Inspiration to Reality: a candy coated daydream

Inspiration:  a candy coated aqua and peach daydream.  This board is ultra feminine, romantic and soft.  It combines the best of a few worlds:  the chicness of Paris, the salt of the surf and sea, and the whimsy of a vintage carnival.  There is one place in the world that I've been that actually comes close to being a real, live place that resembles this board (minus the beach)....the summer carnival inside the Tuilerie Gardens in Paris.  Magical!

Reality:  here's a peek of the booth we designed at the St. Regis for the Engaged Magazine show back in March around this ethereal palette.  The name of the table was "From Paris, with Love" as an ode to the Tuileries which this inspiration board so reminds me of.

We used shiny white flooring to cover the hotel carpet.
And don't you just love the chandelier + lucite coffee table?

The custom tablecloth overlay was made from beautiful sheer and beaded fabric I purchased in the Indian District of NYC.

Mini Cakes from The Cake Courtesan

Hair by Remona/Gown by Chevy Chase Bridal

I love using opal and milk glass - so ethereal.

From Paris, with Love - Paper goods provided by Little Bit Heart

My assistant Colleen, and myself during the show.

Also a big thanks to DC Rentals as well as Perkins Productions for all their help with lighting/draping + florals!  

Tuesday Shoesday

We are loving these custom crystal heels found in London, but there are several shoe sites on places like Etsy that will customize shoes for you as well.  And it always helps if you have a picture for inspiration!

Fashion Model Friday

Jessica before our dream team got a hold of her!

Happy Friday :)  I wanted to give you guys a sneak peek of our latest fashion shoot!  Jessica was an absolute doll to work with and I have a feeling these pictures will definitely help to launch her dream career in modeling.

Photography-  David Hartcorn

Hair/Makeup - Amie Decker Beauty

Posing Coach - Krista Mills

Dress - Mary's Boutique

Shoes - Poppy & Stella

Wardrobe Styling - Strawberry Milk Events

Lady Gaga, anyone?

If you are interested in participating in our Fashion Model Now or Model for a Day program, please email me - julie@strawberrymilkevents.com

{About the Packages}

Strawberry Milk Events is thrilled to collaborate with David Hartcorn Photography on the launch of their new fashion photography packages.  If you've always wondered what it would be like to get glammed up and pretend you're on the set of Vogue, here's your chance.  

DHP is offering "Model for a Day" to those who are looking for some professional, fun pictures of yourself.  A great alternative to traditional senior portraits or to show off a more glamorous side of yourself.

For those who are wanting to get more seriously into modeling, DHP also offers a package called "Fashion Model Now" and will help to produce a beautiful portfolio as well as comp cards to land an agent or a dream job.

Both of these packages include 3 different looks with services from our dream team:  hair/makeup by Amie Decker Beauty, wardrobe styling by Strawberry Milk and a posing coach during your session with Maxim Cover model, Krista Mills.  

Tuesday Shoesday

Via Kelly Oshiro Events

These shoes could pass for art!  

 Shoes are by Kirwood for Rodarte, Fall 2011. 

We're Featured in The Knot Magazine!

Make sure next time you're in the grocery store or book store you grab a copy of the latest issue of The Knot Magazine (MD/DC/VA) - the party we designed back in March for The Knot is featured inside!

For more pretty party pictures, check out our previous blog post on the party here.

Tuesday Shoesday

Source:  Zsa Zsa Bellagio

Bling Blau!  Today it's haute couture straight off the Vogue Runway.  Would take a very confident fashionista to pull this look off, but we think the way it progresses from a fancy stocking to a full on jewel encrusted boot is pretty cool :)  What kind of dress would YOU wear with these?  Let us know in the comments!

Pinterest

From their site: "What is Pinterest? Pinterest is a social catalog service. Think of it as a virtual pinboard — a place where you can post collections of things you love, and "follow" collections created by people with great taste." 


You can "pin" any image, from any website. The best thing about it is once you pin something, it saves the original link. Say I want to pin a picture of a gorgeous bouquet that would be perfect for one of my brides... I just click my "pin it" button on my toolbar, select the image I want, what board I want it to save to, and I'm done. 2 months later when I am in the meeting with the florist, I find the image, click it, and it takes me back to where the picture was originally posted.


The other best thing about it is that you can follow other people boards, and see what pretty stuff they found. If you really like it, you can re-pin their image to one of your boards.  You can search keywords for anything - I like searching by category or color.  Long gone are the days for hunting for swoon-worthy eye candy.  This site makes it really TOO easy, and there is just so much to look at you sometimes don't know where to start!


I've found it's best to keep my board categories pretty specific. You can create any type of board you want, as many as you want. I'm still a newbie so I've only made 5 boards so far, but because Pinterest is so addictive, I'm sure that number will skyrocket in no time.  The three categories I have been pinning most to: Wedding Inspiration, Living Pretty (home decor) and Fashion Icon (outfit inspiration).


Here's a look at a few of my boards...each image is a "pin" that I have assigned a category (seen in the upper left-hand corner.)

And here's a specific pin... if I click this image it will take me back to where it was originally posted - Lovely Bride's blog which contains so much more eye candy!

Ready to get started? You can request an invite to join Pinterest (it's a free service!)... since it's fairly new and a bit exclusive there is a waiting list - it took me about a week before my invite was accepted and I've heard of others taking longer.  BUT, since you're reading this post, I'll send a direct invite to anyone who comments on this blog post, "likes" our Facebook page and follows us on twitter!

