A Look Back at 2012: The Bliss Wedding & Event Design Year in Review

This is always one of my favorite posts to write of the year.  It's so much fun to look back at all the wonderful people we met, clients we worked with and beautiful events we produced. 

Be sure to click on the links within the post they're linked to fun images from our events and travels!  Here we go!

January 2012
I was fortunate to attend the Alt Summit in Salt Lake City, Utah.  I attended alongside a few planner friends - Ali, Candice and Stephanie from various cities around the country.  Candice from Jubilee Events and I took a quick trip up to Park City for Sundance Film Festival.  It was amazing!  You can see a few of our snowy pics on my Instagram feed here.   If you ever have the chance to attend this film festival go! It was such a wonderful experience and I can't wait to get back one of these days.

February 2012
We were asked to style two booths at the Central Ohio Home & Garden Show. I love the designs we came up with.  The first booth was a Sweet 16 party theme and the second booth was a 1st Birthday circus theme.  The milestone birthday themed and tied to areas and different history items in Columbus and tie into the Bicentennial of Columbus.  You can see the booths here and here! 

March 2012
It's Cakes For A Cause was right around the corner so we were busy working on the sweetness of our 3rd year hosting this event.  We were also busy planning the beautiful details of our summer and fall weddings!

April 2012
Cakes For A Cause was April 5th at the Mid Ohio Foodbank again!  We were back and sweeter than ever!  We had a fantastic turnout and with the support of our family, friends and neighbors, we raised enough to feed 24 people for an entire year!  24 PEOPLE!   ps - mark you calendars for 2013 - Thursday, March 28 from 6-9pm!

Also this month I was featured in Special Event Magazine talking about our newest company - Oh So Lovely Events.  The girls of Oh So Lovely specialize in wedding day coordination. 

May 2012
This was different this year to be off for the month of May but we stayed busy planning our fall weddings and meeting with some wonderful new brides that we welcomed into the Bliss and Oh So Lovely Events family!

June 2012
On June 9th, Dick and Elise said "I do" at the Topiary Garden and celebrated with their guests at the Blue Stone.  

I also became an official member of the Ohio State University Hospitality Management Board!  As an Alum I'm so excited to be a part of this great group of professionals!

July 2012
This was a pretty busy month in the Bliss and Oh So Lovely Studio!  On July 28th we had 3 couples walk down the ailse!

Samantha and Teddy walked down the aisle at St Andrews in Upper Arlington and celebrated with their guests at Scioto Country Club.

Ania and Bill walked down the aisle at St Joseph Cathedral and celebrated with their guests at the Columbus Museum of Art.

Haley and Oliver walk down the aisle in a hay field in Northwest Columbus complete with english morning suits, top hats and tulips.  The moved to a neighboring field to celebrate with their guests under a beautiful high peak tent!

August 2012
We only had one wedding this month and oh my goodness was is a pretty one!  Lindsay and Kurt walk down the aisle at St Francis Assisi in Victorian Village and then celebrated with their guests at the Ohio Statehouse.   Ellysium Productions was on hand to film the same day edit film.  It's one of our favorites!  

September 2012
Our fall was moving full steam ahead! 

We started the month with Sean & Stephanie's wedding at Sean's parent's house in Delaware Ohio.  This was a gorgeous tented wedding that was so unique and true to Sean and Steph's playful personalities!  
 
Every year we volunteer our services to the Short North Civic Association's Home and Garden Tour.  This was my 11th year helping plan the preview event.  Seventh Son's Brewing Company was our host for the night and it was so exciting to get a sneak peak of the great new location here in the Short North.  

Sarah & Dan walked down the aisle at St Brigid of Kildare and then celebrated with friends and family at Muirfiled Village Golf Club.  It was a great day, but mother nature was not very cooperative.  Cold temps, strong winds and a power outage made for an interesting evening....but we were so prepared and the party went on and was just perfect!

