Invitation Week: The LV Studio

Next up on our Invitations Week is The LV Studio by Leslie Vega. Her modern invitation suites and letterpress designs are so fun and fresh.

Don't forget to check out Leslie's blog, The Studio Scoop!

Invitation Week: Penned & Pretty

So many brides do not realize the impression hand addressed invitations make on your guests. Not to mention, they are beautiful and make the entire invitation suite THAT much better!

Jessica Lynn of Penned & Pretty owns a little calligraphy shop. Here are some of her styles:

Don't forget to check out the Penned & Pretty Blog as well as Jessica Lynn's other blog, Tying the Knot.

Invitation Week: Unique Designs

Last week we caught up with some local Photographers and gave you a sneak peak to their beautiful images. This week, we're celebrating the local vendors who makes our client's invitations just GORGEOUS!

Unique Designs is up first. These young Gainesville graphic designers always have a ton of fun projects going on..

Don't forget to check out the Dare to be Unique blog for constant updates and wedding inspirations!

*Photo by Dawn McKinstry Photography

Local Photographer Week: Gina Leigh Photography

Our next featured photographer is Gina Leigh Photography. Gina Leigh happens to shoot strictly film images. Here's a little preview of her work:

Don't forget to check out Gina Leigh's blog for some fabulous updates and previews to her work!

Local Photographer Week: Kara Pennington

To end our Local Photographer Week we are featuring Kara Pennington Photography. Check out these fabulous sneak peaks:

Check out the Kara Pennington Photography blog for more up to date pictures!

We hope you enjoyed our Local Photography Week, we had so much fun looking through all of our local photographers and featuring them for our readers. Happy Friday!

Local Photographer Week: TJM Studios

How fun are all of the photographers we are featuring this week? We are loving seeing the differences in styles and personalities!

Up next is TJM Studios. Here is a sneak peak:

The TJM Studios blog can be found here. Enjoy!

Local Photographer Week: Photography 35

Photography 35 is another husband and wife team here in Gainesville, Florida.

Their blog is constantly updated with photographs and their family sessions are just amazing!

Local Photographer Week: Caroline Johnson Photography

Caroline Johnson Photography is our next feature on the MasterPiece Weddings Local Photography Week. Here's a sneak peak:

Caroline Johnson's blog, Life with Caroline, is full of entertaining images and must see sessions!

Local Photographer Week: Jemma Coleman Photography

Next up, MasterPiece Weddings is featuring the fabulous Jemma Coleman located right here in Gainesville, Florida.
Check out the Jemma Coleman Photography Blog for her wedding, engagement, and family portrait updates!

Local Photographer Week: Footstone Photography

Another husband and wife team here in Gainesville is Footstone Photography and they are up next as we continue our local photographer week!

Their blog is full of great photos so make sure you check it out!

Local Photographer Week: Verve Studio

Here comes the newly named Verve Studio and their awesome images!


The Verve Studio Blog documents their edgy style and up to date photographs.

Local Photographer Week: Powers Photography

It's always great to work with amazing photographers, have you checked out Powers Photography.

 
Keep up the Powers Photography Blog to catch the latest photos of weddings, family portraits, and much, much more!

Local Photographer Week: Pure by Lindsey

This week MasterPiece Weddings is going going to focus on some of the amazing talent we have locally! Our local photographers are amazing...  If you haven't checked out Gainesville Photographers, you must stay tuned this week!

We are starting things off with Pure Photography by Lindsey Troph.

Don't forget to check out Lindsey's blog to keep up with her fabulous current photos!

Green and Brown

To end things off, we are featuring a beautiful green and brown inspiration board. You can really see how the change of one color can make something so different. This board is full of natural color and vivid light.

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What do you think?

Green and Black

Happy Thursday! Today we are feauturing a white, black, and green wedding. The details come together to make a very modern wedding with hints of southern charm. Wouldn't you agree?

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Green and Pink

Next up is Green and Pink. We think these colors are bright, fun, and just all around beautiful!

{bouquet}{tree}{boutonniere}{martini}{shoes}{bridesmaid}{bride and groom}{cake}{table}{invitations}

What do you think?

