Wedding Wednesday

Okay, so it's been a while since I have posted Wedding Wednesday pictures:)  It's not that I haven't had weddings, but sometimes I get so busy with things on my business website and business blog and social media pages I forget to get a few pictures up on this blog to show you all a peek into what I have been up to.

Before I start showing you pictures, I have to tell you.  This particular wedding, because of my  health situation at the time, and limited abilities that day.  I had to rely on my amazing crew a little more than normal.

To be honest, and I hope they don't read this:)  But normally I let them do their things, and then about 90% of the time after I send them all home.  I go back and fix a lot of things or re-do things or do a touch up.  I know that is terrible, it's the perfectionist in me.  They don't even know I do it, well most don't, haha.
But anyhow, that didn't happen this particular wedding.  I didn't have the energy to go back and fix everything, so things aren't the normal perfect.
I started taking the pictures before everyone was finished, so these are nearly done.  I look at them now, and still wish I went back and fixed a few things.  But the couple was happy and loved it. Likely I am the only one who notices some of the imperfections:) hopefully.

  The above picture shows about half of the reception room.  The lights above were actually chandeliers that were made by hand in 1902 and are like a stain glass light with different colors reflective in them.  Obviously my camera didn't do those beauties justice!

This was the area they did their ring ceremony at.  The reason we didn't put up an arch or some fancy decor in the area for the ceremony is because using this beautiful building that I mentioned above was built in 1902.  The Stain glass window in this room was so lovely, and because of the time of the ceremony and the time the sunlight was going to be pouring through the beautiful glass, we decided to keep it simple and let the hand made stain glass window's be the backdrop.

I know this is a close up of the one above, but I actually wanted to show the detail in this church building.  The blue curtain stage that we hid with the pillars, has this gorgeous ornate wood carving around it.  This was actually all hand carved by the pioneers that build this building by hand.  Then in the carving they fit in this gold to make the detail stand out.  Ya, this is the interior designer in me, but I love building details like this:)
Additionally, it was not planned but very helpful that the huge stage curtain behind the backdrop happened to be the exact same shade of Navy that we picked as one of the colors.

Obviously the brides colors were Navy Blue to Baby Blue.  We alternated the chair cover colors on the sashes.  Kept the tables the same overlay and runner colors, but we actually did 2 different table centerpieces.
White gazebo's with greenery that lit up in the center with flicker candles.  Black lantern centerpieces that also had greenery and a center flicker light inside.
The centerpieces were 13 inches to 20 inches higher.  Nothing to distracting so that the guests could speak to one another as they chatted over the meal.

Obviously pre-cake, and I wish I had gotten one with the cake.  It was a White and Navy tier cake. But like I said, these were all taken before we even finished decorating so things aren't finished.  The reason the ruffle area in the center isn't lit, because that is where the cake goes and no need for lighting under the stand.

This one is a little closer up image of the lantern centerpieces.  I should also mention, I (usually) tie every single sash at a wedding.  Because ya, I pride myself on my perfect bow:)  But for the first time ever, I didn't tie a single one.  My sweet sister finally learned how to tie them, close to what I like. She alone tied all 130 chair sashes in the room.  And my sweet 10 year old niece came and put all those chair covers on, she was not liking me much by the end, she didn't think it would be that much work and take so long:)

This fun little gazebo centerpieces.  You can't really see the flicker candle light inside them from this view, but they are there.  By evening when the light wasn't coming in from the side windows, the lighting we brought in turned the atmosphere into a bit more romantic.  I had taken these pictures around noon so it was still the bright time of the day.

Okay, so I will admit I did go back and fix this part.  The flowers at the top, did not remain like that for more than 5 minutes after I snapped this picture:)
I think they must of been tired or in a hurry and didn't stand back and look at it after they finished, or like a lot of times probably just got annoyed with messing with it, and knew I would go back and fix it, LOL

This water fountain area, is unfinished.  Eventually we added all the engagement pictures and bridal pictures into this area, there were about a dozen.  This way as guests walked past this area, they could check out the cute couples pictures.

