1. What do you do with a communication degree? (Wedding planning! Right?)
2. It took me 5 years of college to complete. (I like to be through!)
3. I can’t write and spell for the life of me. (Please excuse any grammar issues on my blog)

But one amazing things did come out of my 5 year degree is that they made me take basic photoshop, illustrator and basic html and coding classes. Just enough to make it so I can design things myself and write basic html to do my own websites and inputting.

So every once in a while I get the chance to do signage for weddings. Not often. I like to leave it to the professionals I love to use, but sometimes we just don’t have it in the budget and I LOVE using signage at weddings. So I step in with some basic graphics.

It’s in the details of your wedding that your personality can show.

So I thought it would share 1 of the simple little signs I made for an upcoming wedding. The groom loves music and bride loves chevron and their colors are coral and navy.

Each year as the showcase approaches, I get swamped with getting everything organized. From putting together packets for vendors, organizing timelines, taking care of pre-registrations, and just getting all the marketing set so each brides knows the event is taking place. With all of this, it doesn’t leave a lot of time to think about how my booth will look. Thankfully I am lucky to have such an amazing support group around me to bounce ideas off of who helped me narrow it town in time to get everything ordered in.

(Hands down, the best and most beautiful staff ever! Don’t you agree?

When coming up with a theme and overall look, I couldn’t decide to go either blush and gold like I am seeing a lot of Southern Utah weddings palettes using, or doing something different. I am glad that support group talked me into doing something different and designing for what I would want myself. To just have fun with it. My amazing baby sister mentioned I need to do tribal print, and it just clicked from there. I am lucky to have people around me who can help get the creative juices flowing.

The rugs were the first pieces I found on Urban Outfitters. I love the apartment section of their website and fell in love with the triangle tribal inspired pattern. The pillows and runners came next with fabric I found online. One of my favorite things to do in weddings is sew custom pillows, linen and curtains to create a one of a kind looks. So I knew I wanted to show that unique aspect off at the showcase.

Some of the other big pieces brought in to make the look whole was the large tuft blue leather sofa, wooden benches, wooden chairs, gold and glass end tables, and little industrial items. (Iron fan, sheet metal pots and light strands) A cool twist on the table was using houseplants on the table as anchor pieces around the floral centerpiece. They gave it color, life, and bring a cool twist to the tablescape. It would be fun to see this trend become more popular in weddings.

My favorite piece on the table were the flowers though. The instant pop of color with the red, orange and yellow set to a loose style arrangement with lots of greens was a total home run by Bloomers here in St. George. I loved bringing in these random colors just in the flowers to draw in the eye and make all the other colors and bold patterns in the set up complimentary to these pops of color.

I hope you all enjoyed our booth this year. We sure loved creating it, and even more exciting, it’s in the process of now becoming my guest bedroom set up. So if you are ever in town, you might be able to stay in my tribal print inspired guest room .

-happy planning, jewls

This is up there with one of my favorite shoots. And now that you’ve seen the magazine sneak peak and the video, here are the images from this gorgeous shoot.

The idea behind this shoot was to incorporate things that you see in fashion right now into your wedding. We focused on a few items big right now which were: gold, bold mixed prints, sequins and unexpected elements. Everything came together wonderful and I just love all the images by AK Studio Design.

Photography: AK Studio DesignDesign and Decor: Middle Aisle
Floral: Bloomers
Cake: Sweet Cakes by Karen
Hair and Makeup: Julie Thomas Style
Graphics: Hey Hay Designs
Furniture: Big Day Vintage Rentals
Videography: Forevermore Media

Stylized Photoshoot / St. George Utah from ForeverMore on Vimeo.

This is from the Southern Utah Bride magazine shoot.

We are honored to grace the pages! Grab a copy to check it out.

Brides pre-register online for complimentary entry! www.SouthernUtahWeddingShowcase.com.

This year for our booth we decided to dream up a little something unique. A little comfort of home meets a tribal flare. And we have a sneak peak from a gorgeous shoot Foto and Film by April Davis did to help show off our booth set up. Isn’t this couple to DIE for! They are beautiful! And April did such a great job.

Come stop by our booth to see the whole set up!

Photography by the fabulous AK Studio Design. She did amazing job, as always!

TABLESCAPE

In order to integrate some of the unique trends of 2013, designer Julie from MIDDLE AISLE brought together a combination of classic choices and unique twists to put together an eye-catching tablescape perfect for your upcoming wedding. Along with help from BLOOMERS, SWEET CAKES BY KAREN, and ALEX OBERING DESIGN she was able to put together a gorgeous table presentation. One of our favorite elements included the different hues of Grayed Jade. Creating this varied palette gives your wedding palette depth and visual interest. Many times brides focus on one shade of their favorite color, but by bringing in multiple different shade it creates a wedding that is much more appealing. We also love the complimentary rich shades that were brought onto the table in the floral and glass wear. That bold contrast is gorgeous. We also totally love the touches of birch. Many brides probably think of birch as a rustic element only suited for country weddings, but Julie has shown how it has a much more widespread reach and can add a great texture to even the most elegant of tablescapes. Julie did a great job at integrating many different elements into the tablescape, but also keeping simplicity throughout so you can enjoy each tiny touch.

We are also excited to give a shout out to some of the great Etsy vendors we were able to work with during this shoot. We absolutely love the laser cut cupcake wrappers by Back to Zero, the gorgeous bride & groom signs on the back of the sweet heart chairs by Come Uppance, and the amazing beautiful quote cut out from Julene.

