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Queen of Hearts Blog
BURP!
{excuse me} Sorry, it was all about the beer…
No, seriously. I was having my coffee and watching my daily dose of Fox Good Day Philadelphia; when the conversation turned to brides, weddings and beer bottles…something I obviously know a little something about.
This photo was the topic of A LOT of controversy -
NO, this is not a shot of a mass wedding – it seems it's back stage at a New Zealand Bride of the Year competition. The critics say that the photo is 'not becoming of a bride' {Truthfully my eyes gravitated to the other bride whose strapless gown was pulled so tight she was spilling over the edge, but that's another blog post}.
Generally, our suggestion is that caterers don't pass beer bottles to ANYONE, that all beer is served in glasses.
This is the first time that you and your new husband are entertaining as a couple, I'm guessing with all of the time and resources you've invested in planning your wedding; that you don't want to look back at your photos in 20 years and see images reminiscent of a 'beef 'n beer'.
Also just as important is the fact the brown/green glass beer bottle really stand out on your beautifully designed tables, they seem to find themselves strewn all over the room (you'd be AMAZED at the places we find beer bottles when we clean up).
But, I was AMAZED by the number of responses on the Good Day Facebook page by people showing off beer bottles at not only their reception but some at the end of the ceremony…
SERIOUSLY! Tons of people who thought it was great, they thought it was your right to be comfortable at your wedding…{OK, I get that}… but I'm sure you can be comfortable drinking from a glass {I promise!}
Unless your wedding is sponsored by a major brewing company, I can't think of any GOOD reason why you can't have beer poured into a glass
Trust me, I've done this for a LONG time, you'll see all of your wedding photos where everyone has a beer bottle and wonder what you were thinking…
However, I'm open to hearing what all of you think….
CHEERS!
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Everything’s Coming Up Roses!
By now, no doubt, you’ve heard that we merged with my dear friend Phyllis Jablonowski and the team at Eventricity, LLC
Very soon you’ll see a new Eventricity website with a great photo gallery of their work, blog and some great additions to the Eventricity décor team.
You’ll also see introductions on our blog of Phyllis and several other team members who have always done wedding and event planning at Eventricity, but they’ll now appear here on our site too…
But for now we wanted to talk about one issue everyone keeps asking about –
‘Do you now exclusively work with Eventricity for décor?’
And the answer is NO – one of the major discussions we had before merging was about what worked best for our couples and how to best serve their needs…
We LOVE Eventricity’s floral style and so have many of our past couples…
But we know that style might not be a great fit for every couple or they might already have a family relationship with one of the other decorators we have worked with in the past, or they might already have a decorator when they come to us…
It’s all good!
Obviously there are perks to working with our in-house team – we see each other on a daily basis and one hand knows what the other hand is doing, so there will be great communication.
And by working with The Queen of Hearts Wedding Consultants for planning and us being part of the Eventricity family, you now have access to all of the great linen, lighting or rentals that they have – even if you have decided to work with another florist.
Over the last 12 years we’ve worked with some amazing decorators, have great relationships with them and will continue to do so…
As usual, the options when working with The Queen of Hearts Wedding Consultants are endless!
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Next Stop, Penthouse…
Philadelphia buildings just keep getting taller and taller –
Which is really cool for weddings and special events, as several of them now feature great event spaces.
Several weeks ago my dear friend and colleague Lynda Barness invited me to lunch at R2L on the 37th floor of Two Liberty Place {Thank you, Lynda!}…
We were greeted by renowned Chef / Owner Daniel Stern {who also owns MidAtlantic Restaurant & Taproom}… and who also happens to be Lynda’s son in law!
As a total foodie, I of course zeroed in on the beautiful open kitchen as you enter the space – enclosed in glass; it seems as if you can still hear the buzz of the staff as they zip around preparing lunch. An AMAZING wine selection lines the inside wall of the space while all of the tables and the lounge all have panoramic views of the city…. If you manage to get past the dessert cart!
The restaurant is known for Daniel’s creative and innovative interpretations of American cuisine – of course I wanted one of everything, but tried to be good and ‘somewhat’ stick to my diet…
We were presented with an amuse bouche {literally translated as "mouth amuser” or happy mouth!} a single, bite-sized hors d’œuvre of fresh ricotta cheese, spring peas and crisp bacon and warm home baked bread.
