Terry and Devin~~12-16-2017~~Navasota River Hall

One of my favorite things to do is to make each bride’s wedding as fun and as stress free as possible.   I have been very blessed by obtaining couples that help that make that process possible.   A prime example of one such couple is on the blog today!  Presenting the newlyweds,
Terry and Devin!  

The EBB team coordinated the joining of these two sweet souls the weekend before Christmas. In addition to planning her wedding, Terry was also a part of the Texas A&M graduating class of 2017 for the Fall Semester!  Whoop!  To say she had an extremely busy semester would be the understatement of the year. 


Add on top of ALL of that,  Terry ordered, created, designed and arranged all of the flowers for her wedding.  As the lead designer at The Petal Patch in Bryan, Texas, the entire floral world was at her fingertips and she did a fabulous job with all the details!
Each of the groomsmen’s boutonnieres contained a feather from ducks that Devin had hunted.  The bridal bouquet contained Terry’s favorite flowers: peonies!

The wedding and reception took place at Navasota River Hall in Navasota, Texas.  A unique venue with a rustic feel that suited Terry and Devin’s personalities perfectly!  It is always so fun when an engaged couple can find a location that matches the vision for their day.  The wedding altar was designed and created by Devin as the perfect backdrop for his bride to be.  You can find the altar at The Petal Patch to rent for your own wedding! 

Terry was a vision in white and literally floated down the aisle to Devin.  It was truly an honor to not only coordinate this magical moment but to be a part of it as a friend to both of these lovebirds. Part of being such a cute and loveable couple, they were surrounded by many friends helping with the wedding.  Our officiant for the marriage proceedings was Todd Keller of the Cowboy Fellowship of Aggieland Church. A special thank you goes to Mrs. Keller and Brook’lyn for all of their fabulous assistance throughout the night!  The whole Keller family is especially dear to Brandy, as they are the family of our very own staff intern, Paige Keller, who served as a bridesmaid!  The groomsmen were dressed in their country best and the bridesmaids were dressed in long flowy maroon dresses!  Just perfect for two of Aggieland’s finest!

The Drugstore Cowboys provided our live entertainment and we even had a fiddle in the band!  Scott serenaded Terry down the aisle with expert fiddle playing during the ceremony and then joined the band for a couple of songs during the reception!  The dance floor stayed full all night and you could tell that people were genuinely enjoying themselves!  Sweet Pea Confections created the delectable cakes and cupcakes for the newlyweds.  Don’t they just look delicious?  A huge round of applause for the Jen Brazeal photography team.  They did a fabulous job of capturing the events throughout the day and night! Enjoy the pictures as we reminisce about the whole night!!

Coordination: Events By Brandy
Venue: Navasota River Halls
Flowers: The Petal Patch
Photography: Jen Brazeal Photography
Cake: Sweet Pea Confections
Entertainment: The Drugstore Cowboys
Catering: J Cody's Catering

Humphries Wedding ~~ 1-21-17 ~~ LaSalle Hotel, Bryan Texas

            In honor of their first wedding anniversary coming up this weekend, a post for Liz and Sam!

A wedding to go down in history. Not because of fancy décor, venue or food (even though all of those were fantastic), but because we were so excited for the chance to coordinate the wedding of such a dear friend. The new Mrs. is the proud owner of The Petal Patch flower shop in Bryan, TX (go follow them on social media, you will not be disappointed).  When Liz said YES to marry sweet Sam, we were more than happy to jump in and coordinate her day! And what a special day it was. We got to witness not only the union of two amazing people, but also the blending of two beautiful families. The day was full of love, but also full of FLOWERS!! Spending all day, every day around flowers, Liz wanted to make sure that her wedding was completely overflowing with all her favorites.

It was so exciting to see all the colors that were incorporated through her flower arrangements. A huge round of applause to all the girls at The Petal Patch for their amazing work with creating the designs. It says a lot about a boss when her employees can be as creative as her after working under her leadership and guidance!

The Petal Patch

    

Details Party Rental

     We could brag about her beautiful flowers all day, but we also want to mention the beautiful location and setting! Our venue was the La Salle hotel in scenic downtown Bryan, and wow do they create an amazing environment. The aged look of the building along with the natural greenery created a sense of home for the gathering friends and family.  In order to encompass everything unique about the LaSalle, we were able to tent the courtyard for an outdoor reception area!

 We also want to thank our awesome photographer, Allison Dudley of Allison Beth Photography, for these amazing pictures showing off the love that this sweet couple shares for one another and the fantastic decoration items that show off the uniqueness of their new family, their creative talents and, of course, the Aggie blood that runs maroon!  Whoop! 

