tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8594524487069596565Thu, 16 Jul 2009 00:33:56 +0000the diary of an uncomplicated wedding & event plannerhttp://lesliemanningevents.blogspot.com/leslie@lesliemanningevents.com (Leslie Weekes)Blogger313125DecidedlyUncomplicatedhttp://feedburner.google.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8594524487069596565.post-200829966253303083Wed, 15 Jul 2009 17:19:00 +00002009-07-15T17:55:24.564ZTrendsTipsA few weeks ago, when I was sick and desperately trying to get my head out of a fog, I read an email sent to me by suicide blond. It was a link to a wedding invitation, which she described as "reasonably uncomplicated." (Listen up folk: If you really want to make me feel special, use the word "uncomplicated" in a sentence). What I loved about this invite was it's simplicity, and of course, it's http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/DecidedlyUncomplicated/~3/asyGuVifus0/for-love-of-type.htmlleslie@lesliemanningevents.com (Leslie Weekes)1http://lesliemanningevents.blogspot.com/2009/07/for-love-of-type.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8594524487069596565.post-4545931642441220728Fri, 10 Jul 2009 01:48:00 +00002009-07-10T01:55:35.714ZTrendsPersonal bloggingTipsMy new thing is to wrap presents in reusable grocery bags (as opposed to gift bags). I see it as the gift that keeps on giving, because each time my friends go grocery shopping at their local Giant or Stop and Shop, they're credited 5 cents towards their purchase, and maybe they can use all those extra savings to take me out for drinks.But these re-usable gift bags from Working Class Studio http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/DecidedlyUncomplicated/~3/rI0ntVDQe1Y/what-im-loving-today.htmlleslie@lesliemanningevents.com (Leslie Weekes)0http://lesliemanningevents.blogspot.com/2009/07/what-im-loving-today.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8594524487069596565.post-3087333141668594054Tue, 07 Jul 2009 14:03:00 +00002009-07-07T14:35:57.590ZPersonal bloggingI once received an email from a bride that read:"I've been reading your blog since I've been engaged and you sound like the perfect wedding planner for me."I knew right then that she would be the perfect client for me too. And now almost two years later, Crystal and Nick's wedding will be featured in the 2009 Fall/Winter issue of The Knot DC, Maryland, & VA. Get a sneak peek here.This would not http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/DecidedlyUncomplicated/~3/huZfBfpnzeA/our-client-featured-in-knot-real.htmlleslie@lesliemanningevents.com (Leslie Weekes)3http://lesliemanningevents.blogspot.com/2009/07/our-client-featured-in-knot-real.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8594524487069596565.post-9024079712460368403Sun, 05 Jul 2009 20:33:00 +00002009-07-06T13:35:56.370ZTrendsTipsA lot of famous and not-so-famous marriages have died in the past couple of weeks. A lot of people have died too. It seems lately our 24-hour news cycle is filled with themes of death and infidelity (sometimes in the same story). Married men and women are forgetting to “forsake all others” and are making decisions that can destroy their marriages, and sometimes their children.As a wedding plannerhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/DecidedlyUncomplicated/~3/mJMRJdA2Sa8/gone-hiking.htmlleslie@lesliemanningevents.com (Leslie Weekes)0http://lesliemanningevents.blogspot.com/2009/07/gone-hiking.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8594524487069596565.post-6055269017562705128Fri, 19 Jun 2009 18:38:00 +00002009-06-19T18:51:36.408ZPersonal bloggingTipsI've been under the weather lately. So far under that there were moments when I thought I wouldn't get over. Last weekend, I flew to Montreal and caught a nasty head cold during my visit, which turned into a nasty sinus infection. But today my rubber ducky arrived and lifted my spirits. You see, I'm planning a baby shower with a rubber ducky theme (I know, I know, but that's what the honoree http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/DecidedlyUncomplicated/~3/AkBc_fd7nM8/rubber-ducky-youre-one.htmlleslie@lesliemanningevents.com (Leslie Weekes)0http://lesliemanningevents.blogspot.com/2009/06/rubber-ducky-youre-one.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8594524487069596565.post-8669112496683947822Tue, 09 Jun 2009 13:50:00 +00002009-06-09T17:44:58.052ZPersonal bloggingQuite often I'm asked: "What is your typical day like?" Try waking up to a handful of these each morning:--Hello,I am David Roy, from London England. I am writing to get information on wedding/reception venues and also so in need of the services of a wedding planner.Daisy and I are planning to have a wedding in October 2009 (any date in October will be fine) and will require more information on http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/DecidedlyUncomplicated/~3/fN45W4-W3MY/day-in-life.htmlleslie@lesliemanningevents.com (Leslie Weekes)1http://lesliemanningevents.blogspot.com/2009/06/day-in-life.