I ordered the Tuna Tartare with cucumber and horseradish {my new favorite preparation}, while Lynda ordered the Lobster Macaroni and Cheese ‘to share”, because you HAVE TO try it… {she ate two bites and I finished the rest}.
My entrée was a Roasted Beet and Chestnut Salad with Citrus Vinaigrette and Goat Cheese – to which I added Grilled Chicken – all made with great fresh, local ingredients – YUM!
R2L continues Daniel’s tradition of blending bold cuisine with dynamic spaces; and has a Private Event Space suitable for engagement parties, showers, rehearsals dinners or more boutique weddings.
I think one of my favorite uses for the space would be for a bachelor / bachelorette party – great views, great food and great wine pairing without leaving Philadelphia!
But I digress, after all the title of the blog post is “Next Stop, Penthouse” … as if the 37th floor doesn’t have amazing enough views of the city. How about their private event space in the Penthouse which wraps around the top of the building – views from every direction, beautifully appointed; this flexible space is great for a cocktail party or a ceremony and cocktails before your reception in the restaurant.
Now I need a reason to host a party!
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I Missed My Anniversary!
by Karen Peterkin, PBCTM
I can't believe I missed my anniversary!
(I'll blame it on our family's transition to three children in the last six months) And no, not my own wedding anniversary (can you even imagine?!) but my Queen of Hearts anniversary!
I am happy to announce I've been with the Queen of Hearts for FIVE years now!
Rewind 8 years ago: I was preparing for my own wedding and teaching middle school general and instrumental music.
Fast forward a little to 6 1/2 years ago: my hubby and I welcomed our first child and I never went back to full-time teaching. In the year that followed my son's birth I began to research the wedding planning industry (and interest of mine that would still allow me to stay home full-time), found the Association of Bridal Consultants, became a member, completed coursework, and reached out to our local Philadelphia area networking group.
There I met Mark and the rest is history!
I began as an intern and assistant, and since have been proud to assist, coordinate, and plan weddings for many amazing clients!
And while starting our family ended the "music teacher" chapter of my life, my experience has blended smoothly with many of my wedding clients- including Jessica and Fred's Philadelphia wedding, where finding the right jazz trio for their intimate event was one of their top priorities.
I helped Subha and Jay plan a 16-hour Hindu/American double-header of a wedding day…
I assisted with Emily's wedding day and helped her sister Liz plan her wedding, all in one year…
I, along with the ever-supportive Queen of Hearts team, assembled centerpieces and arranged DIY decor for Sarah and Ben's wedding…
I've fluffed gowns, repaired cakes, sewed clothing, bandaged injuries, taken care of fussing kids, completed more wedding itineraries and timelines than I can count, worked with some insanely talented wedding professionals…the list could go on and on.
It's a privilege to have served, and continue to serve, our outstanding clients on one of the most important days and adventures of their lives!
Here's to many more years!
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We LOVE Susan!
Congratulations to photographer Susan Stripling!
Susan was named one of the Top Ten Wedding Photographers of 2012!
We’ve had the pleasure of working with Susan a number of times and her images ROCK!
Natalie and Matt -
Ruth Ann and Michael -
Congrats Susan, we can't wait to work with you again!
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What Happened to Earth Day?
Sunday was earth day, the 42nd Earth Day actually –
I’m proud to say I remember the first Earth Day. We cleaned up trash in the woods next to our school and planted seeds and watched them grow {although I’m not sure how good the foam cups were for the environment}
Over the last few years the talk in weddings was all about Green Weddings it was the big buzz word in weddings – EVERYONE was suddenly a Green Wedding Planner
But this year, it rained and people were busy and no one in weddings was buzzing about Green Weddings… Where did they all go? Are brides still doing Green Weddings?
Of course they are, and so are we…
I’m a firm believer that Green Wedding Planners aren’t made, we’re born – you can’t be a green wedding planner without living a green life.
In our personal lives each of our team members recycle as much as possible {Rebecca’s husband works for Recycle Bank}, we all try to purchase local , seasonal and organic foods, in my house we compost and drink filtered water ….we brought in an eco-friendly landscape company to plant our yard with native plants….
It translates into our business…. We recycle in the office, bring home anything we can from events to be recycled, use post-consumer recycled paper, recycle ink cartridges, print as little as possible, all of our documents are send via PDF rather than printing out contracts and planning documents and we support great environmental causes.
