by Rebecca Druckenmiller

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For all you jewelry addicts out there prepare to lift your jaw from the floor. 

We’re lucky to have discovered that Gretchen McHale who is the Director of Private Events Sales for World Cafe Live  is also an incredible jewelry designer! 

She describes her jewelry on her Etsy page (studio320jewelry) as a “mixture of urban chic, vintage glam, and classic elegance. I’m inspired by nature, fashion, color, and the world around me.”

And is she ever! Her pieces are incredibly unique with something for everyone. 

She uses everything from hand cut gemstones and fossilized seashells to white turquoise and oyster shell diamond beads in her distinctive earrings, necklaces and bracelets. 

 

Of course you don’t have to guess which one I was instantly drawn to… her “Watching Alice…Queen of Hearts Earrings” made of venetian glass hearts with gold filled chain dangles.

(I like to think that all of us over here at Queen of Hearts Wedding Consultants served as her inspiration, okay fine maybe not).

Gretchen also does custom jewelry for brides, bridal party, mother of the bride/groom and flower girl. 

Wouldn’t it be amazing to give your girls custom made pieces as a thank you for being in your bridal party?

Or a one of a kind piece for your mother as a “thank you for putting up with me these past couple months”? 

I can picture a flower girl LOVING something like this…a bracelet made of Swarovski crystals, white coin pearls, and vintage grooved white Lucite beads. 

And I know my grandmother would adore these earrings, made of vintage cream beads and mint green faceted quartz rondelles. 

The vintage cream beads were actually “hand me downs” from her neighbor’s grandmother’s jewelry box.  Cool right?

I’ve seriously been to ends of Etsy earth searching through some really unique jewelry but I’ve never seen anything like these pieces. 

Gretchen uses such diverse and unusual materials making her pieces really original and one of a kind. 

So trust me, do yourself a favor and wander by her Etsy shop to do a little browsing on your lunch break or message her about her custom bridal pieces!

See more of Gretchen’s work or contact her at:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/studio320jewelry

Gretchen@studio320jewelry.com

215-870-2707

 by Rebecca Druckenmiller

Like any soon-to-be-bride {even those of you who are not professionals wedding planners}, over the past two years or so I’ve been collecting clippings from the million magazines and blog entries I’ve browsed.

I’ve been going through my clippings and putting together some design ideas I have and found a clipping I thought I’d share. 

It’s for Shardz “Art of Glass” pieces.  They take the broken glass from your Jewish ceremony ritual and encase it in a variety of pieces of artwork like a picture frame or glass menorah for you to have as a reminder of your wedding. 

For those who are not familiar with the breaking of the glass, it is a tradition that takes place at the conclusion of a Jewish ceremony. 

The glass is placed on the floor in a cloth and then the groom will smash it with his foot to break it, which is followed by everyone yelling Mazel Tov! which expresses “congratulations”! 

There are contradictions in the meaning of this tradition; some say it is for remembrance of the destruction of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, so that the bride and groom even at the height of personal joy will remember the destruction. 

Others say it represents just how fragile relationships can be while others (I think jokingly) say it symbolizes the last time that the groom is allowed to put his foot down. 

The beauty of this product is that  all you have to do is package the broken glass in the cloth bag they provide for you and send it to their studio where they will crush the glass even more and encase it in your chosen piece of art. 

These pieces can be found at www.galleryjudaica.com

   

 by Kristin Park {her first blog post, YAY!}

For those of you who follow our blog, you know that I am newly ENGAGED!

Fortunately, as a wedding consultant I know that in planning your wedding everything revolves around the date-so one of our first steps {like yours will be too} was to pick the date…

1)      We knew that we wanted to get married in Walt Disney World-Disney certainly knows a thing or two about making dreams come true-I had already done some research and I knew that we could get married at any time of the year

2)      Since we both have teachers in our families our wedding had to be during the summer-June and July are usually busy months so August it is!

