Saturday, January 30, 2010

INDIE WED

Very excited to be heading to the Indie Wed event today. I think its a great idea and I believe that there are a lot of talented vendors. I will update this blog with pictures and recap later today. If your going to be there email me.

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Services

I am often asked, “What exactly are you” by so many people. Quite frankly we do everything, but there isn’t a title for that. First and foremost we are a creative company. We specialize in weddings, particularly handmade weddings. Our goal is to offer design services at practical cost. Some of the services include:

Invitation Design

Thank You Cards

Programs

Menu Design

Table Décor

Favors

Do It Yourself Consulting (for the crafter in you)

-This can be anywhere from a half hour conversation about the project your going to do for your special day to full day coordinating and event design.

Do It Yourself Parties (For those of you looking for design services but need to cut back on the labor costs)

T-Shirts

Stationary

If there is a creative service you need just ask I may be able to help you out.

Please email me for a fee schedule!
danielle@sugarandspiceink.com

Sunday, January 24, 2010

Meet the Experts Arming the Recessionista Bride

















This event was destined from the beginning to be a smashing evening. Brides are demanding to know how they can pull off the lush lavish wedding that they've been dreaming in today's depressing economic conditions. We still want the glitz but sadly we are stretching every penny we have to get it and it doesn't have to be that way.

The evening was hosted by Ursula Guyer and Stacy Senechalle of whiteCHICAGO an ultra chic bridal boutique located in the river north gallery district. Forty-five brides came to pick the brains of the experts leading the way for Recessionista's across the city and burbs. Brides graced the white floor mingling with experts, sipping on St. Germaine champagne cocktails(thanks to Binny's) (served by Carol's Event Staffing)and sampling spring rolls and Spanish meatballs(thanks FIG Catering). After the question and answer session Fritz Pastry served up the most amazing macarons I have ever tasted!


The really great thing about this event is that it was totally driven by the bride's questions. That tells me that brides are hungry for this type of information. We discussed everything from what the mother of the bride should wear, to negotiating venues, to financial talk with your fiance, DIY projects, to how to get your family to help with some of the "dirty" work. The most important thing about being a Recessionista is knowing that you are doing your best to plan the most important day of your life, so take time to enjoy it. Know that you are not going to be able to DIY every aspect and ask for help when needed. Prioritise what is most important to you( the dress, the flowers, venue, DJ, etc) and then allow yourself wiggle room on everything else. Our experts suggest selecting 2 to 3 key items to put the bulk of your budget into. Just note that that at the end of the day your guest typically remember a few key things about your wedding and the rest gets fuzzy. Those key things are typically: 1. The food was good  2. The music was good. 3. The liqueur was good and never ran out!


At the end of the evening one bride snagged the raffel gift from mojuba and I have to say I'm jealous! This was the groom's emergency kit and the bride's come in an adorable white. What a perfect shower gift! I want one for every day!






All of these amazing and talented experts are still available even after the event if you didn't get a chance to pick their brains at the event or even if you couldn't make it!

(Listed as appearing in the photo at the top of this post)


  1. Kyra Fitzgerald, Wedding Gown Expert www.whitexchange.com/blog "Newlywed News" - info@whitechicago.com attn:Kyra


  2. Stephanie Schranz, Financial Advisor http://www.waddell.com/ stephanieschranz@yahoo.com

  3. Elise Hofer, Editor-in-Chief, CS Brides Magazine www.modernluxurybrides.com/chicago ehofer@modernluxury.com


  4. Ursula Guyer, Master of All Things Bridal http://www.whitechicago.com/ ursula@whitechicago.com


  5. Anthony Navarro, Wedding Planner http://www.livenitup.com/ anthony@livenitup.com






All of the gorgeous pictures were taken by Andre Lacour !

And thanks to Tablescapes for all the rentals!
You can view the entire photo album on my facebook page. 






















Thursday, January 21, 2010

Meet the Experts Follow up

Last night I was really privileged to be apart of the panel for the Meet the Experts event hosted by the amazing women at whiteCHICAGO. I will have full recap of the event in a day or two while I finish gathering all the information I want post (photo's and what not ) I need to make sure that I don't leave anyone out because trust me the vendor's who participated were first class and simply amazing to work with. I also want to add that the brides I met were really great too. I commend and congratulate you ladies for all the hard work your putting into planning your wedding. I was a DIY and I did have to plan my whole wedding on a budget so believe me when I say that I can relate to you. And if you have any questions or maybe you just want to bounce some idea's off about your wedding please email me. In the mean time I'm putting together price packages for DIY consultations that I know you'll find extremely affordable. After all this is the spot for weddings, "practically designed. "

Thursday, January 7, 2010

Meet the Experts Event


Hi Everybody!


Really exciting news!

I am really proud to announce that I will be part of an amazing event called "Meet the Experts, Arming the Recessionista Bride" on January 20th. The invitation is attached and if you know anybody who is planning a wedding or recently engaged please extend this invitation to them. It is by RSVP only and it in collaboration with whiteChicago and CS Bride Magazine! A similar email invite went out today to 6000 Chicago brides! I will be on the panel of experts serving as the DIY Bride/wedding blogger and dishing about my new business! It's a great way to get practical information for how to save money for your wedding. Serving on the panel along with me will be a financial planner, wedding planer, gown expert, personal stylist, and the Editor and Chief for CS Brides Magazine! So please send this to any Recessionista Brides you know to come out for a great evening full of cocktails and great conversation. You can RSVP by sending me an email at danielle@sugarandspiceink.com,
and of course follow my blogg at http://www.sugarandspiceink.blogspot.com/
or my soon to be up website http://www.sugarandspiceink.com/
and become my fan on facebook/twitter(I post on just about every social media outlet there is) !
Thanks for all your support!
Danielle

Kudos

If your a chicago bride then your gonna want to tune into WGN this morning at 11:45 AM. The wedding dress experts from white CHICAGO and the whiteXCHANGE.com are going to be featured. Tune in for an amazing wedding gown resource.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Saturday, January 2, 2010

Today's Line Up

Good Morning Wedding World!

Today is going to be pretty busy! Putting finishing touches on my new dot com site, Silk screening wedding invitations, working on programs for a new event this month, and somewhere I have to stop at my mother-in-laws house cause we're making home made ravioli today! YEAH! Busy girl... I'm thinking about getting myself an intern...Undecided at this point.