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8594524487069596565.post-3223586926922500660Mon, 08 Jun 2009 17:25:00 +00002009-06-08T17:57:49.290ZPersonal bloggingLast night, I tuned in to watch the season premiere of Bridezillas, you know, "the unforgettable season". I had spent the hours leading up to it watching a marathon of the forgettable season. A few minutes into the new episode, however, I had to ask: "What's up with the already married couples on Bridezillas?" the groom was wearing his wedding band, and the drama was, well, drama. As in Theater http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/DecidedlyUncomplicated/~3/Eo0h_pfo-R4/im-over-bridezillas.htmlleslie@lesliemanningevents.com (Leslie Weekes)0http://lesliemanningevents.blogspot.com/2009/06/im-over-bridezillas.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8594524487069596565.post-2956043270220549907Fri, 05 Jun 2009 03:12:00 +00002009-06-05T15:49:41.887ZPersonal bloggingI have been waiting, patiently, to use Tim Gunn's monkey house analogy on some clueless body and last week someone used it on me. And I must now reluctantly admit that they were right.In Season IV of Project Runway, Tim Gunn said to Chris March (about his hairy collection):“I have this refrain about the monkey house at the zoo. When you first enter into the monkey house at the zoo, you think, ‘Ohhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/DecidedlyUncomplicated/~3/f61u0i8MOzE/are-you-living-in-monkey-house.htmlleslie@lesliemanningevents.com (Leslie Weekes)0http://lesliemanningevents.blogspot.com/2009/06/are-you-living-in-monkey-house.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8594524487069596565.post-4422695192276109170Wed, 03 Jun 2009 16:01:00 +00002009-06-03T16:16:18.976ZTipsOne Kings Lane pop-up sales. I've been secretly shopping for high-end home bargains from One Kings Lane ever since I learned about it on the blog of Notes From a Party, and today's sale is the Mindy Weiss Bridal Collection. If you can't get enough of the turquoise blue and the love birds, but you've always gasped at the prices, then you don't want to miss this sale. You have to register, but it'shttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/DecidedlyUncomplicated/~3/UW79diIJCnQ/what-im-loving-today.htmlleslie@lesliemanningevents.com (Leslie Weekes)1http://lesliemanningevents.blogspot.com/2009/06/what-im-loving-today.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8594524487069596565.post-4191243412147875625Wed, 27 May 2009 20:04:00 +00002009-05-27T20:24:12.990ZPersonal bloggingTipsThis issue has been circulating for some weeks now and I've been giving them out as gifts to potential clients, but now it's online at Bridal Guide.com for those who would think twice about shelling out $5.00 for a magazine. I had fun with this assignment: planning a wedding reception for $5,000. I had two color schemes. The one featured in the article and another that was chocolate, emerald http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/DecidedlyUncomplicated/~3/U7vzOJ2_2yc/leslie-manning-events-in-bridal-guide.htmlleslie@lesliemanningevents.com (Leslie Weekes)2http://lesliemanningevents.blogspot.com/2009/05/leslie-manning-events-in-bridal-guide.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8594524487069596565.post-4417004543883947108Wed, 20 May 2009 22:10:00 +00002009-05-21T15:47:10.456ZLast May, I had the honor of coordinating Ducie and Stephen's wedding. This was the shortest lead time I've ever had for a wedding. I came into the process two weeks before the big day. Fortunately, I was working with an extremely organized couple, so picking up where they left off was relatively easy. It's been almost a year since this wedding and while cleaning up my inbox today (because I'm http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/DecidedlyUncomplicated/~3/0lwC2ZNuYzU/pleasant-surprise.htmlleslie@lesliemanningevents.com (Leslie Weekes)0http://lesliemanningevents.blogspot.com/2009/05/pleasant-surprise.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8594524487069596565.post-1211570815303959335Fri, 15 May 2009 14:03:00 +00002009-05-15T14:13:41.314ZTipsWith the Girligami book by Cindy Ng which features twenty adorable designs perfect for anyone who loves fashion, friends, and folding. Create shoes, purses, clothing, chocolate-covered strawberries, Valentine hearts, baby Pandas, laptops, phones, and much more. Each project comes with step-by-step directions plus preprinted origami papers to tear out and fold. There is even a chapter that shows http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/DecidedlyUncomplicated/~3/scIl-y9WA64/fold-outside-crane.htmlleslie@lesliemanningevents.com (Leslie Weekes)0http://lesliemanningevents.blogspot.com/2009/05/fold-outside-crane.