Its Wedding Season...News from the Web

{Image from RachaelRayMag.com}

You can tell its wedding season...weddings are popping up in the news and on websites everywhere.

Here is a quick rundown of what's out there in the past day or so:

• "A Wedding Dress for Thousands Less" from Good Morning America on May 27th.
• "Wedding Centerpieces" from Every Day with Rachael Ray, May 2009. There are several pictures to provide inspiration for centerpieces for a wedding, or perhaps a shower, brunch or other event.
• "Top 5 Wedding Dress Trends for 2009", from the ABC affiliate in Las Vegas on May 27th, in conjunction with The Knot. The trends are from the Fall 2009 Bridal Fashion Week. You can also go over to The Knot and see more pictures (you have to log-in first).
• "Most Wanted, Week of 5.21.09", Vogue, June 2009. Some of the engaged editors of Vogue provided their top 10 tips and trends on weddings. Check out the online version and additional thoughts on the June issue.
• "Want to Save Money on Your Wedding? Barter" from MSNBC.com in conjunction with Brides.com on May 27th. If you have skills or services to offer, consider bartering with other vendors. After a quick search on the Internet, it seems to becoming more and more popular. This article has some good tips if you are considering it. Big Day Barter might be a site to look into to possibly connect with other vendors.

The Current Project...

I've just finished up my sister's baby shower invitations and thought I'd share. I carried Amy and Ryan's pink and sage green colors into the invites and used adorable paper with baby feet, as well as sparkly, diamond brads to close the cards and bring out some of Amy's personality. Stay tuned for more pictures from the shower in June. There are some great things in the works for decor!

Paper-Source has great papers and labels for many different types of invitations and they also have a GREAT line of wedding invitations. I love the site and highly recommend it!

Though weddings are my first true love, I am looking forward to doing more events and related elements outside of weddings including private parties, non-profit events and smaller things like showers. I have learned that I love events and coordination, no matter the event. I am enjoying a few current projects away from weddings and am looking forward to adding more in the future...assisting more clients, who truly become friends.

Until next time...

Real Weddings: Mountain Wedding in Colorado

Today, I'm featuring another "real wedding"...the wedding of Erin Parks and Jordan Garvey, last October in Estes Park, Colorado!


Beautiful attention to detail, colors, and a spectactular location!
Thanks to Erin and Jordan for sharing their beautiful day and advice!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In Erin's Words:

"I knew I wanted lots of decor at my wedding, and my budget just wasn't cutting it."
I have grown accustom to this answer. As a bride who decided to have a destination wedding, people tend to ask why? Fair enough. Truly, my budget was not covering what I needed or wanted on one of the most important days of my life. As a wedding designer myself, I had to go through my priorities list. Many of you have been asked when on a budget, what is most important to you? Decor was number one for me, music, location. These things however can be quite expensive and when you pair these with a gigantic guest list--well let's just say I needed to quadruple my budget.

After a long talk with my fiance, we decided to have our wedding in the most beautiful place we had ever been together--Estes Park. It is majestic. So we called our parents and told them we were having our wedding in Colorado and a big party back home in Bloomington. That's what we did. It was the best of both worlds. We shared our day with our closest friends and family, we had enough money in our budget to actually have lots of decor, and we had ANOTHER day to celebrate with all our friends and family! I couldn't have made a better choice.

If you find yourself compromising on everything, I suggest looking into this. I stayed pretty much within my budget, and I got to have my wedding in a beautiful location. With the internet, you can really plan a wedding anywhere. Just think...a champagne toast in Paris AND a beer with your college friends in Bloomington!

Source for Invitations and More!

Andrea Lutz, owner of Peppertree Floral + Events , has opened her cute, cute storefront in downtown Bloomington, check it out next time you are down there! (down from the Hilton Garden Inn, next to Argentum Jewelry on College Ave).

She has great floral selection in her walk-up case, candles and other gifts as well as custom designs. Andrea is incredible with flowers—sophisticated and timeless with clean lines and great ideas! She has a ton of energy, takes customer service seriously, and is so fun to work with.

Andrea is also carrying a few lines of invitations if you’re looking! This is great news for Bloomington! She has a perfect area for you to sit at and browse the many choices. She is carrying several different styles, brands and price points.

