Archive for August 2009

Invitation inspirations...flat panel and pocket folds. Sometimes a picture is worth more than words...

This is Part 3 of our series on Modern Couture Bouquets and Accessories. If you have missed the last couple of posts, you have missed some pictures of some beautiful and unique feathered items so check them out if you missed them!

I am going to post a few more photos today of other hair accessories and feathered items. These are so fun so enjoy!

Hair Accessories/Fascinators:


Boutonnieres:

Today's post is a continuation of our last post on finding something different for your wedding. We are continuing with additional photos of modern, couture bouquets and other feathered items.



This particular style of bouquet was created for a bride who contacted me and wanted very much to use natural (bright and colorful) peacock feathers in her bouquet. At first I was hesitant to even create this bouquet since I was worried that it would be too dark and the bride would not like it in the end. I must admit, that this bouquet is by far my FAVORITE one now. If you have a chance, you should run by Wedding 101 (get directions at www.wedding101.net) to see it in person in our display. The pictures truly do not do it justice and the feathers are so soft that it is really a nice bouquet to hold. The perimeter of the bouquet is made up of big, beautiful peacock feathers while the center is mostly made up of black goose biots with accents of purple and green goose biots to bring out the vibrant colors of the peacock feathers. There are also some peacock swords thrown in for good measure. The base of the bouquet inside the peacock eyes has some black maribou feathers thrown in and the base of the bouquet outside of the peacock eyes has some black ostrich feathers along with some black maribou feathers. It is so chic and modern!

Save the date now for the Franklin Bridal Ball as it is fast approaching! The Franklin Bridal Ball will be held at The Factory in Franklin on Thursday, September 24, 2009 from 5 pm ‑ 9 pm. It promises to be a fun and funky affair with loads of exhibitors in lots of different catgories. Tickets are $12 online or $15 at the door, but if you go to their website (http://franklinbridalball.com/), there is a coupon you can print off for $3 off at the dorr as well!



BH&H will have a booth in this year's show which we are very excited about since we have not attended the FBB in the past. Stop by and see us while you are there. We will release more information about our booth location as it becomes available.



We will be available to discuss all of your wedding planning needs and will be scheduling follow up appointment with brides at Wedding 101 which is also located within The Factory! It should be a fun night for all!

Tonight is the night for the Elegance Bridal Gala in Mt. Juliet. It is Mt. Juliet's first annual luxuriously customized bridal experience! Unfortunately, we were unable to participate in the Gala this year, but we hope to be able to have a booth next year.



I will be attending the Preview Party at Wedding 101 at the factory tonight. The Preview Party is an invitation only event for vendors exhibiting at Wedding 101, but if I have a chance to, I would like to run by the Elegance Bridal Gala to check it out in case we have the opportunity to exhibit next year. I think it should be a great opportunity for brides on the east side of town to have a fun night out socializing and gathering information for their upcoming weddings.



Here is the information for the Elegance Bridal Gala - check it out if you have a chance...



Thursday, August 13, 2009

6 o'clock in the evening

9 o'clock- Fashion Show

Mt. Juliet's Park District

Tickets are $7 at the door or $5if you pre-register online!

Little Black Dress Attire



Have fun!

I went by Wedding 101 this afternoon to drop off the bookcase for our display. I will be going back tomorrow to set up the display there and drop off our portfolio. The place really does seem to be coming together nicely. For anyone, not aware, I blogged about this new concept in wedding planning in Nashville a few days ago. You can find that blog here...

http://byheartandhand.blogspot.com/2009/08/exciting-new-concept-coming-to-factory.html

The official opening for Wedding 101 is on Saturday. I think it will be a great no cost resource for local area brides. They have a studio at the Factory in Franklin with Portfolios from local area vendors. Their goal is to connect discerning brides with quality vendors.

Check out their website for more information at http://www.wedding101.net/. Stay tuned as we will post some photos of our display when we have it set up.

Save the date for the Enchanted Brides Bridal Show on Sunday, September 13, 2009. We will have a booth at EB Bridal Show and are very excited about it! We have not done this show before so we are looking forward to talking to all the brides who will be there. Stop by our booth!

Here are some details regarding the show...

Admission: $10 or $8 with the coupon*

*Receive $2.00 off admission with the coupon located here:

http://www.enchantedbrides.tv/events/index.html

Location:
Cheekwood Garden and Museum of Art
1200 Forrest Park Drive
Nashville Tennessee

Call for information 615-297-7980 or email EB at tony@enchantedbrides.com


You can also find EB Magazine at many local bridal retailers or online at the following location:
http://www.enchantedbrides.tv/magazine/index.html


Check out the latest edition for our article on invitations and our ad.

