Today is classic friday on my Kate Parker Wedding! We thought it would be a great idea to compile a few examples of classic wedding paper products for todays blog. Classic wedding stationery is usually seen with simple designs, has clean lines, features calligraphy, and is usually a white or off-white color, especially as a base. Hope you enjoy!
After participating in the Branding and Blogging workshop held by the amazing Emilie Sommer of Emilie Inc. Photography, Liene Stevens of Splendid Communications, and J Sandifer of Livebooks, I wanted to follow up my experience with some of the things I took away from this amazing seminar. Check out Emilie’s recap blog post here for more details.
First, I wanted to say how much I enjoyed seeing the other wedding professionals who also came to the workshop. Many were my Kate Parker Wedding members- which is always great to see- and I met some new faces in the industry as well. I couldn’t believe how far some people traveled for the weekend- all the way from CA!
I think it is so critical for business owners to take advantage of these types of workshops to help improve their business practices. I found myself energized and ready to take on the world for my Kate Parker Wedding as soon as I put on my name tag. There are so many opportunities out there to be successful, you just have to be persistent, creative, and you definitely have to think outside of the box. I would say the number one lesson learned from the workshop for me was “This is a marathon, not a sprint,” which I think was said by everyone presenting throughout the day. I always wish there were more than 24 hours in a day, that my SEO efforts show up a week later, and that 1000 new users join the myKPW family every single day.
How does the concept of time relate to me? As the editor of my Kate Parker Wedding, I have two roles that both require me to think long term. First, to provide the highest quality vendor-generated content for our users, and to help our vendors reach quality leads. I personally strive to go way beyond these roles, creating new and exciting features for our users to make their wedding planning process even easier, and working with our vendors to help them with their business as a whole, not just with generating leads. It might be a quick phone call with some advice on where to market, or it might be hours and hours redesigning a vendor’s website. Whatever we can do to help, we are here. Knowing that you have to be in it for the long haul, you have to look around yourself and find multiple ways to improve your business. It’s not just about taking an advertisement out and sitting on the couch waiting for it to bring you inquiries. It’s about the whole picture- your brand, your website, your blog, your marketing materials, your relationships, your business plan and model, and it’s also about time. So at my Kate Parker Wedding, we’re here to say we’re in it for your long haul too, and if we can help better your business in any way, let us know!
Thanks again to Emilie for hosting an amazing and eye-opening workshop. It is always an honor to work with you and your team
Maine wedding photographer, emilie inc. was featured on the my Kate Parker WeddingYouTube channel! We thought it would be a great idea to do a new myKPW video series on YouTube that explores each of our vendors pages. We are very excited to start up this new series! We will also be featuring myKPW wedding tips and our vendor’s videos on our channel. Stay tuned for these new upcoming videos and subscribe to the myKPW YouTube channel! For our first vendor directory series, we take you through emilie inc.’s vendor directory and explain all of the details that are featured on emilie’s vendor directory. Check out the video below and visit the my Kate Parker WeddingYouTube Channel. Thanks for watching!
Today is Rustic Monday on my Kate Parker Wedding. Since it is our first ever Rustic Monday, we thought it would be a good idea to give examples of what “rustic” actually is. Many weddings have rustic aspects mixed in with a vintage styled wedding. We decided to show some rustic elements of weddings, like a wedding gown, table scape, and wedding decor in order to sort of define what rustic is. We hope you enjoy our first of many Rustic Mondays!
Why is this rustic? Sunflowers are wildflowers, which gives them a very organic and natural look. The gown in the photographs has an empire waist with lace embroidery giving it a rustic look.
Why is this rustic? The wooden floors and walls make for a very rustic style. Using paper lanterns above instead of chandeliers gives a dim and more natural lighting to the space.
Why is this rustic? Creating home-made place cards are a great way to get a rustic look. The color scheme, wildflower patterns, and handwriting all comes together to make for rustic place cards.
Why is this rustic? The tree stump centerpieces with floral tops gives an outdoor feel to this reception. The hanging lights and wooden beams are very rustic as well.
Why is this rustic? The knit menu holder gives the table setting a home-made feel. The color scheme is also a great way to get an outdoor feel for an indoor reception.
The candle lit table and green colors all help to tie this rustic table scape together.
Why is this rustic? The worn down wooden sign is a great way to direct guests to the wedding site and give guests a sneak peak at the rustic styled wedding.
Why is this rustic? The background for this decor is very barn-like. The photographs are hung by a natural green colored ribbon and the brown frames tied together are very rustic elements.
This week, New Hampshire wedding photographer, Melissa Koren Photography shares her wedding with my Kate Parker Wedding! For our blog series, Real Weddings from Real Vendors, we asked Melissa Koren about her special day with Nichole! Melissa and Nichole were married on April 26, 2008. Check out their wedding below and get to know Melissa and Nichole!
1) THE FOOD! We were determined that we would have fabulous wedding food. We did a lot of research and made a lot of decisions. We pared down our wants a lot but in the end the Sheraton Harborside did an AMAZING job. We had a mashed potato bar, pasta station, stir fry & pot stickers and the best of all? minis. Mini Grilled Cheese w/ Tomato soup shooter, Mini PB&J with Milk shooter, Mini Mac & Cheese ramekins and mini calzones.