October 2012
We were off for the month of October so I took advantage of a few days to run away to Walt Disney World with my little guys.  It was such a fun trip to see the magic of Disney and what magical moments we created and will keep with us always.  This is one of the boys favorite photos from our trip.  That's my dad and I diving the Living Seas in EPCOT.  They boys were beyond excited and I could actually hear the through the thick glass wall.  One of my favorite moments EVER.    

November 2012
Shannon and Benji were married on November 10th at St Joseph Cathedral and then celebrated with their guests at the Ohio Statehouse.  Their wedding had a little bit of Panamanian flair to it and was such a unqiue experience for everyone in attendance.   
  
November 17th was wedding day for Elizabeth and Johnny!  They said I do and celebrated with their families at Darby House in a heartfelt and intimate wedding.   

December 2012
We started the month with Emily and James' wedding at the Athletic Club of Columbus.  It was a beautiful Christmas inspired affair with fun touches like real live mistletoe.  This was their 2nd wedding in one week.  Their 1st wedding was earlier in the week in London England!

The day after Emily and James' wedding I jetted off to engage!12 at the Breakers in Palm Beach, Florida.  This is one of my favorite events to attend and this was my fifth engage! event.  I love visitng and engaging with my event friends for a few days.  I'm always amazed and the ideas I come home with!  You can see my recap posts here and here!  

Tonight, Suzanne and Mike are tying the knot and celebrating their marriage and ringing in the new year all at once!  If you follow the Oh So Lovely instagram and twitter @ohsolovelyinc you can see a few images from their big day!

Whew!  What a year it was!  I'm so grateful for our amazing clients, vendor partners, friends and family.   I can't wait to see what 2013 has in store for us and our clients.  

Have a Happy New Year!  I hope it's a year filled with love, joy and peace!

xo
Kasey  
    

Recap Post: Engage!12 Day 1 - The Breakers in Palm Beach, FL

Once or twice a year, I have the opportunity to attend engage!12 a Luxury Wedding Business Summit. Engage! is something I look forward to and is almost indescribable to those who ask - what is engage!12? and what do you learn? These are hard questions because it's not that easy to describe the full experience. Rebecca and Kathyrn create an environment that fosters "engaging" round the clock. There's a lot of networking, inspiring each other and creative thinking that goes on. When I return home, I always have new ideas and inspirations for the coming year. Honestly, my head is filled and I don't know where to begin - well yes I do, but more of that later! (wink wink) We also are treated like VIP's, which for anyone in the events industry is a treat because we're usually the one's doing the treating!

Here's a quick recap of our Day 1 at the Breakers (by the way - the Breakers Weddings is getting a post all it's own because they were so wonderful!): Upon arrival, anticipation grows as we wait to receive our swag bags. If you haven't seen an engage!12 swagbag they are amazing! So thoughtfully crafted and assembled. They are in inspiration all they're own. The ladies from Gifts For the Good Life are always surprising us. Mid-day we move on to the opening session. I am always so excited to see and hear Simon T. Bailey. His messages are always right on and he has impeccable timing for them. Our opening night party was filled with lots of southern fun. We were welcomed into a beautiful cleartop clearspan tent (sorry for the technical jargon) that was all decked out for the Boots 'n Bowties welcome party. It was so nice to catch up with everyone that I hadn't seen in a little over a year and meet some new industry friends! Here's just a few of my favorite images from day one....

 
























Images courtesy of Elan Artists (they are awwweeessooommee too!)and www.scottclarkphoto.com and www.chellisemichaelphotography.com

Passport Holders

Prepare for your honeymoon travel plans and future travels as a couple with these passport holders. Find one that perfectly matches your personality or share with fellow travelers your recent marriage with these adorable Mr. & Mrs. holders.


Image from Honey Bunnie Paperie on Etsy


Keep your passport protected in style by finding the one that fits you best on Etsy.




