Pink Inspiration Board 04/19/2010
This inspiration board is pretty in pink, perfect for a spring or summer wedding.  Click picture to enlarge Real Wedding: Catrina & Chase 04/13/2010
“Catrina & Chase have been living in Milwaukee since Hurricane Katrina, but knew they wanted to come back to New Orleans for their wedding. And with Mardi Gras being a favorite holiday, they chose to hold their wedding on Ash Wednesday, the day after carnival ends on Fat Tuesday. Catrina & Chase started the day getting ready at the Marriott Hotel, then headed off to Austerlitz Baptist Church for the wedding ceremony. Following the wedding everyone took off for the reception at The Fine Arts Center in New Orleans, which has a unique art deco style and was used a few years ago in the Ray Charles movie. Their wedding was full of small children, including their own newborn baby girl, Mailee. The day was also filled with lots of love, laughter, and dancing, including a traditional New Orleans second line. I think they broke the record for the most toast, as everyone seemed to have something to say! It was a joyous beautiful celebration, and I was honored to be a part of it.” – Nicole Nichols Photography Blog. Congratulations to Catrina and Chase who were married on February 17, 2010. Check out some amazing of their amazing wedding photos which were taken by Nicole Nichols Photography.       Click pictures to enlarge Fabulous Flower Girl Dresses 04/02/2010
Pre-Wedding Meeting With Your Florist 04/01/2010
 To ensure everything runs smoothly and is delivered and setup on time, schedule a pre-wedding meeting to discuss the timeline and details of your wedding. For example, your bouquets, corsages and boutonnieres should be delivered prior to your photographer’s arrival so they can be included in any pre-ceremony pictures. Also, ask your florists if there is any maintenance you need to do on the day of the wedding to keep the flowers looking fresh through out the day (i.e. misting the arrangements, keeping the bouquets in water, etc) In addition to the pre-wedding meeting with your florist, make the necessary arrangements with your ceremony site and reception site managers to ensure the florist will be able to deliver and set up the arrangements during the time specified. Ask the Experts: Do you have a question about the flowers for your wedding day? Ask our panel of experts. They’re here to offer you their professional opinion free of charge! Just submit your question here and the experts will weigh in. Soulful Engagements the Summary 03/31/2010
Missed a post? No worries, we created Soulful Engagement the summary, a monthly newsletter designed to give you a quick recap of what's been going on at Soulful Engagements. It's your chance to catch up on the latest inspiration boards, advice, tips and much more!  Click to view Peacock Blue and Purple Inspiration Board 03/30/2010
Our friend Ty who is recently, engaged loves the color blue, specifically peacock blue and she’s looking for a little inspiration to help pick her colors. So we put together this inspiration board that pairs blue and purple and integrates a little bit of the peacock theme. Enjoy!  Click picture to enlarge Credits: Earrings; T's Studio Jewelry, Reception Table; An Elegant Touch, Shoes; Photo by Dean Thorsen, Monogram; Etsy Blue Rose Project- Personalized Design & Prints, Dress; Farah Angsana Last week Gabrielle and Lenny chose their venue and set their date! We sat down with Gabrielle and found out why they decided to hold their wedding at a historic hotel next summer and to see if she had any advice for other brides to be. SE: Congrats on setting your date! That’s a big check off your list. What made you pick the date 6/11/11? Gabrielle: I picked 06/11/2011 because I wanted to get married in the summer. I also want to get married at our college alma mater, so the date needed to be after their commencement ceremonies. Its nice because people have been saying that they really like the sound of the date. I didn't even realize it was so important. SE: What made you decide on your venue? Gabrielle: We picked a really nice historic hotel. It has a Grand Ballroom with a balcony overlooking the entire room, which is where our cocktail hour will take place. We want our wedding to have a feeling of warmth and filled with meaning. Having it at a historic hotel just adds a little bit more meaning and charm (in my opinion) SE: So what are your next steps? Gabrielle: Haha! There are a ton of next steps that I am trying to focus on. The main thing is committing to a type ceremony - if we want it to be non-denominational or not. Its a big decision and also a hard discussion to have if you both don't share the same beliefs. SE: Any advice for brides-to-be trying to set a date or pick a venue? Gabrielle: It wasn't exactly hard for me to pick a venue, but I did end up in a pickle in terms of choosing the reception venue first or the ceremony site. In the end I had to go with what I could book first. My advice for other brides who are in a similar situation to pick which one they couldn't live without. So, if they are really set on a ceremony site they should focus on that and then find a space for the reception and vice versa. Celebrate Black Marriage Day 03/28/2010
 Today, March 28, Black Marriage Day celebrates its eighth year of activities in cities across the country with the release of two marriage-themed films, Tyler Perry’s latest film, “Why Did I Get Married Too?” and “You Saved Me”, as part of this year’s observance. “This year the passion for celebrating Black Marriage Day is bigger and better than ever,” Nisa Muhammad said. “Marriage matters to the Black community, and we want everyone to know.” Black Marriage Day is a marriage education initiative promoting the benefits of marriage in the Black community created by Nisa Muhammad, Executive Director of Wedded Bliss Foundation, Inc. Since 2003, hundreds of local sponsors in cities large and small have hosted Black Marriage Day events including: Tom Thumb weddings, marriage-themed contests for teens, workshops, conferences, Date Nights for singles considering marriage, community banquets, religious services and inductions into Marriage Halls of Fame for longtime married couples. Local, state and Congressional representatives have regularly issued proclamations celebrating marriage in the Black community. For more information about Black Marriage Day andevent information visit www. blackmarriageday.com Q: Do I need to hand cancel my invitations? 03/27/2010
A: It is not necessary to hand cancel your invitations and your invitations will most likely make it to their destination in once piece. However, all mail is run through a stamping machine at the post office which can smear, wrinkle or tear your invitations. When you drop your invitations off at the post office, you can ask them if you can hand cancel your invitations to avoid this. Hand cancelling can be labor intensive, especially if you have a large guest list but it is much gentler on your invitations.  Click picture to enlarge You decide if hand canceling your invitations is worth it. The envelope on the left was run through the machine and the envelope on the right was hand canceled. Picture courtesy of www.gourmetinvitations.com New Search Feature! 03/26/2010
Now you can search Soulful Engagements’ content quickly and easily with our new search feature, powered by Google! Just enter a few keywords and see your results.  Click picture to enlarge |    ArchivesApril 2010 CategoriesAll |
