SATC2: Girls Night Out for A Purpose

SAVE THE DATE!!! Tickets are limited and they go on sale next week!

If you are a local business in the area and would like to donate to our raffle please contact: events@lindemanweddings.com All Proceeds go to charity!

Evil Eye

I am just so in love with planning weddings that have different cultural or religious traditions other than my own. We have so many different cultures and religions being represented here at Lindeman Weddings this year--I can't wait to start sharing all of them with you. Some wedding traditions I come across I find amusing but most often I find that there is so much meaning behind each tradition--it is just down right endearing.

So I just finished up coordinating a Turkish wedding and I can't wait to share the photos. Best genre of music ever by the way! During that entire reception DJ DaMarr from Wave Link Music and I were trying to contain ourselves--we just wanted to bust out and dance with everyone!

Until the photo debut I wanted to share one of the favors they gave to their guests. Each guest received a box filled with Turkish Baklava. Adorning the ribbon that was tied around the box was a bead like the one pictured below. This is called an 'Evil Eye.' A traditional bead/charm from Turkey and Greece. It is traditionally worn as some form of jewelry, or the bead is pinned onto sweaters and newborn children's clothing, etc. The 'evil eye' is meant to keep other people's envious thoughts from hurting you. I giggled to myself, thinking if there is any place I see lots of jealously, a wedding reception might be up there.

It started me thinking on envy and jealousy. It is everywhere. If something good happens to you, such as, you loose a bunch of weight, you fall in love, get married, become wealthy, have a baby, etc--undoubtedly there is someone that is jealous of your good fortune. I know you should strive to never be jealous of anyone else, but never really thought having protection from someones jealous thoughts hurting you--but they can very much.

Just an interesting tradition I thought I'd share...looking forward to sharing more cultural traditions as this wedding season unfolds. We have so many weddings of different cultures this year!

Photoshoot

Hi all,

I want to share with you a few pictures from our photoshoot with the FABULOUS Kristen Honeycutt. Can you believe these were taken in February--what gorgeous weather we have been having, huh!? Kristi and I (and Stanford) had such a great time running around downtown Kirkland with Kristen--I can't say enough good things about her and her work! Make sure to check out her blog!

Our make up was done by Sequoia Leopold with My Flawless Tan & Make Up. If you are ever in the downtown Kirkland neighborhood--you must stop in and check out her studio. She has happy hour on Fridays starting at 3pm where her airbrush make up application is half priced. Great for a GNO or a hot date with your fiance perhaps!? :)

Many of our clients (and vendors) get to know Stanford (my pug), as he is often hanging around the office. He did such a good job holding it together for a few of these shots! Thanks to our uber talented photographer--we are excited to share these great photos!

Happy St. Patrick's Day & "Green" Wedding Tips

You can incorporate several elements into your wedding planning to make your wedding more eco-friendly.

• Use biodegradable seed paper for your invitations; when planted in soil, they grow wildflowers.
• Wear a vintage or previously owned wedding dress. Places to find vintage dresses include consignment shops, thrift stores, or auction websites. Some bridal shops also may specialize in the restoration, recycling and resale of wedding gowns.

After the wedding, think about donating your wedding gown to charity. There are charitable organizations who donate proceeds from used wedding gowns to their valuable work.

If you have your wedding and reception in the same location, it will lessen automobile emissions into the air.

Instead of renting a limousine or Hummer, try using a hybrid, compact car, or even a horse and buggy for a more unique, old-fashioned vibe. If two separate locations cannot be avoided, you can request that your guests carpool on the invitations or hire a shuttle bus.

Use local and organic food wherever feasible, and donate extra food to a shelter. Use local, seasonal flowers for the ceremony and reception. Another option is potted plants, which can be given to guests for replanting or donated to a local hospital or professional nursing facility.

Consider giving your guests wedding favors such as packets of seeds and bulbs, promoting sustainable and renewable agriculture for the planet.

