Just in case you missed it, here is the video of our inspiration shoot done by the amazing Jamie Honce Productions. I was blown away when I first saw this! My only request from Jamie was to make it feel natural and effortless. Boy, did he ever nail it!

Flirty at the Fair | Carnival Inspiration Shoot from Jamie Honce on Vimeo.

Have questions about the shoot? Leave a comment or shoot me an email! I would love to answer questions and hear your feedback.

My biggest concern when creating the details of the recent inspiration shoot, was to make it easy to recreate without breaking the bank. So often, inspiration shoots are completely unattainable by the average couple and can lead to frustration and envy. That is why I told all of our vendors to keep it natural, fun and easy! This was especially true with the decor for our fabulously fun shoot.

It might sound strange, but my entire design concept was based on two things. Cotton Candy & our Blue Striped Paper Straws. In order to keep the setting feeling soft and light, I went with a cotton candy pink and a lighter shade of a teal blue. The linens were actually poly cotton with sheer striped overlays. The combination of the two was under $25 per table, which is really good for linen pricing!

For the flowers, I wanted to stick with mainly pink with punches of red. In order to mix it up a bit, I wanted the shades to be darker that the colors in the linens and paper products. I think it meshed beautifully! What do you think?

Now, I am a sucker for a good prop and I was fortunate enough to have been introduced to Terri, the owner of the super cute Frank & Me, in Clarkston, Michigan. While eying the amazing trinkets and vintage items in her shop, I stumbled across a beautiful 1940s smoked glass cake stand, a beautiful pink & gold frame, and the vintage cake server, among other things that I fell in love with. All worked perfectly for the design.

The adorable dress was made by our model, Allison, and the flower hair accessory was made by BlissAccessories! Flowers by Watkins Flowers, creative design and linens supplied by Bliss Weddings & Events. Photography by Nicole Ladonne Photography.

I LOVE Cupcakes. Everything about them. They are easy to handle, the perfect portion and oh-so cute! When I was thinking about the delicious desserts that were to be featured in our inspiration shoot, my mind immediately went to simple, sweet and charming details. I wanted to feature adorable cupcakes, a DIY looking cake, colorful drinks and lots of variety. Thankfully, Robyn new exactly the person to assign the cake making duties. Kerri, from Cherry Chip, is seriously creative! I cannot believe how spot on her designs for the cake and cupcakes were (and super delicious, by the way!).

Kerri mixed the perfect hues of pink and blue and created a very DIY inspired single layer cake. What is your favorite element? Mine are the little white dots on the cupcakes!

For the drinks, I had to have pink and blue, with a punch of red. That was definite. I went with a pink lemonade and a blue punch and mixed in some fruit and berries. They both tasted delicious, until they were heated by the million degree sun all day!

Robyn also created a cute little candy buffet for an added bit of sweetness. Mix that with some vintage Faygo and super cute details, and you have PERFECTION, my friends.

Photos by Nicole Ladonne Photography

One of my favorite parts about our Style Me Pretty shoot, was definitely the absolutely adorable couple that so sweetly offered to model for us. My goal with the shoot was to make it feel as natural as possible, and by using a real life married couple as our bride and groom really hit that goal home. Not only were they super awesome, Allison actually MADE HER DRESS (!!!) the night before the shoot. Crazy, right?

I am so completely in love with the photos from Nicole Ladonne Photography and can’t help but smile every time I see the love in Allison and Seth’s eyes. Please enjoy the warm fuzzies below!

I was beyond thrilled today when I got a crazy phone call from my friend, Robyn, asking me “Did you see it?!” I, in fact, didn’t see it or even know what “it” was!

When I first started getting involved in the virtual wedding world, one of the initial places I visited was Style Me Pretty. Not only is it an unbelievable resource for inspiration, it is also one of the most well put together and most visited wedding sites on the internet. The day I found it, I promised myself that I would make it onto the pages some day. Well, that day has come! I am so happy that the crew selected our recent Flirty at the Fair shoot to grace their beautiful site.

As for the shoot itself, I can’t even put into words how happy I am with the end result. What started as a little spark, grew into a full blown fire of creativity. I knew I wanted to do something sweet, charming and easy to recreate for brides and grooms of any budget. I am lucky enough to work with some of the most inspiring people in the world and a few of my favorites helped create this beautiful shoot at the St. Mary’s Polish Country Fair. I honestly couldn’t have done this without them.

When I get an idea, it is difficult for me not to put it into motion very quickly and moments after the initial idea popped in my head for this shoot, I was on the phone with Robyn (Meant To Be Sent) and Nicole (Nicole Ladonne Photography) trying to figure out how we could make this happen in one week. That is the only time when the carnival would be in town. I knew it was short notice, but these two were on board from the start and helping to come up with ideas and concepts. Within 24 hours, I had Jamie (Jamie Honce Productions), Watkins Flowers, Kerri (Cherry Chip) right along with us. Within 48 hours, I had the little touches ordered from HeyYoYo purchased and a trip planned to one of my favorite eclectic shops, Frank & Me in Clarkston. This was actually going to happen!

