Howerton+Wooten Events Blog. The musings of a Maryland Wedding and Event Planner

I Love This Dress: Penelope Cruz in Vintage Balmain

For a girl that loves wedding, the red carpet at the Academy Awards is always pure eye candy.

Any bride could have been swept away by the beautiful gowns that graced the Kodak Theatre this year.  Just about all of them inspired my typical tears -- I mean, who didn't love Taraji P. Henson in Roberto Cavalli.  That sista worked it!

But I swear that the 2009 wedding season is all about vintage glamour, so my absolute favorite for 2009 was the vintage Balmain gown worn by Penelope Cruz.  It fit her so well and the lacy details were hopelessly romantic.  Can't you just see a bride in this gown with a long mantilla veil?

 

Have a fabulous weekend!

Love & Soul Always, Kay

Wedding Give-Away Goodness!

 

 

Jaime of It's a Jaime Thing is offering her first ever Give-Away to four of her readers!  Readers and brides will have an opportunity to win a signed copy of the book, "Intimate Weddings" by author Christina Friedrichsen!  Check it out for more information!

 

Shanika Butts of SJB Weddings & Events is also offering a wedding giveaway for the first time!  Carolina Brides can enter to win a Weekend Wedding Coordination Package for a 2009 wedding by sharing their wedding proposal story.  Check out this post for more information.

 

 

 

A Disney Wedding is giving away the Nirvana Organizer compliments of Zen Class Travel.  This carry-on bag is perfect for air travel to that perfect honeymoon spot!  Check it out here!

 

 

 

 

Christy at Junebug Weddings is giving away an iPOD Nano to a randomly-selected reader that shares info about his or her wedding songs.  This give-away ends next Friday.

 

 

 

The ladies at Elizabeth Anne Designs is hosting a 16×20″ Canvas Print Giveaway to 3 lucky wedding parties!  These canvas prints are perfect for printing wedding photos or for displaying an elegant portrait of the bride and groom as part of your Wedding decorations!

 

 

 

 

 

And finally, Mark Ayoub Photography is giving away an entire wedding photography package!  To enter the contest, send them your proposal story or best date story to contest@itakememories.com.  Mark and Rose will read through each story and pick their favorite one!  I don’t recommend sitting on this one too long – The deadline is February 28, 2009 at 12:00 a.m. Pacific Standard Time.

 

Take care and good luck!

 

Love & Soul Always, Kay

 

Creative Ceremony Set-Ups

Yesterday, I published a post about my field trip to Room Service Rental.

There are a ton of fun ways to use rental furniture throughout your wedding day, but the picture that Room Service Rental recently sent me is definitely one of my new favorites.

 

Using the ottomans in a format similar to the picture above allows you to create a ceremony setting that is hip, stylish and impactful for each wedding guest.  And, I love, love the petals -- it reminds me of the first "Yellow Brick Road" scene from the Wizard of Oz.  BTW: I would remiss if I didn't mention that this first photo comes from the Karen Tran Florals blog.  Check it out.  There is plenty of floral goodness!

 

 

Another ceremony set-up that I love is the "ceremony in the round."  It's so intimate and everyone is pretty much guaranteed a good seat.  Here is a picture of a "ceremony in the round" that I found on Green Orchid Events blog..

 

 

 

 

This small beach wedding offers guest seating on each side of the bride and groom.

 

 

 

If your wedding ceremony is taking place in an area that doesn't allow enough space for a traditional set-up.  You can break up the seating to create a modified "chevron-style" set-up.

 

 

How do you plan to set-up your wedding ceremony?

 

Love & Soul Always, Kay

 

Room Service Furniture and Event Rentals

Earlier last month, I was invited to stop by the Room Service Furniture and Event Rental showroom and wharehouse. 

As soon as you arrive into the showroom, you are taken into a room similar to a "decor playroom"  This room allows you to play around with the furniture, the pillows, and other accessories that will help you make the furniture decor your own.

 

Furniture like this straight back loveseat can be fitted with slipcovers of various colors.  My favorite is the pomegranate!  It has such a rich feel.

 

If you are interested in adding more variety to your furniture set-up, Room Service offers a large inventory of pillow covers for the pillow inserts.

If your party or event has a more relaxed feel, Room Service has a line of furniture made with rattan.

If you put all of the pieces of this sectional together, you can probably accommodate up to 12 party guests.

 

I thought that the lamps in their inventory were very fun.  They offer a little glam to your decor.

 

You can light up this bar with just about any color and you can put your monogram or your company logo on front.

If you need to rent furniture for your reception or party, give Heidi at Room Service a call at (301) 772-7772.  I am sure that she can help you out with what you need.

