Art of the Table 2014 – Ruffles & Roses Baby Shower Table

Back on March 1st and 2nd was Art of the Table 2014 and it was the 10th Anniversary Celebration. This is becoming one of my favorite events each year as it showcases some of the best designers, florists, and planners in the Indianapolis area. It is always amazing for me to see what my industry friends come up with each year. Instead of just one table this year, I created two.

I actually started out planning just one, but after spending all day in the linen warehouse, I fell in LOVE with the chevron sequins linen and the concept I could use it for. So after a little grumble at myself for the extra work, I set out to create a chic, sophisticated, adult baby shower. Many of us have had the joy of hosting a baby shower for a family member or friend. What I wanted to do with this design is show how we should cater to the new mom and not necessarily the baby. Babies are great, but this party is for mom so why not make it designed for her.

For our table, we wanted a very adult, chic look. Our new mom loves sparkle so the chevron linen was the perfect fit. At the same time we did not forget about baby so we used the colors of her new room – purple and silver. We were very pleased with how this table turned out and we hope you enjoy it too. Finally, we feel very honored to have received the Art of the Table Best Theme Award for this table. It was a labor of love and we are glad the judges loved it too!

Table Design, Decor, and Stationery – Ruffles & Roses Weddings and Events
Photographer – Jessica Strickland Photography
Linen and Rentals – LGi Linens

I love to hear what you think. Did we change the way you will think about baby showers?

Happy Planning!
Jennifer

Indianapolis Winter Wedding at D’Amore

We have been snowed in for days and it reminded me of a winter wedding we did last December. It actually was not as cold as expected for a December wedding, but the bride was prepared with a fabulous coat. She didn’t let cold weather get in the way of some great outdoor photos.

The other exciting thing about this wedding is our bride was our January Bridal Show Winner and she won help designing her wedding. One of the comments she had when we first talked was she really liked the long tables full of people. She did not think it would happen, but we showed her how she could mix both rounds and long tables together to create a look just for her. It turned out great and we could not have been more pleased.

Please enjoy the photos below of Amy and Ryne’s Rustic Winter Wonderland.

Ceremony/Reception Location – D’Amore
Weekend Management – Ruffles & Roses
Photographer – Darcy Demmel Photography
Design Concept – Ruffles & Roses
Florist – Posh Petals
Catering – Thomas Caterers of Distinction

This was a fun wedding with a great group of vendors. We hope you enjoyed the photos and please let us know what you think.

Happy Planning!

Art of the Table 2013 – Ruffles & Roses Table

I know it is July and several months past Art of the Table. I thought it would be fun this year to wait several months so that everyone could have another taster of Art of the Table in the middle of the year. I have had the great honor of helping with this event since 2010. For this year’s table, I wanted to do something with a rustic touch. Instead of doing a rustic table with all the touches most people use, I wanted to add a twist. I ended up calling our table Rustic Glam Chic. The table was designed to be romantic and chic with a touch of rustic. I wanted guests to see that there are different ways to use rustic. Here are the photos from the event.

I enjoy this event every year and cannot wait until next year (yes, I already have started designing my table)! In case you do not know about this event, it is a table design event by the Association of Bridal Consultants – Indiana Chapter. It features tables designed by some of the best planners and florists in Indiana. It was started in 2004 to honor Betty Jackson, a fellow planner taken from us too soon.

Make sure to mark your calendars for next year’s 10th Anniversary celebration March 2, 2014. You will not want to miss this year as we have many specials touches for the 10th Anniversary. Go to www.artofthetable.info to find out more, see photos from all the tables, and how you too can become a designer.

We love to hear comments about our table design, what did you think?

Happy Planning!

Pink Wedding Shoes!

If you were to look at my blog stats, you would find my most popular post being a post with pink shoes. The problem being that they are ruffle Carlos Santana shoes that are no longer available (I know, I have them in black). I decided that I needed to give you more pink shoes to drool over. Right now these are available but who knows for how long. Enjoy!

