Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Wednesday Wedding Wishes, Num. 20

Photo provided by our bride Jessica
We recently had another 'AK' couple celebrate their first anniversary, YAY for Jessica and Andrew!! As the tradition goes, saving your cake topper for your first anniversary brings the couple luck and happiness in their marriage. Jessica being a traditional southern girl saved her cake topper (saran, foil, saran, foil) for a year in the freezer to share a slice with her hubby Andrew on their first anniversay and to their surprise it was just as yummy as the night they shared it a year ago. Just to be safe Jessica decided to have 'back up', but it was not needed but indeed enjoyed anyway. We wish Jessica and Andrew a lifetime of love and happiness!! Congrats you two ;-)

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Wednesday Wedding Wishes, Num. 19

The AK Event Design Team would like to wish everyone a very happy and healthy Thanksgiving holiday! We are thankful for all our clients (former and current) for allowing us to be a part of one of the most important days in your lives. Thank you to all the wonderful vendors we work with on a daily basis for helping to make every event seamless!
Happy Turkey Day,
Angie, Kristin and Sarah

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Wednesday Wedding Wishes, Num. 18

Photography by Andrea Polito Photography

Fall is definitely in the air! The leaves are falling, sweaters are about to be worn (hopefully..) and you can spend your evenings out on the back porch with a glass of wine... thanks to the nice Dallas weather.

We'd like to wish one of our brides a Happy Anniversary! Her wedding was recently published on Style Me Pretty's website. Yah!! We love published weddings. Alexis was the creative force behind her wedding... we were just there to make sure everything went as planned. It is so important to have a "day-of" planner to take on all the final details the month of your wedding. Please check out Alexis' wedding to see her beautiful outdoor fall wedding. It is definitely one of my favorites!!! There were many unique things incorporated in her wedding so be sure to read the article to get some good ideas!

Some of the Vendors:
Wedding Planner- AK Event Design
Photography- Andrea Polito Photography
Floral- Fete Des Fleurs
Videography- Mason Jar Films
Venue- Marie Gabrielle
Makeup- Maitee Miles
Favors- Tart Bakery


Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Wednesday Wedding Wishes, Num. 17



Alex and Jonathan were” fashionably” joined in marriage on October 10th! We had so much fun planning this fun couples wedding and incorporating all the unique and personal details into their special day. Alex has a serious passion for fashion and her true weakness is SHOES. Not only did she have a wardrobe change, but a ‘sole’ change too from the famous ‘something blue’ Manolo Blahnik’s into a pair of shocking pink Kate Spade dazzlers. Alex’s shoe obsession was even incorporated into her fabulous cake by Le Gateau Cakery, a whimsical tower of shoe boxes topped with a perfect pair of his and her shoes. The Dallas Museum of Art set the stage for another wonderful AK wedding and the weather was perfect for their outdoor ceremony in the sculpture garden. From the fun patterned linens at cocktail hour from BBJ Linens to the purple glow during the reception by Absolute Entertainment and of course the amazing floral designs by Bella Flora of Dallas no detail was overlooked. We think Alex and Jonathan are a ‘perfect pair’ and wish them a lifetime of love and happiness!

Photo Credit: Andrea Polito Photography
List of Vendors:
Ceremony/Reception Venue: Dallas Museum of Art
Floral: Bella Flora of Dallas
Photographer: Andrea Polito Photography
Band: Cuvee
Lighting: Absolute Entertainment
Bride’s Cake: Le Gateau Cakery
Groom’s Cake: Fancy Cakes by Lauren
Linens: BBJ Linens
Hair/Makeup: Maitee Miles
String Quartet: Gyros Strings

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Wednesday Wedding Wishes, Num. 16


Photo via Shop.GetMarried.Com

Looking for creative, inexpensive, chic ideas for your wedding? Who isn't, right? Well, we received a wonderful magazine this week called "Get Married" that is full of great ideas, fun items to spruce up your reception, inexpensive invitations, DIY sections and a Real Weddings section. I highly recommend looking at www.shop.getmarried.com. One of the cutest ideas I saw, which I'm definitely going to use in the future, was to use the cute little "Love Birds" tag pictured above with the ribbon around the chair slats of a chivari chair. The tags are 50 for $19.00. Shop.getmarried.com has a lot of fun tags to choose from. Let us know if you use any of their products!!