We’re members of the Sustainable Business Network and attend (and have presented to) the PhilaGreen Hospitality Association… we’ve registered to reduce the amount of junk mail people send us and donate to plant trees instead of sending direct mail.
We encourage couples to shop locally, use local materials and foods whenever possible, we offer great eco-friendly invitation designs and know what standard wedding practices are just plain good for the environment…
So, you see Green Weddings and Green Wedding Planners are alive and well – but the circus has moved on – there’s another buzz word another new trend… and those of us who have always supported protecting our environment are still doing it…
Not JUST on Earth Day, but every day.
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The WORST Wedding Photos, Ever!
OK, this is NOT what you want to see on a wedding planner’s website…
BREATHE; it’s not about any of our couple’s weddings or even any photographer we work with
No doubt by now you’ve seen on the new or online about the couple in the UK who had their wedding ruined by lousy photography – it’s been everywhere this week….
I saw it on Good Morning America and was horrified, not by the images – but by the huge stink people were making over it and wanted to address a few things for the brides or grooms-to-be following our blog.
Here is a sampling of some of the images we found online….
I admit it, they’re REALLY bad!
But what are the chances this experienced, talented, professional wedding photographer got this bad over night?
Did he just wake up and start shooting CRAP?
Highly unlikely – so let’s explore where this couple missed the mark and hopefully learn something from their tragedy.
First, with the assumption that he didn’t just wake up and suddenly have a really bad day, developed bad comprehension of composition….
DID YOU LOOK AT HIS WORK? Did you honestly go and meet with the photographer, see some of his images, look an entire body of work and not just a few random ‘good images’ on a website.
“Even a blind squirrel occasionally finds a nut” – “Best of” photos on someone’s site are not an indicator of someone’s work and truthfully, people are stealing images prom people’s website and claiming them as their own all the time.
*ask to look at an entire album ( several would be nice) – we still suggest asking to look at an online gallery of lots of the photos as even bad photographers can come up with 25-30 images from a wedding to retouch and make them look good.
You don’t get nothing for nothing {my dad’s favorite line} if it’s really cheap, it’s really cheap for a reason – these people paid the equivalent of $1200 for someone to photograph their entire wedding and give them an album.
I get it, everyone has a budget – but if you take $200 out of the equation for the album they charged $1000.00 for the entire day – generally 12-14 hours… that doesn’t include the countless hours that go into the post production of cleaning up images –
What are the chances that he earns a living doing this full time?
*When working on a tight budget; hire the best photographer you can afford for their time and talent. After the wedding you can add on the disk of digital negatives and albums when you see where your wedding budget ended up and what kind of cash you got as gifts …
I’m not sure how this happened but obviously this shot was take as the client moved – it’s not like their table was positioned in front of it and it was in every photo ( that would be more a function of bad planner or bad caterer anyway)..
But WHY would this be included in the photos shared with the couple – it’s not capturing a moment, it’s not part of a formality they would have otherwise missed – it’s a random shot they moved in.
Brides try to pressure photographer into giving them ALL of the images of the day – you DON’T want all the images of the day!
Especially with digital photography there are random, rapid fire images, lighting test shots and just plain old bad shots where someone walked through the frame that YOU DON’T WANT and a good photographer won’t share… and shouldn’t.
And lastly, the couple tried to sue the photographer who is now out of business {YA THINK?}
And no one saw that coming?
You live and die by your last event –
I’m sure there were bad reviews for this guy on line, I’m sure there were other wedding professionals who heard what a train wreck this guys was and I’m sure that there was a professional wedding planner in the area who would have warned them against going with this guy because of the quality of his work and work ethic.
Bottom Line:
I truly feel sorry for this couple, I hope a friend captured a few good shots of their wedding – but they obviously didn’t do their homework, didn’t ask questions and jumped on a deal because it was cheap.
Don’t make the same mistake…
Party Like A Brazilian!
Several weeks ago I had the honor of presenting at the launch of the Association of Bridal Consultants (ABC) in SAo Paulo, Brazil… The association has over 4,000 members in all 50 states and more than 27 countries.
As one of only 65 Master Bridal Consultants in the world, my colleagues in Latin America asked me to come and talk about wedding consulting and working with brides…
But I have to admit I think I learned as much as I taught – my colleagues were AMAZING hosts and the other presenters were wonderful and somehow my lack of ability to speak Portuguese and theirs to speak English was bridged by our common love for weddings.
