Candi + Jared | Belle Soiree Events | New Orleans Wedding and Event Planner

Hello world!
It's the middle of November, WHAT?!
I'm almost a little embarrassed to say I haven't blogged since the summer. It seems these things happen ever year. Once summer comes around I have a few extra hours during the day to sit at my  computer and post all the great weddings I had the pleasure of planning over the year. THEN, fall comes. As most of you know, fall is a very busy time in New Orleans for weddings. Pretty much crazy insane. Blogging is the furthest things from my brain as I try to focus on my brides as much as possible. Speaking of brides...meet Candi. 

 

 

This sweet lady contacted me about a year ago and was trying desperately find some guidance in the wedding planning world. She had NEVER been to New Orleans (EVER!) but knew she wanted to tie the knot with her fiancé' Jared in our wonderful charming city. What I love most about Candi is that she wasn't interested in all the fuss that can sometimes come along with planning a wedding. Having a 1 year old daughter, they knew they wanted the wedding to be about them as a family. She knew she wanted an outdoor ceremony, a guest list of 20, and a nice dinner in the city. To some planners this may be a huge turn off, but to me it was exactly what I was looking for in that moment. Weddings like Candi and Jared's remind me of a happy and comfortable place. Sometimes you just don't need 40,000 flowers and a budget to match.  Sometimes it's fabulous and can be so fun to plan and design, but sometimes...less is more. For a wedding planner this job may seem easy, but it is actually very challenging .Do not be fooled into thinking that small intimate weddings such as this do not require a planner or a lot of work. Every wedding requires logistic planning and a schedule, no matter the size. Finding vendors to only work 2 hours instead of the normal 8 or a florist to just make a bouquet instead of the whole shebang is more difficult than you think. Finding a venue that will take the reservation without the normal minimum is a job in itself. Thankfully, I am blessed to know many fabulous vendors who don't mind doing these sorts of things every now and then.

 

If you ever have the pleasure of meeting the now Mrs.Kelley you will know why I think it was worth it. She is probably one of the sweetest, most kind, generous, loving lady I have ever met. I wasn't surprised when a friend of the bride who could not attend the wedding reached out to me and asked me to surprise Candi with a second line. When planning the wedding, Candi had to choose things that were most important to her and unfortunately a second line did not make the cut. Her friend sent a check  and I made it happen. (Thank you NOPD for issuing me a second line permit 4 days before the wedding!) The look on her face when the band showed up and the police lights started twirling is something I will never forget. I try to hold it together for the sake of the bride but sometimes I just can't help the (happy) tears. Moments like this make me fall in love with my job all over again. Wedding planning is more than just playing with flowers and glitter. I was a part in a memory that Candi and Jared will have for the rest of their life and for that, I am forever grateful.

 

Enough of the mushy stuff...

 

 

Candi and Jared both prepped for the wedding festivities at the Ambassador hotel located in the heart of New Orleans. They traveled separately (in mine and the photographers vehicle) to The Tree of Life in Audubon Park. The couple had a very intimate and tear filled first look and then hung out with their guest until the ceremony began. Short and sweet but very intimate. We loaded up the cars and traveled to what everyone thought would be dinner. When we let everyone out at the corner of Canal St and Charters street I am sure everyone was very confused. Bring on the second line! Love.love.love. Take a look for yourself. Can you guess what Candi's favorite color is?

 The pearl bracelet the mothers and bridesmaids was made by yours truly. We also created a bottle cap boutonniere. How neat, right?!

 Clearly, the brides favorite color is orange!

 

 

 

 

Thank you to all the vendors who contributed and literally made the wedding happen.

 

Wedding Planner | Belle Soiree Events

Ceremony | Audubon Park- Tree of Life
Hair: Just Face it Beauty

Photographer | Samantha Crayon Photography

Ceremony Musician | Harry Hardin

Officiant | Jerry Schelm

Bouquet | Nola Flora
Bakery : Chez Pierre Bakery

Second line Band | One Mind Brass Band

Reception Dinner | Muriels Jackson Square

XOXO,

M

Charming Chalkboards | Wedding Trends | Belle Soiree Events, New Orleans Wedding Planner

Happy Monday!

