Katisha and Chris's Wedding- Friday, February 3, 2012 @ Manhattan Penthouse

When I met Katisha and Chris way back in August to discuss their wedding, the first thing I thought was they had to be crazy to plan a wedding in a little under 6 months.

That time seemed to fly by and once it got down to the final month, time flew even quicker and before you could even blink, it was Friday, February 3rd. We met up with Katisha and Chris at their respective suites at Hotel Indigo. Although their suites were adjoining..they made sure neither of them could see each other before the "first look". We did get to know the wedding party a little better and from that hour or so before we headed down to Manhattan Penthouse, you knew it was going to be a great night!

Here are some before and after shots:

Empire State Building BEFORE

Gotta Love the Empire State Building at night..

Ceremony Set up BEFORE

Down the Aisle- AFTER

Up The Aisle- BEFORE

Up the Aisle- AFTER

Cake Created by Stephanie Grajales

Another Shot of the Cake- Yes those flowers are REAL orchids!

Head Table

 To see more pictures, check us out on Facebook, www.facebook.com/blissfulbridenyc . We look forward to sharing more pics from Katisha and Chris's wedding soon!

A special thanks to the vendors that day:
Cake: Stephanie Grajales
Officiant: Rev. C. Will Mercer
DJ: The Pros  (DJ Latif)
Florist: Superior Florist
Photography: Perfect Photo and Video
Venue: Manhattan Penthouse/ Green Mansions Catering

And a huge shout out to my assistant Sue, who stepped into the fold about a month and a half before the big day.

We still have so much to look forward to for 2012, our next showcase, our next wedding and so much more!

Blissfully Yours,
xo
The Blissful Bride

Guest Book Extinction??

Each year something new happens with weddings...whether it be theme and vision, types of venues, budgets, there is almost always something new happening. No two weddings are alike. But there is one thing that seems to be the same.

The Guest Book (yes you know those little books in stores and bridal shops) seems to be going extinct and is on the endangered list...

Couples are opting for unique ways of guests giving their best wishes and advice on their big day, whether it be a Wish Tree, photobooth with pictures or a polaroid (which get put into a book with words of wisdom and congrats), or the Tree of Life with thumbprints and signatures, times are a-changing for sure. And in all honesty, we are loving it!

I can say at this point, about 50% of my weddings are going sans Guest Book and opting for something that can be more of a keepsake and be kept out in the open for them to always look at.
Let's face it, the book will go away with the cake server and the toasting flutes. Will you look at these items ever again? Perhaps..but will the Guest Book be able to weather the years that will go by?

Perhaps the change of how people express their best wishes will revert once again to that wonderful guest book because the trend will die out. Maybe the creators of these books will make them much bigger, so no one misses them (because let's face it, many of us do at weddings) and bring it off the extinction list entirely.

Until then though, its still an endangered part of the wedding.

Are you doing something creative and unique for your "Guest Book"?
What other parts of a wedding are on the endangered list and may be disappearing?

The Polaroid and the Photo Album, which allowed guests to take pics and give their  best wishes

The Wish Tree

The Tree of Life at our last wedding....

PS: You are all in for a treat the next two weeks...we will be blogging about our first Bridal Showcase at Douglaston Manor on Wednesday, January 25th from 7-9:30pm and after that we will be featuring our final countdown to Katisha and Chris' February 3rd Wedding!!

Stay Blissful!
xo
The Blissful Bride

Happy 2012!!! Happy 2nd Anniversary The Blissful Bride!!

Its hard to believe that two years have come and gone for The Blissful Bride Weddings and Events. We've met some wonderful people and couples along the way.

We are off and running this year as we do our final countdown to Katisha and Chris's February nuptials. While that final month leading into the big day can be incredibly stressful, it is important to realize that its fun doing a countdown till you become one with your significant other. My best advice is that you get a massage the day before the wedding (if time allows, early the day of) and if you can, the day after because then you can truly relax because you are MARRIED!

Remember the most important part of the big day is not just that the food is great or the DJ is doing a great job, but that you are declaring your love for one another in front of all the people you love. Without that declaration of love, its just a party. Do not lose sight in all those pesky details. Just take a deep breath. Everything will go according to plan.

We look forward to sharing our February wedding with you and we look forward to sharing all our wedding stories, tips and changes happening here at BBW&E. Its going to be an exciting year!

Congratulations to all couples who were engaged over the holidays!!

xo <3
The Blissful Bride

2011 Year in Review

It has been quite a year at The Blissful Bride Weddings and Events. While the year got off to a slow start, it picked up in March with our first wedding scheduled for Memorial Day Weekend. That wedding was to be followed by a late June wedding in Tarrytown and our very first full coordination meeting for an August 2012 bride (which eventually was bumped up for this December 2011) .

But everything has its ups and downs and unfortunately due to unforseen and unfortunate circumstances, the Memorial Day wedding was cancelled indefinetly, as was our December Full Coordination. It saddened us because of the circumstances, but I always say its better to know before than during the actual wedding. Nevertheless, BBW&E trucked through and landed  at Tarrytown House Estate for Sachiko and Ryan's wedding. It was a lavish affair full of flowers and a custom built arch (made of vine and flowers) created by Diane Gould, a stunning cake by Sweet Lisa's , music by the Hank Lane Band and photography by Gulnara Studio. The beautiful weather was the icing on the cake.

