Hudson Valley Wedding Planners Lauren Paige Associates' Blog

I thought March was a wedding planners down time?

What a busy week this has been! In fact, this entire month has been nonstop action. Our schedule has been jam-packed with weddings and meetings. This past week we had the pleasure of designing an amazing tablescape focusing on one super popular pattern for Westchester Magazine's big annual bridal issue. I had such a blast designing this totally out of the box concept and I can't wait to show it off! In the meantime, here's a little preview of part of the main centerpiece!

The issue hits stands in November so stay tuned :)

Spring Recess Announcement

Hi all!

Our offices will be CLOSED starting the week of May 5 for spring recess. We will return to normal business hours on Monday, May 20.

We will post another announcement as it gets closer!

Feel free to call/email us if you have any questions.

Patterns + Weddings = Love

We love when couples incorporate patterns and different fabrics into their weddings. It's so much more fun than just going with the standard. Here are a couple of our most recent favorite pattern and fabric trends!

Burlap:

Chevron:

Damask:

Lace:

Paisley:

Pintuck:

Petal Taffeta:

Overlapping Runners:

Fairytales ARE Real

It's snowing like crazy outside. Thankfully, we have no wedding scheduled for this weekend. What luck, right?!

Meetings after 2PM today have been cancelled and ALL meetings tomorrow have also been cancelled due to the storm. We will be in touch to reschedule if we haven't already.

Meanwhile, I'm traveling back in my mind to a place a little less snowy...

Last September, while vacationing in Spain (Barcelona and Madrid to be exact), Madrid really captured my heart. It really is a fairytale city come to life - full of magical places and palaces galore.

In fact, during our stay, we actually stayed in an old palace that was transformed to a hotel. The history (and service) were amazing.

Right around the corner from our former palace, the streets were adorned with little shops, fountains, an amazing park, and the infamous Prado Museum.

Take a romantic stroll to the current palace. You will pass squares that seem to come straight out of a storybook.

And once you get to the palace, the magic really leaps off the pages.

So I say head to Barcelona if you're looking for that "modern" and "party" atmosphere, but for something truly romanic and old world, pack your bags for Madrid, a promising unforgettable time filled with your very own happily ever after!

I guess it's back to real life and the crazy snow!!

Keeping Yourself In Check

Planning your wedding can be an overwhelming experience. Part of my job as a wedding planner is to make it the exact opposite. There are really simple measures you can take to make the planning process simple, fun, and stress-free. Here are my top 5.

1. Organization. Lists are an amazing thing, and in wedding planning, lists come in the form of timelines. I don't care if your wedding is in two years or two months. Plan out your planning and don't get ahead of yourself. Realize there's a time and place for things to get done. And they WILL get done!

2. Prioritize. Picking a wedding date and venue coincide with one another, so start with that. You can begin thinking about your overall vision in the back of your head, because your venue definitely plays an important role in that. But remember, decor and lighting can go along way. Pick a venue that has good bones and you're great to go. Then, as you start looking at other vendors, never tackle more than one or two at the same time. Get one contract set before you move onto the next. After your venue, start with what's most important to you and go from there. Just get that item/vendor set before moving on.

3. Take Your Time. This is especially true for brides that have 12+ months before their wedding. Go step by step according to your timeline. Realize there's a time and place to decide on things and arrange things. While you can certainly begin to develop your overall vision with sites like Pinterest and such, you have so much time that chances are your vision will most likely change. Whether you change it completely or it just continues to grow remains to be seen at this point. Don't waste your time stressing over small details when you have so much time before your big day. Focus on developing your vision on the side so when the time comes you have a clear, concise, look.

4. Don't Get Ahead Of Yourself. You have a timeline for a reason. Finish negotiating and get your venue contract signed and set before you move onto a new vendor. Having too many things up in the air can get VERY overwhelming and actually cause more confusion than it's worth. Too many changes are never a good thing and can unintentionally stress both you and your vendors out. At the end of the day it can be very simple - one thing at a time. If your wedding is sooner rather than later you just have to work a little quicker, but still utilize the same rule. If your wedding is 12+ months away you really have time to relax and go slow. Things don't have to get done yesterday. They will get done in time. I completely get wanting to check things off. And you still totally can without waiting a long time if that's what you want. It's just important to remember: get one thing done before moving onto the next.

5. Know How To Utilize Your Wedding Planner. You have a wedding planner. Don't do the leg work. Let them speak to the vendors you're interested in. You are doing yourself a disservice by first contacting them yourself (also wasting your time when you already hired someone to do it for you). You are actually making things more confusing and hurting potential negotiations when doing things this way. Your wedding planner will help you stick to your timeline and ensure your wedding is nothing short of perfect, so relax and don't make yourself more overwhelmed than you need to.

JulieAnne's Engagement Party - Queens, NY

Future 2014 bride JulieAnne had her engagement party earlier this month and LPA provided the decor for her winter wonderland soiree. We cannot wait for her wedding!