Eat, Drink, and Be Married! One of my favorite sayings never looked so good as it does in chalk. 

 Who knew an old classroom staple could become so darn popular for weddings? It's really not too hard to see why, it's whimsical and fun to name a few of its charms. Chalkboards can also be a great and useful way to display things like a large sign as decor, escort cards, or wedding favors. There are no limits to chalking as it allows you to be simple or grand. Here are a few unique ways we found to use chalkboards in your wedding:

Beautiful welcome signage:

 

charming details:

 

Dinner menus:

And my favorite- seating charts:

If you are a crafty DIY'er, many of these chalkboard details can be made yourself. I have had my share of late night chalkboard painting parties. Chalkboard paint now comes in a variety of colors which opens the doors to many more creative ideas. However you choose to incorporate these details into your big day know that we will love them.

We love to hear from you! What are your favorite chalkboard details?

XO,

M

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Color me GOLD | Wedding Trends | Belle Soiree New Orleans Wedding Planner

 Oh Monday..we meet again!

I have never really been a fan of gold until this year. If you would have asked me a few years ago I would describe gold as "old lady" but it has absolutely grown on me in the past few months. You know what is better than gold? Sparkly/shimmer gold! 

There are many ways to incorporate gold into your big day, even if you are not a fan of shimmer like myself. One of my favorite ways is to use gold plated chargers. I know this is rare down here in NOLA, but sometimes we get lucky and have the opportunity to play with chargers and place settings. If this isn't an option for you, linens are the next best thing. Dressing up a table with a fine linen is one of best things you can do for an eye pop. Alternating more fancy linens with regular make this option affordable and adds depth into your reception space. Adding a more elaborate linen to a main area such as guest book is a great way to set the tone of your heart of gold wedding.

A new trend that is making its way is gold silverware. This adds the perfect little pop is you are looking for a simple touch.

Whatever way you choose to incorporate gold into your wedding is fine by me. Gold is the perfect touch to either go big or simple. I say go big or go home :)

XO,

M

Sneak Peek | Lauren and David | Belle Soiree Events, New Orleans Wedding Planner

Hello!

I am trying really hard to get into more of a blog routine. If you would have asked me a year ago I would have told you that I reallllllly hate blogging. I will confess, I suck at anything design wise on the computer. I don't have the slightest clue on how to use Photoshop or how to make my blog look pretty. I am not a professional writer and tend to write what comes to my head. I write my blog as if I am talking to my best girlfriend. It's just the way I am.  I am in the process of getting my whole entire brand re-branded and have HIGH HOPES that one day my blog/website will be as gorgeous as I see in my head. Cross your fingers people! Miracles do happen. I have been a blogging queen since the beginning of the year even though my blog is not pretty. I am confident that once it looks the way I envision in my head, I will be blogging more and more. For now, we all have to deal with the uneven lines and the ugly color pattern no matter how much it drives us crazy.

As I said above, I am in the process of establishing a blog routine and sticking to it. It is high on my "goals for 2013" list. I have been playing around with different ideas for what to blog about each day and deciding if I should stick to a routine blog schedule. I love a good routine and sticking to it, but I haven't decided if I want to go the route that everyone else is doing. "Tuesday Trends, Real Wedding Wednesday, Music Monday" etc. For now, I will post what I want and if it sticks to a certain day of the way then so be it! I adore Rhi from Hey Gorgeous Events and she said it best..." I do not have to do what everyone else is doing." This speaks volumes to me and my life right now.

Now..onto the purpose of this entire post. I had the pleasure of designing this wedding with my bride Lauren. Lauren was a dream client to me because I have been wanting to do a seated style dinner for so long. The details that you can put into place settings is something I have been wanting to dip into. Lauren originally hired me for "Month of Coordination" but called me a few months after booking and decided she wanted to add on design services as well. Her theme to her dinner was "French romance." Her Aunt sewed the most gorgeous table runners and we tied that in with over 150 candle sticks. I will save the rest of the details for the Real Weddings post. For now, enjoy this sneak peak!

Thank you Maile Lani Photograhy for these great pictures. I can't wait to post the entire album!

Till then! :)

XOXO,
Merideth