Vintage bridal beauty...

No matter the date...

a bride is always beautiful!

I'm in love with her veil!

...and because of the death of the absolutely stunning Liz Taylor... I had to post this pic. It's Liz at her first wedding to Conrad Hilton in 1950 via Life Magazine. Look at her tiny little waist!

"Prom" in the Hangar... March, 2011 -Mesa, AZ

So.... the funnest thing I've done in a loooong time!

Did you see the "hangar" part?

{yyyyeeessss!}

I got the call from some friends who decided to have an "adult" prom in their hangar and asked if I could do something "simple" to dress it up.

{this party had it all: corsages, prom king/queen & everything!}

I didn't have a very BIG budget, so I needed to make some big statements ...

rather than have ALOT of stuff everywhere.

I wanted it to be elegant, but still have the fun "prom" feel.

I hung 10 yard increments of

sheer silver fabric all over.

I hung lights ... and several chandeliers.

This is a look at the food area... since I didn't know the caterer, I left her a blank slate with plain black linens and decided hanging these large prints of chandeliers over each made a big enough statement. The cute dead tree wrapped in twinkle lights looked really great, too.

The salads and desserts were on those tables.

They also hired a Brazilian BBQ guy who grilled meat just outside the door...

the guests were well-fed, for sure! The linens were simple, too.

{yes! I said 'simple' --not usually a word that rolls off my tongue!}

I did black & white w/some stripe.

The centerpieces were black & white candelabras.

You can see how nice the silver fabric looked when the lights went down.

{gorgeous}

The "stars" of the show was, of course,

the plane & helicopter.

The plane is absolutely stunning, the colors are perfect!

I found myself kinda giggling at the idea that my biggest "wow" factor was an airplane.

{I guess I really never thought about how 'pretty' they are.}

Guests took their "prom" pictures next to the prop and wing.

Both the helicopter & airplane were beautiful in this party...

...and this hangar doesn't lack for anything anyway... ;)

Tryon Wedding March 12, 2011

Everytime I do a wedding or reception,

I learn new things.

I absolutely love what I do!

I love the creative outlet it gives me, and the attention to detail that I get to show. I love to see the bride when she finally gets to see what's been in my head all along...

especially since it's not always conveyed easily.

I love to watch the people at the wedding enjoying each other!

I get all sorts of rewards for what I do.

I did pieces of this wedding for a friend who was in desperate need.

There's always that thing called a budget that sometimes dictates what you get and what you don't.

{sad, but reality...ugh!}

I did the entry/sign-in table...

nothing crazy...just stuff I have - but I love that I have these

"go-to" pieces.

I just recently bought this super tall stand... it can house about anything from chandeliers, to mirrors, etc. Today it held a long piece of fun tin.

This budget didn't include an expensive venue,

instead they opted for the cultural hall.

I wanted to "hide" the permanent basketball hoop

so I hung this tall curtain up with my lighting posts.

We did the lighting in here, too -

there's something magical and fun about that light tent!

It can make anything seem like your transformed to another space!

Of course, there were lots of chandeliers, too!

I bought the smaller posts quite awhile ago

and hadn't had a chance to use them yet...

they hold a large bouquet quite nicely

and at an unexpected height!

The receiving line stood here...

I changed out the canopy on the awning to white,

added the fun toole and ribbon.

The bride adored it!

I decorated the food area,

the drink/dessert area, the receiving line area,

and hung the lighting.

I also added curtains along the walls

where the standard "padding" is so we could hide how cute that is (not).

The bride wanted to add stars...so she added the silver cut outs.

The funniest part of this party was that I didn't really have control over alot of it. I didn't even know the true color of blue that was being used on the tables or what the centerpieces were really going to look like. I'm USED to having control over all of it -even if it's being catered by an outside vendor. I usually have alot of input on the food and choices of it. For sure how we'll serve it. However, this time I didn't.

The cute little caterer they used as a family friend who (to her credit!) knew exactly what she wanted and had done it her "old school" way for 30+ years.

She had a hard time seeing my vision and

didn't like the serving pieces I chose very well.

She felt like she needed to teach me how to do it "right". I loved her for it... and we left as friends. Although, I'll be honest... I'm glad I'm a little crazy in the way I decorate! I'm more than happy that I don't mind spending extra time refilling the food table several times throughout the party in exchange for a smaller, more fun serving bowl. I'm glad there's nothing but drama...

and for the most part -- that's it's not your

mama's reception.