Clearly, this picture probably doesn't look like it goes with the others.  It doesn't, we wanted to keep the reception hall elegant and the fun part outside, which is why we actually set this up out in the front entrance and grabbed the guests as they soon entered the building. They could stop for a quick fun picture before heading down the hall and into the reception area.

Since none of the guests know me personally or that I blog, then I guess they can't be upset that I shared their pictures:)  Here are just a few of what were taken with the frames props and photo booth area, so you can see what fun it is!
If you have a wedding coming up in the future I have to say this is a super fun thing to include, guests have a lot of fun with it!

So, ya like I said above, I didn't go back and fix all the imperfections.  (Okay, that is a lie, I did fix a few things, but literally only a very few, no where near the normal:)
Overall the crew did an amazing job!

I didn't realize this until the other day as we were all chatting while we decorated.  But almost all of those who help and work for me are runners and there are well over over 100+ full marathons between us all, countless half's, many Ragnar's and even a few Tri's.  Kinda fitting that myself the Runaway Bridal Planner, would hire a bunch of Running Decorators on the team!
But if you saw how much running around, and felt the workout your body gets after a full day like this, it kinda makes sense:)

Five Friday Favorites

Thanks to EatPrayRunDC, YouSignedUpForWhat? & MarontheRun for hosting this link-up. Today I am linking up again with The DC Trifecta Friday Five.  The topic they chose for today is 5 Friday Favorites.

Although the past few years my Friday's are not always how many others think of Friday's.  As most think of them as the signal to the weekend.  For me, they are at times when my work week really begins, especially when it comes to brides and their weddings.  However, I do have a few Friday Favorites to share.

#1 - Wedding Decoration - I love my job and I love to decorate for weddings.  Each bride has different tastes, this gives me the ability to use my talents and create for each of them, their own special beautiful day!  I not only get to have the pleasure of making someones day, but I get the pleasure of doing something I love.

#2 - Hiking - If I do not have a wedding on a Friday, I do enjoy hiking.  I am fortunate to live 20-30 minutes away from 100's of different hiking trails and options.  One of the advantages of living where I do in Utah.  You never know what you'll discover if you get out and see the world with hiking boots and a backpack:)

#3 - Fishing - I love to fish, I am a catch and release kind of gal.  In fact I hate to eat fish, and won't even consider eating them as an option.  But I do enjoy catching them, whether that be a relaxing day at a lake.  Or a morning or evening next to a beautiful river!  I also sport an adorable cute pink fishing vest and hat, and I don't care what people think about that:)  Additionally, I have different reels that I use in various colors because sometimes it's just fun to be a girl and paint my nails to match my reel:)  LOL

Me and my dad, and that is my pink fishing vest and hat I mentioned:)

#4 - Movie in a Park - I actually haven't done this yet this year, but it will come!  There is just something fun about watching a movie in a park!  Or even at times we will go up in the mountains camping and pull out a fun movie for the family to watch in the outdoors.

#5 - Hanging with my nieces and nephews - I have several of them, and they are so fun!  Whether it's a day at the beach (like below), camping trips, hiking and fishing adventures or hide and seek in the backyard.  I love spending time with them!  In fact, that is what I am actually going to be doing today, hiking with my sister and her two kids.

At the beach with the kids - Ignore the greasy sunscreen hair, LOL

Sometimes if I have weddings, my "Last day of the work week, Friday" may be on a Monday or Tuesday:)  But its all good, and these are a few of my things I enjoy doing on those days!

What are your favorite things about Friday's?

Also, don't forget there are just a couple more days to enter the 12 different Health, Fitness & Running related giveaways going on right now on the Fitness Favorite's Blog Hop.  Lots of chances to win, you can start entering them HERE.

Wedding Decoration Pictures - Brides colors Victorian Lilac, gray and a touch of yellow

This wedding that my team and I decorated for, the brides colors were Victorian Lilac, Gray with a touch of yellow.  The wedding ceremony and reception were inside a church gymnasium.  So the purpose was to convert this space into a reception center.
The pictures don't really give the room the justice it deserves, things always look better in person.  However, check them out anyway.

