Wedding Trends 2012 February 3, 2012

In our last blog post we shared 2012 color trends with you, so today we want to share four general wedding trends that come to us from St. Louis Weddings on what you can expect to see brides engaging in this year.

Going Green

Brides will save money and the environment as they incorporate environmentally friendly touches to their wedding. More brides will be choosing locally grown flowers, re-purposing old items for centerpieces ,and purchasing recycled invitations.

Vintage Themes

Many brides will choose vintage and rustic decor this year. Brides will be achieving this feeling by decorating with old antiques, refurbished thrift store items, and old wedding photos from both families on the tables at the reception.

Think Outside the Church

Many couples will choose to be married at an outdoor location, such as a beautiful garden or a gorgeous backyard, as opposed to a church.

Having an outdoor ceremony is just one way to make your wedding memorable.

Do-It-Yourself

Do-it-yourself projects have been very popular among brides for the past few years, and this year is no exception. More and more brides are turning to DIY projects like printing their own invitations, writing their own place cards and creating centerpieces themselves. If you have the time and the creativity, you can add a lot of home made touches to your special day.

St. Louis Weddings recommends taking it one DIY project at a time to avoid overload.

Are you a 2012 bride? Will your guests see any of these trends at your wedding? Let us know which ones!

Be sure to check out the full St. Louis Weddings “Emerging Wedding Trends for 2012″ article here.

Late Fall Showroom Preview November 15, 2011

Our showroom has been updated again! We’re displaying a ride range of tables, chairs, linens, dishware and more, so be sure to stop by soon.

Here’s a sneak peak at what we have out on the floor right now.

Standard black pipe and drape with a poll drape feel, tied with chair sashes

36″ round table with black chiavari chairs

60″ round table with silver linens and silver chiavari chairs

36″ round table with mahogany chateau chairs

36″ round table with gold chiavari chairs

36″ round bistro table with bar stools

Also, don’t forget about the two Thanksgiving specials we’re running through Thanksgiving week.

Our standard Thanksgiving special includes a 60” round or 8′ banquet table, a basic poly linen and 8 basic folding chairs for only $25. Our premium Thanksgiving special includes a 60” round or 8′ banquet table, a specialty linen (crinkle, satin, etc.) and 8 fruitwood, natural, or white padded chairs all for only $50.

Give us a call today at 901-457-1909 and be sure to visit our website to view all our products.

The Best Wedding Planners November 8, 2011

There are so many elements that go into planning a wedding, so where’s a bride to begin? Well we’ve found three great planners that are full of worksheets, checklists, suggestions and more to help you begin your planning process!

First, The Pink Book is a wonderful wedding guide that comes with a full sized binder, 8 tabs with pockets, wedding advice from experts, and free printable schedules, vendor questionnaires, and helpful planning tools online. The Pink Book ladies are experts when it comes to weddings, so they’ve included everything you need to plan your special day.

Purchase your’s here for $24.95.

The Knot Ultimate Wedding Planner is another great planning tool for brides-to-be. It’s the perfect go to guide and it’s packed full of worksheets, checklists, calendars, etiquette, and frequently asked questions. The Knot itself is a powerful resource for brides, and this planner is no exception.

Purchase your’s here for $17.99.

This next wedding planner is cute and fun. It’s by Smythson, and while it’s a little more on the pricey end, it’s worth it! It’s got 128 leaves of paper and is bound with a gorgeous fuchsia grained lambskin leather. It has tabs for ‘dress’, ‘invitations’, ‘guests and gifts’, ‘service’, ‘reception’, ‘flowers and other’, ‘going away’ and ‘honeymoon’. You’ll be able to keep up with everything in this planner, plus it’s small enough to throw in your purse and carry around with you while you’re on the go.

Purchase your’s here.

If your a bride-to-be, we hope this post has given you some ideas about great tools to use while planning your wedding. If you know a bride-to-be, any of these planners would make a great engagement gift!

Are you going to use one of these wedding planners? We’d love to hear your feedback.

Three Popular Flowers for Fall Weddings October 11, 2011

Wondering what some of the most popular flowers are for this fall wedding season? If you’re a fall bride, then listen up because this blog post is for you! We’ve stumbled upon three types of flowers that are hot this fall season, and we want to share them. Enjoy!

