Wedding Alternative: Plan an Elopement

A popular alternative for some couples is having an elopement versus a traditional wedding. Wedding planners are still usually involved, so our wedding and event planning students don't have to worry about getting cut out of the picture.

Elopements usually have some kind of venue, albeit more informal, there are lodging accommodations for the couple and a small number of witnesses, arrangements to be made with the officiant performing the ceremony, and - drum roll, please - usually a large-scale reception for family, friends, and invited guests after the couple is formally married (that's when gifts are given, the registry is set up, and planners get involved to coordinate the catering, photography, venue, and so on).

Elopements suit couples who are less formal, want to dial down formal ceremonies, want to be less formal about dress and decor and protocol, and want their guests to focus on the reception food and party. Click on each photo to see inside different elopements, thanks to coverage from 100 Layer Cake.

Katie Berger, our Wedding and Event Planning student advisor, had these observations about elopements.

Don't let the laid back feel of the elopement fool you. While they are often more intimate in feel than a large affair, for the planner they can mean an increase in the amount of work leading up to the event. Planners become the go-to person for all vendors, the couple, friends, and family - even more so than in a regular wedding. The guest count may be small, but the workload is not! But with that being said, elopements are a wonderfully intimate way to say 'I do.'

Thanks to 100 Layer Cake for their beautiful photographs, posts, and wedding inspiration. 100 Layer Cake is a unique, comprehensive wedding planning resource for and by thoughtful, crafty modern women. Their vendors, projects, weddings, resources, sponsors, and marketplace are hand-picked and thoroughly researched with the hope that every single one is a truly unique addition to both your wedding and your planning process. Visit the 100 Layer Cake website today.

If you're interested in learning more about wedding planning, we encourage you to explore the Sheffield School, New York, NY. Sheffield began as an Interior Design school in 1985, and then expanded our course offerings to train people in other design-related fields, including Feng Shui, Wedding and Event Planning, and Jewelry Design. With thousands of active students and more than 50,000 graduates, Sheffield has trained more design professionals than any school in the world.

Request a free Sheffield School catalog describing our distance education courses.

Subscribe to the Sheffield Designer newsletter.

4 Favorite Wedding Inspiration Color Stories

Pink Color Story {Photos by: Perfect Bound / Studio Straulino / Kate Spade / Oh Joy}

Do you know what we mean by a wedding color story? It's basically taking swatches of colors that provide complimentary hues, soothing monochromatic tones, and/or bold contrasting choices to begin selecting how a wedding will ultimately be styled - from the colors of bridesmaids dresses to the bridal bouquet and reception table decor. 

Green Color Story {Photos by: Alexandra Grablewski / Max Wanger / Design*Sponge / Johnny Miller / via The City Sage}

The color swatches is where you begin. But then you start to add online photos to your Pinterest page, print out photos from online, or cut them out of newspapers, magazines, catalogs, and other print sources to add real-life images to help bring the colors to life. One color swatch might be brought to life in a pair of shoes, the trim on a dress, or the wallpaper in a chic living room. Usually the color story begins with fashion and then the story grows and grows from there. But the swatches interrelate to help tell the complete story.

Neutral Color Story {Photos by: miles aldridge / deb mclean / jose villa / deb mclean}

Our friends at 100 Layer Cake, the most popular wedding blog on the planet, have created beautiful color stories. Click here to see collections of their color stories. Start by clicking on your favorite color, and then you'll find multiple "storyboards" to go with that color and expand upon it. Color stories and these color boards are great inspirational ways to help plan a wedding. Remember: a picture is worth a thousand words. Color stories are told with color swatches and photographs, and they're an essential component of planning a visully stunning event. Click on any of our four favorite color stories to see more.

Metallic Color Story {Photos by: cabin 7 / Nicolette Camille / Conroy & Wilcox via Randi Brookman Harris’s blog / Alexandra Grablewski}

Thanks to 100 Layer Cake for their beautiful photographs, posts, and wedding and event inspiration. 100 Layer Cake is a unique, comprehensive wedding and event planning resource for and by thoughtful, crafty modern women. Their vendors, projects, weddings, resources, sponsors, and marketplace are hand-picked and thoroughly researched with the hope that every single one is a truly unique addition to both your wedding and your planning process. Visit the 100 Layer Cake website today.

If you're interested in learning more about wedding planning and decor, we encourage you to explore the Sheffield School, New York, NY. Sheffield began as an Interior Design school in 1985, and then expanded our course offerings to train people in other design-related fields, including Feng Shui, Wedding and Event Planning, and Jewelry Design. With thousands of active students and more than 50,000 graduates, Sheffield has trained more design professionals than any school in the world.

Request a free Sheffield School catalog describing our distance education courses.

Subscribe to the Sheffield Designer newsletter.

Wedding Planning Details: Drinks at the Reception

The Sheffield School's Complete Course in Wedding and Event Planning gives us a great excuse to keep researching the latest trends in weddings. I'm noticing that many weddings are starting to feature one or more "house cocktails" that guests can indulge in at the reception. The venue is usually well stocked with serving stations that contain signage explaining the drink choices and attractive displays of ready-to-serve selections. It's easy, convenient, and gives the wedding planner an opportunity to tie in the overall wedding theme with the beverages. Example: a Mexican-themed wedding gets an assortment of South of the Border cocktails.