Above is the new lighted ruffle table I designed.  If you remember a few weeks back, I showed a picture of a wedding that a ruffle table was used and I said I was planning on making it my own.
Well, in doing so I decided to give it a lighted puffy cloud look instead.  So not only is the table underneath lighted up, but the top of the table under the ruffles is also lighted up.
Personally, this is one of my favorite newer creations.  What do you think about it?

The backdrop for the ceremony, we used my Roman Pillars with greenery.  We added purple and yellow flowers on the pillars as well.  Personally, the yellow really was the perfect final touch.  You can't really see them well in the pictures, but if you were within 10-15 feet they stood out perfectly.

The backdrop we used for the cake table, was similar to the ceremony backdrop.  Same 4 pillars, except we didn't want them to be identical.  I wanted them to match each other, but I didn't want them to be exact as they both served different purposes.  So for the cake area we went with the Victoria Lilac satin swags across the top, and did a more simple centerpiece, so that nothing would take the focus away from the cake.

The rest of the room was filled with tables and other lighted decor.  We used white base linens, with Victorian lilac overlays.  Then Victorian lilac on gray runners.
The centerpieces we used lighted black lanterns, these are about 18" in height.  So the perfect height that you can still talk over them and see around them.

We places purple, white and a touch of yellow flowers around the bases, and laced them with two different sizes of pearls.
The black lanterns actually lit up and we used fake flicker candles inside of them to give them a little bit of romantic ambiance.
Last, the centerpieces were placed on large round mirrors.  For a couple of reasons, but mainly so the light from the centerpieces would reflect off of them more.

Between the ceremony and cake backdrops, we actually placed a stone fountain and lighted greenery area.  This wasn't created to draw the eye too much.  Mainly I just did this to tie in the area between the two backdrops so they wouldn't start and stop at awkward places with a weird space between them.

Because I really liked the way it looked, here is one more shot of the beautiful new cake table.

Attitude can be the key!

How is everyone's Monday going?  The one thing I love about Monday's, it's like a reset button.  If you had not the best previous week, your attitude Monday morning can reset the tone for hopefully a much better week!

I don't like to dwell on negative, but I also like to be an honest blogger:)  So let me just say, I had a really rough past week.
Well on May 2nd when I was out on my run, something happened to my non-injured foot.  At first I didn't think too much of it, I just remember a small pain, and then after a few steps the pain went away.  Well by the next day, I woke up and when I took a step, lots an lots of pain.
I didn't mention it last week, when I did my Monday post, because I was sort of hoping it was a fluke and would just go away.
I didn't run on it last week, to give it time to heal.
Well, if you've heard of the term stress fracture... Yup that is what I have, so if you don't already know something about me, this past 17 months I have been cursed with bad luck.  This is just another side effect of it I guess.
(Why a stress fracture?  Well the muscles that support the bones are a little weak in my feet from not being able to run, and well sometimes things just happen:(

For 17 months I have chosen to have a great attitude, because I really believe attitude can help cure things even faster.  I won't lie, I've had a few weak moments this past week, but I am set to keep a good attitude about this too.
My right foot stress fracture should be healed in another 4-5 weeks.
The only other side effect of it is, my tendon injured left foot isn't liking picking up the slack.  So I've had a few tiny bouts of tendinitis flare up in it.  But I am wearing the boot at night to hopefully fix that...

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Well, although I am off running again for a few more weeks.  I am full on in wedding season right now.  I know I mentioned a month or so back that I was going to be cutting down on how many weddings I would be doing for the future.  Because I was planning to make a career change, and turn weddings into a part time job.

It's really hard to see the colors in this picture.  But they were Peacock Blue and Emerald Green

Well, life decided to tell me not yet.  I plan to tell you all about that, but not just yet:)
So because of that I decided to accept a few more brides this month instead.  So it's been wedding's every single weekend, and will be for some time to come.