Dahlias

Dahlias can make any fall bouquet pop! Since they are a garden flower, they look great paired with other garden flowers like peonies and daisies. They are beautiful, bold and bushy, so their dramatic appearance is sure to catch the eyes of your guests. You can expect to pay around $5 per stem for dahlias, but it is well worth it because their blooms are often over 4” across. This size is great for helping to fill out bouquets, center pieces and other wedding floral decor. Dahlias come in a variety shapes, sizes and colors including white, yellow, orange, hot pink, burgundy and burgundy/black. They also come in bi-color varieties.

Photo by Joyelle West Photography

Photo by Joyelle West Photography

Hydrangeas

Hydrangeas create and elegant and beautiful accent when used in wedding floral. They can be incorporated into bridal bouquets as well as ceremony and reception flowers. Hydrangeas have a big, bushy head, which help to fill empty spaces. Because they are so large and beautiful, some brides choose to use only hydrangeas in their bouquet. They are moderately priced and come in a variety of shades such as green, pink, burgundy and blue.

Photo courtesy of http://tinyurl.com/3wm2vgd

Photo courtesy of http://tinyurl.com/6xuo3l3

Mums

Mums are playful and unique, so they generally look best when incorporated into bouquets with other types of flowers. Mums also look great as boutonnieres and corsages, providing a pop of color to the wedding party floral. They are relatively inexpensive considering their size, and they come in a variety of colors including white, off-white, yellow, gold, bronze, red, burgundy, pink and purple. Mums are also easy to tint, so if you want a particular color, but can’t find it – tinting is always an option.

Photo courtesy of http://tinyurl.com/3ck6qqq

Photo by Paul Dyer via wildflowerevents.blogspot.com

*Sources: The Knot, Forevermore Events Wedding and Event Design Blog & Lola Blooms

Fall Showroom Preview October 3, 2011

We’re excited about the recent updates made to our showroom! We have a variety of themes on display, including holiday themes for those Halloween, Thanksgiving or Christmas special events. Our wide range of tables, chairs, linens, dishware and more are on display, so be sure to stop by soon!

 Table settings, linens and chair selections

Table settings

Ultra Lounge Furniture

Contact our local team {Angela, Lainya, Shonna or Clint} to set up a time to see our updated showroom for your next wedding or special event!

Mahaffey Partner Spotlight: Mrs. Post Stationery September 9, 2011

Mrs. Post Stationery, located in the Chickasaw Oaks Village at 3092 Poplar Ave. in Memphis, is one of Mahaffey’s preffered partners in wedding and event planning. We were happy to have them on-site yesterday in our warehouse where they participated in a photo shoot with Southern Bride Magazine. The photo shoot, which displayed the hottest new trends in tableware, linens and wedding stationary, will appear in the Winter/Spring issue of the magazine.

Mrs. Post Stationery specializes in custom wedding invitations and announcements. They also create stationary for anniversaries, baby showers, milestones, birthdays, bridal showers, christenings, corporate events, debutante balls, engagement parties, graduations, holiday parties, ceremonies, memorials and proms. They design, assembly and print the stationary themselves. In addition, Mrs. Post carries a wonderful selection of party decor and great gifts for any age.

So whether your getting married, throwing a party or you need a fun gift, head on over to Mrs. Post Stationery! We know you’ll love them as much as we do.

For more information, check them out on Facebook or email them at info@mrspoststationery.com!

*NOTE: All photos courtesy of Mrs. Post Stationery.

My Event Tent app August 30, 2011

Are you an event planner, production manager, caterer, or mother-of-the-bride planning an outdoor event? Ever thought about how much easier your job would be if you could plug in a few numbers and accessory items, and then receive the approximate tent size and square footage you need?

Well, look no further because the My Event Tent app has arrived! Developed for the Android Market and iTunes App Store, the app can be downloaded for free. Choose from a checklist of options relating to rentals, such as the type of event, number of guests, accessories, and other requests. The approximate tent size and square footage required is then calculated and displayed. At that point, you can choose to proceed to the next step and submit the information for a quote. The request is forwarded to specific Tent Rental Division member companies within your zip code area. This is especially beneficial for planners who serve multiple cities.

