mckinney wedding planner

Real Wedding: Lavish, Romantic Wedding with Lush Burgundy & Purple Floral

May 28, 2020
Real Weddings

Marissa & Justin's wedding was a fairy tale come true. From the ceremony to the reception, everything was decked out in burgundy and shades of purple flowers. The day was a perfect fall day and the vibe was elegant, fun, and lavish. The Grand Ivory has a crisp white, open-air chapel where the couple said their vows, and the reception was held in the white, modern barn right next door.

One of the most beautiful elements of the open-air chapel is the antique wood doors that you enter through. Marissa describes her favorite moment was seeing Justin's face as those doors opened and he saw her for the first time. The doors allow for that "wow" factor as the bride is revealed.

The ceremony had candles and floral aisle markers on acrylic pillars leading down to the front with tall, lush floral on more pillars. The lake in the background and candlelight made the space inviting and romantic.

One fun detail was the couple handed out black sunglasses for the guests with a sign that said, "Don't let our love blind you". Such a cute and functional favor!

To say there were layers upon layers of beauty on the tables would be an understatement. There were hundreds of candles and flowers on the tables complete with a full place setting and silver chargers. Custom acrylic boxes were created just for the low and lush centerpieces to sit on. The tall centerpieces seemed to float on their glass vases. There was a menu at each setting that detailed four different food stations for the guests to enjoy.

Family style seating was incorporated with typical round tables to give more of a mingling, all-inclusive vibe. Acrylic chairs were a splurge item and added a modern element that didn't distract from the overall decor.

The cake was on an acrylic cake stand that had burgundy and purple floral buds under it. The cake itself was truly unique as it had a floral pattern on the bottom layer that matched the bride's dress. It also incorporated some watercolor in their colors as well as an "R" on the top layer.

The head table had a silver sequin specialty linen that made a statement. It was complete with flowers that covered it and candles all around. It was a table fit for the couple of honor.

Marissa & Justin's wedding day was stunning and over-the-top with the floral and design details. They wanted a wedding that was beautiful but also fun for their guests. The photo below shows Marissa & Justin seeing their reception for the first time and by the looks on their faces I would say it was a success!

Vendor Spotlight: Daniel K. Films

May 8, 2020
Ask The Expert

"We've Found Our Lobsters" Austin and Sofia's Wedding Film from Daniel K. Films on Vimeo.

Daniel K. Films is an artist and a storyteller through video. Not only that, but he is also a fun guy to be around and instantly makes you feel comfortable. We were lucky enough to hear about how he got started in event videography, why he loves working with clients, and what makes him stand out.

When and how did you get into the wedding industry?

In 2016 I met the woman who would later become my wife. I knew if we were to start dating, I wanted something more to give financially. At the time, I had done a few years of freelance video work, including weddings, but I wanted it to be something more, something I could put my name on and take real pride in. Within two weeks, I launched Daniel K. Films! (See Daniel's wedding video below!)

"Standing on Mt. Everest" Daniel and Andrea's Wedding from Daniel K. Films on Vimeo.

Describe your favorite type of client.

I love clients who are interested in booking me for their wedding because they love, and connect with previous videos I have created. This shows me that they are willing to put their trust in my creative judgment and are excited to be in front of the camera and incorporate awesome video elements into their wedding. I always strive to provide clear communication of ideas and expectations and I love clients who do the same! Whether the client's style is minimal, lavish, or somewhere in between, I aim to portray the heart of each couple and their wedding day and I appreciate anyone who is on board with that vision!

Do you have a funny story with a client?

Recently I was at an open house and asked a bride if she was looking for a videographer. She said she had already booked one and when I asked who it was she said "Daniel K. Films!" at which point I said, "OMG that's me!" We had a good laugh and I guess that's what happens when you book people without meeting them first!

Stefan and Denise: The Trailer from Daniel K. Films on Vimeo.

What makes you different at what you do?

I believe I stand out from others because I don't approach videography with a template in mind. I believe everyone is so unique and special and deserves a unique experience. Temperamentally, I strive to be what is needed in each situation. Some moments call for a videographer who is assertive and headstrong while other situations call for a more laid-back approach. In either scenario, I always aim to maintain a mixture of professionalism and friendliness!