Photos via www.GetMarried.com
Styling by Aisha Holly & Photography by Aruna B Photography

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Wednesday Wedding Wishes, Num. 15

Photo Credit: seanazul.net

Photo credit: Lusterstudios.com

You’ve had your special day in the dress of your dreams and now you are wondering what to do with it. If you are a traditional bride (guilty) you take it to get cleaned and preserved then put it away in a corner of your closet in hopes one day your daughter will wear it when she gets married. If the idea of taking up precious closet space is not for you there are other creative things you can do with your dress. For those brides who are willing to be daring Trash the Dress (TTD) is for you! It is a great excuse to wear your gown again, but this time not for your traditional bridal portrait session. Get creative with your TTD session and take advantage of the nature around you. When you are booking your wedding day photographer ask if they would consider a TTD shoot with you post nuptials. Happy Trashing!!

photo credit: capitalcityschris.wordpress.com

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Wednesday Wedding Wishes, Num. 14

Photos via J.Crew

It's no secret I'm a huge fan of J.Crew. I love the style of their clothes, jewelry, wedding attire etc. It is simple, exquisite and soft. Our bride from this past weekend found her beautiful bridesmaids dresses at J.Crew. Simple...black....dresses. Gorgeous, simply stated and something the girls could definitely wear again. I just got on JCrew.com to see what their latest and greatest items were and found these gorgeous pieces of jewelry. These pieces would be great as gifts to bridesmaids or mothers. ...or the bride could wear them to her rehearsal dinner, a shower or on her wedding day. I loved this "Tiffany Blue" ring that could be worn as the brides "something blue." So simple!!!

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Wednesday Wedding Wishes, Num. 13


Fall is here in Texas...which means it could be rainy, chilly or humid!!! With outdoor weddings coming up, our brides are wondering if they should be ordering chic umbrella holders for the possible rainy day or stylish wraps to help keep their guests warm from the slight Texas chill. Oh, what will the weather be like? Since it is fall, we are hoping for the slight chill in the air because of the adorable ways you can display the wraps. Get creative!! You can attach a cute note that says something catchy like, "There is a chill in the air, feel free to borrow a wrap so your arms won't be bare."

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Wednesday Wedding Wishes, Num. 12

Photo via D Beauty from the Archive Vintage Site

Looking for a memorable rehearsal dinner dress or a special frock for your one and only bridesmaid? ....why not go on over to Archive Vintage on Maple Ave.? Kerry Bonnell has been called Dallas' "Carrie Bradshaw" by the Dallas Observer. Her sweet little store was named the "Best Women's Clothing Store" this year by the DO. You are sure to find a one-of-a-kind Chanel suit or Moschino dress. Hey, a girl loves to shop and I'm sure you'd spot Rachel Zoe in Archive Vintage if she ever vacations in Dallas. ....a girl can dream can't she...

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Wednesday Wedding Wishes, Num. 11

Photo via Dallas Morning News, FD Luxe

Cruffles.... sounds tasty. They are, in fact, a perfect blend of truffles and cake. The Cruffle has been featured on Daily Candy and in the August issue of FD Luxe. FD Luxe said, "Stephanie Worsham's 'cruffles' are a genious marriage of two decandent sweets- cake and truffles. The innocent-looking treats appear to be your average chocolate- or vanilla-dipped truffle, but bite inside and you'll find a heavenly center of spongy, delicious cake, the really moist kind like mom used to make." There are many flavors to choose from... white cake, strawberry, lemon (yumm), red velvet, chocolate peanut butter, brownie (!) and so many more. To order your own box of cruffles, call 214.518.5039 or go to cucalu.com. Here's wishing you a SWEET Wednesday!!