The night before the shoot, I called to check in with everyone involved and found out that Nicole and Allison, our model bride, were actually MAKING the little blue dress!!! Apparently they couldn’t find the perfect one, so they decided to literally make it happen. I was in awe of the talent and creativity that oozed from these fabulous people. Between the ahhh-mazing paper from Meant To Be Sent, to the beautiful video by Jamie Honce Productions, this was going to be a real treat.

The day of the shoot was HOT, beautiful, and magical. Watching these details come together was a true joy, especially since none of us had met in person to go over colors and details! This just goes to show that when you ask for the help of a true professional, they will handle it better than you could imagine. I am eternally grateful for the relationships that this industry, and Michigan in general, has blessed me with.

Please head over to Style Me Pretty and see what our hard work created. I would love to hear your comments! Over the next few days, I will be featuring some of my favorite elements from the shoot. I hope you enjoy looking at this as much as I did creating it.

XOXO,

Amanda

We sure hope so!

Bliss Weddings & Events has been nominated in the category of wedding planner for this year’s Vote 4 The Best contest, brought to you by WDIV TV. We are so thankful for the nomination and would love your support as we try to be the best in Southeast Michigan! Please take a minute to vote, rate and spread the word for us. Post the info on Facebook, tweet it out, forward an email. Tell your bridal party, your family, your friends…

Click on the photo below to vote!

Let’s get this rally started! Rock the vote 4 Bliss!

XOXO, Amanda

I just wanted to say a HUGE THANK YOU to a few people who have been spreading the love for Bliss!

First of all, I am so excited to tell everyone that I am the newest vendor blogger for The Knot Detroit! I was completely shocked that I was asked, but I am very thankful to Justine and Kathleen for asking and allowing me to be a part of something like this.

My second Thank You goes out to Marriage.com for featuring The Bliss Blog as their Daily Unveil this week! If you aren’t familiar with this fantastic website, head on over to check it out. The new site is close to being launched, but in the meantime, you can visit the Marriage.com blog for some really great material. From the website:

Marriage.com will be the online guide for couples. We will feature “best of the web” sites, products, and content—add an editorial layer—and present them in a user-friendly system. This content network will bring order to the overwhelming, unorganized relationship, wedding and marriage resources

Just to give you all a little idea about how awesome Sunday’s Marry Me In Milford bridal show is going to be, check out the deal below! You have to sign in at one of the tables to get the deal, so don’t miss out!

For more info on the show, click here.

Trust me. You DON’T want to miss this show! Only the most creative, compassionate and fantastic companies in the area will be there. Including yours truly. ;)

Bridal shows can be a bit intimidating if you haven’t been to one before, maybe even if you have. Make sure you come prepared. The best thing you can do is create a label with your name, wedding date, email address, phone number, and any other pertinent information you can provide. This will prevent you from having to fill out 18 bajillion information sheets and sign ins. You can thank me later, when you aren’t icing your sore hand! Also, wear comfy clothes and shoes, leave your purse in the car (but put your ID, some cash, credit card and a few checks in your pocket or in a friend’s purse, just in case.) and have a game plan. Who do you want to see? Which vendors are you looking to book? Keep an eye out for good deals, too. Good luck!

I am pleased to share that we’ve been featured as an expert in Brides Michigan’s latest issue! We were one of the contributing planners for their article “Creative Ceremony Ideas”! I was quoted in the first and second bullet points. Whenever I am asked to participate in an article or have a wedding featured, I can’t help but get all giddy. Please support Bliss by picking up the latest issue! (And check out page 170!)

A huge THANK YOU goes out to Aletha for sharing the scan of the article and Heather Lee for asking me to participate. :) We’ll be featured in two more magazines in the coming months, so make sure to check back often to see where you can find Bliss!

WeddingWire, the nation’s leading wedding technology company, just announced Bliss Weddings & Events has been selected to receive the 2010 Bride’s Choice Awards™ for Wedding Planners!

The annual Bride’s Choice Awards™ recognizes and celebrates excellence in quality and service within the wedding industry, as determined by recent reviews and extensive surveys from over 500,000 newlyweds.
Bliss is among the top five percent of all vendors in the WeddingWire community, which includes over 100,000 wedding professionals across the US and Canada. Awards were given to winners across 19 different service categories, from wedding venues to wedding photographers.

“We are excited to recognize and honor the success of the top wedding professionals within the WeddingWire Community” said Timothy Chi, WeddingWire’s Chief Executive Officer. “The annual Bride’s Choice Awards™ program has given us the unique opportunity to highlight the best wedding professionals in each region as reviewed by brides and grooms who have utilized their services in the past year.”

