Tips on Tuesday: Best Man Duties

We haven't done a Tips on Tuesday in a while so when I came across this article, I thought it was perfect! We always talk about the bride and how to perfect the wedding of their dreams but what about the men? Being asked to be a Best Man is a big deal, but then what? So this is for all the men out there today. Finally the focus is on you lol!

This article I found on wedding.autopilot gave a few tips for you and can be very helpful especially if this is the first time you've ever been asked to hold such an honor in the bride and groom's wedding party. It isn't overwhelming information, just a couple things from before the big day, because yes there is something you can do besides plan the Bachelor party, to the reception. Believe me you'll get to enjoy the night. You'll just also be the "Best Man Ever" that day!

XOXO,
Aelicia & Rachael

AART Event Planning wishes Rachael Lukas a Happy Anniversary!

So today is a very special day. It is the 6 year Wedding Anniversary of our very own Rachael Lukas!! And as a Happy Anniversary from us, we wanted to share a few details from that special day.

When Rachael got married this time of year, she was lucky since it was right after Easter. Her church was already decorated still and that saved her some money in decor. Plus, since Rachael and my brother in law are really allergic to flowers, Rachael made all of the silk flower arrangements, from the boutineers to the bouquets to the centerpieces, so the Easter arrangements in the church not only saved her money, but also a lot of time trying to create any altar pieces!

If you have been a fan of our Facebook Page and have followed are blog (which you all should be lol!) then you know that Rachael is the designer and creative mind in our company and pretty much everything you see in our design department AART Designs, has been made by her. So it isn't surprising for me to tell you that Rachael had designed a lot of great pieces that can be seen through out her wedding.

Rachael made all of the programs, her unity candle, the bouquets and boutineers even her centerpieces.

But my favorite were the Ribbon wands she made for the ceremony that were placed in a basket with a note that read: "It's time to cheer for the new Mr. & Mrs. Wave this wand and send them your wishes!" as well as her photo card box. It is special details like this that make any event memorable. And you know that we are all about those special details!

Take a look at the beautiful couple on one of the happiest days of their lives.

And now we fast forward 6 years where Rachael and Martin are still as in love as they were on their wedding day and have two amazing little boys! Plus lets not forget she co-founded AART Event Planning with me and together we strive to make it a huge success! 

Happy Anniversary to my sister and brother in law! May life fill you with many more blessings.

XOXO,

Aelicia 

AART Event Planning's Inspirations: St. Patrick's Day Themed Wedding

With St. Patrick's Day next week, we thought how fun it would be to put a green inspiration board together! What a fun wedding this would be!!

XOXO,

Aelicia & Rachael

A Renewal of Vows in Central New Jersey

This past Saturday we had the pleasure working on a vow renewal for a beautiful couple that were celebrating 32 years together. It was a very intimate affair where they were surrounded by their closest family and friends, including their four children and four grandchildren. The color scheme was Lime Green and Black with our favorite accent: Damask! It was beautiful and elegant and we were honored to be apart of it.

Thank you to all of the vendors that helped make this event even more special!

Ceremony: St Andrews Church in Avenel, NJ

Reception: Family Residence

Stationery: AART Designs

Caterer: Mario's Tutto Bene in Union, NJ

Linens: Hallak Cleaners in Hackensack, NJ

Florals: Floral Expressions in Hasbrouck Heights, NJ

XOXO,

Aelicia & Rachael

AART Event Planning's Launch Party!!!

We can't believe that it was a month ago already where we had our launch party/open house with Soundbar Entertainment and Sonia G Professional Makeup and Brow Artist. We had such a great turn out and are so thankful for the friends, family and future clients that came out to see us. The professional pictures are finally in and we are so excited to share them with you!

Food was provided by the fabulous La Bella Italia Restaurant & Cafe and let me tell you my mouth is watering just thinking about it! And yours will too once you take a look at some of the food that was provided that night. And let's not forget about dessert. Our friends at Lavish Lollies handed out their cake pops throughout the night and all we can say is OOO!! MMM!! GGG!!!!

Of course we all had to show off our talents lol. Music and the always so popular photo booth was provided by Soundbar Entertainment and makeup was done by Sonia G. We designed beautiful tablescapes for each season.

Winter

Winter Wonderland meets Blingtastic!! This was our winter elegant setting, perfect for a wedding!

Spring

Spring was inspired by the the amazing New York City. Yellow, Black and Grey were used for the color scheme making this a chic tablescape for any party!

Summer

Who doesn't love anything vintage? And with the colors of creams and light pinks and greens, it makes for a perfect outdoor Summer luncheon don't you think?

Fall

When you think of fall, you think of reds and oranges and golds. We thought a little outside of the box and went with a Peacock Inspiration tablescape. With the use of deep purples, gold and burgundy, you still get that fall feel while exuding a WOW factor.

All of the stationery was designed by our design team AART Designs. Isn't Rachael a genius!!

We also want to thank those special people that helped make that night a huge success:

NJ Weddings

Floral Expressions

Magique Studios

La Bella Italia Restaurant & Cafe

Lavish Lollies

Swag Bag Contributors

The Elan

Skylish Photography

Hallak Cleaners

Creative Custom Card Boxes

Renee Casella for Stella and Dot

We want to thank everyone that came and supported us. Your love and support means the world to us. Here is to a successful 2012!

XOXO,

Aelicia & Rachael

Tips on Tuesday: Choosing Your Vendors

What a beautiful Tuesday it is....70 degrees in November...after a snow storm two weeks ago! Weather can be so unpredictable and we can't control it. What we do have control over is picking the perfect vendor for your occasion!

