A local wedding shop had these helpful wedding tips!

Here are my thoughts on the above tips:

Wedding Tip #1- I am a huge fan of both binders, you can use plastic covers to keep all documents on each part of your day together, as well be being able to flip through all your information very easily. I also love expandable files for keeping all your information together, because no matter the size you can slip everything into its own little pocket. Either one - the main idea is to keep all your information together in one place so if you are at the bakery, you have the address for the reception and the name of your florist all in one place!

Wedding Tip #2- For keeping payments organized, I like to use a spread sheet- you can have one column for what was initially paid, a  column for what is left to be paid and a column for when it is due. This also works well if you do your budget in a spreadsheet and then compare that to what is actually being spent.

Wedding Tip #3- I am actually not a fan of this, I think a few folders in your email are okay to use because having to check more than one email account is not always the easiest thing to manage.

Wedding Tip #4- I always have a contact sheet of all the vendors for an event in my binder for an event, but more and more I putting them into my phone once I talk to them. It is just so much easier to look them up in my contacts on my phone than search for the sheet with their number. (have the sheet for anyone assisting you though!)

Wedding Tip #5- Sending Thank You’s are very important and if this tip helps you to get them sent, it is good to do. Anything you can do to make sure they get sent in a timely fashion- do it. I tend to say the sooner you do them, the more likely they will get done.

Wedding Tip #6- I try to get vendors are paid before the day of the wedding but if that is not possible, then having envelopes and their payments in them is very important as this will make sure they are properly paid and taken care of instead of having someone scramble to find a check book and write out a check when they should be enjoying themselves.

Wedding Tip #7- I always encourage snacks for the wedding party as it there is no easier way to make your wedding party cranky than to have them not eat the entire day of your event. I think it is important to make sure there is a person designated to get this picked up and cleaned up so your wedding party does not have to worry one bit about it.

I hope these further explanations of the tips above have helped in thinking about little items you  need to think of to have a great wedding day! Have an awesome wedding week!

Filed under: Devotion to Detail, inspiration, planning, wedding tip, weddings by alison
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 Linens are also a great way of bring in a ton of color into your reception hall without breaking the bank as well, as they are either provided by the location or rented. This is a way of customizing the space to your event, while also getting to set how formal or fun the wedding reception is to be. I think adding a punch of color with the chair ties is one of the easiest decorating choices and a little unexpected formality as well.

I would check with Spielman’s Event Services  (www.spielmans.com) in Cedar Rapids, Iowa to see what linen options they can get for you to play up your color scheme for your Iowa weddings as well as what other fun linen options they have for your wedding reception. I have worked with them on several occasions and have enjoyed their professionalism. Take a moment to consider linens and I doubt you will be able to stop picturing how good they will look.

Filed under: decor, reception, wedding tip, wedding trend, weddings by alison
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I want to write about what brides, grooms, moms of brides or grooms are worrying about, and thought, maybe I should ask. I work primarily with brides, grooms and families planning Iowa weddings, but can help with comments about any kind of event through my blog.

So this is me, Alison Dix, of Devotion to Detail asking you - what with your event are you worrying about? I often hear from my clients what they are worrying about, but I could use more issues to make this a series where I try to give great solutions or reasons not to worry about what you are worrying about for your wedding.

So is it the fact that no one is returning their RSVP card? or that cousin Billy will be bringing his four kids? Let me know by email or comment and I will post great suggestions for you to help put aside your worries! (devotiontodetail@msn.com)

Filed under: ceremony, planning, stress, wedding tip, wedding trend, weddings by alison
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I have been to the new hotel in the area several times this week and thought today- I wonder if everyone else knows it is up and running. The Hotel at Kirkwood is a very fancy, modern in design and yet warm and inviting as well. They are using the Kirkwood continuing education building as their wedding reception space and the hotel is connected to that building to accommodate guests going to events at the center.

I am working with my first event there, but I can already tell there are definite highlights to the location. These include a very high end menu to choose your reception food from, one that will stimulate both your taste sense as well as your visual sense. Another is the location- it is located off two major highways, Hwy 30 and Interstate 380 and can also be easily reached from the Eastern Iowa Airport. Finally, I think the design is dramatic and therefore worth mentioning again as it is classy and yet very modern in it white approach, with grey accents.

Of course I thought you too might want to check it out for yourself, so here is their website. http://www.thehotelatkirkwood.com/home  I am sure if you call their Catering Sales Manager at the hotel, they would be happy to give you a tour and check to see if your desired date is available. You might just want to check it out before you take your planning any further.

Filed under: location for wedding, reception, wedding tip by alison
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Complimentary Colors are fun to do!

My thought today is: how do you pick your wedding colors? Here is one thought- why not complimentary colors?

This can be done in any shade- I was just looking at a purple wedding that had many different shades of purple, but because they were all in the same hue, purple, they worked well together.

The same is true of the three colors I picked above. I will call them Rose, Fuschia and Red Marooon. With just one or two of them they do not make as much of an impact as doing all three shades together. They compliment each other well and each one will be better having the other next to it. I can imagine flowers in all three of these shades, with white ribbons to tie them all together.

Another reason for doing complimentary colors is sometimes it is harder to find everything in one shade of a color. I had a bride who did all greens therefore not having to match green shades, but having complimentary shades of green. By doing this, it takes the pressure off everything being in one single shade and relaxes your color palette into a fun combonation of complimentary colors.

Filed under: wedding tip, wedding trend, weddings by alison
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Welcome Bucket- a treat for your guests!

Welcome bags, buckets or baskets are something I think are so fun and such a treat for your guests, and can be used for local wedding as well as destination events. I would consider doing welcome goodies when you have a large amount of guests coming in from out of town, as it is a great treat for them when they first arrive. This is also a fun way to show off your wedding theme and kicks off the celebrating for your guests.