Thursday, September 17, 2009

We've been blogged!!!



We are so excited that a rehearsal dinner we designed and planned is being featured on Bella Flora of Dallas' Blog! There were so many details that went into this wonderful event. The invitations were done by a local Dallas calligrapher, Jennifer Lang. She also did all the table numbers, escort cards, place cards and menus. Her work is beautiful! Everything from the linens to the hammered chargers brought the design full circle. It was a beautiful night!! ....not to mention the family was a JOY to work with, which always makes our job more fun!!! Check it out!

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Wednesday Wedding Wishes, Num. 10

Photo via Brooklyn Bride

Happy Wednesday! We hope everyone is having a wonderful day. We are answering a popular question today.... "What is a good place to host our wedding website?" NearlyWeds.com is for the stylish bride who wants to pay a flat, onetime fee. They charge $49 for 2 years. NearlyWeds offers a 2 week free trial. You can do so many things on this site... create a blog, manage your guest list, the list goes on... They offer many cool website designs. Super Cute!! Go check them out!

Weddingwindow.com is another great option. They has been around for many years and were voted by the Wall Street Journal as the #1 wedding website provider overall.... we all know we trust the WSJ! It isn't a free site but is very affordable. For example, if you want to pay by the month it is only $10.99. There are many other pricing options and upgrades available. If you sign on for 6 months you also get a free issue of InStyle Weddings! Every bride loves wedding magazines...especially when they are free!! Check out their site for design options. You can upload your own designs, create custom fonts, use custom colors, and much more!

Here's wishing you a great website design!!

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Wednesday Wedding Wishes, Num. 9

photo via D Weddings

We love Tart Bakery! Angie and Kristin met the sweet sisters that started Tart Bakery, the sweetest shop in Dallas, about 5 years ago while we were both working our first wedding show. We have checked in with each other over the years, thrown a fashion show together, and referred business to each other. We love Tart for their small goodies, wonderful cakes and cute things we find in their stores. They opened a second store at the Shops at Legacy in Plano. It is a little different than their cute little shop on Lovers Lane. The Plano store has a room attached to the bakery that can be rented out for wedding showers, baby showers, girls night out (BYOB), or if you, the Bride, want to throw a cute "Thank You" party to your bridesmaids. It is super cute and open late!!!

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Wednesday Wedding Wishes, Num. 8


Folder & Inserts designed by Crown Bindery

Last week we discussed "HOW" to word various invitations and now we are moving on to "WHEN" to send out your invites. Our "Wish" is that this post helps answer a few questions and makes your invitation process that much easier. You can create your own calendar to keep you organized.... click here to find out where we found the cute folder and inserts above. You can find it all online for less than $25. What a deal!!

Save the Dates
Save the Dates is where we will begin, since it is typically the first invite that is sent out during your wedding invitation timeline. Save the Dates are typically sent out 6 months prior to the wedding date. If people are coming from another country or if a lot of your guests are in school, jobs that need ample time to ask off, medical school, residency etc... you might want to send them out a little earlier.

Wedding Shower Invitations
Wedding shower invitations should be sent out around 4 weeks prior to the shower date. You can send them out as early as 6 weeks but you run the risk of guests forgetting about the party.

Rehearsal Dinner Invitations
Rehearsal Dinner invites should go out after the wedding invitations. We suggest sending them out 2 weeks after the wedding invites are put in the mail.

