Maggie and Ryan by Photo by Gillilan.

I LOVE the above series of pictures! Maggie and Ryan saw each other before their ceremony so they could get their pictures done and join the party ASAP. This was the first time they saw each other on the wedding day – I just love how these pictures give you a peek into a very special moment! How cute is Maggie in that second picture? I love how you can see how excited she was!

You can read my full recap here.

The lovely ladies at Elizabeth Anne Designs already have a fab blog that I visit on a regular basis. Today they are launching the brand new EAD Library:

The Library has hundreds of links (including Emilie Duncan Event Planning, we are flattered to report) for amazing wedding vendors from around the country and the world! Lots of fun to browse and, of course, super useful for planning your wedding!

A big congrats to Rebekah and Ami on this new undertaking!

The Story
Melissa and Paul met while they were living here in Columbus. Now I am not exaggerating when I say this is one very busy couple! When I met them, Melissa was finishing up her Masters and working full time plus doing an internship. Paul was finishing up his PhD and teaching at Wright State. Both also had hobbies and friends that took up any leftover moments of spare time! Since both sets of parents lived out of state, they decided they needed help early on and came to me in August – our first meeting was when I was literally 9 months pregnant with Ellie!

Melissa and Paul were married exactly one year after he proposed on a very hot day in Columbus. Thankfully, the ceremony and reception were both inside but the bridal party did make it around town for some pictures – water and an air conditioned van helped the situation and we got them back inside without anyone melting!

Melissa is Jewish and Paul is Catholic but they had a Jewish ceremony performed by the Rabbi from the temple that Melissa attended throughout her childhood. I love that Rabbi Judy has known the family and the bride for so long and was able to speak so personally about Melissa and Paul.

Rather than the usual setup with the Chuppah at the front of the room, we did the ceremony in the round. The Chuppah which Melissa and Paul stood under to be married was set up in the middle of the room with chairs all around it. Everyone had a good seat and could see the ceremony plus the couple exchanged vows literally surrounded by those who love them the most.

The Chuppah was gorgeous! It was exactly what Melissa told me she wanted – simple, clean, a bit modern with no flowers trailing down. The entire thing was covered in flowing white fabric with flowers at each corner including tulips which Paula from Flowers by Doris got in JULY – a small miracle to say the least. The Mother of the Bride also gave us the veil that she wore for her wedding and we draped that over the top as well – a wonderful nod to the bride’s parents who have been married for over 30 years! In fact, Paul’s parents have been as well – Melissa and Paul have good role models of love in their lives!

While the guests enjoyed cocktail hour after the ceremony, we flipped the room from ceremony set up to dinner set up. The tables were covered with pink satin linens with some unique centerpieces. When Melissa and Paul first told me that they wanted to use Edible Arrangements (yes, the fruit bouquets) for their guest tables, I was a little curious as to how it would go over but I must say it was quite a hit and turned out really cute! The fruit is all cut to look like flowers and Melissa and Paul chose really pretty white vases – the guests all had fun deciding which pieces they wanted to go with their cake! I think I even saw a scuffle over a chocolate covered apple – yum!

Since Melissa and Paul are both dog lovers and adopted their dog from the Capital Area Humane Society, they wanted to give a donation to the CAHS in honor of their guests. They had cookies made in the shape of dog bones and tied them with a tag explaining the donation to the guests. To carry the dog theme through, the tables were named after different breeds of dogs and even the place cards and place card display had a bit of puppy spirit to them!

The only disappointment I have is that I didn’t get my traditional picture with the bride and groom that you normally see at the end of each gallery – why is that exactly? Everyone wanted to talk to them or dance with them – I literally couldn’t pull them away for a second! We still had at least 40 guests when the reception ended at midnight who didn’t want the party to end. It was a wonderful evening!

I have really enjoyed seeing the wedding come together and watching Melissa and Paul do everything else in their lives at the same time! I don’t know where that energy comes from! Now obviously, I won’t be getting as many emails from the Mother of the Bride, Susie. However, she has told me that she and her friends back in Illinois are faithful blog stalkers so I have a hunch I will be hearing from them all from time to time! (Hi everyone from Carbondale!!)

Melissa and Paul are moving to Louisiana soon and I just want to wish them all the best with a lifetime of love, happiness, dog bone cookies, trains, photography, and all the good things that come from having a true partner in life. Mazel Tov and much love – thank you for letting me be a part of your day!