Sweet Pea Confections

Aggie Wedding-Corp Boots

Coordination: Events By Brandy
Venue & Catering: The LaSalle Hotel
Flowers: The Petal Patch
Photography: Allison Beth Photography and Design
Cake: Sweet Pea Confections
Rentals: Details Party Rental
Entertainment: Under The Bridge (live band)
Blog contributor: Paige Keller (thank you!!)

       

Samantha and Lynn ~~ 11-5-2016 ~~ Olde Dobbin Station

If you have looked on Instagram lately, you might have seen the very sweet "Thank You" note that Samantha and Lynn sent to the crew and I this week.  We love hearing from our previous clients, whether it is through text messages, facebook, Instagram, email or snail mail.  As promised via the Instagram post, we have pictures from Sam and Lynn's wedding to share!  Many thanks to The Silhouette Studio for sharing their work with us.

So many beautiful photographs of Samantha and her wedding day.  The Silhouette Studios did not disappoint!  Samantha had her natural beauty displayed by makeup/hairstylist Angela Karr. 

Café Natalie provided the celebratory meal for the newlyweds and their guests.  Such an elegant tablescape was nothing less than what Samantha envisioned for her reception with linens from Events To Remember.  Floral design help from Striking Stems, Sandy and her team added just the right amount of greenery into the napkin fold.

Elegance was the theme for the day!  All the way down to how the escort cards were displayed around this gorgeous hydrangea and rose floral arrangement set upon a trumpet vase.  Just stunning!

Never let us forget those that are gone but not forgotten.   A memorial table is such a lovely way to include loved ones that are no longer with us.

Who Made The Cake?  No, really!  That is the name of the amazing bakery that created this flawless three tier wedding cake.  And yes, that cake topper is just too doggone cute!  Man (and woman's) best friend couldn't be left out of the big day!

Simplicity is the first step towards elegance!  These beautiful hydrangea, rose and greenery centerpieces just exude sophistication and refinement.  The floral shop is not called Striking Stems for nothing!  Not to mention, we just adore these ladies!  So easy to work with and funny too!

 Two birds with one stone!  Samantha wanted to have a first look with her Dad and her Grandfather.  So sweet!  And Dad, well....a tear or two may have escaped after seeing his beautiful baby girl all dressed up as an excited bride to be.



How stinkin' cute are these two??  I do have to admit, I am biased towards Navy Blue, but these two just stole the show.  They were SO good!  Made it all the way down the aisle and led the way for Samantha to be joined with Lynn in holy matrimony.





Interestingly enough, this is one of the last few shots taken in the Unfinished building before Olde Dobbin Station made renovations to turn it into a climate controlled wedding chapel.  Samantha and Lynn will have photos that no other bride will be able to recreate from this day forward! 

Smiles as bright as the sparklers!!  Headed off to start their happily ever after!  May their days be short, their years be long and their blessings be abundant!

The End!

Monarch Limousines

Urbanosky Wedding at Olde Dobbin Station

We had the pleasure of helping Danielle and Blake with their wedding this past January and we can't even tell you how much fun they were!  Truly, they were the nicest people we have ever worked for.  Danielle always had a smile and Blake never failed to give me a hug when I saw him.  They were continuously thinking of other people and their comfort. Danielle even texted Brandy while she was on her honeymoon!! We will miss them both greatly, as we do with all of the best clients.  And trust us, we have a lengthy list of A+ clients! 

Enjoy this video montage that Diamond Wedding Visuals produced.  Very stunning work!  We love to watch the videos afterwards to catch all of the fun things that were happening while we were working had to make sure everything ran smoothly!  Thank you, Trevor, for the share!


Danielle & Blake | Wedumentary from Jay Lee on Vimeo.

Going to the Chapel....aka: Venue Shopping!

So, we have a ring, we have a budget and from here we go to…venue shopping!  Booking the wedding venue is a huge undertaking.  So many questions to ask, different aspects to consider and the foundation on which the whole wedding is built upon. Some photographers will not even consider talking with you till the venue is booked! Don’t let that throw you off track.  There are many wedding venue options available to brides these days.

Jen Brazeal Photography

When dreaming about your wedding, what details were important to you?  Country romantic? Vintage elegance?  Or maybe something a bit more contemporary?   When looking at venues, make sure you have a firm guest count in mind.  There is nothing worse than paying for a space that can only accommodate 200 guests and your guest count is topping out at 275.  If guests feel cramped and uncomfortable, they may not stay long enough to enjoy the celebration that you have planned over the last several months, leaving you with an incredible amount of leftover wedding cake!

Sarah Best Photography

Make sure to compare the amenities that each venue provides within their rental contract to make those budget dollars work in your favor. 

• Which venues provide the tables and chairs?   This will save you a ton of money if you are not having to pay delivery fees and those dreaded late night pick up fees.