Among all of the awesome feedback I have gotten from past clients, a few have said to me, "this was the best investment we made for our wedding." This tells me that what I've helped some couples find was not just a video, but a time capsule into the best moment of their lives that they can access from wherever they want, whenever they want.

If you'd like to know more about Daniel K. Films or see more of his recent work, please head to their website at www.danielkfilms.com. You can contact Daniel by email or by phone at 972.439.2924 You can also follow him on Instagram.

Daniel Karnafel, Filmmaker & Owner

4 Ways to Give Back During Your Reception

February 28, 2019
Wedding Planning Advice

We have an increasing number of couples that want to not only throw a great party, but also give back to the community during their wedding. From floral to gifts, there are a number of ways to share the love after the wedding is over! Here are a few ideas:

Photo courtesy of Allen Tsai Photography

Floral by Petals Couture

Sharing Your Flowers

Floral provides a great opportunity to give back, after all, at the end of the night the flowers are yours to keep. It would be a shame to just throw it all away. In our previous blog we talk you through a number of different options, but one of my favorites is to donate them. Your florist may have a preferred charity that they bring flowers to after a wedding, but you can also ask your planner about it. Here at Each & Every Detail we have partnered with Harbor Chase Retirement Home to provide their residents the remaining flowers from our clients’ events. What a great way to pay it forward! Send us an email for more details.

Photo courtesy of Tony Valadez Photography

Catering by CN Catering

Making Your Food Go A Little Further

In order to make sure that everyone gets fed, most caterers will cook slightly more food than the guest count indicates. This means that there will likely be left over food. While you could take it home and feast on left overs for a week you could also talk to your caterer about donating it. Different caterers have different rules about reheating food, but it’s definitely an option to consider when thinking about ways to give back.

Photo courtesy of Jeremy Minnerick Photography

Gift for Others

There are several different ways you can encourage your guests to give back in your name. You can set up a typical gift table but have an informational sign that encourages charitable giving rather than gifts. You can also prepare your guests by registering through a charity or list your favorite organization on your wedding website.

Alternatively, if you think your guests might be the kind to want to bring physical gifts, try having a toy drive or asking everyone to bring their favorite book to be donated. You still get a great gift table as well as the satisfaction that comes with helping others.

Photo courtesy of Jeremy Minnerick Photography

Donations as Favors

Favors are a fun way to add a little personality to your event! Rather than trying to think of the perfect little gift for your guests, how about you donate to a charity of your choice in their honor. You can leave a little card on everyone’s place setting with the details of the donation. That way you don’t have to worry if anything gets left on the table at the end of the night, because the charity has received your donation either way.

There you have it, four easy ways to give back to the community during your wedding. What is your favorite way to pay it forward? If you want advice on how to incorporate giving back with your event contact us! We’d love to help out!

How to Select Your Wedding Cake Fillings

February 21, 2019
Wedding Planning Advice

Photo courtesy of Wisner Photography

Cake tastings are one of the most popular parts of wedding planning. Because, really, how can you go wrong? Cake! Lots of cake! But there’s an art to selecting the right cake and cake fillings that will give your guests options without going overboard. If you have more than 100 guests, I usually like to do 3 flavors of cake – one vanilla/plain(ish), one more chocolatey, and one more seasonal (fruit or spice, for example). Of course, you should get whatever cake and cake fillings you like, but this seems to be a blend that works universally well!

Photo courtesy of f8 Studio

Cake by Haute Sweets Patisserie

Wedding cake is a pretty serious topic for wedding planners. You have your cake connoisseurs, who can speak intelligently about texture and air bubbles and density. And then there’s the people like me, who grab the frosting and go to town. Don’t get me wrong, cake is an excellent frosting delivery mechanism. It’s just I prefer the intense sugar rush of a great cake filling or frosting. As such, I get pretty excited about the idea of choosing a filling. Here are a few of my favorites, and the cake flavors they marry with well!