Pink Sparkle Shoe

Pink Ruffle Shoe

Hot Pink Shoe

Kate Spade Pink Feather Purse

Wait a minute, that last one is not a shoe! What can I say, I couldn’t resist. While looking for pink shoes, I found this Kate Spade purse and wanted to share. Why not have a pink purse to match your pink shoes!

Which are your favorite?

Do you have another favorite pink shoe I missed?

Happy Planning!

Indianapolis Wedding Planner Crazy Winter Sale

I posted a couple of days ago on Facebook and Twitter that I was getting a little tired of winter and wanted to start thinking about weddings. Therefore, I had a crazy winter sale for our weekend management services. Since it is still winter and I am still crazy, I have decided to extend this offer to up to five brides until January 31st. This means that in the next two days, five luck brides can have a wedding coordinator at their wedding and save some money in the process. The offer is $225 off our weekend management Polished Path. This path includes:

Meeting 6-8 weeks out to start developing your timeline
Creation of Your Wedding Timeline
Wedding Coordinator and Team
Final Contact with All of Your Vendors – Including Timelines for All Vendors
Bridal Party Schedule
Rehearsal Coordination
All Day on Your Wedding Day
BONUS: This Path includes a 15 minute phone call once a month with a planner to talk about your wedding. You get to have a professional resource to ask questions to, vent, and tell all the fun details to.

Hurry, we can only give this offer to five brides so contact us at hello [at] rufflesroses.com to set up an appointment to meet with us.

Happy Planning!

2013 Wedding Gown Trends

If you are getting married, you have most likely already started searching for a wedding gown. The interesting thing this year is that more and more brides are looking for sleeves of some kind on their dress. Dress designers are starting to realize this too. Here are a couple of examples:

Alfred Angelo
Style 2243

Maggie Sottero
Bronwyn

David Tutera for Mon Cheri
Style No. 113204 – Rae

As you can see brides like the idea of covering up a bit. Also, having sleeves allow the designers to make great designs for the back of the dress. Click on the links and see how dress backs have changed.

The only problem is that not all dresses and designers have caught up with this trend. Many brides are finding dresses they like that have no sleeves. Not to worry, a good seamstress can fix that. In fact, Lucy’s Bridal in Carmel, can add cap sleeves to many of their dresses. When shopping for your dress, make sure to stop in to their shop to see if one of their dresses can be your dream dress.

What do you think about sleeves on dresses? Are you having them on your dress?

What to do After a Bridal Show

You heard a bridal show was going on this weekend so you, your mom and maybe your fiance decide to go. You wake up energized and excited all the way to the show. You register and off you go. Fast forward several hours and you are tired, worn out and your head is spinning. You have talked to venues, photographers, DJs, florists, planners, travel agents and had tons of cake. On the way home you realize that even though you have talked to many more vendors, you still have no idea where to start. First off, you are not alone. Almost all couples come away from a bridal show a little dazed. It is ok, you saw tons of people, no one expects you to remember everything. Here are some tips on how to get the most out of the show and how to survive bridal show overload.

After you get home, take a break from wedding talk. Maybe you eat dinner, watch some TV or take a nap, just try to clear your mind. Now that you can think clearly again, it is time to sort the bag. You were handed tons of business cards, postcards, brochures etc and now it is time to go through them. Start with three piles: Pile 1, I remember them and really liked them, Pile 2, I remember them and I do not feel they are right for me, Pile 3, I do not remember them at all. After sorting, take pile 2 and get rid of it. It is ok that every professional you talked to is not your type. You will find that there are vendors that are right for you and others that are not. I always tell my clients that you have to love me and I have to get you or I will not be able to make your vision a reality. This is true with all your vendors.

The next step is to research piles 1 and 3. With pile 1, your likes, you want to really see what they are like. Go to their website, blog and maybe their Facebook Page. Look at their work and see if you still connect with them. If so, then keep them, if not, then put them in pile 2 and get rid of them. With pile 3, your do not remembers, divide them into piles of type; photographers, DJs, planners etc. I would suggest that each night for the next week, you pick a category and research them. This will get your piles down to just the vendors you want to chat with.

This may seem like a lot of work, but if you take it one day at a time, in one week your big pile you dumped on the couch will now be just the people you are really interested in. Now when it is time to book your vendors, you already have a list to start with. If you still feel really overwhelmed, then maybe it is time to look at the planner pile first. We are always here to help so you do not feel overwhelmed and stressed.

