Congratulations Paisley Events!

Congratulations Paisley Events!

NYBG, Here We Come!

Hello Paisley Press followers! 

Today I am pleased to formally announce the partnership between Paisley Events and......(drum roll, please)..... The New York Botanical Gardens!

This coming year (2014), the New York Botanical Gardens welcomes Stephan Starr Events and Catering. Stephan Starr won the bid for the NYBG new catering company this past February. Replacing Abigail Kurish (the 13yr long resident catering company who've chosen different cooking grounds), Stephan Starr will revamp and recreate the two food hubs in The Gardens. 

Chief Catering and Events Manager, Sarah Silfko, met with Paisley Events owner and executive consultant, Katherine Jacox, this spring and it was then Ms. Silfko offered Paisley Events the once in a lifetime opportunity to join Stephan Starr events as their sole Recommended Wedding and Events Coordinator! 

The Gardens have three incredible venues (The Conservatory, The Stone Mill, & The Garden Terrace) that brides and grooms can select for their wedding reception. Stephan Starr Catering provides the menus that may or may not include selections from Mr. Starr's three most infamous restaurants: Buddakan, Morimoto, and Caffe Storico.

We, here at Paisley Events, cannot wait to work with Stephan Starr Events and the amazing couples and clients at the New York Botanical Gardens!

 XOXO

Happy Planning!

Trash The Dress: A Trendy Alternative For Your Post Wedding Gown

Now one of the ways I choose to spend my precious time here in Chapel Hill, North Carolina is by serving fancy cocktails to whomever may come through our doors in a little martini bar on the corner of East Franklin Street. Some days however, I am greeted by rather interesting patrons such as the couple who came in on Saturday night to watch the NASCAR race and gave me a rather interesting insight and an even more interesting conversation topic. We started talking about the phenomena and trend of “Trashing the Dress” as the cars raced around the track and stopped ever so often to have their oil changed. Pardon the irony of the connection in our subject matter, but I started thinking about this trend and actually took a liking the idea of girls leaving behind the tale as old as time tradition of saving their dress for the generations to come and adopting a new and modern idea…

TRASH THE DRESS

Reasons to Trash Your Dress:

1)      “I want to save my dress for the generations to come… but is anyone actually going to wear it?”

      OK ladies… how many of you actually wore your mother’s or grandmother’s dress in your wedding? Let’s be honest here! Every little girl dreams of the day where she gets to go into that bridal boutique and try on a thousand beautiful white dresses until she finds “the one”! So, why not trash the dress if no one else is going to wear it?

2)      “Well, I may need to wear it again… but that could be awkward?”

Again ladies… let’s be honest with ourselves, how many of your (and let’s hope not) next husbands would like for you to wear the same wedding dress again? I don’t think so ma’am! The lovely gentleman I mentioned from the martini bar did mention a funny concept of a reversible dress- “White on the inside and pink on the inside, that way you can use it twice in case you get married again.” What a wise fellow! But you should trash that dress and if you decide to marry again, then you get to go shopping again- every girl’s dream!

 

3) Leave the wedding behind…

Personally, I think this is a cute idea! The philosophy behind this (and pardon my thinking too much) can be reason enough to trash the dress. The idea of leaving behind your wedding dress, the material things that it represents, and moving forward with your marriage plus the love shared between the two of you… it’s kind of a big deal! Also- what a fun stress reliever!

Speaking of FUN!

Check out these fun ideas for Trashing YOUR Dress…

Country Girl… Mud it up! Hop up on the tractor, dirty up that dress, and make not only great photographs, but memories as well. 

 

Mermaid at Heart? Jump in the ocean, play in the sand, or let the

waves crash on your dress for the perfectly-timed

 trash the dress photograph!

Let’s Get Dirty. Those NASCAR themed oil covered shoots make for a sexy sensual and even incredibly beautiful trash the dress shoot. Shot in black in white or even close ups in color can make for an amazing experience and even better images to keep forever. 

The Desperate Housewife… food fight! How cute would it be to have a trash the dress shoot of you and your newlywed husband in your brand new kitchen with flour tossed on each other’s faces, blueberry pie smashed onto your once pristine white gown, transitioning into a beautiful new life together (not to mention the fun of a food fight with each other!)

Now, if you want to keep it traditional, if you’ve always dreamed of a $15,000 Vera Wang, this isn’t for you! (But hey, you could always invest a small bit in one of those handy dandy used dresses and play around with a trash the dress shoot just for fun!).

XOXO, Audrey

Peeing in "The Dress"

Peeing in "The Dress"

How to Accomplish the Seemingly Impossible

You’ve all heard of the bathroom nightmares brides face trying to go to the bathroom in their bridal gowns. Of all the things brides have to stress about on their big day, this should not be one of them. How many members of the bridal party does it take for the bride to be able to pee in her dress? Well, normally it takes about three bridesmaids to hold up a hefty size gown while the bride pops a squat.

           A bridesmaid on weddingchannel.com posted about her experience at her best friend’s wedding, “My best friend got married two years ago. We asked her before the dress went on if she needed to pee and she said no. As soon as she had the undies, 20 lbs dress with the puffy lining (it actually had an extra slip with MORE poof), and the whole shebang she had to pee. All three of her bridal party went into the bathroom with her, lifted the dress up high and positioned her on the toilet. It was crazy, but we have some good memories." 

