I loved working on Kim and Issac's wedding. They had great ideas inspired
by French touches and an overall elegant feel for the entire evening. The
color palette of soft gold and a variety of pastels was absolutely one of my
favorite combinations. It was definitely romantic. Issac and Kim are a lot of
fun and made sure their guests had an entertaining evening. One of the most
unique aspects was having one of Kim's bridesmaids, Brita who was my 5/4
bride and Kim being one of her bridesmaids too. That was a treat for me.

Kim has great taste and brought in so many personal items to complete the
wedding day vision. I was so happy receive the wedding photos from Whitney
and loved the final results. I look forward to working with her again after
seeing the photos below www.whitneyarostegui.com










To die for Monique Lhuillier wedding gown










My shyest flower girl ever. I had to use all my super powers
to get her down the aisle.














This is one of my favorite couple photos. Pure joy!!!




This is not a professional photo. I just loved this display.




This is not a professional photo, but I loved their fingerprint tree.








My happy 5/4 couple, Sam & Brita




Happily ever after you two.

I normally post more of the reception photos, but I loved all the personal
photos so much and the post was already huge. I hope you enjoyed all
the beautiful touches. Thanks to the vendors for all their help.

Ceremony, reception, catering and bar: Amy Kennedy, The Mansion on Judge’s Hill 495-1800

Photography: Whitney Arostequi 305-484-4917

Flowers: Bouquets of Austin 257-2395

Ceremony: Terra Vista Strings 213-2172

Reception Music: The Atlantics, Mike Barnes 467-7022

Linens: Marquee 491-7368

Bakery: Sweet Treats 892-2233

Macaroons by Central Market

Such a perfect wedding,

Barbara

www.barbarasbrides.com

22 Of The Coolest Places To Get Married In America

It's never too soon to find the wedding venue of your dreams. posted on May 6, 2013 at 11:42am EDT

I was so thrilled to see the photos from Uma Studio from our February
wedding at The Hyatt. The colors, the excitement, the food and all
the details created such a fun evening for the family and friends of
Iffat and Andrew. They had two ceremonies and they celebrated
in style. You just can't beat the Hyatt's view and the staff took such
amazing care of us.







Such beautiful color everywhere both on Friday and then again
on Saturday night.

































Thank you to our great vendor team for all your patience and hard work.

Ceremony, reception, catering and bar: Stephanie, The Hyatt 480-2095

Photography: Uma Studio  www.studiouma.com/

Flowers: Bouquets of Austin 257-2395

Ceremony and Reception Music: Stafford Jones 669-2598

Officiant: Judge Jon Wisser 923-0800

Linens: Yara with Unique Designs 833-4458

Lighting: Hyatt in house

Videography: Crescent Video 468-6754

One of the best things about being an independent business owner is
being able to be there for my sons and support them in their school,
lacrosse, theater and anything else that interests them. We just had our
Cedar Park Lacrosse annual fundraiser golf tournament and I sponsored
one of the holes. The silent auction is always fun with everyone bidding,
one upping each other until the time is up. We came home with a lot of
great items. Thanks to all those who continually support our boys.



Enjoy your blessings,
Barbara
www.barbarasbrides.com

I have wanted to write this wedding topic for quite some time. My vendors
tease me about the "little" things that bother me and what I correct for my
couples. I believe wedding details are important, so I do what I can to make
sure all the important details are taken care of.  I am sure not all Austin
wedding planners are quite so OCD (or CDO as my son says because it should
be alphabetized) I do think that my attention to details makes me a better
wedding planner.

When we are visiting the florists and I see photos of bouts with the pins
showing on the lapels or worse than that, pinned on the wrong side or place
I just cringe. It is so easy to teach my interns the proper way to pin the
flowers without sticking anyone and also the correct placement of the flower.
Here are several photos of the bouts in the wrong place or with the pins
showing which never has to happen.

The first samples are the pins showing. It isn't hard to hide the pins.







There are times when there is not a lapel to pin on if the guys aren't wearing
a jacket at all so you pin on the left side about 4 inches below the shoulder. If
there is a lapel then the bout should be pinned on the widest part of the lapel.
Quite often there is a button hole which we lay the flower over and pin it.



Oops, pin showing and on the pocket instead of the lapel.




If the guys are wearing suspenders, it is easy placement.



On the jacket


As for pinning the corsages on the ladies, I teach my interns to be sure and
place their fingertips behind the women's blouse/dress so that there is no
risk of poking the guest. I also show them how to hide the pins.