We love to hear about your experiences at bridal shows. Tell us how we can make the experience better.

Happy Planning!

Love Inspirations: Fabric Flower Ideas

This past weekend I attending a regional meeting for the Association of Bridal Consultants and was honored to design a table for lunch. I was given the colors fuchsia, apple green, and black and white stripes. The only other stipulation was to try to not use fresh flowers (we were trying to keep the cost down). I decided to create a design using fabric. I created fabric ruffles orbs and fabric flowers. I am very pleased with how they turned out.

We have decided that this is a great accent to any wedding. We will soon be offering fabric flowers you can purchase to accent your wedding or event. We will also be creating keepsake bouquets. This will be a great way to have a wedding memory keep forever. Email us at hello {at} rufflesroses.com to be emailed when these items are available.

What do you think of the fabric flowers? How would you use them?

Love is in the Air!

Love Conntections: Violet Vintage

I am excited to share a new rental place in Indianapolis. It is called Violet Vintage and you probably guessed, but they provide vintage rentals. They have a selections of furniture, tableware, accessories and more! Check out their website:

Violet Vintage

Not only do they provide rental items but they do more. If you want a vintage look for your wedding or event, you must check them ou. I have to say I LOVE vintage style and cannot wait to use some of their items. In fact, I think I already have some ideas…You may need to check out Art of the Table this year to see something.

I think my favorite piece is the Stitch’s furniture, I can already see it in use. What is your favorite?

Love is in the Air!

Yes, I’m Engaged! Now What?

It finally happened, he asked and you said yes. You have been waiting for this for a while and cannot believe it has happened. You are now going to have your dream wedding, the problem is that you don’t know what that is. You were not one of those girls who started planning your wedding at age 7. You always wanted a wedding but you don’t know where to start. I have been there (surprisingly, I was just like you once) and I am here to help. Here are my five starting points to planning your wedding.

1. Sit down with your families, and decide the basics – Here are the questions you need answered: who is doing what, what is the budget, and when are you getting married?

It is important at the start to let your family know how much help you want. They can help a lot or a little you decide, but make sure to let them know. You also need to know how much  you are working with. Everyone has a budget, everyone. Figure out what yours is before you start following in love with people and places. Finally, figure out a date. You may not come up with the exact date but figured out dates that will work for everyone.

2. Find your locations – Many times your date is set by what date your venues are open. You will find the perfect place and know you are getting married there. If it is not open on your target date, you can change the date now before anything else is decided. Since you may change your date for your locations, you do not want to book your professionals first.

3. Figure out when you need to get your dress – Now that you know your date, you need to figure out your dress shopping schedule. A wedding dress takes 4-6 months to order, plus you will most likely need time to get it altered. I tell my brides if at all possible try to order your dress seven months before your wedding. Better safe then worried. I never what a bride worried her dress will not make it in time. If you are already passed seven months, then you need to go shopping very soon.

4. Get Inspired – The best way to figure out what you want is to look at photos. This is the really fun part of wedding planning. Grab a magazine or grab your computer and get started. As we all know, you can Google anything and that includes all things weddings. Try to narrow your search to a color, season, theme, etc. This will help with not going into overload. Remember, this is suppose to be fun. If you do not know where to start, go to the main wedding sites:

The Knot

Martha Stewart Weddings

Get Married

These sites have tons of ideas in any theme and color scheme out there. They will allow you to see many different types of weddings quickly so you can start to learn what your wedding will look/feel like.

5. If you feel overwhelmed, look into a wedding planner – A wedding planner is no longer a luxury for the wealth. You might be surprised to know that a wedding planner is more accessible than before and could be your greatest asset. A planner can help you as much or as little as you want. We help you relax and enjoy planning your wedding. Planning a wedding can be a full-time job, and not something you have done before. Why not have someone there to be on your side and there helping you every step of the way. You deserve to have fun planning your wedding!

This should help get you started on your wedding journey. Good luck!

Did this help you? Would you add another tip, if so, what?