Your Wedding Made Amazing -  No Matter How Soon It Is

It is not too late to book your 2011 Wedding and Reception at the Griffin Gate Marriott!

Book a wedding for 2011 and receive two complimentary hors d’oeuvres per guest at
your reception.

For more information please contact:
Jenna Walker
Wedding Sales Coordinator
(859) 288-6134
Jenna.Walker@marriott.com

I recently attended a “weird wedding” which inspired me to create this blog post. There are tons of non traditional wedding ceremonies that you’d probably never imagine happening. Some of the most shocking that i found were zombie, twilight (the movie), and even cartoon themed weddings.

These favors were used for a rehearsal dinner as a thanks from the bride and groom! They are very fun and memorable favors that are beneficial to all guest!

Attention to all of you CPA’s, Accountant’s and Bookkeeper’s – we are looking for someone who is fun, honest and ultra fabulous with numbers.  If you love keeping track of receipts, accounts receivable and all of the things that go along with that then we may have a position for you!

Here are the details:

Educations/Experience:  Equivalent to graduation from a four-year college or university with major coursework in accounting, finance, economics or a related field and at least one year of general fund accounting experience, or an equivalent combination of education and experience sufficient to successfully perform the essential duties of the job as listed above.

Skills:

• Maintaining accurate financial records and preparing clear and accurate reports for informational, auditing and operational use;
• Reconciling accounts, records, reports and journals;
• Preparing financial and/or auditor statements, schedules and reports;
• Interpreting, applying and explaining complex laws, codes, regulations and ordinances;
• Reviewing and verifying accuracy of data;
• Maintaining accounting records for special accounts and projects;
• Making sound, independent judgments within established polices and procedures;
• Organizing own work, setting priorities and meeting critical deadlines; and
• Creating monthly, quarterly and annual budgets.

Excellent communication skills a must.  You must be self motivated, self starter and ready to get things accomplished.   You can create your own schedule and work from home.  You must have your own computer, programs, etc.

If you have what it takes to keep my finances on track then send your resume, references and cover letter to Rayna at rayna@alwaysplanned.com.  Interviews will begin immediately.

‘Its wedding season which means summer weddings are happening all around! Unique wedding favors are a good way to remind your guest of your fabulous day. Favors such as these depicted below are great ideas that wedding guest’s will enjoy and be happy to take home.

For other wedding favor ideas you can visit http://www.myweddingfavors.com/summer-wedding-favors.html for the latest and most unique of them all!

First, I’ll start off by saying, we have an addiction to Starbucks and the great thing is, it is perfectly located at the end of our block in the Triangle Center.  We were saddened a few months ago when we learned that Emma, one of our favorite Starbucks employees would be moving out of state at the end of May.  Little to our surprise, this morning on our daily Starbucks run, Rayna and I discovered that we had hand written notes waiting for us at the cash register from none other than Emma! I was shocked to find out that she had written over 100 notes to her regular customers! It is certainly not going to be the same at Starbucks without her. 

A lot of brides get tired of the traditional dinner party when it comes to celebrating an engagement. There are tons of unique ideas that can help you step outside of the box and set you engagement party aside from the rest for a memorable day! Some ideas include:

1. Museum
2. Lounge
3. Cafe/Coffee Shop
4. Vineyard
5. Farmhouse
6. Bakery

These venues create endless opportunities in terms of entertaining your guests in a place they’ll be sure to enjoy. For more ideas you can visit http://www.littlethingsfavors.com/ for helpful wedding tips & more!

Are you as excited about the royal wedding as we are?! To celebrate, we are having a royal wedding brunch at our studio in downtown Lexington with a streaming event on our television! We will be having tea, crumpets, scones and other yummy goodies along with commentary of the big event. Come join us as we discuss everything from decor and design to florals and traditions.  We are so excited about this super fab event. We hope to see you there

• What: “A Formal Affair”: Royal Wedding Brunch
• When: April 29, 2011
• Time: 10:00am

I recently had a consultation with my wedding florist, the amazing Carolyn of Lavender Hill Florals.  We discussed many different aspects of my wedding that are important for the florist to know- number of bridesmaids/groomsmen, number of parents/grandparents, wedding colors, how many tables there will be at the reception, etc.

With only having a few vague ideas of how I’d like my wedding flowers to look, I was excited to discuss all of the different options with Carolyn!  While I want my flowers to be beautiful and tie in nicely with the decor, my main focus was sticking to a budget and saving money where we can.  Carolyn & I discussed some great ideas so I wanted to share them with you!

1. Try to use flowers that are in-season.
2. Save the more expensive flowers for your bouquet since it will be photographed a lot…and because you’re the bride!
3. Use fewer flowers in your bridesmaids’ bouquets but include a nice, (and affordable), filler so they don’t look too bare OR have your bridesmaids carry one single flower, (just make sure that it’s a flower that can stand on it’s own like a calla lily or a hydrangea bloom.)
4. Pick ceremony decorations that can also be used at your reception.  If you’re lining your aisle with assorted vases & flowers, have your wedding coordinator move them to designated tables at your reception once the ceremony ends.  Talk about “two birds, one stone!”
5. Alternate your centerpieces between floral arrangements and non-floral centerpieces a like candles.
6. Use your bouquet as the centerpiece on the bride & groom table.  Make sure you have a lovely vase of water waiting for you to put it in.  And use your bridesmaids bouquets to decorate the cake table!

Use these tricks and the many more you can find online to save money!  The bottom line is that you don’t have to blow your budget in order to have beautiful flowers at your wedding.

Have a great weekend and don’t forget to stop & smell the roses! 

~Rachel

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We are SOO excited to announce that The Ashley Inn is now a member of Simply Love Studio! The Ashley Inn is an absolutely GORGEOUS property and offers some really amazing amenities for your wedding including multiple ceremony and reception sites, 5 guest rooms, breakfast provided for overnight guests, and gorgeous scenery. Please feel free to check out their website: www.ashleyinnbandb.com . The Ashley Inn will also be featured on our Venue Hop tour this weekend. If you are interested in viewing the property, contact Laurie at laurie@ashleyinnbandb.com OR register for our super fun venue hop!! Check out some pictures below of the property.