Get Married: 5 Questions with Lisa Konecny

Some time ago, I was approached by the super-cool folks at Get Married to answer a few wedding questions for their television show. Sometimes, these things can be daunting, but Stacie Francombe made it so easy and relaxed. We shot this in my previous office, and even managed to compare notes on how many Webkinz each of our children had!

Stacie has successfully launched Get Married via web, television {Weekdays at 7:00am on Lifetime hosted by David Tutera} and has recently added blogging.

Occasionally, I bump into Stacie at industry events here in Orlando and even Atlanta. It's always nice to connect with someone "real" who is a successful business woman.wife and mother of 3 young boys. Keep rocking it out Stacie!

This piece has run several times on Lifetime, but remains on their fabulous website. For your ease, however, you can quickly view the questions along with my candid answers right here:

Inspired Wedding Tabletop Decor: "Big Sur"

A question I often ask my clients, vendor partners and even myself is "What inspires you?" I find that if thought our carefully, it can open the door to many creative opportunities and experiences.

Several months ago, I had the distinct pleasure of having been asked to participate in an evening to assist The Ritz Carlton Orlando, Grande Lakes to "Impress, Indulge and Inspire." Guests that already had their special date on the books grew increasingly excited over the designs created by our area's top wedding and event planners, floral designers, furniture rental ingenues and the like. Prospective clients invited could not get their dates on the books quickly enough after the stellar evening.

Enlisting a team that I was extremely compatible with was my first priority. With that in mind, I immediately called Tommy Murphy with Greenery Productions and Awny Kashoggi, owner of Unique Option. As I have come to delightfully expect, an initial pow-wow between us sparked such enthusiastic creativity and inspiration. Getting in a room with these gentlemen is exhilarating and I left the table dizzy with the anticipation of seeing our collective ideas brought to life.

Indeed, the reality far exceeded my expectations!

Our first table we labeled ,"Big Sur" as this same team was inspired by a recent couple, {and recent blog post} Christie and Harvey Heller.

Organic, earthy, natural and hearty with a splash of "over the top," the table was presented with the use of camphor vines with cymbidium orchids wired woven amongst the branches, a natural stone overlay over moss green velvet and shantung linen provided by Wildflower Linen. Awny's water walls surrounded by candles in varying heights carried our imaginations to what we had dreamed the ideal rustic yet glamorous environment would be out west.

To tell our story from beginning to end, we had invitations, escort cards, and menus designed with organic paper, real leaves and stones by the innovative Amy Morelli of the 2u Collection.

I was fortunate enough to have the gracious offer from Damon Tucci to capture my table images and the rest are from Tommy's trusty camera.

What inspires you...?

Friday's Chic Style Sheet: August 15,2008

Tigerlilly!

I am officially proclaiming an new obsession to this line-

Always seeking out just one inspirational piece to drive a bride's style throughout her day, and lifetime really, this website and line helps a bride do just that.

Fell in love or are drawn to a hair accessory for instance? Tigerlilly's line offers synergistic pieces to help you build your look.

To make it even easier the site offers "looks" or a lookbook to further inspire you:

"Luxe," as they describe it is "Bold. Fresh. Magical. Opulent." I'll say!

There are other lines such as Timeless, Destination, Classic, Ice...the list goes on.

I was particularly drawn to their versatile or convertible jewelry that can act as a head piece and a necklace. {If you know me, you know I am ALL about re-purposing!}

Ingenue, jewelry designer and founder of Tigerlilly, Mandy Greenan also maintains a blog linked to her site and I adore it-

What started as a search for a search for a head piece/head band for a client serendipitously brought me to Tigerlilly...Amen!

engage! 08 Part Deux...

For all of my industry friend and blog readers, if you have not already, do look into engage! 08 to broaden your horizons.

Caution: Bring a notebook, laptop, recorder--whatever it takes to enable you to retain the wealth of information you will receive from this symposium-

I attended this past June and, in an intimate setting at The Celebration Hotel, learned and networked amongst the country's finest in or industry. Of course, it didn't hurt to have friends and colleagues, Michele Butler, Susie Weiss and Jay Casiano there either. And, meeting new friends like Liene Stevens was the icing on the cake!

Rebecca and Kathryn somehow planned and executed the finest symposium I personally have ever attended. Intimate, full of information, excellent presenting guests and, hey, I'm going to be perfectly honest, the swag was stellar!

Above are some pictures I took this past June from that great day...What a specific treat it was to hear Marcy Blum be so candid and "real" and Simon T. Bailey for being so incredibly motivating.

Straight from the engage! 08 blog, allow me to "engage" your curiosity:

"Set for October 14th, 2008 at the spectacular Ritz-Carlton Orlando Grande Lakes this high-impact b2b luxury wedding business symposium will include appearances by The Knot founders Carley Roney & David Liu, cake diva Sylvia Weinstock, WeddingBee founder Bee Kim, CBS The Early Show producer Jill Meister, Sean Low-President of Preston Bailey Designs and wedding PR guru Eda Kalkay and will include discussions on:
Building a global wedding brand
Diversifying your business
Targeting [and managing!] the affluent bride and groom
Insights into the mindset of millennial matrimony
Blogging and leveraging new media
'Romancing' the bridal and lifestyle media
Turning your passion into profit
Real, honest and interactive including an "Inside the Wedding Studio" style Q & A session with Carley & David on building the most powerful wedding brand in North America while balancing it all as a husband and wife team and parents of 3 young children!
A candid discussion with wedding cake diva Sylvia Weinstock, fresh off the set of hot show "Gossip Girl" will 'dish' on starting her company at age 50, going global, and the real story behind those signature glasses!
President of Preston Bailey Designs, Sean Low, the business mastermind behind one of the most successful global wedding names in the world will share specific strategies on how to take your wedding business to the next level, elevating your level of clientele - and getting paid what you are really worth {and beyond!}.
Special guest speaker, Simon T. Bailey is back by overwhelming demand. Internationally renowned author of "Release Your Brilliance" will lead an inspiring and motivating session guaranteed to examine your potential, insight, genius, innovation and ideas - just waiting to be released. Truly transformational!"