Take our word for it…download the My Event Tent app via Android Market or iTunes App Store (coming soon). Your event (and your customer) will thank you for it!

With My Event Tent, go from this…

1

To this…

DIY Weddings: Programs August 9, 2011

I’m a big advocate of DIY projects and absolutely love helping friends and family with their wedding stationery. Having enjoyed doing everything for my wedding myself – Save the Dates, shower and wedding invitations, programs, etc. – I’ve also enjoyed staying involved in my loved ones’ wedding planning as well.

As with most DIY projects, you want to keep it simple and inexpensive, but still provide guests with something useful…not to mention a keepsake for the happy couple. I would say the most common stationery piece I get asked to help with (or volunteer to do) are programs. The last two weddings have both been during the brutal Tennessee summer, so I decided on fan programs. They are SO much fun to do, and they’re always the talk of a wedding!

Getting into the “how to,” here are the materials needed for DIY Wedding Fan Programs:

• A2 sized folded cards* (or card stock to fold)
• Popsicle sticks or fan handles (found mine on this site, but you can get regular sticks or tongue depressors on Amazon.com)
• Scissors
• Corner Rounder Punch (purchase this at Michael’s or any craft or scrapbook store)
• Double-sided tape…and LOTS of it, depending on how many programs you’re doing

*Note: A2 is a great size because there’s room for content, but they’re not so big that they’re floppy. If you go with standard card stock, make sure that when folded, the programs will be sturdy enough to write on.

Designing the programs is a snap with Microsoft Word. I created additional/background images in Photoshop; or you can just copy and paste something from Google Images. On the front, I just have their wedding monogram (or create one with their initials if they don’t already have one), the happy couple’s names, the wedding date, and location. On the back, I list the entire wedding party, any In Honor or In Memory Of notes, and personal touches or messages from the couple.

Once you’ve designed your programs (making sure to fit the card dimensions), print the front and back onto the outside of the cards. For all the fans I’ve created, I have used standard card stock (purchased at Office Depot) printed in Landscape format on my regular ink jet printer.

To start assembling, open up a card and put double-sided tape on three sides.

Then put double-sided on your handle, covering about half of it. Center on the card and press in place.

Close the card, pressing to seal the edges. Then, using the corner rounder punch, carefully round all four corners.

This is what my bonus room floor typically looks like:

Nevermind the wine glass in the middle…I do not condone drinking and DIY.

And then, the finished product:

So there you have it. Happy crafting!

XOXO,
Beth

Mahaffey Partner Spotlight: Annabella Charles July 29, 2011

When taking part in weddings and events, it’s always a wonderful thing to have partners that are reliable and exceptional at what they do. This time around, we’re doing a spotlight on a fabulous Memphis photographer: Annabella Brandon of Annabella Charles Photography {formerly Asian Bees Photography}, one of Mahaffey’s preferred partners.

A wife and mom to a little girl, Annabella has been working solo as a wedding photographer in the South since 2009. Her work is professional, beautiful, and elegant {though the pictures have already told you most of that}.

Check out the Annabella Charles blog or find her facebook for more information on how to have her photograph your wedding.

Xoxo,

Raquel

*NOTE: All photos by Annabella Charles Photography

Bridal Rhapsody Summer Show Wrap Up: Part II July 13, 2011

We’re continuing our series about Bridal Rhapsody‘s summer bridal show! Check out part one here.

White sequined linens with a light pink napkin on our raspberry love plate

Hammered flatware with oxford white china on steel crinkle linens and with a maize poly cotton napkin

Beaded belmont charger with pearl flatware and clover napkins on white hemstich linens

Our local team had an amazing time at the show meeting brides-to-be as well as other vendors. In addition to our displays, we also participated with Southern Bride Magazine in helping them with tables, chairs and linens. Go to their facebook page to see their photos of Mahaffey’s work!

A big thank you to Charese Feliciano Designs and Holliday Flowers for their help in Sunday’s bridal show!

Xoxo,

Raquel