FLORAL

We are so incredibly in love with the floral for this inspiration shoot. BLOOMERS did an amazing job and we love Kathy’s ability to take every arrangement to the next level of beauty. You never get the ordinary when you include BLOOMERS in your wedding, so expect the unique and amazing. Kathy took the element of Grayed Jade (aka mint) and brought the literal element into this inspiration shoot with mint leaves in the floral elements. We love the gorgeous touch it brings to the bohemian look of this shoot. From the brides hair sprigs, to the bouquet with bold colors and texture, to the gorgeous floral arrangements ..we are in love with every element and their eye catching appeal. One of very favorite touches was the gorgeous wreaths for the sweethearts table. They not only added a bold eye catching element to the tablescape, they also smelled divine and gave a gorgeous ambiance to the wedding set up.

FASHION

One of our favorite elements of this shoot is of course this gorgeous couple, and we love their amazing attire. Celebrate the Occasions is a full service boutique specializing in gorgeous wedding gowns and amazing looking suits and tuxes and we think this bride and groom look just perfect. We love the soft touch and clean look of the grooms suit. More and more suits are becoming the top pick of grooms out there, bringing in a regal look and simple class to the grooms attire. Tuxes are not the only option, and we have to admit, we love a great suit! But of course the bride and her amazing dress totally steal the show. We love the gorgeous tulle skirt and its soft flowing elegance. The wide satin band and sweetheart neckline is beautiful, but our very favorite element of this gorgeous gown is the cut-out-lace jacket. For brides who are wanting a slightly modest look, this is a beautiful option. We also love the see through lace because it reminds us of the laser cut trend that is so popular in 2013 weddings. Along the laser cut lines, we are a huge fan of the gold shimmered laser cut earrings that the bride is wearing. A perfect Etsy find, we are totally in love with Emily Wren and all her laser cut designs.

Design & Planning – Middle Aisle
Floral – Bloomers
Cakes – Sweet Cakes by Karen
Paper Details – Alex Obering Design
Fashion – Celebrate the Occasions
Hair & Makeup – Julie Thomas Style
Photography – AK Studio & Design
Videography – MJ Films

When it finally came time, it was well worth the wait. The weather suddenly turned beautiful and cool for a July wedding in Southern Utah and the bride was absolutley gorgeous!

Now, when I say she is gorgeous I’m not saying that in a southern “Bless her Heart”, “Isn’t she just a doll” kinda way. I am dead serious. Logan is STUNNING! So gorgeous and she is a mommy with the most darling little girl. Mike is one lucky guy. I hope you enjoy just a few pictures from their rainy day wedding. Photography:  Always and Forever
Wedding Planning:  Middle Aisle
Bride’s Dress:  Boulevard Bridal
Tux:  Mr. R’s Menswear
Venue:  Lichfield Ponds
Florist: Bloomers
Graphics:  Kortney Eggertz Design
DJ:  Festival Sounds
Catering:  Artful Edibles
Officiant:  Judge Myers

Take planner out of the equation because, come on, I am the most important priority on your list!..right? That’s a given. So after Middle Aisle (wink) there is always one vendor who I tell my brides is the highest priority. BEFORE ANYTHING, we find them this item first if they don’t already have one. What is that vendor?

THE PHOTOGRAPHER.

Yes, I believe a photographer will make or break your wedding memories. That’s a lot of pressure on the photographer. And that is why picking a photographer is something I suggest to be on the top of every couples list. Even if you can’t afford much else for your wedding a great photographer will make it look like your wedding was fabulous. They know angles, they know lighting, and your bridals will be amazing.

Photo By: Of My Affection

However, this is were it gets tricky in picking a photographer. Because price is sometimes the only thing we know how to compare, we automatically go with the person who is “cheapest” by a little. Wrong wrong WRONG! This drives me nuts. You need to trust me on this one. Price is never the best way to decide. Yes, if your dream photographer is more than your total budget, that’s a problem. Be realistic, but don’t get hung up on a few dollars.

This is a trick I do with all my brides. When I learn their budget, I will send them the links to 5 or 6 photographers BLOGS. Yes, I send them to their blogs. I want my couples to see there work on a daily basis. Not just their gloried work where they hand pick their best. I want them to fall in love with the majority of their photography sessions and get a feel how theirs might be.

Photo by AK Stuio Design

Once they put their favorites in order from top to bottom, I then go from there contacting, specific pricing out and seeing if we are able to book them. I don’t want my couples getting caught up if photographer they LOVE is $400 more than the other one that they kinda like. I will shift things around in their budget so they can fit them into their budget. It’s a numbers game of knowing where to cut back to make the most important things fit.

And trust me. I can’t tell you how many weddings I’ve gotten their pictures back and been… so sad for them… Don’t just let anyone do your photos. Make sure it is something you love. Love their work, love their style and you will love your pictures. I have my wedding pictures hung in my house 7 years later still. These are items we keep forever and pass down to our kids.

Greg and Elaines wedding took place at SandHollow resort here in Southern Utah in the red rocks. The bride had a vision of dancing the night away, clean lines and plum and lime green accents. I loved working with her and her parents to create her golf club celebration.

One of the funnest parts of her wedding was that since dancing was a priority, the DJ, Festival Sounds, hooked up his computer to the two large tv’s in SandHollow’s club house to play music videos of the songs being played. And when there wasn’t a music video, a photo collage of the couple would play instead. The whole atmosphere made for such a high impact fun night! Not to mention her dad didn’t disappoint with his amazing food display. The Brides father works in the food industry and knew exactly what would please the crowd. No guest was left hungry with delicious comfort foods like mac and cheese, mini sliders and chicken skewers just to name a few followed by a full dessert bar later into the night.

Congratulations to this spectacular couple!

Planning and Decor: Middle Aisle
Photography: Tiffany Jane Photography
Venue: SandHollow Resort
Flowers: My favorite Flowers
Cake: Cakes by Amy
DJ: Festival Sounds
Catering: Brides father