Set up your bridal registry at stores that sell organic cotton, recycled glassware, bamboo home décor, and the like, reflecting your green lifestyle and values as a couple. As another option, you could request that your guests donate to eco-friendly organizations rather than giving other wedding gifts.

Check out this unique company that will make a ring out of a pebble you found on the beach he proposed on...

Check out this men's ring incorporating a pebble found on a beach...

HAVE A SAFE ST. PATRICK'S DAY EVERYONE!

Rain, Rain, go away!

So if anyone out there caught the Bachelor last night, you would have seen Molly Malaney and Seattle's own Jason Mesnik tie the knot down in Cali. First off, I would like to say how much I adored her dress and how her bouquet complimented it PERFECTLY! I thought it was a beautiful wedding and a gorgeous venue, but I felt so bad for the wedding planner and event designer having to make that event unfold out in the rain and wind! Setting all of that up in the middle of all that rain must have been challenging! Molly had an awesome attitude about it though--didn't you think?

Here in Seattle with the unpredictable weather, I have been in that situation more than once. I leave it up to the bride and groom to make the call whether to have the wedding inside or outside. 'Your Day, Your Way' is a motto we LIVE by around here! I am always up for a challenge, and I know how much it means to some clients to have their outdoor ceremony...but I have seen go both ways. Sometimes they get lucky and they have a beautiful sunny ceremony but I have also seen the skies open up right in the middle of the ceremony before also.

So for all of those brides out there who will be making that decision in the upcoming months--just think about Molly and Jason's wedding...how will would you react if it started down pouring in the middle of your vows? If you would laugh it off like she did--then go for it, but if you would end up balling and worried about your make up running down your face--probably best to stay safe and move it inside!

Here's to wishing Seattle a long, mild and sunny 2010 wedding season!

Dinosaur Wedding

The time has come to unveil the dinosaur themed wedding...FYI--this might be the longest blog post in Lindeman Weddings & Events history...

This wedding is featured in Seattle Bride Magazine newest issue on how to make a unique themed wedding classy. I want to tell you more about how this wedding and theme unfolded. I hope this story makes you smile...settle in and enjoy!

When Ryan and Natalie first came to me I instantly knew they had never so much as opened up a wedding magazine before. While this might be surprising to some brides who have dreamed about their wedding since they were a little girl, there was something fun and refreshing about a couple that didn't feel the need to have the "traditional wedding" spread.

At our first planning meeting I asked them what they envisioned for their wedding day and they said, “I don’t know, whatever you think will look good.” Not so much as a real color palette to go on, I sent them home with homework; questions that would get them thinking about how they met and their common interests, etc. I was so excited when they called to tell me they had figured out what it was that their common interests were. They both have always had a passion for Dinosaurs and Japanese Anime (they met in Anime club in college.)

I giggled to myself and said, “Sure let’s do it—it actually sounds like a lot of fun to plan.” Over the months of putting this wedding together Ryan and Natalie really started to take an interest in planning their wedding--down to the little details. Lots of fun ideas were circling the table at every meeting and we had so much fun brainstorming fun ways to make this wedding uniquely theirs.

We married the Japanese Anime to the Dinosaur theme by having the wedding hosted at the Japanese Pagoda at Point Defiance Park. The ceremony was up against a background of lush palm trees and foliage. The reception had so many unique qualities and it put a smile on every single guest’s face that was in attendance. This wedding truly had their personalities woven throughout every detail.

Twelve Baskets did an outstanding job with the catering! Natalie and Ryan couldn't decide on what type of food they liked, so we did an 'Around the World' themed buffet stations. Pan Asian, Home front Theme, Italian food, etc. It was delicious and so well decorated. Just another way we made this wedding unique!

From the start I don’t even think the bride and groom were all that excited by the formality of planning a wedding...but by the time the wedding came I haven’t seen two people more excited and joyful to walk down the aisle to start the rest of their lives together.