Photo courtesy of Simple Moments Photography

Cake Fillings and Cakes

Every bakery is going to have their own spin on cake fillings and cake flavors. But here are a few tried and true options!

The Basics

Vanilla buttercream – classic, simple, goes with everything
Cream cheese – a little more rich, tends to go well with big flavors like red velvet, spice, strawberry, or chocolate
Swiss meringue – a very buttery version of buttercream, not as sweet as your typical frosting or filling
Chocolate buttercream – a good choice for a medium level of chocolate
Chocolate ganache – professional chocoholics will hug you

The Fruits

Fruit fillings might be a fruity buttercream or they might be more akin to a jelly. The more fruit you can see, the deeper the taste!

Raspberry – love this with a lemon cake in the summer! Also very popular with your white cakes (vanilla, almond, grand marnier, etc.).
Lemon – tart and fresh, especially if you go British and get a lemon curd
Strawberry – fresh, but not as intense as raspberry. Goes great with a champagne cake.

Photo courtesy of Leslie Spurlock Photography

The Sugars

Bring on all the sweetness, baby!

Salted caramel – perfect for a chocolate cake without the chocolate overload
Cookies and cream – my personal favorite!

The Milds

Peanut butter – goes great with chocolate for you Reese’s fans, or you can mix it up and put it with an unexpected flavor like stout or spice cake!
Cappuccino – surprisingly versatile
Lavender (or other floral) – great with lightly flavored cakes

Photo courtesy of Absolute Photography

Cake by The Cake Guys

Level Up

Make everyone at your wedding jealous of your cake prowess by doing multiple cake fillings in one piece of cake. That’s right. Multiple cake fillings. “But Brooke,” I hear you saying, “that’s just crazy talk!” It’s not, actually. Most bakers tort their cakes when making a large wedding cake. Torting is when you have multiple layers of cake and filling in the same slice, like so.

Photo courtesy of Kartsie Photography

If you’ve got multiple layers of filling then you can do… oh, so many things.

The Basic Combos

Reese’s: Chocolate cake, chocolate buttercream, and peanut butter buttercream
Oreo: Chocolate cake with vanilla buttercream and cookies and cream buttercream

The Expert Combos

Sacher Torte: Chocolate cake, chocolate ganache, and raspberry preserves filling
Strawberry Lemonade: Strawberry cake with lemon buttercream and lemon curd (or vice versa!)
Flat White: White almond cake, cappuccino buttercream, and salted caramel buttercream
Autumn Extravaganza: Spice cake with cream cheese filling and pumpkin buttercream

Have you done your cake tasting yet – we can help with that! Email us. Tell us your favorite cake filling, or post a photo of your cake below! For more information and history on wedding cakes click HERE.

Kids & Weddings – Making It Fun For Everyone

February 19, 2019
Wedding Planning Advice

Inviting, Feeding, and Entertaining Children at Your Wedding

Photo courtesy of Joy Neville Photography

There are many elements to consider when adding kids to your wedding guest list. A few key areas will shape your decision-making: inviting children, how you decide to feed your young guests, and any sort of entertainment or child care that might be included in your reception plans. If you are able to consider all the angles at the beginning of your wedding planning and budgeting process, it will be easier to create an event that is fun for all of your guests, no matter what age they are!

Photo courtesy of David Cheney Photography

Inviting Children

First things first – will you include children on your guest list? This is one of the cuts that can be made early on in the process to accommodate a guest list count, venue decision, or budgeting parameter. If you are inviting kids, we suggest being super clear on your invitations by enumerating the people invited on your envelope and possibly including a count on your RSVP card for the number of seats reserved for each party. Be fair – if you invite some children, you should invite all children. This will minimize any complaints that might make their way to you from unhappy parents!

Photo courtesy of Kylie Crump Photography

Feeding Your Young Guests

Every parent will tell you that their kid’s mood is directly related to how often they eat. Children burn through calories like nobody’s business! A big part of keeping the young people happy is ensuring that food at all stages of the evening is appropriate for their palates. For example, if you’re offering passed hors d’oeuvres, try and make at least one kid-friendly. Fried mac and cheese, fruit skewers, or plain sliders are all great options.

