Happy 2009! Time to Sparkle!

January 1st, 2009

Every 2009 bride should sparkle!  When planning your ensemble for the big day, why not borrow REAL JEWELS.  You can find modern or classic looks.   Call it a wedding present to yourself.


Quinn Jewelry Set
Retail $6900, Rents for $200
2.37 total carats

http://www.adornbrides.com/bridal-jewelry-set-2.aspx

York Jewelry Set
Retails $55,700; Rents for $1600
14.00 total carats

http://www.adornbrides.com/bridal-jewelry-set-10.aspx

Happy New Year’s Eve!

December 31st, 2008

We’ve taken some time off over the holidays and look forward to a bright 2009.  Wishing you the best as you reflect on your 2008 and make your wishes for 2009.

Celebrate!

Keene Run ~ Holiday Centerpieces 12.6.08

December 8th, 2008

Tis the Season To be Jolly…Fa La La La La…

December 3rd, 2008

Oh the lights, the bulbs, the ribbon, the bling, the glitter that we have seen in the last two weeks!!  Santa would be proud.

Enjoy a few snapshots of some holiday decor work we did in the last two weeks.  More pictures to come next week. 

(CLICK IMAGES TO SEE ENLARGED VIEW)



Get Out Your Holiday Decor

November 18th, 2008

This next week Great Expectations will put up over 22 Christmas trees, yards and yards of twinkle lights, every shade of red and green ribbon imaginable.  We love this time of year.  Every client has a different style and that is what keeps our business exciting.

I found these fun pictures recently as I searched for inspiration for this season.  As usual, each has its own unique style and reminded me of someone I knew.

This one is for Alicia.  She is a traditionalist.  I love her classic, rich sense of style.  I can see this mistletoe kissing-ball hanging in her home this season.  Kiss-Kiss.

This one is for my mom.  (She has unique dish-collections coming out her ears!)  She has such a creative spirit and can always pull things together in perfect “found treasure” style.  I love you Mom!

And this one is for me.  I love doing scapes that are unique with traditional items.  And who needs twinkle lights when you have gorgeous natural lighting in your home?  Why stick with the same-old green and red?  Brighten it up with cool blues, hot pinks,  loud oranges, and lime greens on clean, bare branches.  Love it!

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving and get those Christmas trees up over the weekend!  We’ll post pictures after Thanksgiving from our holiday decor week.

Photographer Cydil Waggoner ~ Features 2 of our Brides!

November 11th, 2008

We so enjoyed working with Cydil Waggoner last weekend we thought we’d share a couple images and links to more pictures featuring our brides on her blog:

(Click on images to enlarge them for a better view)

We loved her images of Katie and Kris’s wedding at historic Mt. Horeb Church and Buffalo Trace Distillery.
http://cydilphoto.blogspot.com/2008/11/kris-and-katie-get-married.html

To our delight, our intern Brooke and her fiancé Brandon are also featured this week.  What a gorgeous couple!  You have to check out these pictures.  Are they in love or what?!
http://cydilphoto.blogspot.com/2008/11/brooke-brandons-engagement-shoot.html

Check out Cydil’s website for more pictures, her bio and pricing.
http://www.cydilwaggoner.com/index2.php?v=v1

Katie and Kris 11.01.08 ~ Buffalo Trace Distillery

November 3rd, 2008

We could not have picked a better location for this fall wedding.  Check out the grounds snapshots we took.  Imagine what a professional photographer could do with this setting.  We can’t wait to see Katie and Kris’s wedding pictures!

The Elmer T. Lee Clubhouse offers a wonderful rustic look with an upper and lower level for your guests to roam.

The wrap around porch provided amazing scenery and even more space for guests to enjoy.  We love it!

Jen and Nathan 10.25.08 ~ St. Peter and Radisson

October 29th, 2008

Jen wanted green to be the predominant color for her flowers, with the exception of her bridal bouquet.

(click pictures to enlarge them ~ forgive my photography I took quick pictures as items were being loaded for transport)

Bridesmaid bouquets (shown in the background above) consisted of green hydrangea, ivory vendela roses, green cymbidum orchids and green hypericum berries.  The bridal bouquet (below) consisted of  hydrangea, roses and calla lilies.

St. Peter Catholic Church is so beautiful on its own, we added only green hypericum berries tied up with tulle and ribbon to the pews and placed two large pieces up front.  The stain glass on the side windows and back of this church is so beautiful that it needs very little additional decor (another post for another day!)

