Pepper and Dave Engaged

Pepper and Dave are getting married on May 21, 2011.  Their reception is going to be at the Park Hyatt in DC.  I'm really looking forward to coordinating their special day.  Pepper and I spoke on the phone a month or so ago and we've emailed back and forth throughout the contract process and beginning planning.  So I haven't ever met her in person so I was excited to be able to put a face with the name/voice/email.  Pepper's photographer Jason, of Jason Weil Photography (http://www.jasonweilphotography.com/) allowed me to post some of their engagement pictures to share with everyone.  This will be the first engagement picture series I've posted on my blog so I'm pretty excited about that!  What a cute couple:

I was also able to snag a shot of their save the dates they are using.  They were provided by Ellie Snow/Graphic Designer, her information is as follows:

{blog} http://mintdesignblog.com/

{shop} http://hellotenfold.com/
{vintage} http://westandplum.etsy.com/

I've never seen this done before and I think it's very sweet and I'm sure their parents will really cherish it. 

Check back in a few months to see the pictures I'll be posting from their big day:)  



What: Marriage Why: Because we love each other- Best Save the Date to Date

I cannot take credit for this (although I'd love to)... My friend Naomi is hilarious and today I opened my email to find a save the date that is totally her.  An email stating that the attachment is her "progressive" Save the date.  This save the date is awesome!  It's funny, creative and just so her and John which I love:).  I also love the fact that they will be getting married on mine and Nic's 5 year wedding anniversary and in the Outer Banks which is where we tied the knot.  So pumped!!!

I've been a part of helping Naomi plan her wedding (so far) and I love that everything they are doing really is them and the day is going to reflect so much of who they are.  It'll be really laid back and fun but beautiful and full of love and smiles=). 

Bridal Brunch- Refer a bride- get a prize=)

The bridal expo was a few weeks ago at the Dulles Expo center.  To get rent a booth was a ridiculous amount of money.  I'm not there yet.  Paying for a booth at one of those things isn't really my style- seems kind of salesy which is going to my weakness in this whole adventure... I hate sales.  So I'm putting the buzz out there for a more intimate bridal affair.  When I was a bride I would've loved to have attended a smaller more intimate gathering with a few local vendors to get an idea of what was out there... There is so much overwhelming information out there for brides. 

So I'm in the beginning stages of planning a bridal brunch.  I figured I'll limit it to 4 or 5 couples.  If there's a lot of interest I'll do more than one.  I'll have a caterer bring a few samples, a photographer come shoot a few shots of each couple, a ceremony music player come play, a cake maker bring some samples and of course I'll be there to offering wedding planning advice.  Not only could this potentially draw in more business for myself and my preferred vendors but it would give some upcoming brides a helpful look into what some local vendors have to offer. 

I suspect the vendor interest for something like this would be high (I already have some strong interest in the few I've mentioned the idea to), it's getting in contact with brides that would be my challenge.  So I figured I'll start with my blog followers/family and friends and do a "refer a bride" contest.  So for every bride referred to me who wants to attend one of the brunches I will send the person who referred them a target gift card (think small as my budget for this is limited).  This event would be free to all brides and grooms.  No obligation just an informative fun brunch. 

Make sure if you refer someone for this they reference you so I can get you your gift card!  Tell all brides to email me at:  Kelly@silvertouchevents.com

Mr. and Mrs. Sean Cook

Maritza and Sean's service was held at the Walter Reed Chapel in D.C.  The reception was a luncheon at Maggianos in Chevy Chase.  The couple was already married but wanted to do a celebration with family and friends.  The bride asked the florist to add pins in her flowers which I love- I think the flowers looked amazing!  The couple loves dessert so in addition to a cake decided to have a chocolate fountain- yum!.  Here are some pictures provided by their photographer, Lori Thoden:  http://lthoden.zenfolio.com/







