One of the weddings from this past weekend was held in a rustic barn, overlooking green fields and lush woods beyond.  Part of the decoration in the barn is an antique buggy, which our bride turned into a candy counter of sorts.  Placed on the buggy were a number of antique-style containers of red candies, including licorice, gum drops, lolipops and jawbreakers (maybe gumballs--we didn't try any).  A little sign invited guests to partake, saying "Love is dandy, enjoy some candy".  The style of containers and buggy fit the setting well, but this could be done in a plethora of ways, using different containers depending on the style of your individual wedding.  We weren't around to see, but we're sure this was a hit with the kids.

June's bouquet of the month is the one carried by Sister #3 (click for the full story).

This stylish hand-tied bouquet featured light blue delphinium, white mini calla lilies, white roses, white agapanthus, limonium and greenery.  The stems were wrapped with light blue satin ribbon with a row of pearl-headed pins (not seen in the photo).  Average price $150-$175.  This is bouquet BW329.

The Fall/Winter 2005 issue of The Knot Weddings: Pittsburgh features a wedding we were pleased to be a part of.  You'll find the happy couple, Angelina and Michael, on page 46.  Photographer Mike Bordo did an excellent job shooting in the Morning Glory Inn, and we're happy to see the photographs featured the flowers so nicely, too!  There's a gorgeous close-up of Angelina's bouquet on page 48, and the rose petal path was made from several hundred roses.  It was a really windy day, and the Morning Glory Inn staff had to wait until the very last minute to make the path--you can see them doing so at http://www.bordo.com/angelina.html (near the middle of the page).  Usually we'd handle the path, but on such a windy day, we had to ask them to handle this.  Also, check out the floral swag on the garden arch behind the couple on page 46.  It's mounted about 10-11 feet off the ground, and consisted of calla lilies, dendrobium orchids, roses and other flowers with bountiful ferns and greenery.  It was a very large piece, and quite heavy due to the amount of wet floral foam we had to use.  We were rather nervous when getting that up on the garden arch.  There are two smaller ones on either side of the arch, which you can kind of see on page 49.  We have a couple color photos as well in our portfolios at the shop--stop by during regular business hours and you can look through them.

Congratulations to Angelina and Michael on your wedding, and for being one of "16 Amazing Pittsburgh Real Weddings".  Thanks for making us a part of your special day.

P.S. You'll find our ad on page 80.

What do Dorothy's ruby red slippers, Rockefeller Center's Christmas Tree, and a Marilyn Monroe dress have in common with your wedding?  Swarovski crystals!

Man-made crystals have been produced from melted quartz, lead, calcium and a few other ingredients for centuries.  In 1892, Daniel Swarovski invented a machine that could cut crystals that resembled faceted diamonds; in years to come, Swarovski became a favorite supplier for Coco Chanel and Christian Dior.  Swarovski crystals have adorned Dorothy's slippers in "The Wizard of Oz", the dress Marilyn Monroe wore when she sang "Happy Birthday Mr. President" to President Kennedy, and the star atop the Rockefeller Center tree was created by Swarovski.

Swarovski, now led by Daniel's great-great-granddaughter, continues to court desginers, including Beverly Clark and Cathy's Concepts.  Several of the collections we carry from Beverly Clark and Cathy's Concepts are adorned with Swarovski crystals.  These collections include:

There are a few items not associated with collections that are also decorated with Swarovski crystals.  You can click here to view all items adorned with Swarovski crystals.

As you sparkle down the aisle on your big day, remember you're in good company.

Few things go together like photos and weddings.  Few things can bring an internet connection to a standstill or fill up an e-mailbox than big photos.  Not a happy combination.  Microsoft has a plug-in for Windows XP called the Image Resizer Powertoy.  The Image Resizer helps you quickly resize a photo to a smaller file size so you can e-mail it to your friends without killing their mailbox.  It's a small download which installs easily, and adds an option to your right-click menu.  Find the photo you want to resize, right-click, and choose the size you want the file to be.  Windows will copy the file to the size you selected, ready for you to send.

If you are your fiancee' are photo buffs, and you own a Nikon or Canon camera, you can look at the Windows Raw Image Thumbnailer.  Microsoft's description says it best:

RAW image capture is preferred by many serious-minded photographers to preserve all the subtle color and detail possible from digital cameras. However, until now it has been impossible to view thumbnails and previews for RAW images in Windows without use of special software.

The Microsoft RAW Image Thumbnailer and Viewer enhances the Windows XP photos experience by providing thumbnails, previews, printing, and metadata display for RAW images from most Canon and Nikon digital cameras. This tool enables advanced digital photographers to organize and work with RAW files directly in Windows Explorer in much the same way as with JPEG images. No more "guessing" which image is which!

