It's Day two of the June Wedding Vendor Challenge features. Today's beautiful outdoor photo shoot took place at the amazing Belle Isle in Detroit, MI. Lisa of Gabbi Grace Events wanted to plan an outdoor shoot with a beautiful backdrop and immediately knew of the perfect place . . . the gardens at the Anna Sripps Whitcomb Conservatory located on the beautiful Belle Isle, one of Detroit's many gems. Both Lisa and Kim of Something Floral, utilized the use of crystals and glass to capture the elegance and stunning backdrop of fountains, water, the Glass Conservatory itself and the beautiful Detroit city skyline.

Michael Peychich Photography

Kim of Something Floral explains about the primary table centerpiece . . . "Full size roses (Corazon and Gold Strike varieties) and 3 types of foliage: Italian Ruscus, Salal, and Pittsoporum were used. The primary centerpiece sat atop a 28" tall, glass, Roman Doric-style column and featured crystal chandelier-style candleholders and drop crystals. Since the shoot took place during the day, I filled the candleholders with cut roses rather than candles. The primary table centerpiece was flanked by two smaller, handtied bouquets of Corazon roses in a water-filled vases that were placed inside tall crystal candleholders (one cylinder, one rectangle)."

Left: Michael Peychich Photography, Right: Urban Fire Studio

Urban Fire Studio

Urban Fire Studio

Urban Fire Studio

Michael Peychich Photography

Urban Fire Studio

Michael Peychich Photography

Urban Fire Studio

Michael Peychich Photography

Kim selected Corazon, a newer variety of rose, for it's large, multipetaled blooms in a deep, true red and velvety texture. As Kim writes, "because yellow can photograph very light, particularly in bright sunlight, I chose Gold Strike roses for their rich, deep, golden yellow color."

Flowers/foliage in the primary dessert table arrangement: Full size roses (Corazon and Gold Strike varieties), sweetheart roses (Sacha variety), spray roses (Red Mikado variety), and 2 types of foliage: Italian Ruscus and Salal.

Michael Peychich Photography

Michael Peychich Photography

Michael Peychich Photography

Urban Fire Studio

For an extra pop of color and atmosphere of elegance, drop crystals and crystal candleholders containing Corazon roses were tied with yellow ribbon and suspended from the conservatory's wrought-iron garden gazebo. Wouldn't it be beautiful to marry under these crystals?

Vendors:
Venue: Belle Isle (Beautiful Island) • Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory Detroit, MI
Belle Isle is located in the heart of Detroit and it is the largest Island
Park in the Unites States. The Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory is open
year round and home to the largest collection of Orchids in the Country. The beautiful gardens and Conservatory are available for weddings 10 AM - 5 PM including holidays.
Planning, Styling & Rentals: Gabbi Grace Events
Chivari Chairs & Round Table, Linens (Table linens, Napkins, Chair Sashes),
Crystal & Glassware for Sweets Table, Red Chargers, Cut Glass Plates
Cake Bites: My Cake Bite Delights (Yolanda & Marissa) Southfield, MI & Chicago, IL
Photographers: Michael Peychich Photography and Urban Fire Studio
Floral Design, Arrangements and Rentals: Something Floral
Crystal & Glassware (Floral Arrangements, Sweets table and Gazebo):
Fresh Fruit-Covered Cake and Meringue Cookies: Angela Bakery, Sterling Heights, MI
Stationery: T. Evenire (Invitations, Menu Cards, place cards, favor boxes) Atlanta, GA

Where has this week gone? It's time for our last Wedding Vendor Challenge for May already. The past 3 days have featured amazing inspiration for you to use at bridal showers, weddings or any other party you have planned. This months color palette was periwinkle blue, mango orange and lemon yellow. And, like last month, I asked vendors to create a bridal shower tablescape with a dessert display and just like the other challenges, there will be at least one DIY provided. Today I have two DIY downloads for you :) After all it is Friday - why not end it with a little something extra?

This elegant bridal shower photo shoot was styled by Lisa of Gabbi Grace Events and photographed by Jackie of Jacqart at Longacre House in Farmington Hills, MI. The gorgeous florals were designed by Kim of Something Floral. And, I lent a hand in creating all of the paper goodies :) Plus, many etsy artists came on board to provide the perfect little details.

Flowers and faux butterflies were used on the top two tiers of the ivory, antique-look, three-tier stand while mango favor boxes tied with periwinkle satin ribbon rested on large, light yellow chrysanthemums on the bottom tier. Flowers consisted of Spray roses (Babe and Mambo varieties), Hydrangea, Tulips, Parrot tulips, Godetia, Yarrow, Chrysanthemums, and Pittosporum foliage.

The lemons for name tags added an unexpected burst of lemon scent to the air.

Kim placed the florals for the dessert table in a white china teapot with Iris', Tulips, Parrot Tulips and Tulip foliage.

