This Coffee shop talk comes from one of Anne’s fabulous past brides. It was Kara Wenzel who go married at The Omni Shoreham hotel in Washington DC last October.

Tell us a little about your wedding style? It was just like my
personal style: I wanted this wedding held in 2010 to look just like
it could have been 1960 or 1990. Timeless, but also warm and
welcoming. I wanted to wear a cathedral length veil in a church that
could handle it and have a big band play at our reception. Most of
our guests were out of towners, so we wanted to give them a good party
to show our gratitude for their time and trouble. They were shuttled
to and from the church in nice coaches and had champagne and other
treats (tiny caramel apples, mini cheeseburgers, cookies from Teasim)
waiting for them at different times throughout the evening.

Favorite detail of your wedding? There were so many- but I am a paper
person, so I really loved the intricate (8 page) programs that we
wrote ourselves; the table numbers, which featured photos of my
husband and me at different ages, (and which the two of us made
together); and the place cards, which were real mini apples with name
tag “leaves” pinned on top.

Most memorable part of your wedding day? When my husband and I first
sat down (about halfway through the reception) to grab a bite to eat.
We both said, “this is a really fun wedding…” then we looked at each
other and said, “and it’s OURS?!?!?!”

Why did you choose Atrendy for your wedding planner? I asked my
photographer (Kate Triano) who I should hire, and she said she would
gladly trust the ladies of Atrendy to plan her own wedding. So I
called Anne. She immediately “got me” and I knew I would be in good
hands- she’s very detail-oriented and assertive without being pushy.
And she has great style herself, which is so important when choosing a
visionary!
If you could give one word of advice to a couple what would it be?

Definitely try to work with both sides of the family as much as
possible in your planning, but then disregard what everyone else tells
you to do. Figure out the wedding the two of you really want and just
do that.

Our coffee talk is with Shannon a lovely past bride. I had the pleasure helping her plan a fabulous Mid Summer Nights wedding last year. She took some time out of her busy schedule to answer some fun quesions.

Tell us a little about your wedding style?

My wedding style was classic with an outdoorsy, garden feel. I wanted everyone who attended my wedding to walk in and say this is so Shannon and Will.

Favorite detail of your wedding?

My favorite details of my wedding (sorry I can’t choose just one) were my indescribably beautiful flowers and the love bench surrounded by pictures of the most important people in my life.

Most memorable part of your wedding day?

By far the moment when I saw my husband for the first time fully dressed ready for our big moment.

What was your favorite part of the planning process?

Definitely, our trip to Lucketts to find all of the great details! ( and of course dress shopping)

Why did you choose Atrendy for your wedding?

I loved the “word on the street” about Atrendy. After meeting Pam for the first time, I knew that we’d gel and that anything I wanted for my day was possible. I always felt like a priority despite my wedding being one of many for Atrendy throughout the year.

If you could give one word of advice to a couple what would it be?

Enjoy!

Our interview with Kara Wenzel a past bride who got married at The Omni Shoreham hotel.

Tell us a little about your wedding style? It was just like my
personal style: I wanted this wedding held in 2010 to look just like
it could have been 1960 or 1990. Timeless, but also warm and
welcoming. I wanted to wear a cathedral length veil in a church that
could handle it and have a big band play at our reception. Most of
our guests were out of towners, so we wanted to give them a good party
to show our gratitude for their time and trouble. They were shuttled
to and from the church in nice coaches and had champagne and other
treats (tiny caramel apples, mini cheeseburgers, cookies from Teasim)
waiting for them at different times throughout the evening.

Favorite detail of your wedding? There were so many- but I am a paper
person, so I really loved the intricate (8 page) programs that we
wrote ourselves; the table numbers, which featured photos of my
husband and me at different ages, (and which the two of us made
together); and the place cards, which were real mini apples with name
tag “leaves” pinned on top.

Most memorable part of your wedding day? When my husband and I first
sat down (about halfway through the reception) to grab a bite to eat.
We both said, “this is a really fun wedding…” then we looked at each
other and said, “and it’s OURS?!?!?!”

Why did you choose Atrendy for your wedding planner? I asked my
photographer (Kate Triano) who I should hire, and she said she would
gladly trust the ladies of Atrendy to plan her own wedding. So I
called Anne. She immediately “got me” and I knew I would be in good
hands- she’s very detail-oriented and assertive without being pushy.
And she has great style herself, which is so important when choosing a
visionary!

If you could give one word of advice to a couple what would it be?

Definitely try to work with both sides of the family as much as
possible in your planning, but then disregard what everyone else tells
you to do. Figure out the wedding the two of you really want and just
do that.

