It has been confirmed that Alan Ray Bridal in Dublin, Ohio has closed it’s doors – very suddenly and VERY quietly.  Unfortunately, this leaves many brides, bridesmaids and moms in a bad situation with a lot of money down the drain.

So, what if you are one of Alan Ray’s brides or maids who have ordered a gown but haven’t gotten it yet?  There are a few paths of recourse that I would suggest:

*If you paid by credit card, call your credit card company and try to get the changes reversed.  Sadly, this likely wouldn’t be the first time that they have dealt with this situation and so they should be able to help

*Call the designer of your gown and see if the order was even placed – sometimes in closing situations, money is taken from the customer but no orders are actually placed due to cash flow.  Basically, it is a case of robbing Peter to pay Paul and they are using your money to pay outstanding bills counting on another bride’s future order to pay for yours.  This is actually common and often SOP but if a company is in trouble with their suppliers, the situation can easily get out of control.  In this case, I have heard a lot of rumors of some orders that were placed with certain designers and not placed with others.

If the order has not been placed, you are likely out of luck with the designer and hopefully they can point you in the direction of a sample gown or someplace you can place a rush order (depending on how far from your wedding we’re talking).

If the order WAS placed, see if the designer is willing to deliver the dress to another shop who carries the same line.

*If you can’t get ahold of the designer, research other shops that carry the line – everyone in Columbus now knows what is going on and are going to be wiling to help out as much as they can.  For instance, the girls at La Jeune Mariee have offered to assist with the bridesmaids lines they had in common with Alan Ray including Watters and Dessy Group.

More than anything, please don’t panic – you will have a dress, no one is going to let you go down the aisle in sweat pants and an old t-shirt – I promise!  If Emilie Duncan Event Planning can help you with anything, please feel free to let us know and good luck!

Myth: A heavy hors d’oeuvres reception is a great way to save money and will always be cheaper than a plated dinner!

Reality: So not true!  Catering costs have several different components – the largest of the two would be food and labor. While half a red skin potato roasted and stuffed with blue cheese and sprinkled with herbs is smaller then a steak or chicken breast think about what goes into making each of them.  You have to halve the potato, roast them, scoop out the center without tearing the outside shell, fill it with blue cheese, put the right herbs on it and broil it to melt the cheese. Now repeat that 175 times.  Pretty labor intensive, right?  That would be why they tend to be a more expensive component of catering costs.

To get the same amount of food that a plated dinner would afford your guests, you will easily spend as much if not more on hors d’oeuvres!  If you don’t plan to give your guests a full meal, hors d’oeuvres can be a good way to cut costs but honestly, it won’t be by much.

Myth: Buffets are always cheaper than plated dinners.

Reality:  It really depends on the caterer and what meals you choose.  A plated dinner means more staffing is needed to ensure everyone is taken care of but a buffet means more food is needed to ensure that they don’t run out.  Plated dinners are portion controlled and the caterer knows that each person is getting one meal – a buffet is generally serve yourself and the caterer must account for the people who take extra servings of items including the main dish!

Check with your caterer to see what the costs really work out to be – you might be surprised!

What other myths do you see floating around regarding catering?  Any comments?  Feel free to chime in!

I don’t think anyone can deny the weather this winter has been weird – especially in Ohio!  We’ve had basically no snow and it was 80+ degrees in March.  Color me confused but not too upset I didn’t have to pull out the boots this year!

If you have your heart set on certain flowers for your wedding pay attention – that especially means all you ranunculus and peony lovers!  Look outside – see those tulips and daffodils already in bloom?  They’re early this year because of the wacky weather – it stands to reason that other flower growing seasons might be affected too.  Given this fact, there is a chance that some brides who are on the tail end of the traditional growing seasons might be out of luck.

On the flip side, if you were told by your florist that your wedding is too early for certain flowers, this weather might have worked in your favor!

Now bear in mind that all this really only applies to truly seasonal flowers.  Many varieties of flowers – roses, orchids, lilies, hydrangea, daisies and freesia to name a few – are year round flowers and so growing seasons won’t affect them.

Either way, make sure to talk to your florist about what they are seeing from their suppliers and whether the flowers you want are still going to be available for your wedding.  Have the conversation well in advance of your wedding day so you aren’t disappointed then.

And please remember – unless your florist is named Mother Nature, it isn’t their fault!  Getting angry with them isn’t going to do you a bit of good but if you are understanding, they will be more likely to try and pull a rabbit (or a peony) out of their hat.