This week, on Wednesday I'll show off a beautiful wedding that we did a few weeks back and you can get a peak of my new glowing ruffle table I designed.  Last Thursday I did a wedding, the bride went with a Peacock feather theme, so the colors all centered around this.  I'll have to showcase all the pictures another time, but I thought I'd share the backdrop that we did.

Here is a close-up so you can see the detail better with the peacock blue ribbons
and feathers we weaved into the entire backdrop.

Everything went great at the wedding for the bride and groom, and they were very happy with everything which always makes me happy!
My crew had to take over a lot of the running around so I could stay of my foot, but I still ended up walking 6 miles that day, so obviously I don't know the meaning of take it easy:)

The only negative, while we were in setting up the wedding some idiot decided to try and steal my trailer that was hooked up to the truck.  They jammed the hitch lock with a screw driver.  Thank goodness I had a lock on it, or I would have lost the trailer and everything in it.  Some people are just moron's, and don't want to pay for their own business trailer, guess they think its easier to steal someone else's.  I'm just happy and that all I have to do is buy a new lock! So I guess in that sense, I am really lucky!

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Which is why I mentioned that I love Monday's because I can just hit a reset button and I've already determined that this week is going to be a much better week!
A busy week, I have only 2 days to finish getting things taken care of from the last wedding, and get ready for this weeks wedding.  But that's okay, I enjoy being busy and I love a bit of stress to get the mind working better and energy flowing!
I get a lot of people asking me what really goes into planning a wedding and decorating for an event.  I was going to share a little of that today, but I think this post is already too long so I will save that for another time.

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So tell me what great or not so great things happened to you last week?  Do you like to hit a reset button each new week and start over with a good attitude and good vibes too?

Wedding Wednesday - Sapphire Blue Wedding

It's been a while since I shared some pictures from wedding's I have done.  I really liked how the wedding last weekend turned out, so I wanted to take today to share them with you.

If you don't know, I am a Wedding Planner, I own an event decoration company in Utah.  Which besides running, weddings are also what I am 2nd most known for, hence the blog name, Runaway Bridal Planner:)

Above is the backdrop we used for the ceremony.  We used the lattice behind it to hide a part of the wall that we didn't want to be front and center for the couple.
The brides colors were Sapphire Blue and turquoise, although I only tied in Sapphire Blue into the backdrop, to not over do it on blues.

The next picture is yes the same backdrop.  However, we moved it into an open atrium in the hotel.  Because of this we didn't include the lattice.  It is basically the same backdrop with a few modifications to fit the new room.

This is one of the room views for the reception area.  Although the lovely yellow don't slip sign was removed later:)  It was a beautiful atrium, so I decided it didn't need much, so we went with a classy simple yet elegant look to everything.

We used Sapphire Blue runners, with mirrors, and then every other table either had 2 or 3 glass vases that were filled with different types of water beads.  I actually dyed the water beads to match the brides colors.

The above is just another view of the room.  There were 17 tables in total for the event.  The white linens are not my own, they actually are the hotel's.  I generally always go with linens that drop to the floor.  Only the runners were from my stock.

I mentioned we went with different looks in each of the centerpieces.  Some were small beads, some larger beads.  Some clear, some blue.  Some with the rock look, others with the crushed ice look.

I personally think adding a different variety to each tables centerpieces, and different vase heights gave it a great look and feel.
Like I said above, simple yet elegant.  Sometimes when you are dealing with rooms of large grandeur, less is more and small elegant touches show bigger statements than huge items that can take away from a finished look.

Just another view of the room.

And another view.  I should have grabbed a better shot, but this was actually a huge waterfall and colored water display, lights in the wedding colors.

I will admit, this table was not of my doing.  But I had someone show me how to do this fun new look.  I just loved the piles of ruffle look for the cake table.  Loved it so much I made sure I was taught how to do it, and I will be hopefully giving it a try this coming weekend at my next wedding.  The difference will be, I hate table legs showing, so I will make sure when I do it, the bottom portion is a bit different:)

So that is it, like I said simple and elegant.  I actually loved how the centerpieces turned out, and the backdrop although hard to tell in the above pictures fit the rooms perfectly.  Additionally as the light in the atrium dimmed with the setting sun, all the softer lights in the room, as well as the softer lights I used all over the backdrop, really set it apart and gave it the romantic dreamy feel.