Warning: Once you start pinning, you can't stop. 

Click here to follow me on Pinterest!

Vendor Etiquette 101: Response Time

A tip to wedding pros: you should respond to emails/calls within 24 hrs, no exceptions!  

Even if you just send a short message that lets the sender know that you received the message and will be back in touch later when you can devote your attention to the response they need.  This was drilled into me during my experience in the hotel industry and I now understand why.  There is nothing more frustrating than trying to give someone your business and it takes days, or even a week to get back to you.  It's such a turn-off!  As a wedding planner it makes me not want to do business with those vendors, no matter how great their product is.  I can only imagine how frustrating it is for brides when this is their first experience with the industry.  When I worked as wedding/catering sales manager at the hotel, once in awhile we got "shopped" - meaning the higher ups in management would call the different properties and test the sales managers.  Not only on their phone/communication skills and how well they knew their stuff, but also on their response time.  You could get in serious trouble for messing up shop calls - some even got fired.  While that may seem extreme to some, there's no reason that a small business, that wants to be professional shouldn't take their cues from larger successful businesses and corporations.With todays technology, there really is no excuse.  Between your desktop, your laptop, your smart phone and your ipad...there really is never a time that you can't check messages.  This is not a 9-5 folks, it's a lifestyle job.  I'm not saying give up personal time or family time - not at all.  I know it's hard on the weekends, and I know it's hard during wedding season.  But if you're so busy that you can't even acknowledge receipt of a voicemail or email - it's time to get an intern!  That, or be prepared to lose a lot of business.

Tuesday Shoesday

Photo Credit:  Wedding Bee

This week's shoe feature is just as much about the stockings as it is the shoes.  While red satin shoes are right up our alley (especially ones donning cute little bows) we think the sheer black striped stockings pack an extra chic "ooh la la."  Perfect for a vintage french inspired wedding...they're oh-so Moulin Rouge!  Bold?  Yes.  But the fun part is, you don't see the stockings except in those lovely detail shoe shots where you give that long gorgeous dress a little lift-sie.

Where to buy:  Just saw these exact stockings in Nordstrom's hosiery department the other day!

Fashion Model Makeover

Remember this photo from our sneak peek of Rachel's model for a day shoot?  Well, we now have a few more photos to share from her other two looks that we styled!

Loving the attitude!  Doesn't she look like the next cover of TEEN VOGUE?

before - test shot

Recap:


Strawberry Milk Events is thrilled to collaborate with David Hartcorn Photography on the launch of their new fashion photography packages.  If you've always wondered what it would be like to get glammed up and pretend you're on the set of Vogue, here's your chance.  


DHP is offering "Model for a Day" to those who are looking for some professional, fun pictures of yourself.  A great alternative to traditional senior portraits or to show off a more glamorous side of yourself.

For those who are wanting to get more seriously into modeling, DHP also offers a package called "Fashion Model Now" and will help to produce a beautiful portfolio as well as comp cards to land an agent or a dream job.

Both of these packages include 3 different looks with services from our dream team:  hair/makeup by Amie Decker Beauty, wardrobe styling + accessories by Strawberry Milk and a posing coach during your session with Maxim Cover model, Krista Mills. 

Thoughts on Branding

As you know, good branding is invaluable.  I've been asked by several people in the wedding industry lately about how I came up with a strong brand for Strawberry Milk.  The truth is, I feel very blessed that it all came together rather effortlessly - I didn't sit down one day and brainstorm what I wanted the company to represent.  SME is truly an extension of myself and my own style/personality.  I didn't have to "try" to make it something to fit into trends...it just is what it is.  

Recently, I was reading a marketing article by Laura Lake and one thing she said really stood out to me.  It is important to understand that branding is not about getting your target market to choose you over the competition, but it's about getting your prospects to see you as the only one that provides a solution to their problem.   Our ideal client isn't the one that contacts 20 wedding planners in the area to get their pricing information and proceeds with the cheapest one just so they have a wedding coordinator.  It's the client that really identifies with our portfolio, our style, our brand, our credentials and they just "get it."  They know and understand that what they're getting from us is a different product than what they would get from someone else.

For those in the wedding industry, it can be a bit different than other industries because weddings are personal and emotional experiences.  That's why it's so important that the client clicks with the company's brand - it should resonate not only in their heads, but in their hearts.

I know not everyone will fall into their branding like I did, or they may need a little extra help defining their niche.  I think that branding and marketing companies that focus on these areas are where you need to start if you fall into that category.  There are companies that do this type of thing specifically for the wedding industry, and they have a little more insight and experience into our clientele than the average corporate PR or marketing company.  A quick google search for "wedding industry pr and branding" should get you started :)

Wedding for Two - Pt. II

If you missed Part I, catch up here first!

Note the gorgeous Kate Middleton-esque wedding ring...

An intimate reception for two - English Rose Garden did a beautiful job on the florals.

Cake for two - by the amazing Maggie Austin.  The hand-rolled rosettes took 13 hours alone!
And those realistic peach flowers are made of pure sugar.

The End.

Again, a very special thank you to all our fabulous vendors:

Venue/Catering - The Jefferson Hotel, DC

Photography - David Hartcorn

Hair - Elegant Hair by Giselle

Makeup - Carl Ray

Cake - Maggie Austin Cakes

Flowers - English Rose Garden

Posing Coach - Maxim Cover Model, Krista Mills

Officiant - Rev. Gioele Settembrini

Planning/Styling - Strawberry Milk Event