Formal & Destination Wedding Invitations
Wedding invitations should go out 8 weeks prior to your wedding date. We recommend 12 weeks if you are having a destination wedding. Your guests will need ample time to make travel plans, especially if you didn't send out a save the date. However, for destination weddings, we always recommend sending save the dates. When sending out wedding invitations you'll need to make sure your response cards are due no later than 1 month prior to your wedding date. You'll need time to organize your seating chart, escort cards, place cards and food estimates for the caterer.... and there will always be the ones who do not pay attention to the response date. So be prepared to make a few phone calls or have your wedding planner make the calls! :)

"In a Nut Shell"
Save the Dates 6-8 Months from the wedding date
Shower Invitations 4 Weeks prior to the shower date
Destination Wedding Invitations 12 Weeks prior to the wedding date
Formal Wedding Invitations 8 Weeks prior to the wedding date
Rehearsal Dinner Invitations 2 weeks after the wedding invitations are sent out

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

A Very Married Couple!

They had a large and very fun wedding party!

We are so happy to present Rachel and Danny Haefliger's wonderful wedding pictures!!! Our team has been working with Rachel to plan her August 22nd wedding for over a year. It was truly one of the most fun and beautiful weddings we've ever been a part of and she was a joy to work with. Rachel looked gorgeous!! (We think she looks like a perfect china doll. :))

All the conceptualizing and planning came together so perfectly!!

We also had the opportunity to work with a Kevin Jairaj of KJ Images for the first time. He has a very artistic eye and took AMAZING pictures....as you can see from the few on this post. Please check out his blog to see a larger sampling of this beautiful wedding. Click here to get to his website and then click on the link to his blog. Bella Flora of Dallas did the florals....stunning! Andy Austin was the DJ and he kept the party going! Everyone had such a fun time dancing!! Lite Dallas did the amazing lighting. Soulbox Productions was the videographer for the event. A special thanks to Terri Hahn and the Adolphus staff for making it a great, seamless event!!
...one more fun picture for the road. :)

Thanks, Kevin for all the wonderful pictures!!

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Wednesday Wedding Wishes, Num. 7

Hello Lucky's Woodland Damask Wedding Invitation

We are such invitation and paper junkies... Brides are always asking us "How should we word our invitation" and "When should we send out our wedding invitations? Save the Dates? Shower invites? Rehearsal dinner invites?" Over the next two Wednesday Wedding Wishes, we will be covering the how and when of invites.

Lets discuss the 'How'... when brides need proper etiquette for how to word the wedding invitation, we refer to a wonderful invitation designer who has a page solely dedicated to wording wedding invitation. Hello Lucky is the place to go for a quick reference on invitation wording. The site lists out formal and informal ways to word invitations from many different hosting perspectives... such as, the brides family hosting or the couple hosting. Hello Lucky gives 30 different ways to word a wedding invitation. ...and if you don't need help with your invitation wording, you can just browse Hello Lucky's site. It is great eye candy and you might even come away with a purchase. :)

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Wednesday Wedding Wishes, Num. 6


In todays economy we are running across a lot of "Do It Yourself" (DIY) Brides. These are the brides that like to find ways to lesson the blow of the wedding expenses. If you have the time to "DIY" on a few tasks, it can end up saving you quite a bit of money. We love finding new designers on Etsy. Belletristics is a design shop online where you can get many items from customized monograms to wedding invitations. They send you the file so you can either print them on your home computer or send to a professional printer. How easy is that?!

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Wednesday Wedding Wishes, Num. 5

Spoon Invite via Brown Turtle Neck Sweater

"Why the spoon," you may ask? Today we are all about planning a party, planning a date with your significant other or just planning a night out with your girlfriends before your big day. Sur La Table offers cooking classes of all types at their location on Travis and Knox. Not only do they offer fun cooking classes, they have a store full of goodies you'll need to fill your new kitchen with.

We love Sur La Table because they host you! It is a perfect place for a shower for your wedding. When you host a shower at their location they do the planning, everyone assists with the cooking, you and your guests enjoy what you cook and then they clean up!! How great is that?! Sur La Table also offers couples cooking classes, which would be fun for a date night. Click here to see the current schedule. ....and back to the spoon, the simplicity of the spoon as an inviation caught my eye. You could use it as an invite for a shower (although mailing might be difficult but you could mail it in a box) or you could give it to your fiance' or best friend as a date night invite. Simple...Elegant!

