Episode 5: Cricket Bishop - Designer

1. When was your wedding? Our wedding was on November 20, 1971.

2. Where was your wedding? Our ceremony was at the Church of the Resurrection (Episcopal) in Clarkston, Michigan. Our reception was at Davidson Country Club.

3. What was your theme? colors? style? etc.? No theme. I wore a long sleeve wedding dress with some lace. My girls wore brown velvet dresses with empire waist and ivory lace (1970's style).

4. What was in your bouquet? Red sweetheart roses with babies breath with English ivy.

5. Where did you go on your honeymoon? We went to Paradise Island in the Bahama's.

6. Who were your bridesmaids? My husband's sister and my two college roommates.

7. Did you have a signature drink? No.

8. How many guests? There were 150 guests.

9. What is your favorite moment from that day? Marrying my best friend and the love of my life.

10. Any crazy happen that day? That you can share now that it's over? 

A friend of ours got us the America Airlines Captains room at the airport after the reception and before our flight. Needless to say, we got over served.

11. If you were getting married this weekend? What would you want your flowers/style to look like? I love the garden look with unusual fall flowers.

                                                                                                                                                               

12. Any words of advice for new brides? Don't think you can do everything yourself! Enjoy every moment of planning your big day! Don't stress, you've hired professionals and they will come through.

13. Most difficult part of planning your wedding? Weddings were very simple back then, very easy.

Holiday Centerpiece How-To

Here is a quick "how-to" when designing the perfect centerpiece for your holiday get together. This particular arrangement is not traditional, but we love the unexpected; especially when it comes to flowers :)

Our recipe for this arrangement includes lisianthus, stock, magnolia leaf, kale, a few clementines, and acacia foliage. 

Our tools include clippers, tape, a tray and one block of Oasis foam. 

Cut the foam to use about 2/3 of the total block. 

Place in tray and secure with tape. 

Begin a base of greens, starting with the ends of the foam to create the  "long and low" shape. This shape is ideal for dinner centerpieces in that they fit nicely on long, dining room tables. 

\

Next, gently begin folding open the leaves of the kale. This will make them larger, fuller and definitely a focal piece of the arrangement. 

Begin adding white stock and lisianthus, working in triangle formations.

Let's pop in a few clementines. Using a wooden pick as a stem, the clementines can be arranged among the flowers. 

Now that we have our focal pieces in, we can finish the look off with greenery. We did not choose traditional winter greens, but a soft mint-colored green; acacia foliage. This color looks fantastic next to the orange of the clementines and magnolia leaves. 

Make sure all of the foam is covered and none of your hardware is showing. 

ta da :)

Happy Holidays!!!

Episode Four: Mary Paulson - Designer

1. When was your wedding? My wedding was on October 17, 1975

2. Where was your wedding? The ceremony took place at Our Lady of the Lakes in Waterford, Michigan. The reception was at the Fox & Hounds in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.

3. What was your theme? colors? style? etc.? We didn’t have a specific style, just what my mom and I thought was pretty.

4. What was in your bouquet? I had pink roses, white roses and pink carnations.

5. Where did you go on your honeymoon? We drove my husband John’s parent’s car to the Pocono Mountains in Pennsylvania.

6. Who were your bridesmaids? My bridesmaids were my two best friends, Susie and Sally.

7. Did you have a signature drink? No signature drink – John’s buddies drank anything!

8. How many guests? There were about 125 guests.

9. What is your favorite moment from that day? My favorite moment was being so excited to look at each other at the altar.

10. Any crazy happen that day? (that you can share now that it's over? :p) Nothing too crazy – everyone got along.

11. If you were getting married this weekend? What would you want your flowers/style to look like? I would want big open garden roses. I like all creamy white bouquets.

12. Any words of advice for new brides? My advice is to celebrate every minute of the day – it goes so fast!

13. Most difficult part of planning your wedding? The most difficult part is waiting for it to happen!

Emily + Dane

Last month, the Parsonage Events team found themselves making quite the trip all the way up to Roscommon, Michigan to be a part of Emily and Dane's special day. The cold and rainy three hour trip was definitely worth the beauty that resulted. With a romantic, serene ceremony on the Au Sable River and reception to follow at the rustic and grand Forest Dunes Golf Course; this day was the epitome of a "up north" wedding. The soft, feminine tones of the bridesmaids dresses and florals paired with the masculine architecture of the venue; this wedding was a refreshing combination of styles.

"Every time I met with Emily, it felt like we were best friends. We would be chatting an hour after our appointment about life and sweaters...fun girl stuff! She had such a clear vision of what she wanted and we worked so well together creating the design. The moment she started crying when I delivered her bouquet, I started crying too! It felt like my sister was getting married"

\

Photo Credit: Lux Light Photography, Traverse City, Michigan

http://www.luxlightphotography.net/

Thank You All!

No man or woman is an island.  We are all familiar with that phrase.  Here at Parsonage Events it is so true.  Now that our wedding season activities are winding down, Liz and I want to express our appreciation for all the hard work our team has done to make it such a success.  

Usually, the behind the scenes people are (I don’t want to say ignored, we appreciate them always) not given the accolades from our clients, vendors, etc. that the consultants do.  Of course we wouldn’t be in business without our wonderful, creative consultants but….we also wouldn’t be in business without our wonderful, hardworking staff. 

Debbie, Sara, Taylor, Emily, Cricket, Mary, Sharon, Pam, Ian, Bill, Marti, as well as the great group of college students that helped us throughout the summer, thank you for everything you did for us.

We are eternally grateful.

Liz and Susan

Note:  We always enjoy a good feast after a crazy weekend and it is the only time we can get a photo of almost everyone together!