how to say it? Verse It can help. Simply choose your occasion and the type of verse you need and voila!

Kim & Derek: The Video

Our friends over at Prodigy Video were on hand for Kim & Derek's Sept 19th wedding in Columbus. The music video was just released and it's fabulous. Watching it brought back all the great memories from their beautiful day. It really reminded me of how much fun we had at the reception with Rich from the Usual Suspects Crew as our DJ.

Photo courtesy of Suzanne Guldenzopf

Stationery Spotlight: TearDrop

Name: Holly Hatam

Company/Business Name: TearDrop

How long have you been in business? 2 years

Where do you get your inspiration from? I get my inspiration from everything and anything around me. Whether it be a rusty door, my cats, a song, a flower and most importantly my brides and grooms.

Do you have a favorite style of invitation (formal, whimsy, contemporary, etc)? My favourite style of invite is our new collection called Love Stories. We have designed invitations for every style of bride and we designed our invitations to tell a story. So we have designed an invite for the food lover bride and groom, the summer couple, the fall couple, the rustic couple, the urban couple etc.

Do you specialize in a type of stationary (letterpress, print, engraved, etc)? We specialize in letterpress, engraving foil stamping

Average cost of your invitations: If you were to choose a design from an existing collection, the price starts at $1200 for 100. For a completely custom design the cost starts at $2600. And what is great about our designs is that even if you choose a design from an existing collection, you can still customize it in the paper, envelope, ink colors, type, wording and we even change the hair and facial features of the characters to look like that specific bride and groom!

Tip or advice to brides/grooms designing custom invitations or stationary suite: Remember that your invites represent your personalities and your wedding. Tell your guests your story, show them your quirks and don’t be afraid to be different and step out of the typical traditional invitation suite. Your invitations give your guests a glimpse of your wedding day, you want them to feel exited! Your invites are something you will cherish for years to come, so we have the mission of making each and every invitation a piece of artwork that all your guests will keep and cherish forever.

My Favorite Things: Crystal Solitare Ring

I am in love with this ring! Isn't it so glamorous? Erica Weiner is the designer. I'm hoping one makes it way to me for my upcoming birthday!

Happy Shopping!

Kasey

Drink Up: Banana Split-ini

The Banana Split-ini

1/2 cup (4 oz.) Grey Goose® vodka

1/2 cup (4 oz.) white crème de cacao

1 medium, ripe banana

1 scoop vanilla ice cream

1/4 cup milk or cream

Optional:1/4 cup (2 oz.) bananaliqueur (crème de bananas)
Garnish:1/2 banana cut lengthwise chocolate syrup

Combine all ingredients in a blender, blend until smooth. Pour into large martini or parfait glasses. Garnish with a wedge of banana drizzled with chocolate syrup.

Stationery Spotlight: Seedlings

Name: Jenny Zemanek

Company/Business Name: Seedlings, LLC

How long have you been in business? 4 Years

Where do you get your inspiration from?
Anywhere and everywhere I can, but most of my inspiration comes from the bride herself. I love when a bride comes in with an idea but she’s not quite sure how to bring it to life; it’s fun to rise to the challenge of putting a design on paper that previously only existed in her head. There’s also the bride that has no idea where to start and that challenge comes in trying to create a design based on her personality and come up with something she loves but didn’t know she was going to.

Do you have a favorite style of invitation (formal, whimsy, contemporary, etc)?
My style tends to be more contemporary. I gravitate towards simple, elegant but still fun designs that bring a little flair to the stationery suite and get guests excited to see how the rest of the wedding will turn out.

Do you specialize in a type of stationery (letterpress, print, engraved, etc)?
Most of my invitations are printed digitally, but I do offer offset printing or letterpress if that is something the bride is really interested in. Engraving is usually very expensive, so in my experience it’s not a very popular printing method (though it’s gorgeous!)

Average cost of your invitations (a range is just fine):
Since everything is so custom, it really depends on the type of paper, embellishments and number of invitations ordered, but a solid range would be $4-$9 per invitation set (includes invitation, outer envelope with return address printed on the flap, reply card and reply envelope).

Tip or advice to brides/grooms designing custom invitations or stationery suite:
Have fun with it! The beauty of coming to a graphic designer for your wedding invitations is there are no limitations and the possibilities are endless. There are no select few ink colors, no select few paper choices, design motifs, monograms or anything else; we can create anything you want. This is the bride’s dream day, a day into which she is going to invest hours and hours of planning to create an event that reflects her and her fiancé, and I love being a part of that and helping them set the tone for that event with an invitation that no one has seen before. It brings an element of surprise and anticipation for guests when they open that envelope.

Trendspotting: Colored Dresses

Do you dare? 
I personally haven't seen any of these at any of our client's weddings but I think for the right bride they would be so beautiful.

Sneak Peak: Nykie & Joe

Nykie and Joe wanted a fun Halloween wedding but that had an element of Tim Burton and elegance. Sounds like an interesting combination? I was so intrigued and so happy to help Nykie & Joe create this wedding that fit them to a T. Here are a couple pictures that I snapped. I can't wait to see the pro pics. I'll share those as soon as they arrive!