Brown's Chapel in Reston, VA- beautiful day for a wedding

This morning I headed over to Brown's chapel in Reston, VA.  This historical chapel is adorable.  Nic (my hubby) and I got married in a historical chapel like this so I LOVED this!  When I walked in I was surprised to see an empty room.  Well mostly empty with the exception of some eye sores that I immediately decided we needed to move.  The only problem... It was just me.  So I started by setting up all the chairs and running the aisle runner down the center of the aisle.  As I was putting the chair covers and sashes on the chairs the flowers arrived.  Thankfully it was 2 young ladies that were eager to help me transform this church into a masterpiece:).  They had beautiful rose petals that were placed on the outside of the runner.  The bride had given me the chair covers and sashes in a white sheet.  She also gave me a table that she mentioned she wasn't wild about for the Unity Candle so I decided I wanted to use that white sheet to drape over the table.  I knew it would look really good because she had a white back drop (drape and piping) and the chair covers were a draped look too.  I hate to assume people will like something so I asked the girls what they thought they both agreed so we did it.  The girls added some petals around it and it looked great!!!  I can't wait to see the pictures!!!

We used the extra sashes to wrap around the rails outside and tie some bows to add some decor outside the chapel.  We also worked quickly to move as much of the "crap" that was in the back of the church out.  I wish I could show a before and after picture but I was rushed and didn't even take out my camera... by the time the photographer got there we were set up so she'll send me some good photos but a before and after would be amazing!!!  Here's a pictures of Brown's Chapel I got from google so you can see how adorable this chapel is. 

The bride wore a fitted lace dress which was so perfect and she looked so happy and beautiful!  Another great wedding:)  Pictures to come.  Now time to watch a movie and snuggle with my boys!

Halloween Fun- A neighborhood event

So when my family first moved into our neighborhood we didn't really know anyone except our close friends the Henry's that lived on a nearby street.  So I inquired about joining the activities committee, however realized that with school, work and family I really didn't have any time to fully commit to being on the committee.  So I offered to help where I could but didn't officially join.  Well we've been in our house for 3 years now (Oct 1st was our 3 yr anniversary in our house- wow!) and we've been to 1 neighborhood event in that time and it was within 30 days after we moved in.  So I always complain about how our activities committee doesn't plan enough stuff and our HOA fees are going to waste, etc.  So this year I decided to take matters into my own hands.  We live in a double ended culd-e-sac and I ran it by my neighbors to make sure everyone was on board (since the culd-e-sac is kind of a common area- didn't think it was fair to assume everyone would be cool with volunteering the space- but my neighbors are awesome and everyone was on board). 

So I volunteered my husband and his friend Bryan to load up their truck beds with hay and do hay rides.  One of them will lead the pack and the other will trail and in between the trucks the kids can do a little parade around the inner streets of our neighborhood.  We made it a potluck so depending on what number people's houses end in (odd or even) they will bring either a dessert or appetizer.  After the parade we'll do snacks, games and a costume contest prize in the culd-e-sac.  Since this isn't (wasn't) an HOA sponsored event there really is no money so I decided rather than putting myself out of pocket for the prizes I would try to see if I could get some donations.  I was so excited to get so many awesome donations.  I thought it would be nice to recognize the local places that donated and just say thanks.  Here's what we received so far:

Loudoun Sports Bounce:  5 free bounce passes
Bowl America (Chantilly):  5 free games of bowling
Panther Family Fun Center:  10 free passes for laser tag
Glory Days (Stone Ridge):  2 $10 gift cards

Meanwhile, I posted this on our community website to try to branch out and invite people in the neighborhood that we don't know.  The head of the activities committee contacted me and mentioned having a mass email sent out to everyone by contacting the webmaster.  So I did and now this event is going to be considered a neighborhood event.  I'm really excited because I think it'll be a fun event for the kids (and parents since I think a lot of them are planning on dressing up too!).  We have a really fun neighborhood and I think events like this help instill a sense of community and a good way to meet more neighbors.  So looking forward to it and I'll post pictures once we have it.

This past Saturday I had the pleasure of doing a day-of coordination for Margaux and Bobby's wedding. The reception was at the Dulles Hilton.  The couple both looked great and the wedding was a lot of fun! 

Phillip Kent was the photographer for Margaux and Bobby's wedding and he sent me a few photos. You can  see the mailbox I made for their wedding. It's a great alternative to the bird cage eye sore.  Here are some good photos from the wedding:)