The Elements
Planner: Emilie Duncan Event Planning
Florist: Flowers by Doris
Photographer: Grogan Studios
Wedding Cake, Groom’s Cake and Favors: The Suisse Shop
Ceremony, Cocktail and Reception Music: Team DJ
Ceremony and Reception Site: Crowne Plaza Downtown
Linens: Connie Duglin

The Pictures
Coming soon from Alison and Brian at Grogan Studios!

Okay, a new one for your blog stalking pleasure:

Cake Wrecks

Anyone who can find a picture of a cake featuring naked babies riding carrots is fantabulous in my book! Still giggling over that one. Enjoy!

I LOVE new friends! And when those friends are actually old friends in disguise, all the better! Allow me to explain.

Once upon a time, I lived in Lexington. While there, I was blessed to become friends with a LOVELY photographer named Melanie Mauer. During that same time, her assistant was a LOVELY photographer named Cassidy. The weird thing is that even though I was friends with Melanie and she shot a wedding for me – I never met Cassidy in person!

Well, imagine how tickled I was to learn that Cassidy had gotten married and was moving back to Ohio. Even better, that she would be shooting here in Central Ohio! SQUEEE!!! She and I had lunch last week and finally met in person! We had a lovely time and our new/old friendship was established.

Go visit her and tell her her friend Emilie sent you!

PS – she takes really pretty pictures and is way too sweet!

I just got this email from Blue Skies Video – one of the top videography companies in Columbus and one of my favorites too!

Hi guys,

One our Blue Skies Video couples originally scheduled to get married for September 27, 2008 have broken up. If you or someone you know are getting married on Saturday, September 27, 2008 or Sunday, September 28, 2008, and are interested in wedding videography, please call or write as we will honor the payments the original couple has made to Blue Skies Video toward your wedding as a discount (i.e. take $400.00 off any Blue Skies Video package).

As FYI: our ceremony only coverage starts at $995; and ceremony & reception coverage starts at $1395. You would take $400 off these prices (or one of our other package prices).

Thank you and best regards,
~ Julie
_____________________
If you are getting married September 27 or 28 and still need a videographer this is a GREAT opportunity to work with one of the best in town at a reduced rate!

Visit their website here: Blue Skies Video Production

I love weddings. I know, obvious, right? But I love all kinds of weddings – the unique traditions of the world’s many different cultures simply fascinate me and I LOVE when I get to witness them at EDEP weddings! So, no surprise that I was really excited when this popped up on my Google Alerts:

Weddings Around The World

It’s a short slide show of pictures from various countries and how they celebrate weddings. If you read the print on the last slide, you will notice this: You’re invited to see all the “Weddings Around the World.” For a front row seat, watch ‘World News with Charles Gibson’ on Monday, July 7 at 6:30pm.

I set my Tivo – could be really interesting!

This gorgeous photo from Jennifer and Craig’s Wedding by Angela Anderson

I see a lot of brides and grooms leave their receptions to a sparkler send off. I mean after all, it’s pretty, it looks great in person AND in pictures and it’s cheap!

Right now is a great time to get sparklers – lots left over after the holiday at various stores. The average sparkler burns for 30 to 45 seconds – give your guests more than one and that is plenty of time for you to get from the door of the reception to the car with them still burning.

They do sell special “wedding sparklers” that are nearly 2 feet long and burn for over 2 minutes. I don’t recommend them to be honest. Why? Go watch the clock for 2 minutes…are you back? Two minutes is a pretty long time, huh? Now try that while you hold a stick of fire. A little bit of overkill, in my opinion.

Stick with the regular sparklers and go stock up now – they don’t expire so no matter when your wedding is, if you need them, now is the time to buy them!

I know, I know – Bed, Bath and Beyond is nothing new but their new mini/travel section is! I was in BBB yesterday and in the front of the store where the seasonal items are kept is a HUGE (I’m talking floor to ceiling bins) selection of travel sized items. I saw hairspray, baby powder, Tide to Go pens, Shout wipes, tissue packs and lots more.

What does this have to do with weddings?

Simple, all those items would be perfect for a wedding day emergency kit! Now, if you have a planner, she or he will almost certainly have a VERY well stocked emergency kit with things that you would never think to consider – my checklist for restocking mine is almost 4 pages long and people like to tease me about it but when I can save the day by pulling out exactly what they need, the teasing stops quite quickly!

If you are making your own, I would suggest including: a brush, hairspray, hairpins, safety pins of all sizes, Shout wipes, mints, dental floss, clear nail polish, Tylenol, Band-aids, feminine products needle and thread to match the bridesmaid dresses plus white and black.

Another great site to visit for travel and mini sized items is minimus.biz.

Hopefully, nothing comes up on the wedding day but if it does – you can be prepared! (Can you tell I was a Brownie?)