We’re so excited to announce that Hallie & Matt have been published!  Their July wedding at Glen Echo made it into the sparkling new Eco-Beautiful Weddings magazine which was just released this week.  The e-zine focuses on environmentally friendly wedding ideas without compromising style, design, or quality.  There are some gorgeous things in this baby!

Best of all?  The magazine is ONLINE which means you don’t need to drive to a store to pick up a copy.  Just click here to flip through the pages in your browser!  What could be easier?

While you’re there, be sure to check out Hallie & Matt’s wedding on pages 102-104.  Here’s a sneak preview:

Our congratulations goes to Rebecca Dick, a WishPlanner who coordinated this event.  This is Rebecca’s first published wedding and we’re so proud of her!

Another huge round of applause goes to our friend Katie Martin who poured out her heart and soul for this magazine.  A ‘green’ wedding planner since before it was trendy, Katie really knows her stuff and is passionate about sharing her eco-friendly advice with the wedding industry.  We glad we could be a part of it, Katie!

PS – for more eco-beautiful ideas, check out the blog!

::Disclaimer!  Only the first photo in this post is from an event that Wish Special Events has planned or coordinated.  I’ve given credit to the designers where I can.  We can re-create what you see below for your event but these are not a part of our portfolio::

I’ve been collecting photographs of lanterns for a long time now!  This seems to be one of those decor trends that never quite expired.  Unfortunately it’s not the cheapest way to decorate a reception space but it sure is a beautiful one!

Photo: Sabine Scherer

If you’re not familiar, paper lanterns are made of a lightweight wire frame and covered in a light, translucent paper.  They come in all makes and models but the standard is a basketball-sized white version.  These are just so gorgeous in abundance:

Even when you don’t have a huge budget for a ton of lanterns, they can still jazz up a plain reception space.  This is a high school gymnasium (see how the basketball hoop is covered in satin?):

Whoever designed this event got pretty funky!  I like the combination of the round lanterns, the cone-shaped lights, and the twinkly string lights:

This wedding used lanterns only over the dance floor, giving the tent a beautiful focal point and also giving this spot a feeling of abundance (without going overboard).  Can you imagine what their cake cutting photos would have looked like if the photographer got low to the ground and shot upwards with the lanterns in the back?  ::swoon::

Lanterns can even be incorporated into a centerpiece.  Who said they needed to hang from the ceiling?

This creative wedding used them to dress up a tree!  Minty green and ‘Pepto pink’ are a little past their prime in trendiness but this was all the rage circa 2006:

Even standard white lanterns can look extra special when lit with a colored bulb or contrasted against a colored uplight.  In this case we have a pink uplight against the wall, round pink lanterns with white lights inside, and white cylindrical lanterns with white lights inside!  What a gorgeous statement for your bar and lounge space.  This scrumptious event was designed by David Beahm Design:

If the solid-colored lanterns aren’t your style, how about these funky ones?  I’m not sure where Ariella Chezar found these beautiful pieces but I love the photo just the same:

The same awesome lanterns by the same awesome designer, strung in a different space (must be the same event, right?):

This is an older image (2005 maybe?) but I could still stare at it for hours.  I love the combination of the natural-colored linens and chairs, the subdued but elegant and luscious centerpieces, the great natural trees with tables scattered between, and the strung canopy of lights.  Are these white paper bags??

I’m the worst about photo credits and have had some of these photos for a very long time.  If you know where they came from (or if they’re yours) please let me know!

Here in the DC area, Frost Lighting and Capital Decor are two wonderful companies who can install gorgeous lanterns like these.  There are a few other options but we always recommend these two.

Do you plan on having paper lanterns or another type of decoration for your reception?

Last week I took a trip to visit Katie Martin, owner of Elegance & Simplicity.  They’ve been in business since 1998 and have a beautiful office in the heart of downtown Bethesda.  Katie started as a wedding planner and over the years has added floral services and a bunch of other things to her offerings.  Here’s a sneak peek at some of the floral designs she creates:

One of the greatest things about Elegance & Simplicity is their commitment to the environment.  They only source flowers from farmers who are VeriFlora certified or USDA Organic certified and use sustainable farming methods.  They also support smaller co-ops and farmers who prove fair wage practices.  Their shop is wind-powered and they offset their carbon footprint.  They even drive smaller fuel-efficient delivery vehicles instead of gas-guzzling SUVs and trucks.  This florist is GREEN!