Truth be told, Brazilian weddings are INSANE, as much as they are similar to American weddings, they take EVERYTHING over the top…
My colleague Roberto Cohen from Rio, who does beautiful weddings and events all over Brazil and the world, showed many of his weddings – here are some great observations on differences…
I’m not sure whether or not it’s because flowers are sourced in South America and they are probably less expensive than here in the US …but flowers are EVERYWHERE.
I find that many times US brides tend to skimp on ceremony flowers –“we’re only there for a short time”, “the church is really pretty without much in it”… whatever the reason. Keep in mind that you need to set the space apart from any other day to day event in the sanctuary… it really needs a little something special…
The next thing would be that their receptions are HUGE parties… basically they consist of an Introduction, Cake Cutting, First Dance, Toasts (all in a row) and straight into a party that lasts 8-10 hours….
It seems that they are doing fewer seated meals and more interactive stations where people can dine, dance and drink at their own leisure.
The décor at receptions is beautiful, again seems to have flowers EVERYWHERE!
I did notice lots of glass and mirrored dining table with runners rather than table cloths – but also lots of reflective surfaces for things like cake tables as well….
They’re doing AMAZING things with lighting and dance floors – there are lots of simple dance floors with beautiful images laminated onto them.
One other thing I LOVE and is really simple to do is they addition of one simple rental item – I’m seeing lots of swapping out of plain water glasses for a more interesting rented one as a pop of color on the dining table.
One thing that REALLY stood out is that Brazilians take their dessert – both pastry and chocolates – VERY SERIOUSLY! They are a HUGE focal point
And at the end of the night they offer guests a traditional sweet called Bem Casado (translates to Happily Married) two little sponge cakes filled with dulce de leche and wrapped in beautiful paper… they allow for several per person as one is NOT enough.
I had a great trip, met AMAZING people and saw some wonderful wedding ideas we hope translate over to some of our couples….
To all my friends in Brazil – Obrigado! (Thank you!)
It Never Rains In South Philly…
OK, ok, I’m only kidding…in the Philadelphia, South Jersey, Delaware region it often rains on someone’s wedding day…..
Urban legend or superstition says that if you place a statue of the Virgin Mary in your front window the week of your wedding it won’t rain on your wedding day…
If that were true, it would NEVER rain in south Philly as there are statues of Mary in the front window somewhere on every block ALL THE TIME!
Another myth says to hand a rosary on your clothesline on your wedding day to keep away rain {who has a clothes line?}… So I’ve seen it adapted to hanging a rosary out your window to keep the rain away…
Several years ago I heard of a Pennsylvania Dutch / German superstition that on the night before your wedding you should go to the cutlery drawer, take out a dinner knife, walk out the front door of your house and stick the knife in the ground outside the front door – retrieving it after the wedding…
This too is to keep away the rain… so for quite a while we were giving our clients this advice… AND IT WORKED…. We were running somewhere in the realm of 12:0
In one case it rained the morning of the wedding and the bride stuck the knife in the ground, it stopped long enough to get her to the church, rained while she was in the church, stopped again and then POURED while they were at the reception {random luck I’m sure}
So a few weeks ago we were in DC for Maggie and Joe’s wedding … there was some talk of rain, nothing too concerning but was to mostly overcast…
Forgetting we had done the knife trick for Anna and Dan’s wedding {we did Maggie’s sister Anna’s wedding here in Philly at the Union League several years ago} – Anna reminded Maggie to do the knife ‘thing’ – only Maggie wasn’t going to be at home. So they took one of the dinner knives from the rehearsal dinner, out the front door of the restaurant and plunged it into the planter outside the front door…
And the next day the skies were clear and not a drop of rain!
So what are some of the wedding related superstitions you have heard of?
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PS if Rose from Carmine’s in Washington DC is reading this, one of your dinner knives is in the planter outside the front door
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Unique Idea for a Retro Wedding- Philadelphia Wedding Planning
Does anybody remember these from when we were kids!?!?
I used to LOVE these things. For all of you brides who are looking to incorporate something retro in your wedding, check out these view finders from Image 3D to send your guests down memory lane. They're really reasonably priced and you could load them with pictures from your engagement shoot or images of friends and family and place them near your guest book!
Follow the link for more information: http://www.image3d.com/
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