A Little Something Extra

Photo courtesy of MondeDesign on Etsy

There are so many special elements that you can incorporate into your big day to make it your own. One of my favorites is a wedding dress label that can be sewn into your beautiful gown. There are so many different ways to design these whether it be your new initials and your wedding date or a special message remembering someone who may have passed, the opportunities are endless. A lot of girls get it sewn in blue so that it can also be used as their something blue. There are tons of shops on ETSY that design these labels, and they are all beautiful and very reasonably priced. Enjoy!
xo-
Kate

Postcard Guest Book

Photo courtesy of www.blueskypapers.com

I must give credit where credit is due, so I want to give a big shout out to my cousin Ashely who shared this idea with me while we were on vacay at the beach! Couples are always asking me for clever ideas for a guest book that isn't your typical sign in book, and while their are TONS of ideas out there I had never heard of this cute one. Creating a postcard guest book is easy. You provide postcards that are already addressed to the happy couple so that your guests can write them a special message or words of advice. Then your guests put the completed postcards into a basket, a jar, or something like that. At the end of the night someone responsible (maybe your mom, dad, aunt, etc...) will take them and mail one postcard to the couple daily or weekly whatever you choose, so you have a special little something coming in the mail for you to look forward to. You can then either take the postcards and create your own book or think of a clever way to save them! I just thought that this was different, cute, and fun to continue to get reminders from your big day! What are you doing or what have you done for your guest book?
Cheers!

Welcome to I Do Details Michelle and John!

Words can't explain how excited I am to announce that Michelle (my wonderful assistant and BF) is ENGAGED!!! It happened last week and I am so excited! We have already begun planning and it is going to be a wonderful day that really showcases the love that John and Michelle share with one another.
Michelle had plans to meet up with her sister and another girlfriend for drinks at Vivace. There was a knock on the door and when she opened the door, John was there with a newspaper tucked under his arm. That's not totally unusual because Michelle loves to read USA Today (in her eyes it's totally the People magazine of newspapers) and he'll pick one up for her every now and then and drop it off.

So she sees him and thinks he just came by to say "hi" and drop off the paper. He opens the paper up to show her and it says "Today's the big day! Will Michelle Payne Say Yes?" She started SCREAMING and shrieking and then he got down on one knee and asked if she would marry him and of course she said YES! She asked him if her family knew and then he told her that her sister Kristen was waiting outside the door to capture it all on camera! She came in and they had champagne and took a million photos while she just tried to take it all in ...
Her sister and John suggested that they go down to Vivace to celebrate. As she walked into Vivace John's mom immediately comes up to her and as she was hugging her, she saw all of her friends,her friends hubbies, his friends, and her family, it was AMAZING. He had organized for everyone to be there to celebrate! What a proposal!
Michelle and John are most looking forward to waking up next to each other everyday and eventually starting a family! 
Congrats Michelle and John, I can't wait for your big day!!
xoxo-
Kate 

Fourth of July Treat

I am getting ready to host a big Fourth of July party for my family at the beach and I am always looking for festive ideas to incorporate into the party! I can't wait to share with you everything that we are doing and pics, but it will have to be after the Fourth because I want to keep it a surprise for the fam! My aunt found this great website called Glorious Treats and there are all sorts of yummy recipes on there! Here are two that are just adorable additions to any Fourth of July party!
                                     4th of July Cupcakes in a Jar

4th of July Flag Cake

A Special Teacher Celebration!

The delicious Wowee Pops from Wow Factor Cakes!

While all jobs have their challenges, I think that teaching is one of the most challenging but yet rewarding jobs that you can have. It takes a special person to be a teacher. With the school year being over, I thought that it would be fun to celebrate with a dinner party honoring my teacher friends! We had a blast sharing stories and celebrating wonderful people! Here are a few pics from the dinner party!
xoxo-
Kate

The beautiful menu's from Nuage Mulberry.

The place settings!



It has been a sweet year...candy bar!

The table...

Welcome Michelle!

I Do Details Events is super excited to welcome Michelle to the team! Michelle is the best assistant ever and I couldn't do these events without her! After our most recent event,  we chatted about Michelle blogging about her experience from a different perspective. So with no further adieu here is her blog post...enjoy!
Day One as an I Do Details Assistant:

The day began with Kate and I praying that we’d beat the race traffic while heading to Lake Norman for Jennifer and Ryan’s big day. Kate is a stickler for being on time, so we left with plenty of time to spare! And good thing too, as we definitely hit some traffic and managed to arrive right on time (number one awesome thing about Kate: her punctuality).
The second we stepped out of the car at the lake, I knew I was in trouble. The Charlotte humidity hit me like a sledge hammer as the first beads of sweat dripped down my face…and it was only 1:00 p.m. I had five more hours of set-up to get through. Luckily, Jennifer has amazing parents and they have amazing friends, who made sure we always had water and a cool place to change before the wedding (number two awesome thing about Kate: she knows I’m heat-challenged).
I was in charge of the groomsmen and thought it would be an easy job! It was…until one of the groomsmen didn’t come out of the bathroom until 10 seconds before he was due to walk down the aisle! I had rounded every one of those groomsmen up, but he slipped out of line without my knowledge. Luckily, he made it on time…crisis averted.
I felt especially important when it was time to cut the cake and for the Father of the Bride to give his toast. As the FOB geared up for his big moment, we suddenly realized that he had no microphone. I immediately tried to sprint towards the stage, but was thwarted by a mass of 200 people gathering around the cake. After saying “Excuse me, pardon me” at least 100 times, I made it…just in time for one of the band members to tell me he didn’t think the cordless mike would work at the back of the tent. It was a risk I had to take…and luckily, the mike worked perfectly (number three awesome thing about Kate: she appreciates my take-charge attitude that helped in this situation).
One thing about Kate is that she NEVER complains about her job as a wedding planner because she absolutely LOVES it. Whenever I ask her about the weddings, she goes into great detail to describe the various elements of the day (all the amazing decorative details, a potential mishap prevented by Ms. I Do Details herself, or the way a FOB included her in his toast). She has never once explained that you will lose all feeling in your feet, that your pedicure is bound to get chipped, or that when you tell the groomsmen not to lock their knees, you should remind yourself of that fact too. However, Kate did prepare me for the chills you get when you watch the groom as he sees his bride for the first time and the elation you experience after you have helped make a couple’s dream wedding come true!
Looking forward to sharing more about my experiences in future blog posts!
xoxo- Michelle

DIY:Chalkboard Signs

Check out my link on Weddzilla today about DIY Chalkboard Signs!
 http://blog.weddzilla.com/topics/diy/diy-wedding-trend-chalkboard-signs/
xo-
Kate

Welcome to I Do Details Amanda and Michael!!

I am so excited to welcome Amanda and Michael to the I Do Details family! Amanda and Michael met through Lindsay and Brandon (yay for "I Do Details" couples!) and started dating in the summer of 2008.
This past March, Amanda was given a little “to-do” list on a Friday afternoon, which Michael claimed was for her birthday. She was instructed to follow directions on the letter, stick to the timeline, and under no circumstances return home. At 3:00 she left work to head to the mall, where she was to choose a cocktail dress (he had Lindsay go earlier in the week to pick out 3 dresses for her, and she got to pick one of them to wear that evening) and was treated to a mani/pedi. After getting her nails done, she was told that she was allowed to come back home, and found a trail of rose petals leading to the door, where Amanda found Michael in a suit and tie standing amidst a million rose petals and candles. It was AWESOME!!!
After she said yes, the first thing she wanted to do was take a picture of the scene when he informed her that they were being filmed!!! He had gotten a video camera to document the purchase of the ring, the ‘talk’ with my father, and the proposal! SO PRECIOUS! Amanda's parents live less than 10 minutes from them so Michael set up a town car, and they headed over to tell her mother in person. Then they had dinner downtown just the two of them. The entire evening was PERFECT- the best night of her life!!!! I mean what an amazing proposal!!!
Amanda and Michael are most excited about sharing the rest of their lives together, and having unconditional love and commitment to each other. They are really looking forward to becoming "The Cardani's" and starting their own family.
I am so excited for their big day in April at The Ritz Carlton Uptown!
Cheers to an amazing couple!
xo-
Kate

Laura and Jeff's AMAZING Save the Date!

When I opened my email this morning I got the cutest email from one of my brides Laura, passing along the link to their save the date. As soon as I clicked on the link and began watching, I got so excited for their big day in October! You can just tell how in love they are, and what a creative save the date! I hope you enjoy this as much as I did and it really goes to show you that anything is possible when you use your creativity!
Cheers to Laura and Jeff!
Kate

Wine Tasting Party

This past weekend some of my friends and I had an absolute blast doing a mini wine tasting party! This was our first one and as we were doing it I thought about how much fun it would be for a shower or a co-ed engagement party! You could have guests bring gifts to help the couple entertain or bring a second bottle of wine to help the couple start their collection.
Here is how we did it:

Every couple brought a $20 or less bottle of red wine.
The couple put's it in a numbered bag and tie's it shut.
Place tasting cups next to each bottle of wine.

The table is ready for the tasting to begin!
Score cards are on table with numbers, notes, and a place to rank the wine.
Oyster crackers in little cups to help cleanse your palate.

The boy's doing some tasting!



Cheers!

The winner's!
Cheers!




 

Always a bridesmaid, never a bride...