From our friends at 100 Layer Cake, the top wedding and inspiration blog, I've selected a few reception drinks tables that illustrate this trend. Remember that today's weddings are all about good styling and details, and even drink signs will carry out the details found in signage, invitations, and other print throughout the wedding and reception venue. Click on each photograph to see more photos from the wedding.

Thanks to 100 Layer Cake for their beautiful photographs, posts, and wedding and event inspiration. 100 Layer Cake is a unique, comprehensive wedding and event planning resource for and by thoughtful, crafty modern women. Their vendors, projects, weddings, resources, sponsors, and marketplace are hand-picked and thoroughly researched with the hope that every single one is a truly unique addition to both your wedding and your planning process. Visit the 100 Layer Cake website today.

If you're interested in learning more about wedding planning and decor, we encourage you to explore the Sheffield School, New York, NY. Sheffield began as an Interior Design school in 1985, and then expanded our course offerings to train people in other design-related fields, including Feng Shui, Wedding and Event Planning, and Jewelry Design. With thousands of active students and more than 50,000 graduates, Sheffield has trained more design professionals than any school in the world.

Request a free Sheffield School catalog describing our distance education courses.

Subscribe to the Sheffield Designer newsletter.

Wedding Video: Lakeside Camp Wedding in Maine

If you're thinking of great wedding inspiration for the coming spring season, look no further than 100 Layer Cake - one of our favorite wedding blogs. They cover a variety of weddings and feature top wedding vendors, from the best photographers to the best florists. We thought you'd like to see a video of one of the loveliest, most spiritual weddings we've witnessed in a long time. Click here for photographs and details of the entire wedding, and enjoy this inspirational video - you'll see the entire day-before activities, the extensive decorating of the wedding and reception venue, and great candids of the entire event.
 

Photography: Angelica Glass / Videographer: Wade of Shark Pig / Event Coordinator: AAB Creates / Hair & Makeup: Jessie Riley / Florist: Fernanda / Sweets: Two Fat Cats Bakery, East End Cupcakes,Shain’s of Maine, Blue Marble Ice Cream of Bklyn / Catering: The Black Tie Company, Lake Region Catering, Bite Into Maine / Invitation designer: Parrot Design Studios / Calligraphy: Neither Snow / Lighting: Moonlighting Production Services / DJ: Josh Sparber / Band: Shirim Klezmer Orchestra / Rentals: Leavitt & Parris / Venue: Seeds of Peace / Wine: Old Port Wine & Cigar / Artwork: Michael Arnold (father of the bride) / Bride’s dress: Ayesha Depala / Shoes: Manolo Blahnik / Veil: made by a friend of the bride / Groom’s suit: Knot Standard, shirt by Proper Cloth / Shoes: Kenneth Cole / Rings: Cameo by Rux / Flower girl dress: Pegeen / Bridesmaids: chose their own dresses

Thanks to 100 Layer Cake for their beautiful photographs, posts, and wedding inspiration. 100 Layer Cake is a unique, comprehensive wedding planning resource for and by thoughtful, crafty modern women. Their vendors, projects, weddings, resources, sponsors, and marketplace are hand-picked and thoroughly researched with the hope that every single one is a truly unique addition to both your wedding and your planning process. Visit the 100 Layer Cake website today.

If you're interested in learning more about wedding planning and decor, we encourage you to explore the Sheffield School, New York, NY. Sheffield began as an Interior Design school in 1985, and then expanded our course offerings to train people in other design-related fields, including Feng Shui, Wedding and Event Planning, and Jewelry Design. With thousands of active students and more than 50,000 graduates, Sheffield has trained more design professionals than any school in the world.

Request a free Sheffield School catalog describing our distance education courses.

Subscribe to the Sheffield Designer newsletter.

NJ Wedding Photographer's Best Proposal Ever Contest

Photograph by Je Revele Fine Art Photography

Wedding time is in the air. I just received a clever promotional email from Je Revele Fine Art Photography in New Jersey, and to help promote their Facebook page and increase their "Likes," they're running a fun contest: What's the Best Marriage Proposal Ever? The Je Revele folks remind us that more engagements happen in the period between Thanksgiving and Valentine's Day, and they're running this contest to help us take advantage of all the proposals from family and friends that we have fresh in mind. Here's what the contest is all about, and note that to see the full rules, you need to click on the photographer's Facebook link and "Like" them. (Hey, it's good to show a little "Like love" for such a fun contest!)

Photograph by Je Revele Fine Art PhotographyFIRST. Submit the story of your proposal or a friend's story with a photo (any photo) to info@jerevele.com. Don't forget, to qualify, they need (1) your story, and (2) any photo of the couple emailed to info@jerevele.com. They could be married 50 years, 10 years, or newly engaged. No restrictions there.

SECOND. Je Revele will narrow submissions down to a few nominees.

 

THIRD. Now, they'd like you to vote on your favorite proposal. Ask your family and friends, to vote too. The more, the merrier.  For the couple with the most votes (LIKES), the winning client shall receive a $500 studio credit at Je Revele.

 

Click here for contest details. 
To submit your story, email info@jerevele.com 

Voting will end on Midnight, February 28, 2013.

 

Sheffield School began as an Interior Design school in 1985, and then expanded our course offerings to train people in other design-related fields, including Feng Shui, Wedding and Event Planning, and Jewelry Design. With thousands of active students and more than 50,000 graduates, Sheffield has trained more design professionals than any school in the world.

Request a free Sheffield School catalog describing our distance education courses.

Subscribe to the Sheffield Designer newsletter.