Tag Archives: Wedding
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Portraits
Posted on September 27, 2012 by admin in Area Wedding Vendors, Uncategorized, Wedding Pictures, Wedding PortraitsHappy Friday Everyone! I hope you are all looking forward to the weekend. I know I am.
Have you ever wanted a portrait of you, your loved one(s), or a beloved pet, but you did not necessarily want to pay the price associated with most portraits? I am in the same boat. I knew I would like to get a nice oil portrait of Jordan and me at some point, but I thought that would be many years down the road. In fact, it probably will be many years down the road. However, Emily stumbled upon a nice alternative this summer when she and Drew vacationed at the Grand Hotel in Point Clear, Alabama, for a few days-chalk portraits by Arthur Smith! Arthur Smith is an artist primarily based out of Birmingham, but he spends a good portion of his summers drawing portraits in Point Clear at the Grand Hotel. His facebook page and his website contain more information about his work, pictures of his work, and his contact information.
Here is a quick summary of his work.
-Most of his portraits are 16×20 in size.
-A portrait with one person is $100. A portrait with two people is $150, or you can order two separate portaits for $200 total.Although Mr. Smith often draws his portraits while the subjects sit for him in person, Emily and I just gave him pictures from our wedding to use. In no more than two weeks, he had completed all four of our portraits (Emily and I both ordered two portraits each-one of each of us and one of our husbands). Prior to completion of our portraits, Mr. Smith also met with us to make sure we were pleased with his work. Upon our approval, he added some finishing touches to our portraits, and they were complete!
Since the portraits are chalk, Mr. Smith does recommend framing your portraits, including glass and matting. One day, I might get nicer, more custom frames and mats for my portraits. However, for now, I just picked out some frames in stock at Michael’s (18x 24 frames) and mats that were in stock as well. Below are pictures of our portraits. What do you think? I am very pleased with them and am so glad Emily found out about Mr. Smith. It’s not everyday you run across a chalk portrait artist.
Have a wonderful weekend!
Fondly,
Emily and RachelUSA emilyandrachel@emilyandrachel.com
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Grand Hotel, Part I
Posted on June 14, 2012 by admin in Honeymoon Venues, Wedding Venues
For Christmas last year, my in-laws gave my husband and me a trip to the Grand Hotel Marriott Resort, Golf Club, & Spa in Point Clear, Alabama. We’re both pretty busy, and coordinating our schedules for some time “off” can be a challenge. With baby #1 on the way, though, we knew we had to do it soon! A few weekends ago, we were finally able to make it happen. We had a fantastic time and crammed in as much as we possibly could in a few days. This hotel would be a beautiful location for a wedding or honeymoon, and it provided a perfect little weekend trip for us! My sweet husband flew us down and back, but no, the plane isn’t ours:) Maybe one day!?
We took off from Montgomery and landed in Fairhope. Here are some aerial views of Mobile Bay:
Loved seeing the bridge from the air! This was my favorite aerial photograph of the bay.
Look how straight the docks are. It’s pretty amazing!
A closer view. I love that you can even see the backyard pool in this photograph. I’ve never considered myself a particular fan of aerial photography, but seeing Mobile Bay from above gave me a new appreciation for it!
Last aerial photograph, at least for this post:) If you look closely, you can see a sailboat in the upper left-hand corner. The variation in water color was amazing to me in these photographs. Love the green trees, too.
Once we landed, we headed to the hotel. Here’s what greeted us:
The flowers in the lobby were tropical and fun on the day we checked in to the hotel.
Here’s a close-up. Wish these were available at my local flower market! I probably would have no idea how to arrange them if they were, though:)
After checking in, we headed to our room. Even though we saved some time by flying down rather than driving, we were still tired from traveling.
Ahhh. Sweet relief for these tired travelers! In the picture, this bed doesn’t look very large, but it was a king sized bed. It was perfect for us!
This was the refreshment station in our room. I always appreciate it when hotels offer coffee and tea!
This tray of toiletries was available in the bathroom. I don’t often try hotel products because of my sensitive skin, but I loved the body wash and lotion. The tray was so cute, how could I not try something?
The hotel was completely booked while we were there. Despite the crowd, we were able to see and do everything we wanted to do on the hotel property. We also had no trouble catching the shuttle into Fairhope for a little shopping.
Thanks for looking!!! We’ll have more information on the hotel property in the next post.
Xoxo,
Emily
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Need More Time?
Posted on May 17, 2012 by admin in Real Weddings
We always need more time! How about you? With the heat and humidity quickly approaching, we were desperate to reduce the amount of time we spend on daily blowouts before heading to work. The solution? FREESHAPE Quick Blow Dry by KMS California.