Images from The Spotted Barn on Etsy

TOMS Shoes

TOMS shoes are an American shoe company started by Blake Mycoskie, a former contestant on The Amazing Race. For every pair sold, they donate a pair of shoes to people in impoverished villages. Since May of 2006, TOMS has given over 60,000 pairs of shoes to children in Argentina and South Africa.



Not only are these shoes part of a worthy cause, but they are also cute and super stylish. They are made of natural materials and slide on for a relaxed and comfortable fit. They would make a great pair of traveling shoes or slippers for unfamiliar planes and hotel rooms. They fold up fairly small as well, making them good to tuck in the luggage for a honeymoon. Check them out at www.tomsshoes.com

SteamLine Luggage

Have you ever been in the line for the luggage carousel at their airport and stood helplessly as an endless sea of identical black bags parade before you, totally unable to identify your own suitcase?



With a piece of SteamLine Luggage, this may never happen to you again. Styled after the fantastic vintage steamline trunk of days past, they retain a nostalgic charm but with a lightweight and modern twist. Our favorites are the Editor Series, which features trim in pink, mustard, and chocolate, and the Explorer Series, which is cased in bine and features either mustard or chocolate leather straps. They would also make excellent wedding gifts for stylish honeymoon travel. Check out the entire line at www.steamlineluggage.com.

An Indian Wedding: Sheetal & Jason Part 2

After the first ceremony, we tore down the beautifully modern pink mandap and made room for the second, more traditional mandap for the actual wedding ceremony. This mandap was red, white a gold - traditional Indian colors.

There was a beautiful red runner lined with red and white rose petals, as well as a custom monogram made from red and white flowers. It was so beautiful! We had closer to 400 guests in attendance for the second ceremony. The groom arrived and remained outside until the bride's family greeted him - this is known as a Baraat. A more traditional Baraat would have had him arrive at the ceremony on a horse or similar animal. Jason didn't want to do this, so his white limo was just a good!

I couldn't believe how beautiful the saris were that the women wore. Sheetal's was so gorgeous in a deep red and gold...and the jewelery...oh my! I was feeling very under dressed!

The Wedding Ceremony Mandap

The Program

Guests are arriving!

Here comes the groom!

A groomsman and bridesmaid. I just love the pink & white!

Here comes the bride!

An Indian Wedding: Sheetal & Jason Part 1

As you may have seen I jetted off to NYC last week for my very first Indian Wedding experience. What a fantastic time I had to Preeti & her team! I'll be sharing images all week of the various parts of the weekend.

First up is the Sathak ceremony. I understand that typically this ceremony takes place in the home of the bride. This was not possible with over 350 guests in attendance for Sheetal's ceremony. Instead, we were at the Chateau Briand in Long Island.

Preeti & her team created a modern, glitzy mandap for this first ceremony. Sheetal loves flowers and crystals and wanted something on the modern side for this ceremony. I have to apologize for the blurry photo but it's the only one I snapped and didn't realize it until much later. Preeti has promised to send the pro pics once she gets them back from the photographers. I'll definitely share this with you as well so you can get a real feel for what she created.

Leaving on a Jet Plane

I'm off to the Big Apple today for an exciting wedding filled weekend with Preeti of Preeti Exclusive Creations! I'll have pictures and stories to share next week when I return.

Happy Friday!

Accomplice

This has to be the coolest idea for an interactive city tour I've ever seen. I SOOOO want to go and participate in Accomplice in NYC.

What is it you ask?

Part game, part theater, and part tour, Accomplice productions are unlike anything found in a theater, sending its audience on an actual journey through the streets of the city. Armed with a few initial bits of information, participants are sent on a mission, aided by clues and mysterious cast members strewn throughout various locations such as street corners, bars, out of the way shops, and seedy alleys. Audiences in groups of up to 10 traverse the city streets, piecing together clues of a meticulously crafted plot.

The Accomplice sites, naturally are kept secret - it's all part of the fun.