•  Are you responsible for setting up the chairs and tables that the venue provides?
• Do you have to put them away at the end of the night?
• Does the venue have staff that can do this for you?
• Is there a fee for that service or is it included in the price of the venue rental?  These will be important questions when estimating the budget amount for the manual labor.
• Are you allowed to supply your own alcohol?
• How many hours may you be on premise?
  

  
• Do you need to hire security?
• Will there be an on-site venue manager?
• Does the venue have a janitorial staff on duty during your event in case there should be venue  emergencies?
• Who takes the trash out to the dumpster? 

These are all questions that should be addressed well before the wedding day to make sure there no unnecessary complications or misunderstandings.  Make sure you understand all of the rules and regulations before you sign your name to the rental contract.

What better backdrop is there other than an outdoor ceremony?  Beautiful trees, luscious grass and sunshine on your smiling face?  But what happens when that sunshine turns cloudy?

• Is there an indoor space available if the outdoor ceremony site is unavailable due to inclement weather?

  

  Tent wedding, Events By Brandy

• Is there an additional fee for the use of the indoor space?
• Does the venue allow tents on the property? When touring potential wedding venues, check the weather for the last three years and see if your day falls inside the “rainy season”.  
  
• Where does the sun set? 
• What time of day provides the most shade?  This will alleviate your guests from sitting in the direct sun during those hot summer months.  
• If you should need to move your ceremony inside due to inclement weather, you may need to flip your ceremony site to the reception area.
• Does the venue have staff on hand to help with a flip wedding transition? 

Flip Wedding, Events By Brandy

 When window shopping different venues, you will want to ask if the venue has a preferred vendor list. Venue owners and managers see on a weekly basis which vendors do incredible work and which ones...well, not so much.  There are 156 days out of the year (every Friday, Saturday and Sunday) that weddings usually take place on.  Trust the venue to establish a preferred vendor list to guide you towards companies that take care of their clients and provide top notch service. 

A successful venue will not make recommendations for a company that performs poorly week after week.  This list will also be very helpful when looking for bar staffing, caterer, florists, photographers and rental companies.  Usually the vendors that are on the list have worked at the venue on several occasions and have been deemed to be the best of the best.

And now we will leave you with this:  hire a coordinator.  You had to see that one coming!  Honestly, though, coordinators work many different venues and know what questions to ask and when.  They will think of things that will be extremely important to ensure that your day goes as smoothly as possible and are the experts on how to throw a wonderful party.  Your future venue will have several suggestions as to which coordinator does a fabulous job and is extremely helpful making the bride’s day memorable, not a mess.  If several venues recommend the same coordinator’s name, you can be sure that their work is genuine and true!   Happy venue hunting!!

Engagement Season is here! Let's talk about Budgets!

It is every wedding vendors favorite time of year: Engagement Season!  The question has been popped, the answer has been given and the planning starts now!  Over the next several posts, we will touch on some very important topics to be considered while making plans for your big day.  These tips are designed to help alleviate stress and provide points to ponder during your planning process.  And no matter how frustrating the process may get, always remember that love always wins!

I will admit that I love to shop!  Let’s buy all the pretty things!!  However, my shopping budget doesn’t always match my enthusiasm.   Yes, I know, nobody likes to talk about money when it comes to planning the biggest day of your life, but trust me, it is an absolute must!  

The easiest way to determine your working budget number is to determine *who* is paying for the wedding.  Will costs be shared traditionally between the parents? Only one set of parents?  Are the newly engaged couple paying for all of it or making a contribution?  If you can get past this point in the wedding planning (with your sanity intact) it will make for a much smoother planning season.  Knowing how much you can spend will help you to split the money between your vendor categories in order of preference. Here's a piece of free advice....ready?  Always spend more on photography than any other vendor.  The flowers will die, the food will be consumed but the photos will last a lifetime! 

When you are in control of your budget, you can make decisions as to which important aspects will make your day special and what could you do without?  Make a list of “wants vs. needs”; focus on the needs and follow up with the wants.  Budgets do not have to be constricting if you have a plan from day one.

"Once you agree, then pinky swear and spit-shake that you will both stick to the budget." — Dave Ramsey

When estimating wedding expenses, one of the most overlooked areas is the cost of manual labor.  Table bussing staff is a necessity for clearing your lovely dinner tables that need once the meal has been finished.  A thoroughly cleaned reception space will help provide an inviting ambiance that will encourage your guests to gather and visit throughout the night. Look at it this way, do you want to sit around dirty tables with food remnants for 2-3 hours?  If your answer is no, then I can assure you that neither do your guests.  It is the talent of the "behind the scenes" staffing that helps make your event a memorable wedding.

Happy New Year!

Well, here we are at the start of a brand new year!  To celebrate, we are going to step out and try something new: blogging!  We hope you find it resourceful and entertaining.  How could it not?  It's about love, friends, family and the happiest of days!  So, join us on our new adventure and see what wonderful events we get to help create!