We wanted to do this interview with a Mother of a past bride. Thank you Carole for giving us your insight. I personally enjoyed getting to know you! xoxo!!

If you could give one word of advice to a mother of the bride what would it be? Communicate! Have lots of discussions with your daughter ahead of time to be sure that she knows your budget and your desires with your husband as hosts of the event. And then…find out what her dreams are and see if you can make them come true! Collect images you love from magazines and blogs and have her do the same; then get together and discuss. I certainly wanted the vision to be the bride and groom’s, but I thought it was important for my daughter to have a sense of what I thought was elegant and appropriate as well. (Sorry- that’s way more than “one word,” but this is what I learned from the process!)

Do you think the wedding was a good representation of the bride and groom? I can honestly say that Lindsey and Evan’s wedding was everything that they could have dreamed of…and more!

Favorite detail of the wedding? The decor! It was unique, elegant and optimized the mood of the beautiful Anderson House.

Most memorable part of the wedding day? Lindsey was so excited to see Evan for their “first look” and to share the day with him that she practically ran from the hotel around the corner to Anderson House. And that joy was apparent the entire day and evening.

Do you think hiring a wedding planner was a good choice, why? ABSOLUTELY! There would not be a chance that we could ever have realized Lindsey and Evan’s vision as reality without Pam. Moreover, Lindsey and Evan could never have crystallized their dreams into a plan without her creativity, breadth of experience and vendor choices. And…this Mother of the Bride could never have survived the process without Pam’s expertise, efficiency and ability to facilitate consensus amongst everyone’s opinions. Pam is an absolute joy!

We are excited to announce our very first Coffee Talk interview! Every so often we will share with you our questions with people who know us best~ brides, grooms, mother of brides and vendors that we love working with. Our first is with a lovely past bride, Julia. We can’t wait to blog her AWESOME wedding!!!

Tell us a little about your wedding style?

Our wedding theme was “chic, fun barbeque.” Because our families were already so close, we wanted the event to have the intimate, casual feeling of a family reunion, but still have lots of unique and elegant surprises for our guests! We chose red-orange, indigo, and ivory as our wedding colors — an ode to Americana, which seemed fitting for a pig roast. We mixed preppy, playful touches like blue and white nautical stripe fabric and hand drawn pigs with more romantic elements like mix and match vintage-inspired fabric placemats and loose floral arrangements in one-of-a-kind vases. Overall, our wedding style was a reflection of my personal style, which is sort of “classic American girl goes to a Parisian flea market.”

Favorite detail of your wedding?

It’s so hard to pick, because I became a bit detail-obsessed about our wedding. I ordered these custom silk flower shoe clips from an Etsy vendor — white with red touches for my bridesmaids and white with blue touches for me. The moment I clipped them on the girls’ wedding shoes, I knew they would be one of everybody’s favorite details, including mine. Sure enough, when I looked at photos of the bridesmaids walking down the aisle, everyone was staring at their shoes!

I also adored our custom Etsy cocktail napkins, printed with a little pig and the phrase “Leave your fork and knife at the door.” Our guests couldn’t stop raving about our photo display, which included photos of our grandparents and of our families together when my husband and I were kids. They also loved our nacho bar, where we served chips and salsa from my husband’s favorite Mexican restaurant.

Most memorable part of your wedding day?

I was initially on the fence about having a “First Look” before our ceremony, but I’m SO glad we did it! It was definitely the most special and intimate part of our day, because once the wedding started everything was such a whirlwind! The best surprise was when all five of my bridesmaids got up and did toasts. And I’ll never forget dancing all night to The Real Geniuses, or when our guests chanted until the band played an encore!

Why did you choose Atrendy for your wedding?

When I first met with Pam, we just hit it off right away! I felt like it would be so fun to plan a wedding with her. I knew that I wanted something a little “outside the box” for our wedding, and the creativity, skill, and passion I saw in Pam’s portfolio was just off the charts! While I met with a number of planners who have created beautiful events, I continue to believe that Pam and Atrendy provide the best value, service, creativity, and RESULTS of anyone around! Our day was absolutely perfect.

If you could give one word of advice to a couple what would it be?

If you can work it into your budget, hire a planner!! This eliminated so much stress from my life leading up to the wedding and on the day-of! But no matter what you do, try to remember what the day is really about - the two of you pledging your love to each other surrounded by family and friends — when planning gets stressful or you’re getting hung up on little details. Pam reminded me of this at a few crucial points, and it really is true. Nothing else matters once you’re enjoying the day with the ones you love.