So, hope you liked these pictures, maybe they'll give you idea's for weddings or events you are planning in your future:)

Wedding Wednesday - Silver, Navy and Hints of Lavender

It's been a while since I have posted pictures from weddings I have done.  Since I've had a bit of an injury, I have had to cut back and not do quite as many this winter.  However, as I am healing this will continue to change in 2014 and you'll likely see me sharing my pictures more often. 
Anyhow, since my first wedding of the year is now one for the books, I thought I'd share some of my pictures.

This particular brides colors were Silver, Navy with hints of Lavender.  They used one of my more popular backdrops, the roman pillars and we went with simple yet elegant navy swags across the top, with a floral arrangement in the middle.
I took my pictures before the centerpieces were finished and placed on the tables.  But aside from that the room is finished.
This isn't a really big wedding, and they didn't go with all the extra decorating items like we usually include, but it still turned out beautifully and the bride and the rest of the wedding party were really happy with our services that day.
We decorated a church cultural hall, or half gym as some call it.  Fortunately, after we were done decorating you really couldn't tell it was anything but a reception center:)

Enjoy:)

This is the backdrop for the wedding reception

Room view 1

Cake table, we went with a simple table design and light table decoration
Lighted the table up so in the dim lights of the room it would glow.

The refreshment area, was also lit up, so that the tables glowed.

Simple table decoration for the book sign-in area at the entrance.

Room View 2 - As mentioned above the pictures were taken before the centerpieces
were placed on the tables.

Room View 3

Room View 4

Seeking Motivation

So have you ever gone through one of those slumps, that just keeps on going?  You can envision exactly what you need to do, and even what you want to do, but yet you just can't seem to get yourself to do it?
Well, that is me right now.
I think a lot of it has stemmed from this lingering injury now 6 months and counting.  I sort of got a little depressed about not being able to run or do any physical exercise that requires movement of the feet (which can I say is just about all cardio.)
Then there came the Pepsi, I used to just have a 1 or 2 a week, and it turned into one a day.  Then I can't believe I will admit this some days it turned into 2 a day.  Then yesterday, I found myself on my 3rd can and that is when I realized that this extra 10 pounds I have put on over the past month is likely purely from sugar. Which is obviously not going to help me get out of this slump.

So what do I do?  I decided to share it with my blogging friends and use it as a way to stop my bad habits and get my butt out doing something more.  By making my recent bad habits public.

This past week I did go out for a day of hiking, and I've had a wedding which is pretty active.  So I haven't been completely inactive, but yet still feel like I am in a slump!
I did lay off running last week because I have been trying this last resort with these high dosage anti-inflammatory and I didn't want to accidentally injury myself while the pills were masking the pain and I figured the hiking was pushing it enough for the week.
However, next week I can change all of this, I hope!

So besides getting out and logging a few miles each day.  I'm in obvious need of working on my core to shed some additional pounds I have recently added.  I'm not one who ever got into the popular Yoga craze, but I used to really enjoy Pilate's.  So I am going to try to add 20 minutes of that 3 days next week.
Additionally, and this is the tough one, I am going to try my hardest to not drink any Pepsi for the entire week.
I know it's not much, but I really need to do something to get myself out of this funk!  I think I will spend a little more time blog surfing and going off others for a bit of motivation this next week as well.

With that said, I drove out to San Diego last weekend for my cousins wedding.  As a wedding gift I gave her part of her wedding decorations.
The room turned out so pretty and even though I didn't use my company and do all of the decorations this time.  The ceiling canopy was hired out by a local San Diego company, but all the linens in the picture were my contribution.  So I decided that I am going to show the pictures, because like I always say beautiful linens can be the perfect finishing touch for an event!!!

So tell me, what types of things do you do to motivate you and help you get out of slumps?