Real Weddings: Monique and Ryan

Elegant, ethereal, romantic...

Looking back over Monique Levy and Ryan Judge's wedding day all of those words come to mind.

As Ryan was studying and training out of state, I naturally worked very closely with Monique. On very fortunate occasions, for me anyways, her mother Michelle tagged along for the planning ride. What a beautiful and special relationship they have. It was plainly clear to me where Monique gets her drive, her beauty and her confidence. Michelle Levy is such a strong and dedicated woman and mother.

Monique has such a beautiful soul. Terri and I constantly talked about her, almost in awe, at her demeanor.

To start, she's brilliant! We think she will single-handedly find the cure for Alzheimer's. She is so dedicated and talented with her work, we felt so humbled to work side by side with her.

Because her work schedule was so demanding, coupled by the fact that she lived in Lakeland, meetings and appointments became wedding planning missions.

We would ask for a day--she would give us a day. A full day later, we were beginning to build a very formidable vendor team.

The wedding was held at the grand Rosen's Shingle Creek. Look at the amazing architecture!

When my clients are natural beauties, I grow concerned over the intended wedding-day makeup. Natalie with Knockout Artistry simply *knocked* this one out of the park. Monique looked incredibly stunning; just look at those eyes!!!

Responsible for that ethereal and elegant look was the one and only Jesus Rodriguez and Chris Guglio with Raining Roses.

Damon Tucci, as I have grown quite accustomed to, captured these wonderful images of Monique and Ryan's day. My particular favorites: that close-up of Monique and the way Ryan is looking at her during their first dance which was played by their DJ, Michael Fabbiani with Above and Beyond Entertainment.

The couple have since relocated and started their married lives...

Dear Monique and Ryan,

Good luck and good love!

xoxoxo

Friday's Chic Style Sheet: August 8, 2008

Patterns!

For a contemporary, hip and personal twist, I am a huge fan of the {careful} use of patterns-

Logos, monograms and motifs are pretty and should definitely still be incorporated where appropriate, but patterns can now be used in a myriad of ways.

Consider where you may likely start first-with paper or "announcement." Save the dates or developing your wed-site.

I'd like to suggest that those patterns may be similar, but not identical, to a pattern you may choose for the wedding. These patterns allow you to be a tad more whimsical and representative of your casual, every day style.

For the wedding, utilize these patterns to wrap vases (symmetrical shapes such as a square or cylinder work best) and conquer that "same old, same old" glass vase doldrums. Since the pattern will be bold in it's own right, use of monochromatic flowers with different textures look outstanding.

Use that pattern in fabric to create a back-drop for photographs, stationery, lighting...the sky's the limit for further personalization!

Love the patterns! Love the look!

**Stationery storyboard courtesy of "The Bride's Guide" by Darcy Miller**

Real Weddings: Christie and Harvey Heller

How do you not only marry a couple that lives in 2 separate states, but truly come from 2 very different styles??

Clearly these lovebirds have enough in common to be madly in love nut, the challenge?? One of them {Christie} hails from Boulder, Colorado and the other {Harvey Heller} hails from Orlando.

As I brainstormed my approach to designing this wedding, I was perpetually challenged by respecting both and "marrying" not only these 2 people, but their lifestyles as well.

Christie and Harvey were such a delight, mainly in part because of their implicit trust and in me. Christie was still living in Boulder and her visits were few and quick.

They were already established with their venue, Maison and Jardin prior to enlisting my help and were set with space, food and beverage. They even got married in Big Sur the weekend before which made my main objective planning a superb party!

While elegant and stately, Maison was hardly rustic {Boulder} or the intrinsic "Orlando vibe."

hmmmmm...

Recruiting Tommy Murphy with Greenery Productions put our best foot forward and were overjoyed with putting ideas and proposals together to get our couple inspired and eager to see their results. We felt particularly challenged by an "addition" to the venue that revealed the mechanics to a tent frame. The creative ceiling treatment prepared by Tommy's designers was spectacular! Natural wood lattice accompanied by camphor vine and hanging amaranthus and greenery transported us to and enchanted forest.

Striking linen from Wildflower Linen offered such a sophisticated flair-

The design was further complimented with design ideas and furniture groupings from Awny Kashoggi with Unique Option. The entire outdoor space was dedicated to a social hour where guests sipped on 2 signature champagne cocktails and enjoyed music and the ever popular photo booth by Plumb Fun.

As guests were invited inside, they experienced a"woodlands" scent easily created by using a sensory teaser by Scent Events.

Christie and Harvey were so thrilled they invited the entire vendor team to share in the culinary delights prepared by Maison for all of their guests. Fabulous!

...and because "pictures say a 1,000 words," I was fortunate enough to have photographer and fellow girlfriend, Abby Liga on hand for these wonderful shots-