Something else that helps them stand out are the varied product offerings they have.  Did you know you can rent glassware and scoops for a candy buffet without having to buy all those vases yourself?  They have over 500 pieces to choose from so you can get a modern eclectic mix or go classic and matchy.  Elegance & Simplicity can even bring the candy:

There are several companies that provide chuppahs, mandaps, and wedding canopies.  Have you ever seen a wooden one like this, though?  Their in-house carpenter makes these gorgeous arbors.  They have two sizes…one smaller for three people to stand under (you, husband, and the officiant) and a larger one for the whole gang:

A lot of brides call us inquiring about hanging Chinese-style paper lanterns.  While we can’t provide that as a decor service, Elegance & Simplicity can!  Check out this beautiful wedding with dozens of strung orange lanterns:

Here are a few more photos from their website that I found appealing:

If you are a current Wish bride looking for a florist, Elegance & Simplicity is offering 10% to our clients!  Please let us know that you plan to meet with them and we’ll hook you up.

Wish has always tried to the planet’s best interests at heart. Here’s a short list of the socially conscious practices we’re proud of:

• Maintaining a (mostly) paperless office
• Reusing and recycling as much as possible
• Purchased trees for Valentine’s Day gifts
• Make eco-conscious recommendations to our clients
• Belong to 1% for the Planet
• Have our own lending group on Kiva

Now we can add one more thing to our list!  Wish’s central office is now 100% supported by Green Power.  Our power supplier, Dominion, has recently announced that it will offer Green-e Energy certified renewable energy certificates (RECs).  Wish will be purchasing these RECs to account for 100% of the power we consume in the office.  RECs are used to support suppliers of renewable energy like Wind, Solar, Landfill/Biomass, Geothermal, and Hydroelectric.

Now that’s something to be proud of!

This is part of a series on The Special Event show 2009.  See this post for more information.

The second day of the conference held a special treat for us wedding planners.  The Wedding Luncheon was held at the Hard Rock Hotel in the gaslamp quarter, almost directly across from the convention center.  This beautiful hotel was built in 2007 and is sparkling clean both inside and out.  The luncheon ticket included a walk-through exhibit of wedding ideas called the Designer Wedding Gallery.  I’ll have those photos up sometime this week.  For now, let’s check out the main event.

The Hard Rock Hotel, San Diego:

Ladies in beautiful wedding gowns walked around the lobby area of the function space:

Stepping inside the ballroom took everyone’s breath away.  There must have been somewhere between 40-50 tables.  At front there was a large stage flanked by two huge screens.  When everyone was finding their seats they played popular music videos.  Then when the speakers took the stage they were projected for guests in the back:

Here’s a video of the room in all it’s pink and blue glory:

Of course I have photos of all the different table setups.  Rumor has it that there were thirteen different table settings in the room!  These are just a few of the ones I particularly liked:

A couple with flash so you can see the detail and actual colors:

The stage with funky swagged drape and larger-than-life crystals strung across the back:

Carley Roney was the guest speaker and described the ‘millennium bride.’  Nothing we didn’t already know but it’s good to see The Knot is keeping up with the trends:

So what does a $195 ticket get you for lunch?  We started with a light salad and California cheese plate.  Executive Chef Jeff Walter explained that nearly everything on the menu was locally sourced:

The main entree was lamb and some sort of locally-caught fish.  I’m not really a lamb or fish person but both were pretty good.  My favorite was the layered sweet potato gratin in the center:

Cyndi Lauper, Cher, and Madonna (lookalikes).  I wish I had photos of the front of these ladies!  I spoke with Cher for a few brief moments.  She was surprisingly realistic and knew just about everything about the actual Cher.  They were all really talented and roamed the party to keep people entertained:

I think the most impressive part of the whole thing was the amount of work that went into it.  This amazing party was planned by Rachel Peniche of Plan It San Diego and Kathy Wright of Kathy Wright & Co.  Here’s a time-lapse video showing how it all came together:

Seeing as how there were 400+ wedding planners in the room, I figured there MUST be more blog posts about this amazing party.  You can see a few more perspectives and photos here, here, and here.