I hope this wedding inspires people to do what they want for their wedding day--it is YOUR day and there are NO RULES. While I enjoy planning traditional weddings I had a blast thinking outside the box and getting creative...as did every vendor involved on this wedding.

Thank you to Ryan and Natalie for letting me exercise my creativity, it was so much fun to plan with you guys! I also want to say a BIG thank you to Natalie's family for being so open to this idea and trusting me all the way from the east coast to create a unique, yet classy day for Natalie and Ryan...no matter how outside the box the ideas got! It was such a pleasure working and getting to know all of you!!

Lastly, I want to thank all of the vendors involved in helping make this day so beautiful and fun to be a part of.

Last but not least, a few photos from this memorable day!

Meet Natalie and Ryan

This wedding fell on the week that was super HOT last summer, so we made sure that the guests were well hydrated with bottled waters from Bottle Your Brand at the ceremony, followed by an Italian Soda Bar for cocktail hour.

If there was a wedding in the Jurassic Park movie--I would assume the bridesmaid's bouquets would have looked something like this...

Bringing the Asian vibe to the wedding with programs that doubled as fans for this scorching hot day. Thanks to Paper Fling for this creation!

Kent with 'A Heavenly Ceremony' presided over Ryan and Natalie's wedding ceremony at Point Defiance Park. It was beautiful and full of emotion--and one of the few weddings of last year where the bride and groom waited to see each other until the walk down the aisle!

Ring bearer "pillow"

A big Thank You to Ruth from Paper Fling (again) as the bride and groom sent approximately 10 names of 10 different dinosaurs--we had to go on the hunt to find the photos that matched the names! (Clearly we were not as well versed in dinosaur species as they were.)

The guest's place card was a Chinese box that they picked up (empty)--after they found theor place setting they got to mozy on down to the Dino "candy bar" complete with dinosaur eggs, etc. It was a creative way to save money as well--combining the place card with the favor!

Here at Lindeman Weddings and Events, we offer a "candy bar" service. We rent the vases, scoops and get all of the candy prepared for your spread...we even found Dinosaur Suckers for this wedding!

The use of Monstera Leaves to replace chargers was also a creative yet cost effective way to bring the jungle/Jurassic Park feeling to the table! Don't forget the bamboo flatware and chairs from AA Party Rentals!

A truly epic cupcake scape created by Coco's Cakes. The center being a volcano (that the bride and groom cut into, surrounded by cupcakes for the guests to eat or take home. In the next couple photos you will see that Kristin from Coco's Cakes (my fabulous and wildly creative sister) created a dinosaur chasing after the bride and groom as they are trying to get away in their jeep. (All figures made out of fondant, then painted!) Coco's Cake's info is available upon request.

Ryan and Natalie cutting the cake--(me in the background looking so proud and happy to finally see them get married and see this whole wedding come to life.)

Walking into the grand entrance to the Jurassic Park Theme Song--LOVE it! And a big thank you to Ollie with GenXPro for finding that tune for us!

Lastly, a HUGE thank you to Alex Studio for all of the fun photos!

Seattle Bride Magazine -- Unveiled

Hi all, Can you believe January is over already! I have so much to share in the upcoming months--new weddings, new trends, upcoming events and unique wedding ideas.

Today I want to share the Unveiled spread that I was asked to help design for Seattle Bride Magazine (on newsstands now.) It was such a treat to be a part of this! I chose the color Turquoise as a hot new color for 2010--it just so happens that a few weeks later Pantone announced that Turquoise was the "it" color for 2010! Love it when that happens! =)

I was literally just getting off the plane from my trip to the Caribbean when I was asked to design this spread, so adding some flavor of the tropics was fresh in my head. My goal was to bring a bright, tropical and fresh color palette to Seattle but use it in a way that would work for a perfect Seattle summer wedding. Without further ado...Amber and Ocean...