Don’t worry: when you purchase a bottle, it is full. The one in the picture is one that has been used daily since it was purchased. It really works! FREESHAPE Quick Blow Dry can be used right before blow-drying, or you can spritz your hair with it and let it air dry awhile before blow-drying. Either way, it has reduced the drying time on our hair. It also reduces some of the frizziness we’re both prone to when it rains and is exceptionally humid. So far, we’ve been able to use it alone when blow drying and styling our hair. No other products are necessary, although you might want to try your other favorite hairstyling products with it.
KMS California products may be purchased at authorized salons. Ours came from ULTA. Here’s a link to the KMS California salon finder so you can find a salon near you! Our bottle was in the neighborhood of $17.00 (can’t remember the exact price), and it has been well-worth the money.
What are your favorite beauty shortcuts?
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Be Balanced
Posted on April 11, 2012 by admin in UncategorizedDoes wedding planning, or life in general, stress you? If so, Blue Oil balancing concentrate may be just what you need! We were introduced to this Aveda product by Alexis over at Same Chic Different Day. It’s a combination of peppermint and blue camomile designed to refresh and soothe. The oil may be used for mental stress, repetitive movement stress, and tender muscles. Its scent is completely refreshing, and it also has a cooling effect (perfect for Alabama summers)! Blue Oil comes in a rollerball that fits perfectly into a purse, making it easy to carry and have on hand whenever needed. Consider adding it to your emergency bridal kit for the day of the wedding, giving it as a hostess gift, or giving it as a gift to your bridesmaids! It may be the best $15.00 you spend.
Aveda products may be purchased in the Montgomery area at Amplify Salon and Studio, Doug’s 2 Salon & Day Spa, 2940 Salon & Spa, and William Mason Salon (Prattville). If you’re not in the Montgomery area, you can find an Aveda location by entering your zip code or city and state, here.
We hope you have a balanced day!
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Starkville, Mississippi Wedding Weekend
Posted on March 27, 2012 by admin in Centerpiece ideas, Real Weddings, Stationery, Wedding Cake DecorationsJordan and I had a wonderful weekend celebrating the wedding of our friends Laura and Thomas in Mississippi. Jordan andThomas played sports together in high school in Columbus, Mississippi and remained friends while they attended Mississippi State University in Starkville. Over the last couple of years, I have had the pleasure of getting to know Laura and Thomas. What a fun couple!
Jordan started off the weekend on Friday playing a round of golf with the groom and a few other guys in the wedding at the beautiful Old Waverly golf course in West Point, Mississippi.
The rehearsal (at the Chapel of Memories on the Mississippi State campus) and the rehearsal dinner at Old Waverly) on Friday night were the perfect end to a relaxing day (relaxing for the wedding guests anyway).
As we were visiting the local shops in Starkville on Saturday, we ran into Foley Bell Holditch, owner of one of the newest stores in downtown Starkville- Thyme. Foley worked with Jordan in Memphis and has since moved on to opening this amazing store. I’m sure you’re wondering ”what kind of store is Thyme?” Well, think Pottery Barn meets Williams-Sonoma. It is a wonderful blend of kitchen and home decor items. If we had more room in our car, I would have brought home at least one of their beautiful wreaths.
Early Saturday evening, the wedding itself was at the Chapel of Memories on Mississippi State’s campus. It is the perfect size for a wedding and is so simply
elegant, it doesn’t call for extravangant decorations. Following the ceremony, we moved on to the Hotel Chester for an evening of fun with friends. It was beautifully decorated with flowers everywhere you turned. The menu was delicious as well-the food ranged from fresh fruit to sushi to a mashed potato bar. Of course no wedding is complete without bride’s and groom’s cake, and I sampled some of both! The bride’s cake was a wonderfully light lemon flavored cake with buttercream icing, and the groom’s cake was a decadent chocolate cake with smooth buttercream chocolate icing. 
As the bride and groom left the reception and drove away in their limo, the crowd waved streamers made of coral, green, and white ribbon that complemented the wedding flowers and bridesmaid dresses perfectly. I have not seen streamers as a way to see off the bride and groom before, but I love the idea. It might create more work prior to the wedding than birdseed or rose petals, but the cleanup after the wedding has to be a breeze.
While Thomas and Laura are having a blast at their all inclusive resort in the Carribbean this week, Jordan and I are busy thinking of ways to rationalize a reason why we should go back to an all inclusive resort this summer. We had a great time at the El Dorado Royale for our honeymoon last year and wish we could go back at least twice a year.
Below are a few other pictures from our weekend in Mississippi.
Congratulations and Best Wishes, Laura and Thomas! We wish you nothing but the best.
Rehearsal Dinner Invitation
Wedding Invitation
Wedding Program
Wedding Ceremony Flowers
Hotel Chester
Some of the many beautiful flower arrangements greeting guests as they arrived at the reception
Bride’s Cake
Groom’s Cake
If you’re in the middle of planning a wedding, I hope some of the ideas from Laura’s and Thomas’ wedding will be helpful for you. I’m hoping to be able to acquire a better camera soon so the pictures on the blog will show up better. Thanks for stopping by and reading!
Fondly,
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