We had stations all over the ballroom and the guests had to mingle about and cover a lot of ground to find what everything was, but it was a blast!
We wanted our guests to enjoy the food, not just choke down another stuffed chicken breast. And it worked. They still talk about how it was the best wedding food they ever ate.
2) The Date. April 26th is Nichole’s grandparents anniversary. It happened to fall on a Saturday in 2008 and that seemed to absolutely be the way to go. It helped us in picking a venue location too – not available? not an option! And being fixated with numbers I love that it ends up being 2,4,6,8
3) That it was a wedding that truly reflected us and that everyone had fun in the celebration. I think we accomplished it really well.
After our lovely ceremony at the church where I’ve worked for nearly the entirety of our relationship, officiated by the pastor, a woman who has known us since the beginning, we skipped down the aisle to the “Charlie Brown Theme” – rocked out on by the organ & cello. The reception was highlighted by the food, great music & care bear cake toppers that couldn’t have fit us better – while walking through Target we saw them in their little package and it was sort of an instantaneous “those need to be on our cake!” We had Jenness Farm goats milk soap favors in chocolate and lilac, tied in chocolate and lilac ribbon, each with a little favor card with a fun quote about love and relationships on it. My favorite of which is “Love is like pi – natural, irrational, and very important.” Our wedding party was a very integral part too. Initially we were going to just have one person each, but after a few weeks of sitting with that it didn’t feel right and we added in two more. I can’t imagine having done it with out them. And also Benjamin – our (then) 7 year old. He was our ring bearer and it was so awesome to be able to have him as a part of everything!
Any Changes?:
I think I would have changed my dress. I loved it and I worked really hard to fit into it, but in the end I just didn’t feel ‘comfortable’ in it. I definitely wanted the color ‘pop’ but ultimately I think I should have forgone it for a more flattering style.
Also we didn’t take as much time as we should have to make the rounds and see everyone.
Overall though we worked really hard to have it be OUR wedding and all our vendors worked so well with us to make sure that happened!
What Wouldn’t you change?:
Anything else. It was such a celebration of family and friends and love!
Our First Dance:
She; Elvis Costello
Nichole asked if she could pick the first dance and surprise me with it and I said yes. She tried to change her mind and have me pick a few times during the process but I held fast. It was such a great moment to look forward to!
Melissa Koren Photography my Kate Parker Wedding Directoy: Melissa Koren
my Kate Parker Wedding State and Budget: NH <25k
Vermont wedding cakes, The Cakery, is featured today in the my Kate Parker Wedding vendor spotlight! Michelle Hines of The Cakery gives us some insight into her business and lets us know what makes The Cakery stand out. Check them out!
Number of years in business:
I’ve owned and operated The Cakery going on three years. Yes, fairly new, but I’ve been in the Food & Beverage business for almost 20 yrs. and the wedding business for the last 10 yrs. High points of my background include my degrees in Baking and Pastry Arts and Food service Management through Johnson and Wales University. I’ve worked and lead crews within 4 and 5 diamond resorts such as Deer Valley Resort in Park City, Utah, The Grand Wailea and Fairmont Kea Lani in Maui, HI. and Topnotch Resort and Spa within Stowe, VT.
Pricing Information:
My wedding cake prices are $4.00-$8.00 per slice. Delivery and set-up are dependent upon location and complexity of the cake. Pricing varies according to the type of cake flavor, if each tier is a different flavor, and the design. Wedding cupcakes start at $4.00 each
What makes you stand out?:
What makes me stand out? I’m told that besides making, baking, and creating beautiful cakes, I have two outstanding factors. One is my personality, which is very out-going, bubbly and fun. I want to create “your” wedding cake. I want to listen to you and make it special and unique and exactly what you want. It’s the most important dessert of your life. I want you to leave me laughing, feeling comfortable, and excited for the day to see your cake in its entirety.
Two is my location. I’m located right in town, Stowe Village, within Jamie’s on Main. So, I’m very local. I’m not always there in person, due to my daughter, but, I am a phone call away and can meet anytime.
What’s your favorite part of work?:
Favorite Part? Is this. I love what I do. I Love the food business and have since I was 15yrs. old. I love cake, literally, could eat it everyday, all day. I love making someones wedding cake and being able to create, form the details, manicure the finesse, and relish in the utter beauty. I love talking to foodies that want this or that and we come up with an amazing cake menu and detailed one of a kind design.
What do you do in your spare time?:
My spare time is spent with my daughter and family. We live in VT for one reason and that is to be outside as much as possible. Hiking , Swimming, Running, Skiing, Snowshoeing, All of it!
What charity are you donating to and why?:
I choose to donate to The Pink Initiative because as a Mother, Wife, and Independent Career woman; breast cancer is scary. It has never touched my immediate friends or family, but it touches all of us in some way. And, I’ve seen the faces and hearts from baking for events in college. It’s amazing to watch the strength of these woman, but it’s also amazing to see how many woman it touches.
The Cakery
my Kate Parker Wedding Directory: The Cakery
Website: www.thecakeryvt.com
my Kate Parker Wedding State & Budget: VT <25k, 25-50k
Are you a wedding professional interested in joining the growing the my Kate Parker Wedding family? We would love to hear from you! Please email us and we'll be in touch with you soon!
Meet Kate Parker