This is a large download, so make sure you have time or a lot of bandwidth.  Also, check out the Readme file first to make sure your camera model is supported.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette recently ran an article about wedding insurance.  Included in the article were a couple of stories that made the insurance well worth the price.  We imagine weddings where the insurance wasn't needed simply aren't newsworthy.  In the hundreds of weddings we've been part of, disasters have been very rare, but they were big.  Until 2004, the worst problem we'd seen was a bride's dress delivered to her ready room with a stain on it.  The dress shop sent someone out, and it was cleaned in time for pre-ceremony photos.  2004 brought on a couple of doozies.

One bride spent 2 years planning every aspect of her wedding--double, triple and quadruple checking everything.  She wanted everything perfect, and to remember it all, hired a videographer to record every memory for posterity.  On the day of the wedding, the videographer (a local rep for a national agency) failed to show up.  They were not present at any part of her day.  To make matters worse, a thunderstorm knocked out the power to the reception hall, and the hall had no backup power.  Fortunately, the groom's father owned a farm nearby, and had enough portable generators to power the rest of the evening.  She contacted the national agency, who confirmed the videographer should have been at her wedding, but did not offer a full refund.  Several months later, she was planning to take the agency to court.

2004 was a very wet year for Western Pennsylvania.  By September, we had already received an average year's worth of rain, and we still had the fall rainy season to go.  The three rivers of Pittsburgh are fed by thousands of small tributaries, which normally pass under roadways with no problems.  Early in September, the remnants of hurricane Frances added several more inches to the total, swelling the rivers and tributaries to near record levels.  One week leter, Ivan's remnants dumped 5 inches in a matter of hours, causing streams and tunnels to flood, roadways to wash out, and entire towns to be evacuated.  By the time it was all over, nearly 8000 homes were damaged or destroyed, along with 600 commercial buildings and 300 governmental buildings.  Cleanup and recovery continue 9 months later.

It was during Ivan's visit that we were attempting to deliver a wedding.  A trip usually 30-45 minutes took over four hours to make because roadways were closed.  The ceremony had to be delayed over an hour so guests, flowers and the cake could arrive.  The hotel was running on emergency power, but the kitchen was not fully functional.  Because of road closings, few guests (even those close by) could make the trip.  The couple was married, but little turned out as planned that day.

Whether to add wedding insurance is a decision you have to make, and the budget should be considered.  We can't really offer advice on way or the other.  Be sure to fully understand what is covered and what is not.  Hopefully, our stories, as well as those in the Post-Gazette article, will help you evaluate the risks and the need for wedding insurance.  Like most things about your wedding, it's not an easy choice.

At one recent wedding, the bride and groom added some conversation starters to their place settings.  At each setting were two printed papers, antiqued and mounted on cardstock.  One of the cards featured "Love Quotes", a collection of quotes from their favorite songs, poems, stories and movies.  This turned out to be a real conversation starter while guests were enjoying the cookie table before the reception.  One good reference is to search Bartlett's Familiar Quotations at www.bartleby.com.  Use the thesaurus there and search quotations for a variety of words related to love.

The other paper featured a list of "On This Day In History"--significant events that occured on the wedding date throughout history, with the very last entry being the couples wedding!  On this particular date, Amelia Earhart became the first woman to fly across the Atlantic Ocean (here's hoping the marriage turns out better than Amelia's flying career).  One excellent reference is the Wikipedia (www.wikipedia.org).  You can enter the month and day of your wedidng, and it will return a list of significat events on that date.  For instance, on our anniversary, Disneyland opened in Anaheim (1955).

Clarification: We were married on the same day, but several decades after Disneyland opened.

Many couples choose to create a seating chart, traditionally numbering tables and having place cards with the guest's name and table number on the cards.  We've seen couples opting for more personal and creative ways of associating guests with tables.  One couple named every table for something significant in their favorite TV shows and movies.  Guests were seated in "Ten Forward" or "Rick's Cafe Americain".  Instead of place cards, the couple made CDs of their favorite songs, and placed the guest's name and table on the CD cover.  At each table was a brief story about what that table was named for, and why that was significant in the couple's life.

Tonight's couple named every table for a word they felt played a part in a good marriage.  Guests were seated at tables named "Honesty", "Faithfulness", "Passion", etc.   Each table sign was beautifully written in large calligraphy on a small piece of white parchment, and pasted onto a piece of cardstock matching the wedding's colors and folded like a tent.  Instead of place cards, the couple had an attractive sign printed on foam core, listing the guests and their table.

What you choose to do should reflect how you want your reception to be remembered.  Keep in mind that the seating arrangement is your guest's first impression of your reception, and you don't want to mix a wacky table scheme with formal reception.