For ballroom at the Radisson, Jen was specific that she wanted monochromatic green on all the tables.  She did not care what flowers we chose, as long as they were all green and all the same in each vase.  We did vases filled with green spider mums, green lisianthus, green hydrangea, green button mums, green tea roses, green star of bethlehem and green freesia.  My favorite was the spider mums show below!

We tied in all the monochromatic flowers by using a mixture of those around the room.

The place card table arrangement…we added hanging amaranthus at the reception site.

The cake topper….girls remember hydrangea and hypericum berries are toxic.  They should never be placed directly into your cake!

The tossing bouquet….classic…hydrangea, roses and hypericum berries.

All flowers, decor and coordination was provided by Great Expectations.  We will post more pictures from Todd Pellowe, our photographer for the evening, when he blogs it on his website.  Certainly, his pictures will show the true beauty of the evening!

Allison & David 10.11.08 ~ The Carrick House

October 15th, 2008

This is the day we have all been waiting for.  Allison and I have been working together almost a year planning her and David’s special day.  She put a lot of energy and personal ideas into their wedding plans.  It was truly the perfect day!

She decided very quickly to include fall flowers.  But since half of the guests would be coming from the groom’s native New York State, she decided it was important to show some Kentucky hospitality by including julip cups and a stately mansion!

Allison loves calla lilies, so we decided on Mozart callas to create some depth of color in her bouquet.

And it would not be a vacation (read honeymoon) without someone in Allison’s family having an accident just prior to!  Its a long standing joke that leading up to Allison’s last 3 vacations, someone from her immediate family ended up at the ER.  This time it happened to be her daughter and junior bridesmaid who ended up on crutches.  No problem for this floral designer, we just made petite bouquets and attached them directly to her crutches!  I have to admit that was a first!

It was a gorgeous sunny day for her outdoor ceremony on the front steps of the Carrick House.  We added some color to the otherwise same-old white chairs by adding shepherd’s hooks and hanging vases.

We hope to share professional photos soon from Rickerson Photography to show just has spectacular this day really was. For now, check out their website at http://www.rickersonphotography.com/index2.php?v=v1

Music was provided by Complete Music www.cmusic.com ~ awesome DJs! 859-296-2200.

Fabulous food was provided by Lundy’s www.lundyscatering.com ~ unbelievable food and unsurpassed service. Abby is great to work with 859-255-0717.

Special attention was given by Ashley Lundergan at The Carrick House www.thecarrickhouse.com You too can have the wedding of your dreams at a historic mansion! Call her at 859-252-0122.

Katrina and Brian 9.27.08 ~ St. Peter Catholic Church & The Carrick House

October 7th, 2008

We had GREAT FUN working on this wedding!  It was an absolute joy to see all of the bride’s ideas and wishes come together.  My favorite detail included: surprising guests with bagpipers and drummer to create a dramatic recessional from the church’s alter after they kissed…..bridal party following them out of the church….and guests followed them ……..leading guests in a walking processional for 3 blocks to the front lawn of The Carrick House. Talk about stopping traffic! What drama! I loved it!

This bridal couple really enjoyed every moment of their big day.  Smiles were abound from the moment the first saw each other…in their private “reveal” seeing each other for the first time on the front steps of the Carrick House….to wowing us with their dance moves at the reception (they never left the dance floor!).  The energy at this reception was unsurpassed!

Horseshoe favors hung on every chair with an Irish luck wish!

Every style choice was well thought out.  Beautiful green ties for the guys, coordinating pashminas for the girls, soft romantic flower choices, silver chargers on the tables, silver-framed Irish county names distinguished the guest tables…and most important, the brides’ dress was amazing in style and cut.

Favorite vendors of the day:

Todd is always so much fun to work with, easy going, great style and keeps it fun!  Check out his pictures of the event at http://toddweddings.typepad.com/todd_pellowe_weddings/2008/10/lexington-wedding-photography-katrina-brian.html

The food was amazing (as always!) and the service was impeccable.  Ashley Lundergan rocks! http://74.220.209.231/lundys/joomla/

http://www.thecarrickhouse.com/

Martine’s cake featuring the Celtic symbol was one-of-a-kind. http://www.martinespastries.com/

Our DJ rocked the house! Call John Range at 859-223-2222. www.groovesmusic.com

All coordination and flowers were provided by our team at Great Expectations KY – www.greatexpectationsky.com