Pearls Events Press | Grand Rapids Magazine

I never thought there would be a reason to post a giant photo of 50 Cent on the Pearls Events blog, but lo and behold, Mr. Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson loves Grand Rapids and happens to be on the cover of this month's issue because of the movies he is shooting locally. The edition also happens to be the special wedding edition, in which two of our past clients wedding photos & details are shared.

Back in December, Lisa Jensen from Grand Rapids Magazine called my office and we spoke about wedding trends and details. I was honored to share Liz & Don's wedding, which was full of bold color & contemporary details, and also Emily & Tyler's backyard, J. Crew-inspired wedding day, which was absolutely lovely in every single way, in the two wedding articles.

Getting client's weddings published in print is just about the most exciting thing to me, post wedding day. The clients have agonized over the details for so long, so seeing their hard work shared with other brides-to-be is the icing on the cake.

[Special thanks to Lisa Kae Photography & Kai Heeringa Photography for submitting the gorgeous, professional photos for this story to Grand Rapids Magazine.]

Inspiring an Invitation

After being in the Michigan wedding industry for the last 3.5 years, I've made some pretty fabulous friends. One of those happens to be the insanely talented Tifany Wunschl of Gourmet Invitations, based out of the Metro Detroit area. Her design work is amazing and I cannot rave more about her attention to detail and creative ideas.

Her work is no stranger to the Pearls Events blog. You may remember the art-inspired wedding photo shoot I shared in September, and if you're a seasoned follower, you may remember the Q&A I did with Tifany featuring this amazing black & white wedding back in 2008.

When Tifany offered to create invitations for my baby shower, you KNOW I jumped at the chance to see what she would dream up. Tifany worked with my friend Emily, who will be hosting all of my girlfriends in the coming weeks, to design the perfect invitation based on the elements from our nursery. We are doing gray & white polka dot bedding, with the owl pattern from Dwell Studio scattered throughout in the form of Roman shades and toy bins.

When the invitation arrived in the mail last week, I was absolutely smitten. And if you've been following along with my slight owl obsession on Life on Louise, you know how perfect this is for me!

A HUGE THANK YOU to Tifany of Gourmet Invitations for these beautiful invitations! I cannot wait to celebrate with all of my girlfriends.

If you're in the process of starting to think of design elements for your wedding invitations, look at other elements you'd like to work into your overall design and go from there. It doesn't have to be as matchy-matchy as this, but having a cohesive look can be as easy as coming up with a color palette and sticking to it.

Spoiling the Bride-to-Be

I shared this perfectly planned bridal shower from Jodi at In Any Event by Jodi Bos about a year ago on the blog. Jodi shared this event she planned & designed for her sister, Kara, and I was thinking about it again today as I was sitting in my office sipping hot coffee while the snow fell from the sky.

I love all of the details Jodi included, and this is one of those picture-perfect days for a very special bride-to-be. If you're looking to absolutely spoil the guest of honor, take a cue from Jodi and add in the unexpected details that will WOW any guest! To see even more photos of Kara's bridal tea, check out the original post on Jodi's blog.

[images copyright Ryan Prins Photography]

Join Us | GRunveiled 2011

If you've been reading along for a while, you may remember the Grand Rapids wedding show I co-produced last year with Joy'l of Paper Nest Designs. Because of last year's successful show, Joy'l and I are at it again and GRunveiled 2011 planning is underway.


If you're a bride-to-be, JOIN US for an evening in downtown Grand Rapids for a splendid evening unlike any other bridal show in our city. There are no cheesy deejays, no sign up lists to spam you for years, and no high pressure salespeople to talk you into "booking on the spot to save money". Instead, you'll find local artisans, handcrafted goods, and companies who care about each client they work with.

The feedback last year was the same from wedding professionals and attendees alike - they loved it! And so did we! And if you'd like a peek at what 2010 looked like, check out our posts recapping the event here...

• Recap One
• Recap Two
• Recap Three
• The Pearls Events Space

And to buy a ticket to attend the show, you can go right here and do so. It's that easy!

We do hope you'll be joining us.

[We are eagerly awaiting our invited vendors to commit to the show before we open up registration to other vendors, however if you're interested in being a vendor, please email us at GRunveiled@gmail.com for more information]

Announcing Your New Engagement

What better way to officially announce your engagement than with a party? Engagement parties are not very common in my circle of friends. I've actually never attended one as a guest, but I secretly (or not so secretly...) would have liked one. My mom briefly talked about throwing one for us, but the timing wasn't right. While looking into engagement party tips, I found some info that was quite helpful for couples & their families. You can read the whole article here, but here is a brief snippet.

From The Knot, "Tradition has it that the bride's parents host the initial gathering, but the groom's parents can then throw their own party, or both sets can come together to host the fete. As you decide, here are five things the hosts should keep in mind:

1. Give the couple time to breathe
An impromptu family gathering the weekend after he proposed is the perfect opportunity to break out the vintage champagne, but don't schedule an all-out opulent affair during the engagement's first month.

2. Find out the size of the wedding that the couple has in mind
Everyone who is invited to the engagement party should ultimately be invited to the wedding.

3. Consider what will make the in-laws most comfortable
Since the engagement party custom was actually designed to help you start building bridges between the families, consider their style.

4. Suggest that the couple register beforehand
While traditionally guests have not brought presents to this function, increasing numbers do today, and it's only fair to provide guidance.

5. Remind yourself that there is still a wedding to throw
Every host wants to plan an unforgettable affair, but you never want to upstage the main event.

[editor's note - this was originally posted on April 7, 2008]

(image from The Knot)