To save on cost and go a little green, Lisa went to the fruit market and purchased 4 small lemons and had the names pinned into the lemons with sterilized pins and used the lemons afterwards to make lemonade. Instead of going out and purchasing a pre-made fruit salad (saving almost $10), Lisa purchased 1 cantaloupe, 1 Kiwi, 2 mangoes, 1 pineapple and chopped them up. A small pack of blueberries was mixed with the fruit and then added to a decorative bowl and stacked onto a cake plate. To add a burst of color,  3 oranges were sliced and arranged on the small cake plate underneath. Lisa writes, "It saved money, its easy to do and looks and tastes delicious!"

DIY DOWNLOAD FREEBIE: Today, I have a download for you with both the "It's time for tea" cupcake toppers and "Drink Tea and Keep Calm" decorative flags. Simply trim the flags out using the border as a guide and then fold in half and glue around drink stirrers. For the cupcake toppers I used a scallop punch and then adhered them to decorative paper before gluing them on the lollipop stick.

Wedding Vendors:
Photography: Jackie of Jacqart
Venue: Longacre House
Florals: Something Floral
Styling: Gabbi Grace Events
Mango Textured Favor Boxes: Notable Notions
Cupcake Stands: Wedding Things
Paper Goodies {invitation, favor tags, place cards, garland, cupcake wrappers, cupcake toppers, decorative flags}: Brenda of Wedding Girl
Fresh Lemon Italian Biscotti Cookies: Biscotti Queen
French Lemon Macarons: J'adore les Macarons
Lemon Sugar Roses: Le Chic Bakery Boutique
Sweets {floral candy lollipops, colorful sprinkle tea cookies, orange sherbet and periwinkle (island punch) Jelly Belly jellybeans}: Sweetheart Bakery
Chair Covers & Linens: Linen Hero
Lemon Supreme Cake : Sweet Dreams Bakery
Cupcakes: Just Baked

Happy Sunday. I'm continuing today with another fun photo shoot from the April Wedding Vendor Challenge. This month the color palette was bubblegum pink, mint green and robin's egg blue. Instead of an intimate table for 2 like the previous two challenges, I asked vendors to create a bridal shower tablescape with a dessert display and just like the other challenges, there will be at least one DIY provided.

It's a fun bridal shower picnic luncheon in the park with a hand-crafted country chic theme. This shoot features the talents of Kim from Something Spectacular Custom Floral & Event Design and Something Floral, Kate from Kate Elliott Photography, and yours truly {also of Wedding Girl on etsy} for the invitation and paper goods.

Kim explains the design of this tablescape . . . The casual, homespun, hand-crafted look was achieved by first covering the picnic table with a soft mint green, floral patterned, quilting fabric but leaving the aged wood of the benches exposed. The alternating blue and white and solid hot pink crocheted placemats added another handmade element to the look. Solid white, non-patterned plates, basic stemware, and paper napkins were used for a casual, picnic feel. Robin’s egg blue cupcake ramekins containing pink frosted and sprinkled cupcakes were placed on each plate and added a nice splash of blue and pink to each place setting.

This photo shoot was held at Warren Community Center Park, which was chosen as a location for its unique, 4-person picnic tables and its visually interesting, curvy and twisting mature trees. The tall but compact, garden-style centerpiece was created in a vintage-style, ivory, opaque, ceramic urn. It contained hot pink, Ravel roses, light and medium pink lisianthus, soft blue hydrangea, light green carnations, and blue/green seeded eucalyptus.

Kim writes the guestbook table was covered in the same mint-green quilting fabric as the picnic table. A mint green and white-striped journal containing a “shabby chic” style rose on the cover was used as a cute and casual guestbook, and it sat atop a crocheted placemat. {this guest book could either be used to have each guest "sign-in" and leave their mailing address, perfect for thank you writing time, or guests could leave words of advice to the bride-to-be. And, awaiting each guest at the guestbook table was a favor of hot pink miniature tin pails accented with coordinating ribbon and filled to the brim with pastel pink, blue, and white miniature Cadbury eggs.

For both the invitation and menu I included textural elements with the crocheted blue ribbon on each and on the invitation I even included 2 rows of garland with a button flower strung onto the pink and white twine. I love how adding something as simple as a ribbon can add so much visual interest to an invitation.

DIY DOWNLOAD FREEBIE: I'm offering you the Springtime Cupcake Toppers and/or Gift Tags as a download and they're even perfect for Easter too. Simply print out the Springtime Cupcake Toppers and/or Gift Tags template from Scribd, cut out with a punch and you're good to go. {the download link at Scribd is directly underneath the item's title in the right column} PS: I will have the paper goods shown above in my etsy shop later this week - but feel free to reach out to me if you might be interested in them.

