by Rebecca Druckenmiller

Engagement picture sessions are so important to book, not only because you can get some professional pictures of you and your soon to be without all the wedding garb on but also to get to know your photographer and to get used to the being photographed feeling so you’re comfortable on the day of the wedding. 

We always recommend it to our couples, you want to feel totally comfortable with your photographers because after all you’ll practically spend more of your day with the two of them than anyone else. 

Now, Dan and I already had an engagement session when we got engaged but I also wanted to do some more casual shots. 

I also had a secret up my sleeve. 

 We remind our brides that it’s always nice to find little ways that you can include your husband-to-be in the wedding planning with things that he’ll enjoy to do.  That may be bringing him to the tasting, picking out the cake or picking out the song list with the DJ or the band. 

 I chose to surprise Dan and treat him with a surprise engagement session in the Eagles Stadium. 

I set the whole thing up with my photographers Laura and Paul and picked him up after work and started driving to the stadium.  He thought we were going to Old City but little did he know that I had our jersey’s stashed in the back to do a fun session in the Linc. 

Here are some of the shots, we also went to Laura’s studio in Old City and took some pictures in the neighborhood. 

Thanks to Laura Eaton Photography for the images, I LOVE them!

We went to Laura’s studio in Old city to change and found this cupcake truck outside, so naturally I had to get one…

We went to Laura’s studio in Old city to change and found this cupcake truck outside, so naturally I had to get one…

And Naturally I had to try to smash it in Dan’s face!

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 by Karen Peterkin

This morning I was greeted by the “Clinton Weather Forecast” on my favorite morning news show. 

I couldn’t help but giggle; it went a little overboard, but signaled to me what “famous” weddings mean for people in various countries. 

I have heard the reports over the past few days about Chelsea Clinton visiting a famous designer’s New York Store (Vera Wang) and recently heard that the area in which they’ll be married has been deemed a “no fly zone” and that reporters have been crawling around that community for weeks now. 

There is such anticipation with such a celebrated wedding.  Mostly I think it’s curiosity to see how the money will be spent (an estimated 2 million dollars!) 

Not many of us can imagine what it is like to spend tens of thousands of dollars on a dress…or two…or three, or what it’s like to spend hundreds of thousands on flowers, or on food and beverage alone. 

 But I’ll admit while I’m curious to see how a celebrity affair will take shape- what it will look like, what the photographs will communicate about the style of such a grandiose event-

I am equally interested to see the culmination of “real life” weddings (clients of ours, friends and family members…members of the Queen of Hearts Staff!  hee hee)

I anticipate every wedding I go to, as a guest or as a wedding planner. 

 I love seeing their vision for their wedding come together. 

It’s all about the love, really and truly. 

I’m a romantic and I love seeing families joined together for one day with one purpose- celebrating the union of two people, two families.  Whether they are celebrities or not!

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You are NOT an orange!

I hate having to write about this but it comes up time and time again….

I keep hearing from wedding professionals that they have been approached by venues and other planners for a ‘commission”, a ‘referral fee’ or the less polite…kickback…

What exactly does that mean? To us as wedding professionals it means that these people are trying to make additional money on your wedding by squeezing more money out of the people they refer you to…

A venue or planner might get 10% or more from the florist, band, photographer and other wedding professionals to give out their name…

In the end you pay more – they’re not able to take the 10% out of their package after paying their expenses, staff and materials costs to they have to raise your price…

WE DON’T PLAY LIKE THAT! {as a matter of fact most of Philly – thankfully doesn’t}, you’ll actually find that in those rare cases where someone offers us a referral fee- we ask that they pass it on to the bride and groom as a discount to the normal package…

I find that most wedding professionals don’t like having to pay these fees in order to get a referral… they stand by the quality of their work, the relationships they have built with other professionals and being referred to clients because they will do the best job for them on their budget- NOT because they are the person who pays us the biggest referral fee.

So, if you are checking out planners ask if they accept referral fees {and why- ’cause you’re paying them good money!}, and also ask your venue of they charge the people they recommend a referral fee…because if they do you might be paying 10% or more higher than if you were working with them in another venue.

The Queen of Hearts Wedding Consultants runs a wedding planning business where we refer couples to the best wedding professionals based on the quality of their work, their personalities, the product they offer and thier  competitive pricing – NOT a juice bar!

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 by Rebecca Druckenmiller

The Queen of Hearts team had such an incredibly busy weekend but it was tons of fun and we’re so happy for our clients that were married. Christina led the team for Kristen and Cedric’s wedding on Friday night in south Jersey while Mark had a double header with Heather and Kevin’s wedding on Saturday at the Sofitel and Shira and Jacob’s wedding at the Crystal Tea Room Sunday.  We had such nice weather all weekend for these amazing couples and congratulations to all of them from the The Queen of Hearts team! 

On top of all this, I ran the Broad Street Run (a ten mile run through Philadelphia).  I ran it with my sister and cousin and we had such a great time but it got me thinking at the end of it when I was rubbing my feet that the whole Queen of Hearts team could probably use a trip to the spa after this crazy weekend. 

We are such huge fans of Tierra Mia, an organic nail spa in Rittenhouse Square.  I want to make an appointment this week, wait let me clarify, I NEED to make an appointment this week.  The spa features incredible nail treatments using all pure, organic, non-toxic solutions.  All of their polishes are water-based and the spa space itself is made of all VOC-free (volatile organic compounds), recycled and sustainable materials from the floor to the ceiling.  Their “3-free” motto (“non-toxic”, “organic” and “natural) ensures that you can enjoy all of their spa services without putting toxic chemicals onto your skin. 

I really want to try the Bagazo del Coconut hand treatment.  They soak your hands first in warm, infused organic cinnamon water and then fresh coconut meat is shredded and massaged onto your skin.  Then they rub organic coconut cream oil onto your hands as an ultra-hydrating mask.  Finally they wrap your hands in steamed towels to absorb the coconut and then they paint your nails with their water-based polishes.

They also have various massage treatments that I could really use right now.  I’ve also been informed that you can host parties in the spa too!  It would be so nice to treat my bridesmaids to spa services as their gifts. I really want to bring all my girls there and to get our nails done while we enjoy some cocktails.  Check out their site for all the organic services they have to offer!

Great job Rebecca – Congrats on finishing the Broad Street Run! Now go get a maggase!

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Cake eaten at a charity event truly has NO CALORIES…..

Let Them Eat Cake is the perfect place to put this to the test…..

In case you haven’t heard about it on BEN FM, KYW 1060 or in today’s issue of PW….. this event ROCKS!

Amazing pastry chefs all competing for prizes and bragging rights, Korbel champagne, great music and all for a GREAT cause!

While spaces are competitors are full {OK I’d squeeze in one more if I had too!} tickets are still available …contact City of Hope’s office at the number below to purchase tickets or for more information.

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