You have to do your research! Yes your friend may have told you about this amazing band she saw and you trust her so you booked them right away thinking it'll be fine right? Wrong!! Not everyone has the same taste in music and that is ok. If you want a band, check out their showcase to see them perform. If you are looking into a DJ, have them show you a video of one of their events so you can see how crowded the dance floor was. Ask them about their playlists. You want to make sure that you get someone that can offer a variety of music you are interested in.

When meeting your vendors, come with a list of questions. For instance, when meeting a photographer, ask them about places they have taken their bride and groom for outside pictures. Have a place in mind already, ask them about it. Having this dialogue will allow you to easily figure out if you and the photographer will have the same vision for your day. And don't forget to look at their albums. This is something you are going to look back on year after year.

Read their reviews. If you do not know anyone who has used them before or you do not have a wedding planner that recommended some great vendors, read what others said about them. This will give you a great feel for them too.

Don't get caught up in the price. Yes it is very important to look at a vendor within your budget if you have allotted one. But sometimes the expensive choice isn't always the smartest choice. You can get an excellent vendor without breaking the bank.

Trust your instincts. Many couples that we speak to all say the same thing: "I knew I wanted them within the first 5 minutes....". You know who you are comfortable with. If you are second guessing a lot of things, then clearly they may not be the right vendor for you.

Remember, you have been preparing for your event for a long time and you want only the best to make it everything you had dreamed of. When you follow your instincts, you can never go wrong! And if you need some reassurance or recommendations, we are always glad to help!

XOXO,

Aelicia & Rachael

The Wedding Coordinator vs The Venue Coordinator

We have been seeing a lot of blog posts lately on this subject and we wanted to share our insights on the subject. We have heard it before: "Why do I need a wedding coordinator when my venue already has a coordinator". As great as they are and very helpful to the bride and us wedding planners, the conception of how much they help the bride is a little misleading. Here is a breakdown:

Don't get me wrong, venue coordinators can be very informative to the bride and we love working with them. Like we said they are extremely helpful to us. But we have to remind a bride that the venue coordinator works for the venue not you. They deal with things like making sure there is appropriate staff, the food, setup, etc. Also what a bride needs to keep in mind is that even though they have talked with the venue coordinator when they booked the venue, it doesn't mean that they will be there on your wedding day. Many times the venue coordinator will staff the maitre de that will be working with you on that day and you may not even meet them until you walk in as husband and wife.

A wedding coordinator is there for YOU throughout the whole day. Yes we will oversee the setup at the venue and making sure it meets your vision but we will also be in constant communication throughout the night. We will make sure your photographer took the pictures you requested, that the cake cutting and bouquet toss happen in a timely manner, that your entertainment played your favorite song. Our work isn't done until all your guests leave!

A wedding coordinator will contact all your vendors prior to the event to make sure they have everything they need, confirm arrival times and create a timeline that will be distributed to them that night.

Planning a wedding is a lot of work and can be very stressful. The help of both the venue and wedding coordinators is a nice reliever of that stress. We are not downplaying the venue coordinator at all. We are simply just stating the differences between the two so that you know the importance and benefit of possibly having both.

XOXO,

Aelicia & Rachael

"Work of AART" Real Wedding: Marisa & Rob

Last week one of my dearest friends married the love of her life and I had the privilage of being apart of the wedding as well as helping design her menu cards and candy buffet. So since I was in the wedding, I actually took off from my normal wedding working duties and enjoyed myself. And that means I don't have all the best pictures to show off. But I hope you enjoy what I do have and look out for professional pictures soon!

Marisa had a very beautiful wedding and gorgeous weather to match! How adorable are the two pumpkins painted with the words "I DO" on them! A great fall touch to this fall themed wedding. And how can anyone forget about the family pet. The family dog in her little white dress was just too cute for words!

Look at that dress! So beautiful and amazing beading and crystals on the bodice, bottom of the skirt and train. And that cathedral length veil....simply stunning!

Here is a look of Marisa's bridal party, one picture with her "sisters" and the other with her newly extended family (doesn't the first girl on the left in the first picture look familiar? LOL). She chose Bill Levkoff dresses in a cranberry color with an ivory sash. Perfect for her fall color scheme.

Marisa's sister in law served as one of her Matron's of Honors. She wore a different dress in a slightly darker hue to accommodate that beautiful baby bump.

Following the ceremony which was held at Our Lady of the Assumption in Wood-Ridge, New Jersey, guests went to enjoy cocktail hour at The Valley Regency in Clifton, New Jersey. The exquisite ballroom was set up for her 180 guests and the lighting throughout the room set the romantic room. Following the couple's first dance as husband and wife to the Bon Jovi song "All About Loving You", came the parent dances. The most heart warming dance was the groom's dance with his sister to Celine Dion's "Because You Loved Me". I can say there was not a dry eye in the house and I was no exception!

Next it was on to dinner, drinks and dancing and boy did everyone have a great time....especially with a special guest, well actually 2, for the night (their band consisted of the Queen of Freestyle Judy Torres and the brides uncle is famous for his Elvis impersonation!). Topped off with the wedding cake and our candy buffet display and it was the perfect end to a great wedding.

The best part of our jobs is seeing the love and happiness between two people and being allowed to be apart of it. It's even more special when you ahve seen that love grow and grow throughout the years. We are so happy for you Marisa and Rob and we wish you a lifetime of happiness!

XOXO,

Aelicia & Rachael