Green and Plum

Green Week continues with shades of green decor with plum colored accents. Adding the plum certainly adds a dramatic touch to the wedding, don't you think?

{invitation}{ceremony}{necklaces}{shoes}{dessert}{bouquet}{veil}{bridesmaids}{chair}{table}{boutonniere}

Green Week

This week at MasterPiece we're changing it up a bit. We want to focus on how single complimentary colors can change an entire event's look. We will be featuring boards this week that all have the common color, green, and placing them with different accents.

We're beginning with True Green and Navy...

{groom}{groomsmen}{place setting}{bridesmaids}{headband}{cake}{martinis}{invitation}{bride}{bouquet}

What do you think? We think it's preppy, bold, and screams Spring Time.

Alli & Tim's Inspiration Board

Alli and Tim's April wedding is going to be an amazing and absolutely beautiful event! We're talking greens and shades of pink in the details. What do you think?

{centerpieces}{shoes}{paper lanterns}{cocktails}{ring pillow}

{bridesmaid}{bouquet}{place cards}{cake}{venue}

Have you been to Be A Planner?

Have you been over to our sister site, Be A Planner? It offers some really great advice for aspiring planners as well as gives you an insight to real planners and what they are doing. You don't want to miss it!

If you or any of your friends is thinking about becoming a wedding planner, you definitely want to recommend this website. Keep a heads up about upcoming certification courses that offer tips to planners who really want to know the industry! Be a Planner is a great resource for brides, wedding planners, and event industry professionals!

Jay's Bridal Show VIdeo

Remember the Gainesville Wedding Expo that we attended a few weeks ago? Well Videotronics put together this awesome video that shows how amazing it was! Watch out for our booth!

Bridal Shows are so much fun and can be great for the bride who needs inspiration and a good place to start. However, they can also be overwhelming and brides could end up feeling helpless. Here are some good pointers to make your experience go as smooth and as fun as possible!

• Go in with a plan. Know exactly what vendors you need to find for your wedding and seek those out first. Most bridal shows have a lay out of the booths. If you are only going to find a cake baker, find their booth and walk straight there.
• Write legibly so the vendors know how to contact you. If they can't read your name or phone number, you could risk not hearing back from them.
• Talk to the vendors about your wedding. Connecting personally with someone who is going to be there on your big day is SO important! Walking around and taking business cards will not give you a good feel for who the vendor is.
• At the end of the day when you get home, sort through your bridal show goodies. Throw away the vendor information that you did not like and keep the vendors you fell in love with or want to know more about.
• Follow up with Vendors as soon as possible!

Sounds easy, right? Go in with a plan, and you will be sure to find success!

Ruthie & Nigel's Wedding Recap

We cannot explain how much we enjoyed working on Ruthie and Nigel's wedding and seeing it all come together. Ruthie and Nigel were the best of clients, SO fun and down to earth. I mean seriously, do you know another couple that would be this laid back the morning of their wedding?

Ruthie and Nigel's wedding was conveniently located on their own property. They had a champagne bar waiting for their guests when they arrived and a beautiful tent placed behind the ceremony site..

The center pieces are gorgeous, right? So naturally simple and went perfectly with the decor..

Because of the Florida heat, we had to be extra careful with the cake. Fondant begins to melt when it isn't kept in cool enough temperatures. Even though we brought the cake out only moments before the ceremony began, it still begin to tilt and turn.

Word of advice: if it is warm outside and you are serving a fondant cake, considering moving the cake cutting up on your time schedule to avoid a melt down!

Amanda even had the opportunity to become a horse wrangler...we are extreme multitaskers here at MasterPiece Weddings, did you know that?

Just look at how beautiful the bride is, she is glowing!

We LOVED working with you, Ruthie and Nigel. Congratulations!

All pictures courtesy of Celebrations Catering

Check Out Our Clients!

Have you seen our clients lately? They made an appearance on the Verve Studio Blog and they are SMOKIN! Seriously, how beautiful are these photographs of Alli and Tim?

Didn't Verve Studio do a fantastic job?!

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween from MasterPiece Weddings!

