Blushing Bridal Dinner Event

A few months ago I was strolling around our wonderful downtown area here in Danville and passed by this sweet bridal boutique, Brides on Hartz, and this idea instantly popped in my head of how I could collaborate with them. I knew a bridal event was a must and I was determined to make it happen! 

I loved the sweet simplicity of their bridal store and I found their selection of wedding gowns to cover all styles, shapes, and sizes without feeling overwhelming. I have been in countless bridal boutiques looking at wedding gowns with brides of mine and it is easy to feel inundated with opinions and options for the brides but at this boutique everything about it felt calm, light, and easy. 

Upon reaching out to owners Ashleigh and Marissa it was evident that their personalities spoke volumes for their boutique and the ambiance it put forward. These ladies are kind, relaxed, and very knowledgeable of this industry and what they have to offer. I had the pleasure of sitting down with both of them and presenting my idea of hosting a pop-up dinner for 8 local brides-to-be to pamper them, showcase our work as a Wedding Planner and a bridal gown boutique, and help get our companies information out in the wedding community. I was thrilled when these ladies loved my idea and welcomed it with open arms! ​We very quickly started marketing this event and used Instagram to post about the “Enter-to-Win” event. We were so surprised by the immediate interest and participation by so many local brides! We knew it was going to be difficult to narrow the list down to just eight lucky winners.

Since this event was all about local brides, I loved the idea of working with local women in the industry, also. As I started to put some feelers out for any female vendors who would like to participate I was so overjoyed by all of the positive responses I received! I welcomed anyone and everyone who wanted to partner on this fun and unique event because I knew that we all would benefit in our own way whether it was for networking purposes, for publicity, for gaining business from attendees, or even just for getting some great experience under their belt. I was shocked that by the time the event rolled around we had 10 of us working together to make this special event happen!

Our amazing florals and the first vendor to get onboard with this event is the amazing florist, Jennifer, owner of Busy Bees Floral Design. From the start Jennifer just understood my vision. We would discuss colors, ambiance, and the overall ‘feel’ I wanted for the event and she took the ball and ran with. Her arrangements and little floral touches throughout the event far exceeded my initial vision and expectations! Jennifer has such a beautiful and classic style that has a way of creating florals that feel so natural and organic yet perfectly composed and elegant in every way. When she and I chatted about this event I told her that I was envisioning a simple blossom arrangement that felt classic and organic and let the blush and pink tones shine. She and I joke that she went along with my “blossom branch” idea but ultimately she knew that ‘simple’ just wouldn’t suffice! Her creations from the front entrance to the table-top centerpiece to the dessert table arrangement and every small flower, vine, and branch throughout the event created the most romantic feel.

When designing the look of the main dining table I loved the idea of a simple farm table but to add an elegant and softer appearance to it I added a taupe cheese-cloth table runner. I draped the runner so that it had soft billowy bunches and hung well past the table creating soft puddles on the floor beneath it. I knew that I wanted to incorporate smaller bud vases and candles so that the table felt fully-designed and complete. For me, all of the little detailed elements make for a composed look. With tall taper candles in classic short crystal holders paired with the variety of rose gold votives – it created a beautiful balance of high and low and classic and more modern all combined in one cohesive look. The addition of the bud vases added texture and color, too. I love how the sweet bud vases were a variety of three different glass styles with no two arrangements alike; it’s these details that I love and fully appreciate!

To complete the table I knew that I had to use one of my favorite lifestyle rental companies, Theoni Collection. Their selection of rentals is outstanding and is definitely my style. Their entire team is so friendly, knowledgeable and wonderful to work with – which is a great added bonus!

I knew the moment that I saw their Haviland china in orange that I was going to use that as my inspiration piece. From there it was so easy to pick glassware and flatware and it would set the tone for the entire event. The peachy china, the lacey chargers, the vintage-inspired and unique glassware, and the fabulous brushed gold flatware made the entire table pop!

As this event continued to grow and unfold and the vendor list started adding up, I had the pleasure of working with some amazing talent that I otherwise may not have had the chance to meet! 

The wonderful Lorin from Letterly created each and every attendees seating card along with thank you tags displaying her outstanding caligraphy talents. We loved showcasing her work on both of her wonderful signs, also! Her work is so personal and add the sweetest touch to any event!

We were so lucky to have an amazing hair and makeup team help us with our beautiful styled photoshoot that we did months before the event to help get the hype started! ​Jennifer created the spectacular floral crown for our model and it was the crown that helped set the tone for the colors, theme, and florals that would be seen later on at the actual Blushing Bridal Dinner event.

​The ladies from Status Salon have immense talent and beyond that, they are all such wonderful women! After our fun photoshoot the Status women offered to do the hair and makeup for the other participating vendors and a beauty bar for the Brides-to-Be that were attending the event. To say that these women are talented might be an understatement! From their quick and effortless up-do’s to their flawless make-up application, they are not only efficient with crazy skills they are really in-tune with whom they’re doing hair and makeup for without even knowing them. They see a beautiful blank canvas and enhance it so naturally and beautifully. I was beyond impressed with my gorgeous braided up-do that they gave me for the event which was perfectly finished-off with a floral comb by Busy Bees Floral Design!

It was a surprise for the lucky brides to get their hair and make-up done at this dinner and they were all so thrilled to be pampered! 

The talent of our vendors did not stop there! We had an incredible dinner provided by Simple Elegance Catering that was so good and beautifully plated and presented, also! I know not only did the brides rave about the food but the vendors were eating everything up, too. Simple Elegance is great at creating custom menus and keeping all ingredients fresh and seasonal.

We had a variety of delicious bite-sized desserts provided by Desserts by Sabina complete with an outstanding two-tier cake with gold foil and fresh flowers to match the event! Sabina’s desserts have so much attention to detail making each dessert so customized to the events theme. Both the Brides and vendors were taking boxes of goodies home to enjoy! ​

 Our dessert table was made beautiful by Nicole, the owner of Lifted Balloons. I have been a big fan of Lifted Balloons for quite some time now because I loved Nicole’s modern and unique take on all things balloons and garlands. She has pushed the old balloon arches out of the way and has presented the event industry with balloon waterfalls, over-sized balloons with gorgeous handmade tassels cascading down, and the sweetest paper garlands that add such a sweet touch to any decor! Her gorgeous work elevated our dessert table and enhanced the decor perfectly!

Both the 8 lucky brides as well as all of the amazing vendors had so much fun with this special evening event and we are all so lucky to have it perfectly captured by the amazingly talented Adriana Klas from Adriana Klas Photography. Adriana was the beautiful photographer behind our styled shoot as well as the Blushing Bridal Dinner and there are not enough words to describe her tremendous talent. Working with her has been such a pleasure and getting to know her and her work in this industry has been so much fun! Adriana puts each and every client of hers at ease with her sweet and funny disposition. 

When I came up with this bridal dinner idea I never could have imagined how truly wonderful it would turn out. I was blown-away by the talent of all participating vendors. I was overjoyed with how wonderfully and cohesively everyone worked together and I was beyond thrilled with how beautiful it turned out.

Every one of the brides who attended was so lovely and kind and more importantly, they were appreciative and grateful to have won such a fun night of pampering! We wanted to make sure that these ladies could have a night away from the stress of wedding-planning and meet some vendors that might be able to help them on their big day, too! From hair and make-up, to playing dress-up with veils, and sitting down for a catered dinner, these ladies really got to let-loose! They gushed over this event and from their smiles and laughter, it was heart-warming to see them all bond and enjoy themselves over this event that I created.