I will post my second pet peeve later this week,
Barbara
www.barbarasbrides.com

Brittany had a beautiful vision in mind for her Driskill wedding and I was
so happy to be able to bring it all together for her. Romance was definitely
the theme along with gorgeous shades of pink throughout the details. Pam
Hults with A la Vie Photo did a wonderful job of capturing the day and I
am happy to share it with other brides to see how "Pretty in Pink" the
historic Driskill can look for a wedding.









































What a perfect wedding for my very happy couple. Love seeing the
smiles never fade the entire night. Many thanks to all our great
vendor team for bringing all the details to life.

Ceremony, reception, catering and bar: Driskill Hotel, Scott Ertresvaag Office 512-391-7123

Photography: a la Vie Photography, Pam Hults 913-3304

Flowers: Bouquets of Austin 257-2395

Ceremony Music: Barton Strings, Tracy 445-6864

Reception Music: Brian Milson Band 432-634-2126 and Greenbelt, Joel 413-1371

Officiant: Pastor David Bixby

Linens: Marquee Linens 491-7368

Lighting: FILO Lighting, Howard 736-4891

There is definitely a sense of weddings in the air with spring in full
swing. Other than spring, fall is the other busiest wedding season in
Central Texas. I always recommend that my couples mail their
Save the Date cards 6-9 months prior to their wedding day. It is also
important to keep it simple. This is not your wedding invitation, but
rather a chance to say "Here is our wedding date put it on your calendar,
more details to follow". You can choose to have a photo or not. Don't
feel like you have to take your engagement photos before sending your
Save the Dates if you are short on time. If you have time, then sure
incorporate your engagement shots to share with your guests. It just isn't
the only way to go. I would recommend having your wedding website up,
not necessarily all filled in, but at least the basics so you can list the
wedding website on your Save the Date and guests can reference it as you
add more wedding details to it.

I encourage my couples to contact my preferred stationery companies to
assist in creating the Save the Dates, but there are a lot of on line services
too. That choice is yours. You can find a lot of fun ideas based on your
wedding theme, your personalities or countless other options. I went on
Pinterest to find a few fun ideas and this post could have been much larger
with all the variety of samples out there.



















Have fun with your Save the Dates.

Happy planning,
Barbara

www.barbarasbrides.com

I hope your Easter day is filled with love, family and blessings. Rejoice in all
the new life that surrounds us this time of year. We have so much to be
grateful for not only this spring, but each day.



Happy planning,
Barbara

www.barbarasbrides.com

This was such a lovely wedding to plan with my bride, Vera. It became a little more
challenging when she moved to London a few months into planning her Austin
wedding. We were able to make the most of her time in here. I was glad we were able
to pick her linens, find her florist and attend The Driskill's tasting. Being an Austin
wedding planner to hundreds of past brides has given me the experience to maximize
my bride's time and alleviate any unnecessary stress. Those were very important in
person vendor meetings. There are plenty of vendors we can book long distance based
on my relationship with each vendor. Don't make the mistake of hiring a vendor that
simply offers a "good" price or your friend heard they were good. We only
recommend vendors that we have seen in action, proven themselves with their final
product and are great with e-mails/phone calls. Sometimes saving a little in the end
is not worth the headache of working with an unprofessional videographer or other
vendor. We want a team who understands the wedding day is all about the couple, not
the vendor showing off how amazing they are without consideration for the end result.

Thank you Geoff Duncan Photography for the photos, Bouquets of Austin for
once again providing lovely flowers along with Marquee's great linens.





























At the end of the evening the final result was a beautiful Driskill wedding. I loved that
we set the Mezzanine in all long tables and all black & white touches made it stunning. I
was so happy when I saw the bride's adorable reception dress and the groom's white jacket.
It was a gorgeous evening and the couple's smiling faces never faded.

Happy planning on your own wedding,
Barbara

www.barbarasbrides.com

We are looking forward to a very busy spring with our Austin brides, but we
do have several openings for weddings this summer. If you are considering a
wedding planner either as a weekend of organizer or if you have several vendors
you still need assistance in finding, give us a call. Since we have a few Saturdays
we'd like to fill with weddings we are offering a limited time 10% discount on
any of our Austin wedding planner services. Visit barbarasbrides.com/services/
for more information how we can be of service.

Not only will you receive our wedding checklist to wrap up the final details of
the wedding, but also our preferred vendor list showcasing our tried and true
group of wedding pros. We will work with you on your final timeline as well as
contact all your vendors to make sure they are all set for your wedding day.

If you have been hesitant about whether or not you need to hire someone, listen
to that little voice and hire us to be your wedding day support. There are only a few
open Saturdays in June, July and August and this limited offer ends April 30, 2013.

We look forward to hearing about your wedding,
Barbara

www.barbarasbrides.com