We are happy to announce that Bliss is among the very best Wedding Planners within the WeddingWire Network, which includes WeddingWire and Martha Stewart Weddings. We would like to thank our past newlyweds for nominating us for the 2010 Bride’s Choice Awards™.

I feel so overwhelmingly blessed to be surrounded by some of the kindest people in the wedding industry! It seems like everyone is updating their websites and blogs lately and we are fortunate enough to be featured as a preferred vendor by so many of our favorite people. I am beyond thankful for all of the kind words and support. These companies are the best. Thank you all! (Some of them have us listed as Your Bliss Weddings… which happens ALL THE TIME! Must be because of our website link, but that doesn’t matter to us. We are just thrilled to be mentioned!)

Castle Video Productions: Not only did Kristyn give us a lovely shout out on her favorite wedding planners page, she updated her beautiful website with a new layout, colors and gorgeous logo. Go check it out!

The Shooting Gallery: Dionne is a beautiful person, inside and out, and her photography doesn’t disappoint. Her style is gorgeous, the website is wonderful and her company is well known for quality design and above and beyond customer service. One of my favorites for sure.

Rondo Sting Quartet: Beautiful Music, Beautiful people. If you are looking for a fabulous musical addition to your wedidng day, head on over to their site. (and tell them we say hi!)

So In Love Invitations: We love Kristy and are so grateful that she is offering a very special deal to Bliss clients! You have to head on over to her site to find out what it is. ;)

Music Box Productions: We just got word that Bliss is featured as one of Music Box’s favorite vendors. We can’t wait to see their new website when it launches! Everyone at MB is a blast to work with. You will love them as much as I do, I am sure of it.

Plush Paper Creations: Who doesn’t love pretty paper products? I am, of course, head over hells for Kathleen and her gorgeous work and it is really sweet of her to include us on her links page. After at least a dozen Bliss couples have worked with and have given her a thumbs up, we know you will enjoy anything she creates for you.

Nicole Ladonne Photography: It is no secret that I am a huge fan of Nicole and her beautiful photography. I have been behind her camera and in front of the lens on more than one occasion and always leave with a smile on my face.While you are checking out her blog and site, make sure to take a look at her recent mini-sessions for Melinda & Jason! They were a Bliss couple back in 2007 who are expecting their first little munchkin very soon!

Jason Aten Photography: I haven’t known Jason for long, but I am thrilled that we had the chance to meet. He is a very sweet person with a talented eye. His photography captures peoples’ moments beautifully, be it weddings or every day life. Love him and his work!

Wed Michigan Blog: What could be better than having everything related to Michigan Weddings all in one place? Informative and easy to read.

K Holly Photography: Kristen is literally one of the sweetest people I have ever met and her photography is beautiful. I just wish we were closer, so I could see her more often!

Jamie Honce Productions: Talk about gorgeous work! It doesn’t matter if you know the people in his videos or not, you will probably need some tissues when you watch them. Heart warming, touching, and beautiful videography.

Croft & Campbell Photography: All I can really say is that Greg and Jen are seriously a blast to be around. I love their work, I love their style and I love them!

Riverbirch Lodge: (aka The Palmer Estates) By far one of the best venues in the area and one of my favorite places to work with. Laura and the rest of the RB crew in Hartland are fantastic and I am pleased as punch to be one of their preferred vendors.

I feel so lucky to be one of the featured vendors over on Wedding Chicks. WC is such a wonderful resource for planning, details and vendor suggestions!

Please check back as we update and add to this list. There are so many people that haven’t told us that we are listed, so we are excited to see who else has listed us as one of their favorite Michigan Wedding and Event Planners! If we missed your link to us, let me know and I will add you right away!

With our season winding down and so many newly engaged couples hitting the blogs to learn the ins and outs of the wedding world, I thought it would be great to revisit some of our favorite posts this week.

Just for fun, a a little something to pretty up this post, a sneak peak of Dawn & Rocky’s wedding from the uber talented Kristen Taylor Photography.

Today, I would LOVE to share some of the posts that other bloggers have created about what I do. I hope you enjoy getting to know a little more about me, my company and everything that we love to do. Get ready for lots of links! :)

The always fabulous, WedMichigan blog, recently did a feature about our brand new Etsy store! She also created a fun post about our company and a Real Wedding Feature about my very own Michigan wedding.

Lienne Stevens, the brilliant mind behind Think Splendid, a blog dedicated to social media and the wedding industry, featured us in her “Meet The Planner” series.

The fabulous Aletha Vandermaas, of Pearls Events, has been sweet enough to talk about us on more than one occasion. The first is published on the MWEP (Michigan Wedding & Event Professionals) blog. MWEP is a group of wedding and event pros spread out across the state of Michigan. If you are looking for a great vendor to add to your wedding day team, this is a great place to check.

Aletha also created a few other posts featuring us on the Pearls Events Blog.

Here are a few more of our many features and posts:

Feature on Jason Aten Photography Blog

Feature in Brides Michigan Magazine