Wedding Vendors:
Planners/Designers: Brenda's Wedding Blog along with Kim of Something Spectacular Custom Floral & Event Design in Warren, MI
Florist: Kim of Something Floral, Center Line, MI
Photographer: Kate of Kate Elliott Photography, Grand Blanc, MI
Invitation and Paper Goods: Brenda of Wedding Girl
Cupcakes: Meijer, Warren, MI
Photo Shoot Location: Warren Community Center Park, Warren, MI
Cupcake Ramekins and Crocheted Placemats: Christmas Tree Shops

Happy St. Patrick's Day. Today we continue with the feature of modern spring themed photo shoots from the Wedding Vendor Challenge for March. I asked vendors across the US and Canada to team up and create an intimate tablescape for two with a dessert display. I supplied a color palette for all vendors to work with and for this shoot it was green with accent colors of brown, cream and pale yellow. It could be St. Patrick's Day related, although this wasn't a requirement, so you'll be seeing a bit of both this week. I also asked each team to provide at least one DIY design. For today - the 4th Wedding Vendor Challenge for March is from Kim of Something Floral in Michigan with photography by Mark of You Bet I Do Photography. The paper designs are by yours truly and my etsy shop, Wedding Girl.

Today's photo shoot was held at O'Connor's Public House - this pub was designed and built by the Prairie Pub Company, one of only five Guinness approved authentic Irish pub builders in the world. The finished pub was then shipped to the US and reassembled in the historical downtown district of Rochester, Michigan. Other special features of this pub include the floor in the main bar area that dates back more than 140 years, the stone wall separating the dining area from the bar was once an exterior wall, and the stain glass and wrought iron in the pub was harvested from crumbling churches throughout Ireland.

above two photos courtesy of Kim from Something Floral

above photo courtesy of Kim from Something Floral

For the centerpiece, Kim repotted two, small shamrock plants (Oxalis) into a yellow ceramic container. And, then she inserted two different varieties (Sundee and Delmonte) of fresh, yellow mini gerbera daisies and light yellow, Limoncello spray roses into the shamrock plant to give the centerpiece additional color, texture, and to add some visual interest. Also, tucked into the arrangement are fun drink stirrers turned into floral picks.

The sweet treats provided by O'Connor's included Jameson Irish Coffee Cake with Bailey's Icing, Pecan Pie with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream and Irish Coffee.

DIY Download : Today, I'll be shariing with you the template for the cupcake toppers and drink stirrers along with the paper napkin rings. Simply print out the pdf after downloading via Scribd and follow the directions that are included on the pdf for the toppers/stirrers. The napkin rings will just be trimmed out. {the download link is directly underneath the item title in the right column once on Scribd}. Please note that I added little rhinestones to add a bit of embellishment to the designs.

A huge thank you to Kim and Mark along with O'Connor's for joining us in the 2nd Wedding Vendor Challenge this week with a beautifully eco-friendly tablescape for spring.

Planner, Concept Collaboration: Kim of Something Spectacular Custom Floral & Event Design
Florist: Kim of Something Floral, Warren and Center Line, MI
Photographer: Mark of You Bet I Do Photography, Clarkston, MI
All Paper Designs: Brenda of Wedding Girl
Venue, Desserts, and Irish Coffee: O'Connor's Public House, Rochester, MI
Plates and Napkins: Pier 1

Centerpiece Container: Home Depot

I am so excited about this week's blog posts - each day I will be featuring Valentine's Day {love} themed photo shoots from the Wedding Vendor Challenge I recently put together. Each shoot is filled with ideas and inspiration for bridal showers, weddings and parties. I asked vendors across the US and Canada to team up and create an intimate Valentine's Day dinner tablescape for two with a dessert display. I supplied a color palette for all vendors to work with and for this shoot it was deep red, honeysuckle pink {the Pantone color of the year} and grey. I also asked each team to provide at least one DIY design. So, here we go - the first Wedding Vendor Challenge - a strawberries and champagne Valentine's Day . . .

Team One features the talent of Kim from Something Spectacular Custom Floral and Event Design and Something Floral who played the roles of florist, planner, photographer, and part baker {she made the chocolate dipped strawberries but bought the truffles and cupcakes}. And, Sarah of Belletristics created all the wonderful stationery and paper goods including the paper flags, champagne label, favor boxes, and the "your Love is all I need" cards.

I just love how Kim placed fresh strawberries into the 8" cylinder centerpiece vase with the flowers that included Roses (Red Intuition variety), Matsumoto Asters, Lisianthus, Delphinium, and Israeli Ruscus.

This champagne label is just perfect, "your LOVE is intoxicating". Something as simple as adding a handmade label over a bottle can transform the whole feeling of the event.

Don't you just love these paper flags? They can serve so many purposes - cupcake toppers, drink stirrers, even little flags in the floral arrangements. I've got a treat for you because they can easily be yours via the downloadable pdf Sarah has supplied for all of you. Simply print out the pdf after downloading via this link from Scribd, trim and attach to a toothpick and you're all set. {the download link is directly underneath the item title in the right column}

A huge thank you to Team 1 for kicking off the Wedding Vendor Challenge week with a gorgeous tablescape and lovely paper goods. Please stay tuned all week as I have lots more wonderful designs coming your way.

Wedding Vendors:
Coordinator and Florist: Kim of Something Spectacular Custom Floral and Event Design and Something Floral
Photography: Kim of Urban Fire Studio, Center Line, MI
Stationery and Paper Goods: Sarah of Belletristics, Eau Claire, MI
Truffles: Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory in Allen Park, MI
Cupcakes: Butter-Nut Bakery in Center Line, MI