Who's in on it? Who's not? Accomplice is an experience you won't soon forget. "Not enough information," you say? Trust us—the fun is in the surprises.

Each production is a unique adventure, and no previous knowledge of other Accomplice shows is necessary.

There is also an Accomplice Village (which takes place in Greenwich Village) & an Accomplice Hollywood (in West Hollywood).

Anyone want to take a trip to give it a try with me?

Cape Hatteras + Sharks = Great Vacation

Yes that is right! I actually enjoy seeing sharks!

I spent last week in Cape Hatteras, NC with my Dad scuba diving. I thought I'd share a few highlights with you today. We dove all week with Outer Banks Diving on the Flying Fish. This was our first year out with them and it was so much fun. We especially enjoyed the hot dogs in the afternoon for lunch in between dives. (Thanks Milton!) We made two dives a day on the boat. We were generally 20-30 miles off shore each day in 100+ feet of water. We only had rough seas one day (Tuesday). The swells were between four and six feet so we got tossed around quite a bit. I am happy to report that we were sea sick free that day!

Dad and I have been going to NC for many years now diving all along the coast. Lots of shipwrecks, warm water and sea life. Our largest shark we saw this year was an 11' Sand Tiger on the Tarpon at 130'. It was so cool!

We were joined by Dad's dear friends - Walt, John and Bill. Walt snapped the underwater pictures you'll see below. They really are as close as they look.

The weather was beautiful and the diving was great. Now we just have to wait another year to do it all over again!

Capt. Koch (John) had this banner made and it was hanging out side the hotel when we arrived. It's their own little dive club! I can't tell you what it means though because it's classified. ; )

Here's the boat - We were a little nervous because we had been on a similar boat (with another dive operation) a few years ago and it was miserable in many ways. We were pleasantly surprised to find we were quite comfortable on board this year. The bean bags on the upper deck were especially comfy to nap on between dives!

Time to get the gear ready before leaving the dock. That big silver tank with the green and yellow label was one of my tanks. The sticker is for nitrox air and says "Geezer Gas". So we nicknamed it "Geezer" for the week. Thanks Bill for letting me use it again this year.

Oooooo Sharks!

Here's dad and I swimming along the bottom. That's me on the left! It looks like we're headed back the anchor, that means times up and it's we've got to get back to the hang line to decompress.

Here's the hang line under the boat. It's at about 15 - 20 feet. We spend a lot of time here after a dive burning off that nitrogen. Dad is floating off the line on the left and I'm on the line in front of him. Bill's on the far right looking at the camera. Yes the water really is that blue!

Sand Tiger cruising by.

Here's another.

This was our off that we didn't get to dive because the winds were too strong. So we went and climbed the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse. We tried last year but it was too hot and it was closed!

Isn't it pretty!

A view from the top. I was actually trying to get a picture of the Diamond Shoals lighthouse that is 12 miles off shore and we could see. I didn't have my zoom so it didn't work as well as I would have liked.

Dad and Wally at the top.

Time to make the long walk down the stairs. I think it was 257 stairs to be exact. My legs were a little jello-y when I got to the bottom.

These are Sea Oats. They grow all over the dunes. They are so pretty aren't they?

A Little Vaca!

Last week we took a quick trip to Virginia to visit family.  We had a great time just hanging out and relaxing.  I thought I'd share a few pics from the trip.  



xo

Kasey

We're on our way! 

At the pool hanging out, having a few fruit snacks!

I love baby kisses!

We had dinner at the Yorktown Pub one night...interesting to say the least.

We took a drive down Colonial Parkway.  Very scenic and the strangest "highway" I've ever been on. 

We took a tour of the USS Wisconsin.  It was HUGE!

Not sure who those people are : )  ...but you can get a feel for how giant these ships are.

An afternoon at the playground. 

Wasting time in Detroit waiting for our flight...good time for a nap!