Photo credit: www.projectwedding.com

Fear no more! There is in fact an unconventional way for the bride to go to the bathroom by her self! That’s right, privacy ladies!

Just 5 simple steps:

1.      Take underwear OFF

2.      Face the toilet

3.      Pull the front of your dress up to your waist

4.      Walk forward, straddling the toilet

5.      Sit down and lean forward 

You’re welcome.

Skeptical about this new approach? Brides everywhere are raving about it and wish they new about it sooner! A bride posted about her experience using this technique at her wedding on finalstitch.co.uk, "It worked for me in my mermaid style dress so I imagine it'll work even better for the more classically shaped wedding dress."

xoxo

Miranda 

Under Water Garden Inspiration

Under Water Garden Bliss

For some, garden weddings are the perfect depiction of soft love and bliss. For this couple, its everything and more!

Hello Press followers! I apologize for the slow season on the blog! But with wedding season ready to kick back into gear, I promise to keep your interests peaked! 

This evening, while perusing the various wedding inspiration blogs, I came across this amazing couple and their picture brilliant wedding style shoot! Green Wedding Shoes usually keeps my mind a-spinning with ideas and thoughts, but this took the gold! You can read more about the couple and their vendors here: Click Me!

The whole inspiration for this wedding was based of the brides unique dress! Watercolors really bring out the fun, ethereal side of a theme. According to GreenWeddingShoes, the whole shoot was designed with couples having a budget or a DIY wedding in mind.  The best DIY to achieve a similar look would be DIY dip-dye or watercolor art! Its as simple as grabbing a strip of paint and dye! 

I hope you enjoy this style shoot as much as I did! Who wouldn't want a sea of color for a garden or sea or both! Themed wedding!

---

xoxo

Katherine

Wedding Math and the Recipe for a Good Party.

There's a Party in My Tummy! So yummy! So yummy!

Mini burgers

Mini root beer floats

Hello Paisley’s!

Happy Spring!  After hibernating for the winter, later sunsets and birds singing are getting me all excited for wedding season.  Sorry about the children's TV show title, being cooped up with a two year old all winter can make you a little stir crazy. Although the cold weather suggests otherwise, I’m already in my happy place  though of garden weddings, lantern lit tents, and ballrooms dripping with flower garlands while smiling photos are taken outside on warm, bright sunny day. 

Is anyone with me on this?  No?  Too much? I know I’m not the only one that thinks of these things as many of you happy brides are preparing your Pinterest boards with these very same images.  So many things make me giddy about the wedding planning process: dresses, stationery, flowers, décor, diy and the list goes on.  But what better to get you in the mood than food?!

Let’s be honest, food can often be the make it or break it moment of a wedding.  All the details could be amazing, the party can last into the wee hours, and yet, the one thing we always remember and discuss after words is the food. Here's a tough wedding math formula to remember:

Good food + good friends & family = good times!  

So how do you make good food better? One word. MINI.  Anything miniature is already cuter.  As cliche as they are who doesn't love some pigs-in-a-blanket?  Ready for a great recipe:

Combine one good caterer with large helping of classic dishes divide the recipe into bite size morsels and you have the ultimate one-two punch.  Cute and delicious!  

Elizabeth Anne Designs did a great job rounding up some of the cutest and tastiest looking itsy-bitsy’s I’ve seen in a while and a few others needed honorable mention.  Tell me some of the boys and our guests wouldn't love some of these pint sized pints or tiny shooters to start the festivities?  And who doesn't love a classic made to look classy?

Breakfast Madame? 

Have you decided to go with a casual breakfast or brunch wedding or shower?  These types of get together’s are easy on the budget, can maximize your time spent with guests and allow for some tasty treats that are sure to be winners.  Brunch time brides are at advantage of being able to maximize the flavors for their guest.  

Sweet and Savory Pancakes.  Yum!

              

Mini breakfast, complete with french toast sticks, eggs, and doughnuts.

                             

Ham and Brie pies on a stick.

Dinner Madame?

Going for more of a cocktail hour and passed hors d'eouvre feel?  Don't worry.  A good caterer can take all of your favorites and create some comfort classic into mini culinary delights.  These ideas come right with the beverage too!  Talk about an open bar!  

Yes, you are seeing correctly.  Those are mini chicken in waffle cups served with classic mini rum and cokes.

 

mini tacos and tequila shooters

Grilled cheese and tomato soup

 Love the combo snack and drink plates!  These can be great ways to combine your favorite flavors for fusion events too.  What about Asian style tacos and sake?  The possibilities are endless.  Here are a few more of my favorite minis. (minus the drinks)

 

tiny pizza, awwww!

fries never look this elegant at McDonald's

Ceasar salad bites

Burgers, fries and pizza never looked so good!

Spaghetti and meatballs

All of the above photos

Your dress won't get dirty with these perfect sized
portions!

Anyone for Dessert?

Even though after gorging on yummy tidbits like these you may not have room for dessert, we always indulge and appreciate sweet eye candy if nothing else.  Mini pies, cupcakes and cake pops are the all the rage, but how about some of these tiny treats to make you loosen your belt buckle and be happy you wore Spanx.  

Now I'm hungry.  Hope you got some good ideas, I'm going to see how I can miniaturize some chicken parm.  And in case you didn't know already, Paisley is now on Pinterest if you want to pin any of these yummies and all kinds of pretties too.  

TTFN

Rachel