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Wednesday Wedding Wishes, Num. 4


Shopping for your honeymoon? One of our favorite sales of the year is coming up at the end of August. F.I.G. Finale Sale!!! If you've never been.... we highly recommend you go. Many of Dallas' top boutiques are part of this great sale, as well as, smaller designers you've never heard of and sample shops at the F.I.G. It is a great place to stock up on cute new dresses, fun bags, shoes, sunglasses and jewelry for your honeymoon. I'm sure you could also find great gifts for your bridesmaids and groomsmen at a discounted price. Check out www.fashionindustrygallery.com for details and be sure to mark it on your calendar. You don't want to miss it!!!

Thursday, July 30, 2009

Glitz, Glamour and an "oh so fabulous" wedding feature!!!

photography by Stephen Karlisch

Our team planned a wedding for a beautiful bride last December. Please check out the feature on Jessica and Andrew's beautiful wedding on D Magazine's website! It is great eye candy to give you a break from the ho-hum of your daily routine. :)

Enjoy!!


Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Wednesday Wedding Wishes, Num. 3


Something we keep hearing over and over again is, "There aren't any great bridesmaids dresses. Where should we go to find them? I want something my girls will wear again..." Well, we've found a fun solution!! TwoBirds Bridesmaid is a company that has one (1, uno, one) dress they sell. However, the twist is there are so many different ways to wear this one-of-a-kind dress. TwoBirds has been featured on the Today Show, Good Morning America, Martha Stewart....just to name a few. If you are a bride looking for a unique dress for your girls, check this one out. It comes in many colors. The really cool thing about these dresses (because the devil is in the details) is that you can get each dress monogrammed with the girls initials. And if you want to be super cute, the guys can get matching ties and they can be monogrammed, as well. Oh, your party will be dressed to the nines!!

You can either order the dresses through TwoBird's website or if you are in Dallas, you can go to Bella Bridesmaid and try one on for yourself!! How great is that? Bella Bridesmaid- 3015 State Street #121, Dallas, TX or call 214.999.9311 to set up an appointment.

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Wednesday Wedding Wishes, Num. 2


One popular question we get is where to find good stamps for wedding invitations.  Depending on the style of your wedding, there are quite a few options.  One fun option is to create your own stamps on zazzle.com.  You can upload an engagement picture (after getting approval from your photographer, of course) or a great scenic picture from where you got engaged...you get the "picture."  :)  Another fun option, as seen in the picture above, is to go to a local stamp shop and purchase a collection of vintage stamps in your wedding colors.  It tends to be a little more expensive but it definitely leaves a statement on your envelope.  Just imagine beautiful calligraphy and gorgeous vintage stamps.... how wonderful!!  You can find vintage stamps by looking online through google or you can check out Champion Stamps or Ebay!  

Wishing you a happy day!!

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Wednesday Wedding Wishes

photography by Andrea Polito Photography
AK Event Design

Our team put our heads together and decided that we are busting at the wedding seams with information to share with our readers.... so what better way than to devote a day of the week for wedding trends, tips, and things to be posted.  

Please feel free to email us with any ideas, new products developed, questions or anything else and we will answer by devoting a "Wednesday Wedding Wish" to your topic.  Dallas is a city full of new things, fun ideas, stores, fashion....you name it and we felt there needed to be a site that is focused on getting these "things" out to you, our fashion forward bride!  

A Featured Four Season's Wedding


Our team did a beautiful wedding that was featured on Style Me Pretty a few months ago and we forgot to share it with you!!  We are always excited to be featured in magazines or fun websites.  As we've said before.... Style Me Pretty is (in our mind) the BEST nationwide wedding blog out there.  So we are very excited when they chose to feature one of our weddings.   Thank you, SMP, for featuring Julie and David's wonderful wedding!!