We have all heard this saying many times before and kind of laugh it off. A friend of mine Sara who currently works for Weddzilla wrote an incredible article for Glamour talking about if it is really that bad to always be the bridesmaid and never a bride! It is a must read, so check it out here!
Enjoy!
Kate

Construction Themed Birthday Party!

Today I had the privilege of being on Charlotte Today's segment on birthday parties on a budget! We had a $200 budget to create a birthday party for ten kids. We had to include a cake or cupcakes, 1 or 2 activities, and a favor. Here is what I came up with and my budget break down...Enjoy! Check out the story here.



Cake: Dirt cake in a Dump Truck
Pudding, Chocolate cookies, chocolate cake mix, and gummy worms from Wal-Mart= $6.36
Total= $6.36



Favors: Lego's in a Box
Tub of Lego's from Wal-Mart= $16.00
Favor boxes from Michael's= $5.99
Total= $21.99



Activities: Painting Dump Trucks and Making Tool Boxes
Wooden dump trucks from Michael's= $10.00
Three paint sets= $3.00
12 Tool Boxes from Oriental Trading= $7.99
Total= $20.99



Game: Digging for Dump Trucks
Dump trucks from Party City= $5.90
Shovel from The Dollar Store= $1.07
Total= $6.97

Decorations:
Cups, napkins, and spoons from Wal-Mart= $5.00
Juice Boxes from Wal-Mart= $1.97
12 Construction Hats from Oriental Trading= $5.99
Fabric table cloth from Wal-mart= $8
Centerpiece saw dust= $3.45
Invitations by Nuage Mulberry= $25.00
Construction templates and decorations from Plum Party= $15.00
Total= $64.41

Birthday Party Total: $120.72

The Royal Wedding!

Check out my blog post on Weddzilla today about the Royal Wedding! Are you having a viewing party?? If so, share your thoughts and ideas!
Cheers!
Kate

Easter Bunny Cupcakes

                                           
It is always fun to add a little something special to your holiday table. Check out this adorable recipe from Family Fun for Easter Bunny cupcakes! I have made these before and have to say they take some time to do, but they are super cute! Helpful hints: I skipped the coconut and just used white frosting. I also cut mini marshmallows in half instead of the big ones and used chocolate sprinkles for the whiskers. Enjoy!
xo-
Kate

Weddzilla Post

Check out my post on Weddzilla today about S'mores!
Happy Wednesday!
Kate

Hotel Sierra

Yesterday I had the privilege of meeting with Sarah from the new Hotel Sierra in Charlotte! It is beautiful! From the moment that you walk in you feel the swanky, modern vibe and it is carried out in the bar and the guest suites. Their event level has a great event space, soft seating lounge area, and their rooftop pool even has a clear dance floor that can be rented to cover the pool which would be great for a cocktail party, reception or even ceremony. Be sure to check out the new Hotel Sierra when you are Uptown!
Cheers!
Kate

Gean and Joe's Wedding!

I can't even begin to tell you how excited I was when I got the Facebook message from Lindsey Lee that the photos from Gean and Joe's wedding were up on her blog! They are amazing and I just had to share them with you! Lindsey and her husband Joe are super talented and were such a pleasure to work with. Wait until you see the slide show, Gean and Joe just look so happy and in love! Be sure to check them out on her blog.
Cheers!
Kate

Amazing Giveaway!

                  
I am sooooo excited to let you in on a little secret! One of my favorites Erin McDermott from Erin McDermott Jewelry is having an awesome giveaway! Follow this link to District Weddings and enter to win up to 6 pieces of Erin McDermott Jewelry!!! I know what you're thinking, AMAZING right?! So go check it out and good luck!
xo-
Kate

Fireflies anyone?

My friends are the greatest, and they are always looking out for me! That is why I was so excited when a friend of mine emailed me some adorable pictures from a trip that her and her fiance were on. She knows that I am always looking for inspiration, and she thought that this picture would provide some and I couldn't agree more. After working on a couple of outdoor weddings this year, I love the idea of mason jars, candles, tea lights, big sticks, fabric, and lace, just to name a few! When I got this picture it immediately made me think of all of those things! It also made me think of an invite that I had seen on Minted, and took me back to one of my favorite elegant but yet rustic weddings of a good friend of mine. So here they are for your viewing pleasure...

Picture from Emily with mason jars and tea lights...LOVE how they are hung!

I have always loved this invite from Minted.com

Beautiful centerpieces with tealights from Erin's Wedding!
Holland Photography

xo-
Kate

Check out my post on Weddzilla!

It is Tuesday, and that means that my blog post is up on Weddzilla today! Be sure to check it out...
http://blog.weddzilla.com/topics/getting-engaged/im-engaged-now-what/

Cheers!
Kate