A friend of mine, Liene from Think Splendid, is doing a survey on the weddings.  If you are currently planning a wedding or you planned one anytime from 2007 – 2012, please take a moment to answer a few questions.  Just click the picture below and give us less than 5 minutes of your time!

I will be back in the next few weeks with lots of pictures from late 2011 weddings, some important questions to ask your florist this year in particular and some more Etsy Find Fridays from my lovely new interns as well!

Here’s the thing about marriage…it’s wonderful, it’s fun, it’s frustrating, it’s hilarious, and it’s tough.  You have to work at a marriage.  You have to make a promise to each other and renew it every single day – a promise that you won’t give up.  I think that might be why I love this song from Jason Mraz – it kinda says it all…

I Won’t Give Up by Jason Mraz

When I look into your eyes
It’s like watching the night sky
Or a beautiful sunrise
There’s so much they hold
And just like them old stars
I see that you’ve come so far
To be right where you are
How old is your soul?

I won’t give up on us
Even if the skies get rough
I’m giving you all my love
I’m still looking up

And when you’re needing your space
To do some navigating
I’ll be here patiently waiting
To see what you find

‘Cause even the stars they burn
Some even fall to the earth
We’ve got a lot to learn
God knows we’re worth it
No, I won’t give up

I don’t wanna be someone who walks away so easily
I’m here to stay and make the difference that I can make
Our differences they do a lot to teach us how to use
The tools and gifts we got yeah, we got a lot at stake
And in the end, you’re still my friend at least we did intend
For us to work we didn’t break, we didn’t burn
We had to learn how to bend without the world caving in
I had to learn what I’ve got, and what I’m not
And who I am

I won’t give up on us
Even if the skies get rough
I’m giving you all my love
I’m still looking up
Still looking up.

I won’t give up on us (no I’m not giving up)
God knows I’m tough enough (I am tough, I am loved)
We’ve got a lot to learn (we’re alive, we are loved)
God knows we’re worth it (and we’re worth it)

I won’t give up on us
Even if the skies get rough
I’m giving you all my love
I’m still looking up

When a couple gets married there are new birthdays from the other side of the family to be remembered and celebrated which is why when I saw this wonderful guest book idea from Devon and Dan’s Real Wedding on Martha Stewart Weddings via Pinterest, I thought it was brilliant! Guests sign their birthday – you could ask for wedding anniversaries as well – and you have a perfect record of everyone’s birthdays so you can make sure to send those cards on time!

You could either grab a calendar that fits your theme or you could make one with your engagement pictures!  Shutterfly lets you start the calendar any month and year you would like so you could create one beginning with your wedding month!

I saw this picture on Pinterest and loved it!  It speaks to a problem that I see so many couples struggle with – they see things differently and sometimes it even speak a different language!

To brides: if your groom tells you that he doesn’t have an opinion on a color or flower or tells you that he just wants you to be happy, believe him!!!  He probably doesn’t have an opinion on whether your accent color should be plum or eggplant and would be happy with whatever you decide.  Also, don’t get frustrated with him – remember, to some guys, purple is just purple.

To grooms: if your bride asks you whether you like plum or eggplant and you have an actual opinion, go ahead and share it but don’t be afraid to tell her that you would prefer she make that choice.  Also, don’t get frustrated with her if she pushes for an answer – she just wants to know you care.

Happy planning and good luck picking those colors!

I like to spend the last day of the year reflecting on the prior year and looking forward to the year to come.  Here are some of our favorite highlights from a very busy year:

*We welcomed our first intern class in January – Laura and Becky were with us all year and did a fantastic job!  Nowadays, Becky is in her senior year at OSU and Laura is now the venue coordinator at Station 67 in Columbus.  I was very lucky to have them working with me and they set the bar really high for all future intern classes!

(Photo: Grogan Studios)

*We celebrated Abby’s 1st birthday at the end of February with a big party with friends and family.

(Photo: Grogan Studios)

*The 2nd Annual Cakes for a Cause took place on March 1 and we raised enough to feed 16 people every meal for a year.  Every. Single. Meal.  It still makes me smile from ear to ear!  We nearly doubled our 2010 result and we shattered our original goal!  It was an incredible evening with delicious food and wine, lots of sweet treats up for auction and tons of cake and ice cream.  We are so excited for the 3rd Annual event taking place on April 5, 2012 – make sure to save the date!

(Photo: Karen Evans Pictures)

*We kicked off wedding season in May with Megan and Michael’s Southern inspired wedding at the Darby House in Galloway – even though our planned outdoor ceremony wound up being an indoor ceremony, it was a gorgeous day!