 

Love & Soul Always, Kay

 

 

It's Been a Banner Month for Us on the Smart Planner™!

Last week we enjoyed the honor of being featured in the Work/Life Balance series on The Smart Planner™ blog last week.  Did I tell you about that?  You have to check it out.

 

This series is definitely a MUST READ for all of the hard-working professionals out there (parents and child-free), and I am grateful to its talented editor, Liene Stevens, for doing it.

 

Here is part 1 of our interview.

Here is part 2 of our interview.

 

 

Then, much to my surprise, we are featured on the Smart Planner again today!  This time we are included in a series titled, “Meet the Planners.”

For those of you that may not be aware of the Smart Planner, it is an incredibly valuable resource blog for wedding industry professionals, business owners, brides, and grooms.

Check it out.  I feel like such a “cool kid” today.

Love & Soul Always, Kay

I Love This Dress! Athena Gown

 

I love this empire waist dress.  It is a part of the spring 2009 bridal line of the SarahSeven shop on Etsy.

This gown is made of white silk chiffon, and it reminds me of old hollywood glamour.  In fact, that is how I would describe all of her designs. The dress is pleated at the bust and gathered under the bust straight down.

Important Note: She makes these dresses off of recycled bustiers so they are very sturdy and you would be SHOCKED at how well they stay up.

According to the site, the dress is a custom order to fit your measurements, so it will take a minimum six months to complete the order.

Let me know what you think.

Love & Soul Always, Kay

(Photo: Etsy.com)

2009 Bride’s Choice Awards Winner

We love taking good care of our brides and grooms, and it shows!

WeddingWire recently announced that Howerton+Wooten Events was awarded the 2009 Bride’s Choice Awards™!

This award recognizes the top 3% of vendors from the WeddingWire Network who demonstrate excellent quality of service, responsiveness, professionalism, value of cost and flexibility.

 

WeddingWire’s vendor community includes more than 100,000 wedding vendors from across the United States – This means that Howerton+Wooten Events is considered one of the best wedding planning companies in the Washington DC metropolitan area.  Wahoo!

Unlike other awards in which winners are selected by the company, the Bride’s Choice Awards are determined exclusively by recent newlyweds through surveys and reviews. ** Kinda like the People's Choice Awards, which is pretty darn cool **

All of us at Howerton+Wooten Events are truly grateful to our past clients who provided WeddingWire with such heartfelt reviews about us – it really means a lot to us.

Love & Soul Always, Kay

Melissa Sweet Trunk Show at Carines Bridal Atelier

Carine's Bridal Atelier is hosting a Melissa Sweet Trunk Show in a few weeks!

During the trunk show, Carines Bridal Atelier will show approximately 30 gowns that are not normally available in the store.

Carine's Bridal Atelier offers a 10% discount off any Jenny Lee gown purchased during the show weekend.  Trunk show viewings are by appointment only.

Melissa Sweet gowns are perfect for young, flirty, and girly brides.  Her variety of designs features romantic and sweet characteristics from ruffles to polka dots.

 

Carine’s Bridal Atelier is open Monday through Friday from 11:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m. and Saturdays from 11:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.  All viewings are by appointment only. 

(Photo: Priscilla of Boston)

Comments In Honor of Annie

Today would have been my sister-in-law, Annie Howerton’s 39th birthday.

In honor of her birthday, my siblings and I (and our children) have decided to come together to donate a dollar for every comment that this blog receives between today and Saturday, February 21, 2009.

Because Annie was always so passionate about the empowerment of women, we have decided that the money donated will go to the House of Ruth.

The House of Ruth helps women, children and families in greatest need and with very limited resources to build safe, stable lives and achieve their highest potential.  They serve women, children and families who are striving to overcome domestic violence, homelessness, mental health disorders and substance abuse. 

 

At their 13 locations in Washington, DC, House of Ruth works with more than 300 women and 300 children every day.

Thank you so much for helping us help others in Annie's honor.

Love & Soul Always, Kay

(Photo: AJ Wedding Photography)

One-Minute Survey for Internet Savvy Brides

I know that you have heard it before, but this survey only takes minute.  It really does.

Please click on the link below and answer nine (9) quick, easy questions about different design aspects of wedding vendor websites.

http://www.questionpro.com/akira/TakeSurvey?id=1152739

We won't record anything about you other than your state or country of residence.  Heck, we don't even ask for your email address, so you don't have to worry about the crazy spam stuff.

You will likely see this link on lots of other blogs and sites - this survey is being shared all over the blog-o-sphere so please take the survey only once.

If you have additional comments on the subject, please feel free to email me with those and I will share them with the other wedding vendors who are participating!

All of us in the wedding planning blog-o-sphere can't wait to hear what you have to say!

Love & Soul Always, Kay