Shortly after the wedding, we began booking our 2012 calendar. Things were looking up and things were great.  Despite being a little slower than our innaugural year, we remainded positive that things would pick up and we would have a prosperous 2012.

Our positivity and patience bestowed on us a gift...that gift came to us in the form of a bride, who was at her wits end with decor for her 11/12 wedding. That bride's name was Amnel.  Together we created her vision of a rustic fall motif for her special day at the Hudson River Cafe. The end result for pure beauty and bliss!

As the time gets closer to 2012, we have a lot to be thankful for and a lot to look forward to in the coming year. We are currently hitting the ground running preparing for the February 3rd wedding of Katisha and Chris. They are just the first couple of the year!

We look forward to sharing these fabulous weddings with you!

Have a Blissful Holiday!
xo
The Blissful Bride

Fall In Love-Amnel and Perez's Wedding 11.12.11

It was an early Saturday afternoon in November, when my mom called me to tell me about one of her Facebook friends who had a wedding day dilemma. Her event decorator had backed out on her with a week to go before her wedding day nuptials. I thought it was for Friday 11-11 (after all, there were many brides getting married that day). I told my mom to give her my number, give her my website and have her call me. No less than 10 minutes later, I was on the phone with Amnel. She explained everything to me and we discussed what had happened and what her vision was for her wedding day. Knowing there were time constraints, we scheduled a meeting for Monday to go over everything and source out what materials we were going to need for the centerpieces and overall look.

What can I say? We clicked on the spot. And that day along with the help of my mom and Amnel's friend Geri we came up with a "Rustic Fall Motif". I used that term in describing the wedding, but the day of, I realized the term I should have used was "Fall in Love". Both Amnel and Perez are the very definition of "love at first sight" and are so meant for each other. We wish them nothing but all the happiness in the world.

Ceremony/Reception Location: Hudson River Cafe

Photographer: Foto Filip
Dry Materials, Vases: Jamali Gardens  
Kudos: A special thanks to my Mom who finally got to see me in my consultant glory, Geri for her input and help as well as my assistant Sue who did such a great job with the draping for the ceremony (that pic is to follow). Thank you to Angela and her team at Hudson River Cafe for their assistance in everything and making our job of set up a pleasant one!

Cyber Monday Madness and our Day of Package Preview!!!

If you missed our Small Business Saturday promotion, we now have a Cyber Monday promotion going on thru Saturday 12/3 ends at 12midnight EST.

Receive 15% off any of our planning packages and 5% off any of our A La Carte Packages. 

With engagement season upon us, we will be doing an introduction this week of our "Day of" package, which is very similar to our "Month of" package, but with reduced services at a lower rate. Nevertheless, we provide you with exceptional services everytime.

The Day of Coordination includes: 

-Initial Consultation
-Confirmation of Wedding Day Vendors (2-3 weeks out)
-Assist bride,groom and Wedding Party
-Organize and Oversee Set up
-Distribute Payment to Vendors
-5 hours of coverage Day of Event  (1 planner and 1 assistant)

Package Price:     $500.00

This newest package will make its official debut on our website just in time for our 3 year Anniversary!

If you are interested in this package and would like to schedule a consultation, please email us at info@blissfulbridenyc.com.

Stay Tuned...tonight we debut our latest design shots and pics from our most recent wedding!

XO
The Blissful Bride

Our Fall Contest- "Fall in Love"

Autumn officially began at around 5am Friday morning, 9/23. And although it may not seem like it outside right now...(its about 80 degrees in NYC), Fall is here and its almost October. For many who know The Blissful Bride, October is her favorite month for two reasons..her wedding anniversary is coming up on October 6th, and her birthday is at the end of the month on October 25th. October is a month of change for BBW&E as well. After mulling over and debating changes, we are going to be updating our site very soon to reflect those changes and by October 31st, the packages will change slightly as well as our A La Carte options (which we believe our future couples will enjoy as well).

But before the changes occur, The Blissful Bride is having a "Fall in Love" Contest which ends October 22nd.

What was the exact moment that you fell in love with your significant other and knew he was the one you were gonna marry?

Share your love story and you may win:

First Prize: Our "Wedded Bliss" Month of Coordination package (value at $700) which will include one A La Carte Option Package (Value $225),
Budget Maintenance
Invitation Stuffing/RSVP maintenance
or
Honeymoon Suite Set Up.

Runner Up: Will receive our Small or Medium Size Premium Sweets Bar (Value $350)

Please send all submissions to: ypl@blissfulbridenyc.com and put Fall In Love Contest- in the subject line.
Rules:
Contest Ends at 12 Midnight EST on 10/22/11. Open to NYC,LI,NJ and CT residents 18 years and older. Couples must have a wedding date prior to 2/14/12. All submissions must include full names of couple and include email address and phone numbers. Winner will be notified by email and must claim prize within 48 hours of notice otherwise the Runner Up will become the winner and a new runner up will be selected. Winners to be selected at random and the love stories of those winners will be posted on our blog during the month of November.  

Until next time,
xo <3
The Blissful Bride