Bridal Watch

Bridal Spotlight: Bridal Bars

If you are new Bride or Broom to Be, congratulations! Your wedding will be remarkable, unique and picturesque!

If you take one thing away from this blog post, let it be this:

I know how fun it is to bask in your new bride glow and Instagram pictures of your new hardware. Just know, while you are doing that- there are other couples (who are done basking) snagging all of the amazing vendors and venues!

Make sure that as soon as you settle on a date (and don’t be lax with making that decision) you reach out to your top 2-3 venues, even if just for a date check (some venue managers are extremely nice and will hold the date for 1-2 days and call will alert you if someone else is inquiring for it). Once your venue is booked (sometimes Catering is tied in too) you can start Pinning!

My favorite weddings to plan are the ones where we have a year or so to conceptualize, plan, coordinate, design and then finally produce. While I enjoy planning any type of wedding no matter the time frame, I love to be able to work with a bride or broom from the beginning to end. I have had the pleasure of working on several weddings where the client has come to me almost immediately after being engaged. I think you get the most from any planners’ services by working with them from the very beginning. This allows me to mold my clients’ organic and pure ideas into something unique and cohesive; hopefully- a reflection of the couple to their guests.

I find the best way to inform people is through simple and straightforward Q & A’s. Please read below to learn about P3’s Bridal Bars.

What is a Bridal Bar?

A Bridal Bar is an experience where clients can come to our Studio and shop Vendors! Instead of picking a day and driving from location to destination (parking and paying and paying again!), we bring all of your top vendors to you!

They are there to answer your questions, give you real quotes and hopefully-make you their client! The Bridal Bars make planning your wedding more streamlined and clients who have used this service often times book most, if not all of their vendors within the month! We also love to treat and pamper our clients, so we always have our Makeup Artists there to give you and whomever you would like to bring, complimentary wedding day makeup trials. You never know what special surprises will pop up at our next Bar!

Make sure that whether you do this with your planner, your bridesmaids or by yourself, that you incorporate vendors representing all price ranges. This way you can see what is considered “The Best of The Best” and then find who can produce the same results for a more realistic price point. We love big, extravagant weddings but know not everyone’s budget is the same.

Where do the Bridal Bars take place?

Bridal Bars take place in our Studio (Lacuna Artist Lofts Suite 5C-3).

What is a typical Bridal Bar like?

First, Champagne. Then (depending on the Bar theme.) Bridal Bars can be themed to a particular trend, color scheme or vendor. For example: You could attend a Bridal Bar: Photographers & Cinematographers- this would introduce you to 3-5 vendors offering only Photography or Cinematography. You would take your time asking questions, listening to vendors’ advice, moving to the next table (and possibly getting your makeup or nails done while you wait!) and gaining all of the information you would have collected at that particular vendor’s office! At the end of your Bridal Bar (you can leave at your leisure), you are offered the chance to sign up for another Bridal Bar (never the same theme, you just attended) and refer a friend (who is engaged), suggest a theme and/or win a complimentary service for P3 or one of the vendors you just met!

Is the Bridal Bar complimentary? And when do they take place?

No, Bridal Bars are $50.00 per guest $80.00 per couple. Currently, we try and have 1 Bridal Bar per season. Starting this fall we will have one every other month! More to come!

Can Bridal Bars be private?

Yes! We recently decided to add Bridal Bars to our A La Carte Menu. You can now schedule your own private bridal bar tailored specifically to your budget, needs and specifications! Think of it as a Bridal Show just for you!

Please feel free to email hello@p3events.com or call 312.763.6962 to schedule your Bridal Bar!

Thank you always for reading,

Lindsay Gloria
P3 Events
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Designing Your Wedding Party Attire

Sometimes choosing your bridal parties attire is more than difficult. Even when you have your color scheme/theme, sometimes it just doesn’t come together. It’s fine to take your time but not being able pin this down, slows the production time on fittings and getting the dresses to all of your bridesmaids in time for more fittings and alterations. This also puts your design process to a halt too. When you haven’t chosen your bridesmaid dress color, you do not know what color their shoes and flowers will be. This makes it hard to approve any of the several floral design proposals I am sure are looming in your inbox.

Here are some steps to expedite the process and a website you can go to design your wedding dress and bridesmaid dresses.

Wedding Dress Creator

Bridesmaid Dress Creator

Start with yourself. What color is your wedding dress? (white, off-white, cream, ivory, etc…) Ivory
What is your color scheme/theme? (Anchor color, supporting color, accent color) Bright Coral, Beige and Moss Green with a theme of modern edginess with old fashion undertones.
What color bouquet do you want? Different shades of coral
Do you want your bridesmaids to have matching bouquets to yours in color (not in size) or different? Different in size and one color. You now know what color your bouquet is and that you want your bridesmaids’ bouquets to be different sizes and one color not two. Now what color to use?
What color do you want your bridesmaids’ dresses? (try not to use your anchor color, unless you wanted to do a varying shade of that color) Green, ivory and coral
What color is your Fiancé Tuxedo? Groomsmen? Beige Tuxedo, Coral Vest, Tie or Bow-tie

With all of these questions having answers it makes it easier to see your floral story. Take a look at the design board I whipped up to demonstrate how to translate your color scheme into your wedding attire.

If your Groom has the same color boutonniere as your bouquet it will add a very pretty symmetry in your photographs. You then can have the groomsmen’ boutonnieres match the bridesmaids. Ivory with touches of lush greens.

As promised. More for you Wedding Party Attire. I especially love dressing up Men. Most do not know what compliments them and this is one of the only times the Bride has more control in exactly how her Groom will look. So lets take advantage of this gift!

I really hope to see some pops of color in the groom and/or groomsmen this season. Whether its in the tie, the vest, a bow-tie or in the boutonniere, color blocking can and should be used in the Groom & Groomsmen’s attire.

Two of the five weddings we have in June 2013 have the Groom and Groomsmen wearing shades of Grey. I am thrilled. I love how grey looks against a blue sky and more importantly how soft of a color it can be. They will make for great pictures.

It doesn’t take long to figure out what color your Fiancé’s Tuxedo will be and the Groomsmen fall quickly behind. What is difficult is how to incorporate your beautiful, sometimes girly, color scheme into the Groom’s attire without clashing. As for most women’s wedding plans, the Groom comes last :).

Thanks for reading!

~Lindsay Gloria

info@parrottpartyproductions.com

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