Photo courtesy of Joshua Aull Photography

When it comes to dinner time, you have a few options depending on your style of service and your caterer. Regardless of style, your caterer may be able to provide a special children’s meal, usually something like chicken strips, fruit, and fries. Each caterer will have a different age threshold on what it means to be a child, so check into that early on in your planning process. If you’re doing a buffet or stations, consider doing at least one kid-friendly entrée. This might be easiest to achieve by removing the sauces or marinades from the meat and offering it on the side for folks to add their own. Mac and cheese or mashed potato bars are also great options for most kids.

Photo courtesy of Christina Truelove Photography

Entertaining Kids

Throughout the ceremony and reception, there may be ways to channel your young guests’ energies so that they contribute to the flow of the evening, rather than disrupting it. During the ceremony or once all guests are seated for dinner, activity or coloring books are a great option! We’ve also seen couples provide quiet games or building toys so that kids can stay engaged and seated.

Photo courtesy of Katie Cassidy Photography

Cocktail hour tends to be a good time for children to burn off steam. If your venue and your vibe allow for lawn games, kids can definitely get involved in a little open play. These can also come into play after dinner. Another option is to set up an activity room or area, where you provide coloring, stickers, toys, or other distracting items. A movie/nap room can be great for later in the evening, if your venue can accommodate that.

Photo courtesy of Joshua Aull Photography

The best of all possible options is to hire a babysitting service! Parents can check their kids in with the service after the ceremony, and qualified, licensed, certified adults will watch and entertain your young guests for the whole evening. Easy, safe, and controlled.

Photo courtesy of Apryl Ann Photography

In short, having children at you wedding can add a lot of sparkle and authenticity to your community. Being prepared for them will lead to the best possible experience for all guests! Need some more specific ideas? Check out these articles on Buzzfeed,The Knot, and Martha Stewart Weddings!

Unity Ceremonies We Love

February 15, 2019
Wedding Planning Advice

While it isn’t a requirement, unity ceremonies are something many of our couples do as a part of their ceremony. We LOVE them as a symbol of the couple’s union and want to share some of our favorites. I have chosen these ceremonies because they are all items that can be displayed around your house and to have forever, which, in my opinion, makes them so great!

Unity LEGO Heart

Photo courtesy of Emily Davis Photography

This one is pretty simple – you and your partner build the heart of LEGOS. Some say this represents you’ll never “LEGO” (let go) of each other.

Of course, you don’t have to do a heart, you can do any shape, character, or thing you want. Just make sure it’s not too many pieces, you don’t want to make your guests sit and watch you unify your marriage building a whole Millennial Falcon – Even though that would be pretty cool!

Buy the LEGO Heart here!

Unity Tree

Photo courtesy of Marissa Ann Photography

This is such a cute ceremony “to symbolize the roots of their relationship, and the continued growth of their love, as they become each other’s family”. Be careful though, Dirt and wedding dresses do not mix well!

All you need it a pot, some dirt, and a plant or seeds. Some people do dirt and water.

Love Lock

Photo from Love Locks Online, “The Tree of Life”

“This sacred ritual symbolizes the joining of two separate journeys into a singular path and honors the spiritual commitment the couple is making.” These locks only lock once – There is no key! As for what you decide to lock your love lock to, Love Locks Online has many options to choose from. The “Tree of Life” is one of our favorites!

Unity Glass

Photos courtesy of Kylie Crump Photography (1st) & Photo from Unity in Glass (2nd)

One of our couples chose to do this unity ceremony as a part of their “I do’s”. It was one of the most creative ways we have witnessed. It’s easy to see why you would cherish the finished product.

Similar to a sand ceremony, you pick your color, and each person has a glass full of the glass pieces. You then pour them into one, you bag it and ship it to the company to then be blown into a sculpture, vase or bowl – your choice! It’s as simple as that.

Unity ceremonies are a great way to symbolize your marriage. We love to hear about the creative ways couples are doing it. If you have a unique unity ceremony you would like to share, let us know in the comments below. Otherwise, follow us on Instagram and Facebook so you can see more about our wedding ceremonies!