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8594524487069596565.post-2607520028613289797Sun, 10 May 2009 06:27:00 +00002009-05-11T02:38:47.616ZtipIn honor of Mother's Day I thought I'd share the book I've been reading lately: The Daughter-in-Law Rules: 101 Surefire Ways to Manage (and Make Friends with) Your Mother-in-Law! by Sally Shields.This book was recommended to me by someone who obviously didn't know that my mother-in-law and my mother are good friends, and she (my MIL) knew me even before I knew myself, but I bought it anyway. I http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/DecidedlyUncomplicated/~3/n-0am36TLQM/daughter-in-law-rules.htmlleslie@lesliemanningevents.com (Leslie Weekes)0http://lesliemanningevents.blogspot.com/2009/05/daughter-in-law-rules.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8594524487069596565.post-2460616216635672470Sat, 09 May 2009 01:35:00 +00002009-05-09T01:41:07.394ZTips“Love is not an absolute, not a limited commodity that you're in of or out of. It's a feeling that ebbs and flows depending on how you treat each other. If you learn new ways to interact, the feelings can come flowing back, often stronger than before.”From Psychology Today’s Relationship Ruleshttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/DecidedlyUncomplicated/~3/9DYzsfa_utE/love-what-it-is.htmlleslie@lesliemanningevents.com (Leslie Weekes)0http://lesliemanningevents.blogspot.com/2009/05/love-what-it-is.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8594524487069596565.post-1865094565337386251Thu, 07 May 2009 13:46:00 +00002009-05-07T16:39:00.376ZTrendsPersonal bloggingI blogged last month about a Lincoln-themed event I was planning that was inspired by President Obama's inaugural luncheon.The event pictured above is from President Obama's inaugural luncheon at Statuary Hall in the U.S. Capitol on January 20, 2009. The pictures below are from my event at a totally different venue on April 20, 2009. The photographer posted a sneak peek on her blog. I'm so http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/DecidedlyUncomplicated/~3/RQiw8JknToM/another-sneak-peek.htmlleslie@lesliemanningevents.com (Leslie Weekes)0http://lesliemanningevents.blogspot.com/2009/05/another-sneak-peek.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8594524487069596565.post-8938893153470265897Sun, 03 May 2009 16:30:00 +00002009-05-03T16:48:12.160ZTrendsTipsI’ve been doing a lot of window shopping lately. Ever since a friend invited me to a fashion seminar last week led by TERRA owner, Oriana Khatso. I’ve become obsessed with fashion blogs, and must now ask: what recession? Why can’t I find a stylish handbag for less than $200 or some gladiator sandals for less than $50? But I digress. There’s an upside to my window shopping via blog crawl, I’ve http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/DecidedlyUncomplicated/~3/5OL4W9EQ1fQ/perfect-bridesmaids-dress.htmlleslie@lesliemanningevents.com (Leslie Weekes)4http://lesliemanningevents.blogspot.com/2009/05/perfect-bridesmaids-dress.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8594524487069596565.post-6690766964272129029Fri, 01 May 2009 17:14:00 +00002009-05-01T17:26:36.771ZTipsA wedding gown for $271. from BCBGMAXAZRIA. 100% silk. Timeless and iconic (as described on their website). The caveat: this is a final sale. Okay, so it's not really a wedding gown, but it could definitely work as one for the right bride.http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/DecidedlyUncomplicated/~3/NHITbrxgpmE/find-of-day.htmlleslie@lesliemanningevents.com (Leslie Weekes)0http://lesliemanningevents.blogspot.com/2009/05/find-of-day.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8594524487069596565.post-7229720899807745556Wed, 29 Apr 2009 21:21:00 +00002009-04-29T21:53:04.677ZTrendsPersonal bloggingTipsI was organizing my bookmarks today (yes, it is an 8-hour long event) and I stumbled upon one that I had long forgotten: Iomoi Stationery (don't ask me to pronounce it). I bought some custom stationery from them some time ago. I have a thing for monkeys and elephants and pagodas. Also, for good quality paperstock and nice packaging. It is definitely still bookmark worthy. Check out their http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/DecidedlyUncomplicated/~3/NEKRjNh5-tM/what-im-loving-today_29.htmlleslie@lesliemanningevents.com (Leslie Weekes)0http://lesliemanningevents.blogspot.com/2009/04/what-im-loving-today_29.