I have more great stories from The Special Event!  Stay tuned the rest of this week for my recap.

Heard about Blog Action Day, yet?  We’ve been waiting for this day since August.  This amazing movement is comprised of bloggers all over the world who raise awareness of a problematic topic on the same day.  Last year’s theme was the environment and this year it’s poverty.  How do we connect weddings and poverty, you ask?

Many brides and grooms choose to donate to a charity or cause in lieu of wedding favors.  Sometimes this is an organization that’s meaningful to the couple, such as the ASPCA they adopted their dog from or their alma mater.  Sometimes this is an organization that the couple supports, like the Susan G. Komen Foundation or even Goodwill.

What organizations do they never contribute to?  Those they’ve never heard of.

I want to take this opportunity and raise awareness about three organizations that can use your help.  A wedding is the perfect time to think of those less fortunate.  Why not skip the jordan almonds and make a difference?

First we have ONE, perhaps the most popular of the three.  This is the organization that Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Susan Sarandon, Sean Combs, Cameron Diaz, Justin Timberlake, Bono, Tom Hanks, George Clooney, and many more support.  ONE is primarily a lobbying organization, dedicated to raising awareness and educating political officials about poverty in the US and other nations.  While they don’t yet have a gift registry set up, you could certainly make a donation in lieu of favors.  Here is one of their creative TV ads:

Next we have African Dowry.  This London-based organization is the wedding registry arm of Farm Africa, a charity that provides farming help to families in Africa.  As a bride, you can create a wedding registry, send your wedding guests to the website, and they make a donation on your behalf.  What a great idea!

Here is one story about the difference they’re making:

FARM-Africa is working with thirteen primary schools in Babati, Tanzania, through our Agricultural and Environmental Education Project. We help teachers to devise new lesson plans and deliver them in a way that inspires and motivates pupils.

Rebekah is sixteen years old and has attended her primary school since she was ten. Before then, her parents couldn’t afford to send her. Rebekah is enthusiastic about the new skills she’s learning:

“We’ve set up demonstration plots at school so we can learn how to plant maize. The maize has grown very well and we use it in the school, so we all get a meal to eat. The teachers also sell some to raise money for books and chairs. I want to be a farmer when I leave school, like my parents, but I also want to teach others how to farm well too.”

Rebekah has made a good start at teaching others. She’s taught her parents about the benefits of chicken and cattle manure and their maize is growing much better. FARM-Africa encourages children to share what they learn with their families and neighbours.

Farming in the future will still be challenging for these youngsters. But thanks to FARM-Africa’s work, children like Rebekah will leave school with the knowledge, skills and enthusiasm they need to help feed themselves and their families.

They also donate livestock, provide micro loans, and offer the use of farming equipment to prepare farmland and help with new crops.  Read more of their amazing stories here.

Finally we have my personal favorite.  Changing the Present is a similar organization built around helping people through gift registries.  Like African Dowry, you register on their website for certain items.  Instead of just focusing around Africa and farming, your guests can purchase things like fishing lessons for a woman, breakfast for a child for one year, or seeds for a village.  There are also categories other than hunger like human rights, peace, water, medical research, education, animal welfare, disaster relief, and many many more.  Just imagine the difference that money can make instead of buying you a new gravy boat or fondue pot.

I hope you’ve at least considered using one of these organizations as part of your wedding plans.  By taking a few minutes to learn about the options, you can make a big difference and play a role in ending the world’s poverty.

Thanks to our photographer friend Justine Ungaro, we were introduced to the wonderful EcoLimo!  Did you know there’s an environmentally friendly transportation option in DC?  This great company also operates in LA, SanFran, NYC, and Vegas.  Imagine your guests getting picked up from the hotel in this bad boy:

How about a sweet ride home at the end of the night?  You and Hubby can jet off in this beautiful bio-diesel Mercedes Benz E320 CDI:

Or perhaps your parents are coming into town and want to rent this Tahoe gas/electric hybrid to haul all your gifts from the reception to your condo:

Have you thought about the transportation for your wedding yet?  Be sure to consider this eco-conscious company.