Happy Monday! We hope everyone had a great weekend and was able to catch up on the most popular current events. Needless to say, here at SJE we love weddings, and celebrity weddings are no exception.

Chelsea Clinton and Marc Mezvinsky tied the knot on July 31, 2010 in New York. And although their 3 million dollar wedding isn’t exactly the budget everyone has in mind, it most certainly is fun and challenging to find alternatives to our favorite items and inspirations that are often a part of celebrity weddings.

Keep reading our blog as we continue to advise all readers with do-it-yourself projects, budget-friendly ideas, and upcoming wedding trends!

Welcome to a new week SJE fans!  I hope your weekend was as relaxing as mine.  Today I want to highlight a different take on the bouquet.  Personally I believe there are two ‘objects’ a bride should love on her wedding day despite all the other frills: 1. The dress 2. The bouquet.

Each one of these bouquets are handmade and no two are exactly alike.  The best part of course is that they don’t wither away like flowers. 

Photos courtesy of Letters4Lilly

It’sFriday, SJE Fans!  We hope you stay cool this weekend.  Every Friday this month has been focused on an aspect of food for weddings.  Today I’d like to highlight just a few points about a buffet versus a sit down dinner.

Advantages of the buffet meal:

• If you want your reception to be more casual and laid back, a buffet might be a great choice because guests will probably feel more comfortable.
• Buffets are usually** less expensive than sit down dinners. There’s no wait staff to pay, and the food is often cheaper.
• You can offer your guests a variety of food choices. Aunt Pearl will be satisfied with the meat and potatoes, and your vegetarian cousin Sunny will be happy with the veggie lasagna. People enjoy having a bounty of food to choose from.
• Buffets encourage mingling. They force people to get up from their table, at least once!

Advantages of the sit down meal:

• If you want your reception to be formal and elegant, the sit down meal may be the better choice. Picky guests will be impressed.
• Guests don’t have to work for their food! Elderly guests and people who have small children will benefit from this.
• For guests who have traveled a long distance, it may feel appropriate to feed them with a more formal meal.
• You don’t have to worry about running out of food.
• Guests don’t have to worry as much about making a mess on their nice clothing while they carry their food to their seats.

***Having a buffet is not always less expensive than sit-down service, as you’ll need to order more food than you would otherwise.

“We want our wedding to be different,” is something that we hear often from the bride and groom as they begin thinking about their wedding day. Every couple wishes their wedding would be different from any other wedding they’ve been to, and there are simple ways to do this, from small detailed items to extravagant displays, we would like to offer some of our favorite ideas.

More popularly, we find that the most common and unique ways to personalize your wedding and truly make it stand out is by incorporating your very own “do it yourself” ideas.

• Making your favorite recipe of cookies to hand out as party favors
• Utilizing other items than a guestbook, for example if you like music, have guests sign an old record
• Change up the candy bar by having a dessert bar with your favorite foods growing up as a child
• Instead of using table numbers, name the tables after places you’ve visited together, your universities. Don’t be afraid to get creative!

If this is something you would really like to incorporate into your wedding, take some time to think about the things that are most important to you and you’re sure to find a way to help it find its place in your wedding.

1.   Cookie display.  You could have small cartons of milk chilling on ice to make the display complete.

2.  Soda Fountain.  How about an old fashioned soda fountain display where guests can make their own floats?

3. Sundae Station.  Allow guests the opportunity to embellish their own ice cream sundaes with all the trimmings!

4. Salty Treats.  Maybe you or your fiancee love trail mix, pretzels, and potato chips.  Let guests pack a snack for later!

I hope you were inspired!  Don’t eat too much this weekend.

 Happy Wednesday! Despite the rain, humidity and 100 degree temperatures we are having a great week at Simply Jubilee Events.   Today I wanted to share with you a SJE vintage inspiration board.  One of the biggest trends we are seeing in 2010 is vintage weddings.  To add some vintage flair to your wedding, I recommend going to your local flea markets, thrift stores and www.etsy.com.   You would be surprised what you might find on a Saturday afternoon at your local thrift store or flea market for you wedding. Anything from vintage  jewelry, books for centerpieces or that perfect cake topper. 

Photos Courtesy of: Style Me Pretty, Elizabeth Ann Designs, Erin Ever After, Project Wedding, The Stylish Soiree, Paper Hounds

Today we thought we would introduce you to a term often used in the printing industry to refer to a type of print used on invitations.  The term is thermography or thermographic printing as defined below:

Thermography printing is a type of printing process which uses heat to melt powdered ink onto the paper, resulting in a raised effect. It is also known as offset thermography and raised printing.

Photo Courtesy

First Row: Zenadia Design, Brides.com, Dessy Group

Second Row: Stacey Kane via Bridal Buds,   Garrett Photography via Style Me Pretty and Life Raft

Third Row: Sail Boat Name Tags, Cake

Forth Row: Beach Front, The Knot

Fifth: Sand Dollar Name Tag, Light House