3)      This August would be too soon to put everything together with our families-2011 here we come

4)      During the end of August my family goes to Ohio for the Canfield fair-it’s tradition-therefore we needed to look at the beginning of the month

5)      We wanted to stay away from Friday, Saturday and Sunday because I knew that I wanted to have other wedding professionals at our wedding

6)      We liked the idea of having a Monday wedding so if some of our guests couldn’t take a whole vacation they could come to Disney for a long weekend

7)      That left us with 3 options: 8-1-11, 8-8-11 or 8-15-11

8)      Honestly we liked how 8-8-11 looked and sounded-but I had to make one phone call {one of my best friend’s birthday is 8-8} thankfully she was more than thrilled that she would be able to celebrate her birthday in Disney during our wedding

9)      We are getting married on 8-8-11 in Walt Disney World!

When picking your date remember that all the details of your wedding revolve around the date.

Everything from your color palette to your venue to your menu involve the date {or season}!

Be creative and take what’s important to you and your fiancé into consideration…

Do you have a must have, dream venue?

Then I suggest contacting the venue to see what their availability is-

If you know that you NEED a certain photographer {like we did ?} then check the photographer’s schedule!

GREAT POST Kristin! I’m excited to hear more about your wedding plans and things that an engaged wedding planner find interesting….

Ok, so here’s the truth about the rest of the wedding budget…

You have to have REALISTIC EXPECTATIONS!

Except in certain isolated situations, you can’t have everything; most people have to have some give and take to keep within their budget….

Here are some tips….

Make a list of things that might not be in your main budget -

- Your honeymoon?

-  Wedding bands? {might be gifts to each other}

-  Transportation? {if everything is on one site}

-   Weddings Consultant- sometimes we come from a separate ‘sanity fund’ – partially because we are paid out over time and in MANY cases because the bride and her mom (or the groom) are investing in still liking each other by the end of the process.

-    We’ve even had a bride put her gown on that list as it came from a separate ‘fund’ or in one case was a gift from her grandmother!

 Then take a look at all of the other possible categories {and there are still A LOT} and make a list of 3 most important areas …

… this may take a little compromise {which is a good start for marriage}

These areas are then things you will want to budget a little more money for….

 Is there one area that is your splurge? Everyone has one…. Budget a little extra or decide to move any money you are under budget in another area there…

Is there one area that might not be important? That you’re willing to sacrifice and not go all out?

Putting all these things on paper is important….

-  It helps you keep focus on what’s important

-    A little over in one place is OK, but a little over in each area, when you are engaging in nearly 20 contracts really adds up!

 Next FOCUS – pick things as focal points… narrow in on a few memorable elements of the wedding to invest in…

 I see too many brides {especially doing DIY projects} do 15 little details – not only do they get lost in the shuffle and none are now memorable …. {in some cases less IS more}

 AND end up costing a small fortune….

 Setting priorities will make keeping on track MUCH easier…

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 by Rebecca Druckenmiller

So I may not have a date set quite yet (we’re almost there) -

But like many soon to be brides I do have this whole wedding planned out in my head already so as I was doing some wedding “browsing” on Etsy the other day and I came across some really amazing cake toppers. 

 I find it incredible how trends change so drastically over time. 

Cake toppers used to look like this:

And now we’re seeing everything from cute little birds…

 

 

 

 

 

 

{from etsy seller: heahea}

 

To jeweled or funky letters..

 

 {Kirah and Kyle’s wedding}

 {Leigh ann and Paul’s wedding}

Or fun and unique “clay people” {as I refer to them}

 {Sarah and Blake’s wedding – by weddingcollectibles.com}

 {Alycsa and Drew’s wedding}

Even tree toppers!

 {Maura and Bill’s wedding- by etsy seller red light studio}

Wedding décor should be personalized to your taste and who you are as a couple.  Don’t be afraid to get creative with all the details, even with your cake toppers!   

 

 

 

 

 

 

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