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8594524487069596565.post-7313220786685190309Thu, 23 Apr 2009 01:24:00 +00002009-04-23T19:05:31.609ZPersonal bloggingOne of my favorite home design magazines asks an interior designer every month what are the 12 things they can't live without. I like reading this feature, because I usually glean new resources and bookmark worthy websites. This month, I've decided to copy this idea and list the 12 things that I can't live without as a wedding and event planner. Once I got started, it was hard editing it down tohttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/DecidedlyUncomplicated/~3/DS82YTCoHFc/12-things-i-cant-live-without.htmlleslie@lesliemanningevents.com (Leslie Weekes)1http://lesliemanningevents.blogspot.com/2009/04/12-things-i-cant-live-without.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8594524487069596565.post-2328762900113245447Thu, 16 Apr 2009 10:16:00 +00002009-04-16T13:04:48.484ZTips"Anyone can put flat-screen TVs or Egyptian 500-thread-count sheets on the bed, but at the end of the day, what defines the experience is the people"...Brian O'Connor, Spokesman for Carnival's Cunard LineA colleague sent me this quote, and I had to share, because I've been saying it for years. Although this quote is directed at hoteliers it rings true for wedding and event planners as well. In myhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/DecidedlyUncomplicated/~3/1sRB4BWh350/its-people.htmlleslie@lesliemanningevents.com (Leslie Weekes)0http://lesliemanningevents.blogspot.com/2007/06/its-people.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8594524487069596565.post-4067786991400936130Sun, 12 Apr 2009 14:02:00 +00002009-04-12T14:10:17.662ZCongratulations to Jessica Tupper!Jessica is the winner of my Decidedly {somewhat} Uncomplicated survey giveaway of Elise Mac Adams book "Something New: Wedding Etiquette for Rule Breakers, Traditionalists, and Everyone in Between."Thanks again to all who participated in the survey and entered to win the book.http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/DecidedlyUncomplicated/~3/1fHWo-Fo3dg/we-have-new-winnerdrumroll-please.htmlleslie@lesliemanningevents.com (Leslie Weekes)0http://lesliemanningevents.blogspot.com/2009/04/we-have-new-winnerdrumroll-please.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8594524487069596565.post-1575059653684047260Sun, 05 Apr 2009 18:48:00 +00002009-04-06T13:00:14.912ZTrendsPersonal bloggingI'm so excited. I'm working with the White House florist on a Lincoln-themed event that's happening later this month. I was even able to score the base plates used at President Obama's inauguration luncheon. Here's a sneak peek: The floral mock-up.The inaugural luncheon base plates.The actual linen used at President Obama's inauguration lunch (I'm not using these though)The full mock-up of my http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/DecidedlyUncomplicated/~3/EZcXQuS5dSs/sneak-peek.htmlleslie@lesliemanningevents.com (Leslie Weekes)5http://lesliemanningevents.blogspot.com/2009/04/sneak-peek.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8594524487069596565.post-1953698360160071435Fri, 03 Apr 2009 14:52:00 +00002009-04-03T15:10:27.969ZPhoto credits:Fashiontribes.comDeviantart.comFineliving.comCalypso-celle.comBarneys.comSmartbargains.comNet-a-porter.comhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/DecidedlyUncomplicated/~3/yKrz-1hRi3Q/rainy-day-inspiration.htmlleslie@lesliemanningevents.com (Leslie Weekes)2http://lesliemanningevents.blogspot.com/2009/04/rainy-day-inspiration.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8594524487069596565.post-3162381207463070733Wed, 01 Apr 2009 16:37:00 +00002009-04-01T16:50:05.928ZGiftsAs a newly-ish-wed, I would appreciate a gift of art and at $20 a print, I don't think anyone can deny me this any longer (or rather, now I can buy it myself).In my recent search for stuff to cover the walls, I discovered quite a handful of great artists and galleries selling amazing art pieces on the internet. I found this image (above) by Mike Monteiro at 20x200, and with new original editions http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/DecidedlyUncomplicated/~3/gRbKYKFVlEQ/what-im-loving-today.htmlleslie@lesliemanningevents.com (Leslie Weekes)0http://lesliemanningevents.blogspot.com/2009/04/what-im-loving-today.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8594524487069596565.post-1465036904923958262Tue, 31 Mar 2009 19:42:00 +00002009-03-31T19:42:00.625ZI read a blog comment a few days ago. The commenter wrote that tweets on Twitter is "like a whole lot of people talking in a single room but no one really listening." She hit the nail on the head. That is exactly how I feel when I'm on Twitter, and yet I can't stay away.Anyhow, recently I've noticed a trend on Twitter: tweeting at weddings. Not just the wedding guests, but also the bridal party http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/DecidedlyUncomplicated/~3/FqBKf5pSORU/tweeting-wedding.htmlleslie@lesliemanningevents.com (Leslie Weekes)2http://lesliemanningevents.blogspot.com/2009/03/tweeting-wedding.html