(Photo: Cassidy Dawn)

*We were back at Darby House the following weekend with Lindsay and Kevin – this time the weather cooperated and we had a beautiful outdoor ceremony overlooking the river!

(Photo: Kimberly Potterf)

*In June we traveled around Central Ohio a bit!  First we headed out to Zanesville for Ann and Kyle’s wedding!  The longest bridal party table I have ever done (seating for 20 in one loooooong table) plus there was square dancing. It was a heck of a party!

(Photo: Lotz Studios)

*The following weekend we headed down to Lancaster for Nancy and Doug‘s wedding at Nancy’s childhood home.  A ceremony under a very old tree followed by dinner and swimming, snow cones and s’mores all on a gorgeous summer day!

(Photo: Karen Evans Pictures)

*We spent the very warm July 4th weekend up in Delaware with Mollie and Kevin.  The wedding was at an 18th century barn that houses an auction house – incredibly unique location!  We love those!

(Photo: Jennifer Otchy Photography)

*We closed out July at Northbank Park with Rachel and Travis for their lovely little love story wedding!  Loved their sweet ceremony overlooking the Columbus skyline and that they spent the evening on the dance floor!

(Photo: Kelly Maughan Photography)

*Had a little break in August and September so we took a trip down to Disney World in Florida to celebrate Ellie’s 4th birthday!  Love those teacups!  And yes, they are dressed alike – they are 1 and 4, I can still do that once in a while. 

*We kicked off October helping Kelsey and Ryan get married at the Columbus Art Museum!  This was as close to a repeat client as I get – Kelsey is the sister of one of my 2006 brides, Meredith and Meredith was referred to me by Megan, another 2006 bride!  Loved catching up with everyone.  We’ll post pictures from Maer Studios soon!

*The next weekend we were with Valeri and Bill at the Athletic Club of Columbus with a vintage, mixed metallic wedding.  Love all the carousel horse touches we incorporated.

(Photo: Nicole Dixon Photography)

*In the middle of October, we took a road trip to Cincinnati with Kasey from Bliss to help another planner get married! Alison from Aviva Events asked us to coordinate her wedding for her – she did all the planning and we just stepped in at the end to run the day.  ONLY for another planner would we do that!

(Photo: Kortnee Kate)

*We closed out our year with Rebecca and Gavin’s gorgeous wedding at Franklin Park Conservatory and The Westin.  Loved the Grater’s sundae bar that was a nod to where the met!  We will share pictures from Red Gallery as soon as we get them.

We loved each and every one of our clients and their friends and families – we truly have the best clients in the world!  2012 is shaping up to be just as amazing and we can’t wait!  We still have a few more spots open for next year – send us an email or give us a call {614.678.6320} to set up a meeting to talk about how we can help you have an incredible wedding!

A very Happy Veteran’s Day to all those who have served and all those on active duty!  My family has its share of veterans from my Grandfather John (Army) and Granddaddy Myron (Navy) to my Uncle Jim (Army) and cousins Andy and Molly (both Army).  Randy’s family has veterans including his dad, both brothers and his only nephew (all Army).  To you all and everyone who has served, I am so grateful for your service and thank you.

Now to keep this wedding related, a little background.  I am an only child but if you asked me if I had any siblings, my answer would be that my cousin Molly is as close as I have to a sister.  She is Aunt Molly to my little girls and Major Melissa to everyone else.  She’s active duty Army and is deployed right now – she’ll be gone for over a year and we miss her terribly.

I am betting her husband misses her even more – you see Molly is also a newlywed.  Just 3 weeks before she deployed, Molly and Bob were married in a small ceremony in Richmond, Virginia.  The wedding that was planned in less than a month.  I think she was a beautiful bride and Laura Gordon did an amazing job capturing the day.  Thanks to Laura for sharing these with me!

Wasn’t she a beautiful bride?  Molly and Bob share an anniversary with my parents who have been married for 41 years so I am thinking August 20 is a good day in our family!   To Molly and Bob, we love you both and to Molly, come home safe – we can’t wait to see you!

This is so brilliant and so overdue!!!

Amy Atlas, the queen of all things dessert display, has put together a great primer on patterns on her blog.  If you are looking for a pattern to tie into your wedding or just want to know what the heck people are talking about when they mention Toile, Quatrefoil and Chevron, look no further!

Amy Atlas Pattern Board for Design Styling

Great info and a huge thank you to Amy for putting this together and sharing!