I have done several types of bags for welcome gifts for gifts, but when I saw this bucket, I just loved the look and the feel of it. By adding waters with customized labels, a local snack or two and a map to fun things to do, this makes a great gift to your guests. I also think putting in Sunday brunch invites can be done in the welcome basket as well as a brochure or map of the local area for your guests to explore. Customized coffees or teas are another great addition to the goodie as most rooms have coffee makers for guests to utilize.

Another use for welcome baskets would be to do them as part of your gifts for your wedding party. Wherever you are staying, you can have cute labels with their names on each or if you are all staying in a hotel and have the hotel put them in the rooms for them, and put special cards in for each to thank them for being part of your special day. These can be easily customized to each person’s taste as well if you are not doing as many.

Here is the website for the welcome basket shown above: http://bit.ly/cp8Ktv

Filed under: wedding tip, wedding trend, weddings by alison
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Iowa State Fair 2010

I am in Des Moines today finishing up my Iowa State Fair experience and it has been a fun one. I have learned a few things about being at the fair and thought I would share them before I go off to get breakfast. Being at the Fair can be fun and enjoyable, but it can also be annoying as we are here with a group of at least 12.

Life Lesson #1:  Trying to get that many people to go in one direction is difficult so it is best to do what you want, when you want and then check back in with the group throughout the day.  You are at ease more, you end up happy as you get to do what you want and all in all, life is just simplier.

Life Lesson #2: You don’t always win every class, but it is still great to try and live the experience as you go. My two cousins are showing lambs and they did awesome yesterday and are expected to do so again today, but they were not even in the top of their classes yesterday- how they placed does not affect how I view their performance and coming from my sister’s point of view- it is so worth doing while you can rather than feel like you missed out because you did not get to show at the State Fair. There is something to be said about the preparations it takes, the composure it takes, it really does make you feel special in many ways. Great job to Kylie and Ashley- can’t wait to see Libby Sue show some day!

Life lesson #3: It is okay to mix business with pleasure. I was able to meet with a bride and groom last night and the timing worked out so well. Had I not been open to meeting with them while I was in this area, I am sure I might not have booked their business. I know it is important to take vacations, and breaks and I vow to keep doing that, but I know it is also important to keep working at what I love doing! YEAH!

Have a great day and I will be eating a banana on a stick sometime today!

Filed under: vacation by alison
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I was excited to assist with a retirement party in honor of one of my mom’s sisters (my aunt Terese) this weekend. The party was held in her new home’s backyard, with a tent, rented tables and chairs, and the food set up in the garage to protect it from the elements and greet the guests as they arrived.

Two things I wanted to tell you all about - the tableclothes and the food.

First the tableclothes; having rented round 60 inch tables we were worried about putting plastic tableclothes on them as having to tape them makes them look odd yet we wanted to make sure they stayed on. I found at Spielmans www.spielmans.com kwik tableclothes - round tableclothes that stay on so well as  they have elastic in them to grip the table- they were the hit of the party, all the guests were commenting on them, partially because we did them in a fun color (orange) and partially because putting on round table clothes has never been so easy for a party. I am already trying to figure out what other places I need these table clothes for.

The other hit of the day was the food- pulled pork sandwiches, party potatoes and salads that were enjoyed by all and made by the local restaurant and caterer, Gwen’s of Lisbon, Iowa. I would strongly recommend you check out their great food and have them cater your next event for wholesome yummy food and great, hard workers who even offered to cut the cakes they had not even brought. The cakes were purchased in Cedar Rapids at Sam’s Club on Blairsferry Road and they were deliciously appreciated. The buttercream frosting was light and tasty and both the chocolate and marble cakes were moist and complimented.

All in all it was a great day celebrating a wonderful woman who has dedicated her life to teaching and has a family so glad to have her back living in Iowa!

Filed under: Mount Vernon, Uncategorized, retirement party by alison
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Plum & Cream Bouquet

It is inspiration day and I am talking with so many brides that are doing purple as one of their colors so I thought I would discuss a new twist I love with purple- Cream! 

This color combo make a old color for weddings purple seem new again as it is not white but a softening effect on the color of purple. It makes you feel loved and lovely at the same time, which I think is a great way to use color on your wedding day. I also think purple and cream is a very classy choice and make for the beginnings of a very classic event. 

I would even love to add silver to this if you are doing an evening event or gold with more of an earlier event. Take chances with your color choices and see what kinds of combos can be made to really make the most of your wedding day palette! Enjoy!

Filed under: ceremony, decor, flowers, wedding tip, wedding trend by alison
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I just could not wait to feature Mary Bortz from Fusion Edge Photography on my blog all about Iowa weddings. She is a great Eastern Iowa Photographer, who also loves to travel, and she works very hard to get photography no matter where she photographs her brides and grooms. Her work blends photography and art to create beautiful wedding memories of your day. Mary and Mark are Award Winning Certified Professional Photographers trained in lighting and making you look your best.

I have had the opportunity to work with Mary out at Sts. Peter & Paul Historical Chapel and the first 3 pictures below are of one of the weddings she had done there. You can see with her great talent she makes the chapel and the wedding couple look their best. The final picture featured is just one of the my favorites as I love seeing the joy and energy on the wedding couple’s faces.

Another great thing about Mary & her company- they offer a variety of wedding packages from full coverage of your day or intimate smaller wedding coverage. Call Mary Bortz for more information at 319-294-1144 or check out her website at www.FusionEdgePhotography.com.  

Fusion Edge Photographywww.FusionEdgePhotography.com

Fusion Edge Photography

Fusion Edge Photography

Filed under: Sts. Peter & Paul Chapel, photography, vendor review by alison
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