At our office we always have a blast with Halloween! Check out Gainesville's Best Wedding Planners have some fun with todays holiday!

Let me introduce you to Intern Melissa as Michael Jackson, Me as Beauty Queen - Miss Conception, and our own personal Wild Things Erinn as A Wild Thing, and Amanda as King Max.

Thank you Powers Photography for taking the time to have some fun with us and take our pictures, I know we are dorks -- and you are so patient and wonderful! We love you!

And of course our signature jumping photo!

A Twilight Wedding

In honor of Halloween tomorrow, we decided to make an inspiration for one of the most talked about weddings in vampire cinema history. Bella and Edward, here is your Twilight inspiration...

{sparkler exit}{cake}{bouquet}{venue}{candles}{luminaries}{roses}{Bella & Edward}

What do you think?

Planning Ahead

So there are so many things to consider when picking a wedding date. Sure, you may have a perfect date in your head but you must realistically consider other events hapenning besides your wedding... For instance, a beautiful Fall wedding sounds great in theory, but what happens if it falls on the biggest local college football game? Would you really want to be stuck in traffic with angry fans trying to get to a tailgate on your wedding day? You don't want your guests showing up hours late to your ceremony or reception.

Traffic isn't the only thing that worries us. Big weekend events call for higher hotel prices, higher rental rates, as well as increased package prices for some vendors.

Every season has it's downfalls. Winter brings in corporate holiday parties and increase chance of snow storms up north. Springs and Summers brings local community events like art festivals, local shows, and not to mention hot, rainy seasons.

So when picking a date, plan ahead! Consider all of your options including community events to ensure that the day runs smoothly!

Boutonniere Alternatives

A fun way to spice up your groom and his groomsmen's suits is by adding a fun boutonniere! There are plenty of ways to accessorize the guys without flowers while still keeping with the color palette. Check out some of these trendy new boutonniere ideas using some other ingredients besides just a flower. We especially like the ones that add a personal touch to your guy. Be creative! After all, it's his wedding too!

DIY Flower Alternatives:

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Feathers:

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A Personal Touch:

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Crystal and Beaded: {picture1}{picture2}{picture3}

What are some fun ways you dressed up your groom's boutonniere?

Winter Inspiration

How lovely is this warm winter inspiration? Our intern Melissa made it and we can't get over how intimate and romantic the details are...

{centerpiece}{bouquet}{favors}{ceremony}{coffee}{cake}{invitation}{bride}{champagne}

What do you think?

Bridal Party Gifts

As a tradition, brides typically purchase a little something for their bridesmaids as a token of thanks and gratitude. There are so many fun ideas out there that would be perfect for your bridal party...

What about a spa day?

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Spend a day at a spa getting facials, manicures, pedicures, a deep massage and hair treatments. Girls love to be pampered and love it even more they are with their best friends. Add a bottle of champagne and you have yourself the perfect girls day out and bridal party gift!

Or how about an adorable clutch to use on the wedding day? It is definitely something they can use again in the future. Try looking on Etsy or picking out fabrics and bringing them to a seamstress to create something perfect and personal.

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What about a personalized hankerchief the girls will keep forever? Let them use it to dry their tears for not just your wedding but their own as well.

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And lastly, what about dressing your ladies in something cute and similar on the wedding day?

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Whatever you give your bridesmaids, make sure it is personal and genuine. Your girls will love you no matter what so have fun with it and get creative!

Fall and Winter Flowers

We can't help ourselves, we love the flowers that are in season right now and thought we should give some tips to you brides. It doesn't matter how much you love a certain flower, you need to make sure it is in season by asking your florist. If your particular flower isn't in season, you may have to pay extra to have it shipped from somewhere across the world or you will just have to change your date...please, don't do that!

Here are some beautiful Fall flowers that come in so many colors and just look beautiful in a bouquet:

Hydrangea

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Peony {source}

Orchids

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And don't forget about the lovely winter flowers...

Ranunculus

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Gentian Rose

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Crysanthemum

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So Fall and Winter brides, don't freak out if your flower is out of season or too expensive to order! There are tons of beautiful flowers that are in season now, just ask your florist!