Looks for less

Sienna Miller worn this simple, but chic outfit to the Berlin premiere of GI Joe.

I love it when you can find outfits similar to what you saw a celebrity wear and you can actually afford it. Shopstyle.com put together her entire outfit for $128.69. That's a deal I can live with. Happy shopping.

Give the Gift of a Tree

With the focus of "going green" on events lately I thought this Tree Gift from the Arbor Day Foundation was a great idea for party favors, wedding favors, corporate gifts or fundraising. It's a thoughtful and unique gift that will be a living memento of your event that will last a lifetime.

Now that's the way to say I do!

Kevin Heinz and Jill Peterson floored their wedding guests by having their whole bridal party — including seven bridesmaids, five groomsmen and four ushers — boogie down the aisle in a choreographed dance to Chris Brown’s “Forever”. The whole wedding party will appear on TODAY Saturday to do an encore of their now-legendary aisle dance.

Why weren't they doing this 22 years ago? I would have so been there. If you haven't seen the video here it is. Want to read the whole article? Click here.

Gorgeous Helen Wine Glass Lamp Shades

I saw these shades on a website. I thought they were a clever way to décor a dinner table. They would also be perfect accents for a wedding. If you want to purchase them you can order them through Charles & Marie. I also found a DIY way to make them. They are fairly easy and it allows you a lot of room for creativity. You can use plain vellum or colored vellem, you print a design on the vellum, the possibilities are endless.

Supplies:
8-1/2" x 11" sheets of vellum (one per lamp)
Scissors
Decorative bladed scissors
Decorative paper punch
Glue pen
Wine glasses
Tealights or a LED battery-operated tealights
Candle putty (floral clay)
Here's how, from Save On Crafts:
Download and print out this lampshade pattern.
Trace the pattern onto your vellum sheet. Cut out the shape with your regular scissors. If you want, you can use decorative bladed scissors along the bottom edge to add another element to the shade.
If you like, use a paper punch to punch holes evenly or haphazardly throughout the shade.
Using the glue pen, apply a thin line of glue to one straight end. Wrap the other end over the glued end, and adhere together, forming the shade.
Secure the tealight with the candle putty, and set the lampshade on top of your glass.

Welcome to the Digital Age

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Last year when my daughter was graduating high school I spent hours creating a scrapbook for her and I wished that all of my hard work could have been seen by more then just those how attended the graduation party. Then I discovered Smilebox. It is a photo service that lets you quickly turn life’s moments into digital creations you can share with others or save for yourself. Choose from hundreds of ecard, scrapbooking, and slideshow designs for every occasion. Once you personalize any design, you can email it, post or blog it, burn it to DVD, or print any page. If you’ve got a few minutes, you can create something others will cherish. I created this scrapbook in 10 minutes. Have fun!

Great rustic centerpieces or gifts

I saw this centerpiece on a wedding photographer’s website and absolutely loved the idea. I thought it was great for a wedding centerpiece, wedding gift or anniversary gift. I was not able to find the exact same vase online, but I found something similar at etsy.com in their earth elements section.

Here's to great beginings!

Photo By: Alison Herndon ©2005 IBS Design, LLC

Being an event planner I thought it would be appropriate to start my blog with some event tips, resources and inspirations for celebration.
Hosting a dinner party
There is nothing like an evening of good friends, good conversation, and good wine. The good wine will help with the good conversation. With that in mind, I’ve put together a guide to dinner parties that can help reduce stress.
Consider essential points as you start planning:
• What type of dinner party is this to be, casual or formal? Do you want a theme? A theme will help make the menu and table décor easier to plan.
• What is the budget? Be realistic! Don't try to impress by overspending - even with a fairly small budget and a little creativity, you can achieve fantastic results.
• How many guests? Never invite more than you can comfortably sit at your table. You don’t want your guests to feel like they are in a can of sardines. Limit your guest list to 12 or under. Six to ten is ideal.
• Plan the menu! This is not the time to tryout that new recipe that you saw on the Food Network. You want to go with recipes that you feel confident in making.
• Plan your guest list. As a general rule, you'll want to invite people who have common interests and who get along well. Now it’s time to send out the invitations. For a more casual dinner party, Evite or email is fine - but give your guests at least 2 weeks notice and I prefer 3 weeks notice.
• Create to-do lists - one for shopping, one for table decor and one for jobs to do.
• Now it’s time to set the mood! A good dinner party is all about ambiance. If you decided to go with a theme dinner have your table décor, music and menu reflect that theme. Example if you go with an Italian theme you could have The Godfather soundtrack as your background music, Dean Martin’s Italian Love Songs, or for a whimsical feel Mob Hits - Music From and a Tribute to the Great Mob Movies. An Italian theme doesn’t mean that you have to use red and white checkered table clothes. You can use grapes, vines, and wine bottles to create a Tuscan vineyard feel. For dessert you can order authentic italian cannoli from one of the oldest New York City italian cafes. Ferrara Cafe has been in business since 1892 and you can have their tasty cannolis or tiramisu delivered to your home.

Write down a timeline for the day of the party, counting back from party time. Leave plenty of time for food preparation, baking, cooling and decorating, setting the table, arranging flowers, planning music or games, and getting yourself and family ready!

In order to save time the day of your party prepare foods that can be made ahead of time and store in refrigerator or freezer. Set the table décor the day before.Try to plan so you have very little to do on the actual day of the party. Now pour yourself a glass of wine, relax, and enjoy your beautiful, clean house before the guests arrive. Bon appetit!