Happy Planning!

A Summer Sale

Beau-Coup, one of my favorite places for tags, boxes, and other items is having a sale! 10% off of an order of $75 or more, but it ends Friday, May 15 at midnight. Enter SUMMERSALE at check-out.

They have some great favors and gifts for this summer:
--BBQ sauce in a jar with a personalized label
--Personalized tote bags
--Monogrammed Petit Fours
--Personalized Cosmetic Bags

And my favorite gift tags, labels, favor boxes and mini-candy jars.
Check it out quick!

What’s in a Name?

Since I started my business I’ve gotten a lot of questions about the name and where it came from. Today is a fitting day to explain I think…

I named the business after my mom. Her middle name was Lillian, and ironically she really didn’t like it. In fact, I don’t think I knew it was her middle name until I was 11 or 12. She was always 110% supportive of me and my early thoughts that I wanted to do wedding & event planning. I can remember a specific conversation with her in early 2005 where she encouraged me to learn more and see where it goes, so I thought it was perfect and fitting to, in a way, name it after her. I also wanted to convey the personal side and personal care and attention I put into working with every client, thus love, lillian was created.

Well, I think she would be proud today—seeing the number of brides and families that I help each year, as well as coordinating other special events, working hard, yet doing what I love. My mom passed away in May 2005, and today would have been her 56th birthday…so today I remember her, a tear in my eye but also chuckling to myself about the laughs and memories.

This song has come to mean different things to me—but here are lyrics to “My Wish” that capture the support, encouragement, and love that my mom (and my dad) both always showed to me and my sister…I think this truly was her wish…

I hope the days come easy and the moments pass slow,
and each road leads you where you want to go,
and if you’re faced with a choice, and you have to choose,
I hope you choose the one that means the most to you.
And if one door opens to another door closed,
I hope you keep on walkin’ ’til you find the window,
if it’s cold outside, show the world the warmth of your smile,
more than anything, more than anything...

I hope you never look back, but ya never forget,
all the ones who love you, in the place you left.
I hope you always forgive, and you never regret,
and you help somebody every chance you get.
Oh, you find God’s grace, in every mistake,
and you always give more then you take.

But more than anything, Yeah, and more than anything,
My wish, for you, is that this life becomes all that you want it,
to your dreams stay big, and your worries stay small,
You never need to carry more than you can hold,
and while you’re out there getting where you’re getting to,
I hope you know somebody loves you, and wants the same things too,
Yeah, this, is my wish.
Yeah this is my wish I hope you know somebody loves you…
May all your dreams stay big.

Mr. & Mrs. Marsh!

Great wedding yesterday--Brandy and Curtis! They are a sweet, high-energy, thoughtful couple and their wedding and reception reflected them perfectly. The day turned out beautiful (minus some 30 mph wind gusts!) and everyone had a great time. Here are some quick shots...hopefully more soon from Richardson Photography.
Congrats Curtis & Brandy!

Awesome floral by Artful Blooms.




The ceremony and reception were held at Deer Park Manor.


The tent--before...


...and after

Stats on Bloomington Weddings

Finally….information on Bloomington specific weddings. Sorry for my delay, things have been very busy lately! Food for thought this Friday:

1,519 weddings in the Bloomington market in 2008
Forecasted 1,532 weddings in 2009

Average Spending in the Bloomington market:
$21,596 in 2008
$20,194 forecasted in 2009
It is forecasted to increase again in the next few years reaching almost $23,000 by 2014.

Compared to Average US Spending:
$21,814 in 2008
$20,398 forecasted for 2009

Interesting statistics. I was surprised that average Bloomington spending was as high as it was. I thought there might be a greater difference. It will be interesting to see if these numbers change as the year goes on.

Happy Planning!


{Statistics from the Wedding Report.}

Glance at Sarah + Patrick's Wedding

Hello! Happy Wednesday! Last weekend's wedding of Sarah + Patrick was perfect! The weather turned out great, she looked gorgeous, and they were both on cloud 9 all day.

Here are a few detail shots from her wedding to give you a glimpse...more coming soon.
The floral was done by Kathy's Klosest in Indianapolis--they were awesome!
The Reception was at Laurel Hall on the east side of Indianapolis.

Sarah + her Dad