Contest!!!

Tis the season of giving and in honour of that we are launching our first giveaway contest here at Inspired Occasions. The winner will receive 16 Personalized Out of Town Welcome Bags for their upcoming wedding. This prize pack will be customized to include your wedding colours and personalized with your monogram and wedding date on the front of the bag, personalized water bottle labels with your wedding colours and monogram or picture, chocolate bars wrapped in your wedding colours personalized with your names and wedding date, and welcome brochures to let your guests know about the upcoming festivities and provide details with your recommended best sights and tastiest eats in the city. This prize is valued at over $100.00.

The contest is open to residents of Canada and the U.S.A. and closes December 31, 2008 so be sure to get your entry in early. A winner will be selected by Inspired Occasions and announced by January 7, 2009.

To enter send an email to terra@inspiredoccasions.ca. Be sure to write CONTEST in the subject line. Include your wedding date along with a brief description of you and your fiancé, your vision for your upcoming wedding day and why it’s important for you to welcome your guests in style.

Monogrammed Welcome Bag and Personalized Water Bottle: Inspired Occasions

Personalized Chocolate Bar: Inspired Occasions

Out of Town Welcome Brochure: Inspired Occasions

Out of Town Welcome Bags

A Welcome in Grand Style Via All Things Lovely

Welcome Bags Four Ways Via The Destination Diva

Comforts of Home Welcome Bag via Better Homes and Garden

If you are hosting a destination wedding then it is likely that all of your guests will be travelling to help you celebrate your special day. Even if you are having a local wedding you will probably have many out of town guests travelling from near and far to help you celebrate your wedding. Given this, more and more couples are opting to host events throughout the wedding weekend. Some choose to host a cocktail reception to welcome guests or a casual BBQ a day or two before the wedding. Another common event is the day after brunch, often hosted by a relative of the couple. Another increasingly popular trend is the Out of Town (OOT) Welcome Bag or Basket. These can be simple or extravagant depending on your budget, number of OOT guests and your wedding theme. What a wonderful greeting for your guests to arrive in their hotel room after a long journey to find a bag or basket filled with some water and snacks along with information about the weekend's festivities and local area attractions.

For a beach wedding, you may also consider including: sunscreen, flip flops, and a beach towel and then package it all in a handy beach tote

For a local wedding, why not add some local treats that can only be found in your city such as specialty chocolate, local coffee or nuts, etc.

For a winery wedding, you might want to include a bottle of chardonnay or merlow from the local region or better yet from the winery where your nuptials will be held

To help guests feel at home you could include: slippers and a book or some magazines

To ensure your guests feel pampered you could create a spa themed welcome basket with a scented candle, body lotion, a CD with soothing music and a comfy pair of pj's

Personalize Your Reception...Part 1

Engagement Photo Table Number via Inspired Occasions

Picture Table Number Through the Years - The Knot via Julie Jelliffe

Wine Bottle Table Number via Martha Stewart

House numbers via Brooklyn Bride

Rhinestone Table Number via Wedluxe

Decoupage Table Numbers Ashley Bartoletti Photography

I often get asked for ideas on how to personalize wedding receptions so that it is a true reflection of the couple. The truth is their are so many things couple's can do to personalize their special day and you don't need a huge budget to pull it off. A little creativity can go a long way. Today I will share some simple ways to personalize your reception by using unique table numbers. Below are just some ideas to get your creativity flowing:

1. Photos. You could showcase your engagement photos, utilizing a different photo at each table. You could show off your cute fur babies by taking different pictures of your dogs or cats for each table. You could use childhood pictures and coordinate the age you were in the picture with the table number. These are just some ways to incorporate pictures...I'm sure you can think of some great ideas too!

2. Love! You could name each table love in a different language. (Ex. Adore (French), Ai (Chinese), etc.) or you could incorporate different love quotes into each table number. Why not include your monogram and wedding date too for extra personalization?

3. Hobbies. Why not name each table after some of your favourite hobbies. You could even include a brief description about whose hobby it is and why you enjoy it. (Ex. Photography, Swimming, Fishing, etc.)

4. Travels. You could name each table after places you've travelled. You could even use a picture from the location or a postcard if you have one.

5. Famous People. You could name each table after different famous couples, different famous people you admire, etc.

6. Wine. If you are serving wine at your wedding, you could have the bottle double as a table number. You could personalize the number label with the same colours and design you used on your invitations or even use pictures, as described in #1. If you are a wine lover, you could name each table after different kinds of wine (Ex. Chardonnay, Shiraz, Merlow, etc.)

7. Significant Numbers/Dates. (Ex. the day you met, the year you are getting married, the age you were when you first started dating, the house address you grew up at, etc.)

8. Incorporating Your Design Scheme. If you are having a rustic affair, why not use wooden numbers or old metal house numbers? If you want a lot of bling, you could create rhinestone encrusted table numbers. If you are going for a casual but pretty theme, you could decoupage numbers in papers that compliment your colour scheme.

Winter White

There is something about the first snowfall that is immensely romantic. The glimmer of the freshly fallen snow and the the way the world seems to slow down when covered in a blanket of white. Although rich reds are often associated with the season and certainly bring an element of warm to the room, there is something so classic and romantic about an all white wedding that it's worth considering in any season. Inspired by the elements, I thought I would post a few pictures in celebration of the classic nature of white with some bling thrown in for good measure. Enjoy!

Bouquet: Beckers Blog via Fresh Floral Art

Dress: Jim Hjelm

Cake: Project Wedding

Love is in the Details...

Claire Cocheme, a local photographer here in Calgary, was kind enough to send over this gorgeous montage of images she captured at the recent wedding of Jenna and Mike held at the Palliser Hotel. Red roses are a classic symbol of love...how romantic. I think these details would be perfect for an upcoming Christmas or Valentine's inspired wedding too! If you haven't checked out Claire's blog lately, definitely stop by. She has captured some amazing images this fall with the changing colours and gorgeous sunlight. Pure bliss....

Shoes, Glorious Shoes!!!

One of the current trends we are seeing in the wedding industry is brides (and grooms) opting for footwear choices that are not only fun, but also functional. It's your day and you can do what ever you want. Why not opt for a sassy pair of red pumps that you'll be sure to wear again or some smoking hot blue heels that can double as your something blue? Your footwear can be a perfect opportunity to express your personality! Is comfort a top priority? Why not opt for something completely nontraditional like converse sneakers? They come in a variety or colours to suit any scheme and if nothing else the guys are sure to love them.

Red and Blue Shoes: via Borrowed or Blue Blog

Yellow Shoes: Jonathan Canlas via The Brides Cafe

Converse Shoes: Lindsey Janies Photography

Wedding Cinematography

If you haven't already, stop by and check out the work of the immensely talented duo at Confetti Films. Nicole and Trevor are truly passionate about what they do - creating contemporary and artistic cinematic wedding films that focus on your unique story. Films can showcase your wedding day in a way that still life photography can't...capturing not only the sights but also the sounds. There is nothing cookie cutter about what these two do and if you are looking for a film that is truly inspired then you definitely have to check them out. Not only do they deliver an amazing product, they are also two of the nicest people that you could hope to work with. Don't forget to check out their blog to view their latest work. Stay tuned for details about an exciting new venture they are taking on along with an amazing contest.