The studio itself is done up boutique style with comfy furniture and meeting areas. Brides can use this area to relax while reseaching vendors and after contact, the vendors and brides can use the area to make the initial meeting and discuss wedding details. This space may prove to be quite useful for vendors like me who have a home based studio and have had to rent office space or meet brides in loud coffee shops in the past.
Preferred vendors at Wedding 101 can create portfolios or rent space in the studio to set up displays to showcase their services. By Heart and Hand has signed up for a portfolio and display space at Wedding 101 for the next few months. We are so excited about being a part of the new concept in wedding planning. We think it will be a great resource for brides since this service is completely free of charge to the bride as it is paid for by exhibiting vendors! I wish this place was around when I was getting married!
You can check out the Wedding 101 website at www.wedding101.net. There is an invitation only event this Thursday for vendors to celebrate and socialize and then the official grand opening event is on Saturday, August 15, 2009...if you are a local area bride, you should definitely check it out!

I found out that Menu Maker has an upcoming tasting at Homewood Suites in Brentwood. This would be a great opportunity for brides not familiar with Menu Maker to attend and get to try some of their delicious food.

Check out Ashley's Bride Guide Daily Scoop for today as she included us in invitation finds from Weddings the Bridal Show at the Convention Center on July 12. How exciting - thanks, Ashley!

http://www.ashleysbrideguide.com/blog/?p=3532&PHPSESSID=e29b50ea3f09c45054121a40cf589e66

I also wanted to blog today about something we are starting here at By Heart and Hand. As most of you follow us probably know by now, I have a home studio that I work out of. Most of you probably also know that my home studio is about 10 miles south of Lieper's Fork where my husband and I have a little 40 acre farm....not exactly conducive to meeting with brides, but very conducive to living a happy life playing in sunshine with my various outdoor friends (horse, calves, sheep, llama, chickens, etc.). While we do have meeting space in the Brentwood area, it can still be difficult to drive around to meet with couples individually.

So, we are planning some upcoming events at local hotels and meeting spaces to be able to connect with brides on a smaller scale. If you have been to a bridal show, you know that it can be totally overwhelming for both the brides and the vendors. As a bride you are overwhelmed with the choices and wanting to ensure you see every booth possible - while as a vendor, you want to be able to meet as many potential clients as possible in a finite amount of time. This usually means that there is little time to talk specifics with any bride about what she really needs for her day. As a result, we are setting up to host some "Mini Bridal Shows" at local hotels and meeting spaces. We will set the rooms up to showcase the invitations we offer, what is involved in different Event Planning Packages, the linens we rent, and some of our modern, couture feathered bouquets, fascinators, and bouts.

The idea is that we will invite brides from the area(s) around the show location. This is a smaller list of brides so it should allow brides time to talk one on one with a company representative, look through invitation catalogs, and check out our rental items. They can either attend to get ideas of what is available, or we will have employees available to take orders/reservations if the brides are ready to do that. The hope is that this more intimate setting will allow us to better understand what the brides are looking for and get to know them.

We will be planning several of these events in different areas of the mid state in the coming months so that we can cater to brides by meeting with them "in their own back yards."

The first one we have planned is for later this month on the 16th of August and it will be held at the Hampton Inn on Halifax Drive in Columbia, TN. All are welcome to attend. The only thing that we ask is that you go to the listing for the event and sign up for a free ticket. There is no charge associated with this event, but we do ask that you sign up so that we can ensure it is appropriately staffed.

http://www.byheartandhandminishowcolumbia.eventbrite.com/

We look forward to seeing you there - stay tuned for details of other events will be released as they are finalized!

By Heart and Hand was invited to participate in the Tea for Two Event at Dillard's in Green Hills on Sunday. It was a bridal gift registry event with a mini bridal show. The staff at Dillard's was awesome. We got to meet a few brides (and offered them deals exclusive to the show) and network with some of the other vendors who were there.


Here are a couple photos of the booth that we set up...

There were yummy goodies to be had from Menu Maker Catering and of course some divine desserts and cake from Dulce Desserts (always delicious). There was a new photographer there that I had not met before. Her name was Kristin Young and she owns Surreal Image Studios - be sure to visit her website and check out her photo gallery. She was delightful to talk to and already has a nice portfolio put together.
Enchanted Brides Magazine was also at the show talking to brides about the magazine and handing out sample magazines. Be sure to check out the new issue of Enchanted Brides magazine (Summer/Fall 2009) issue for our article on Invitations (pages 46-47)! If you don't have a copy of the magazine, you can actually view it on their website. It is a great resource and features articles from some great local vendors.