David and Julie were wonderful to work with.... not only because they trusted us to do what we do best but because they loved new ideas and thinking outside the box.  As you can see from the pictures, it was a very FUN wedding!  The wedding ceremony took place in Plano, Texas, as Prestonwood Baptist Church in the chapel.  The reception took place at the Four Season's Resort and Spa in Irving, Texas.  The "four seasons" played a role in their relationship, engagement and so it seemed perfect to actually have their wedding at the Four Season's Resort.  Please check out the feature to see how the "four seasons" played out for the bride and groom.... click here to see more!! 

The wonderful vendors we worked with...
Florist. Bella Flora of Dallas
Photographer. F8 Studio
Rentals. RSVP Soiree 
Linens. BBJ Linens
Band. Bulletproof 


Thursday, July 2, 2009

Clock is ticking....


The clock is ticking and we only have a little over 24 hours left in the WFAA A-List Vendor contest.  Please take a few seconds and vote for AK Event Design as the best wedding planners in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area.  We are honored to be a part of this contest and would love to win!!  The contest ends tomorrow, July 3rd!

Please click on the link below and it will take you to our page on WFAA's site.  Just click the VOTE button .... you might have to enter a little information in to be able to cast a vote and we really appreciate you doing this for us!  

http://alist.wfaa.com/ak-event-design/biz/301787

We started small 5 1/2 years ago and have grown over the years.  We've done small intimate weddings for doctors and lawyers to huge, full blown weddings for NBA stars.  It has been a fun last 5 1/2 years and we hope to continue for many many more!!!  

Thank you for being out supporters!!

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Going West to Wed...

Photo via Style Me Pretty (Winery in picture is Stryker Winery..also located in Healdsburg, CA)

California is a popular place to tie the knot. Of course I love a Southern California wedding...but there is nothing like a cool Northern California wedding in the wine country. If I were planning my wedding all over again I just might plan it in the wonderful small town of Healdsburg, California. If you are not a "wine country" vacationer this town might not sound familiar to you. It is located in Sonoma County and is home to wonderful Pinot Noir, Red Zin grapes and a few more various types. The beautiful Russian River runs right through the town. It is PICTURE PERFECT!!!

Where to have a wedding ceremony and reception? None other than the wonderful Arista Winery located on Westside Road just minutes from downtown Healdsburg!! If you are interested in planning an event at Arista, email Tatiana at tatiana@aristawinery.com.

Perfect Ceremony Site on the grounds at the Winery


View through the trees to the lower garden...the perfect setting for a wonderful seated dinner and dancing to follow...


Modern Chandelier hanging above the beautiful outdoor bar.


View from the front porch of Arista...GORGEOUS!


There are so many gorgeous trees to hang fun chandeliers and balls of floral from...it is breath taking!!! It is a wonderful place if you are looking to plan a wedding in the Wine Country!!!  

Happy Planning!!

Monday, April 13, 2009

A "Little Black Book" feature is worth a thousand words...



We are excited to be featured on Style Me Pretty's Little Black Book Blog again!!! (Thanks, Eddye, Abby & Michelle!!!)

What made this wedding so fabulous? First of all, Taylor and Mark were incredible to work with. They trusted all the vendors they hired to do a wonderful job, which always lowers the stress of the bride and makes our job easier. The colors in this wedding also made it so wonderful. It photographed beautifully....as you can see in the pictures. The bride and groom wanted bold colors for a bold, fun party!!! The night was spectacular and everyone had so much fun.

Thank you, Taylor and Mark for allowing us to make your wedding day special!!!

Who are these wonderful vendors?
Photography by Andrea Polito Photography
Floral by Bella Flora of Dallas
Wedding Planner, AK Event Design (That's us!!)
Invitation Designer, Susan at Simply Personal