Grand Canyon Destination Wedding

June in Arizona is beautiful, but June at the Grand Canyon is stunning. Shoshone Point was the location of Chelsea and Brian’s wedding ceremony.

With views that overlook the canyon and plenty of space for guests, it really does make for a perfect Destination Wedding Location. Chelsea contacted Peak Events via email, since she was located on the east coast. Chelsea and I did all of our contact and conversations via email or phone calls. It wasn’t until the day of the wedding that I might our beautiful bride and groom.



Chelsea, her groom and family were all staying at the Grand Canyon in the various hotels. When I first met Chelsea she was in her room, getting her hair and makeup done by Patricia Vega. When I drove up from Flagstaff I met up with Showstoppers to pick up the flowers they had created. Now Chelsea’s mother mailed Showstoppers all the centerpiece holders, which were these amazing wooden pieces and showstoppers worked with us, and made the flowers sit exactly in each of them. The flowers really were stunning.

The guests were transported from their hotels to the reception site, about 10 minutes away. Once they arrived, the hotel had refreshments available. Soon Chelsea, her parents and Brian arrived. There ceremony took place overlooking the Grand Canyon, and was stunning! After the ceremony guests were asked to stay and enjoy a cocktail hour and hors d’oeuvres.

Then the guests and bride and groom were transported to the Thunderbird Lodge for the reception.


As guests entered the reception room, they were greeted by their candy favors. Please remember that the bride and groom either brought everyone on the plane or had it shipped to the hotel before they arrived. And also shipped it all home after the wedding! So yes, it can be done.

The bride and I discussed linens and she decided to go with a butter cream tablecloth, napkins and chair cover. We had some ivory accents with the chair ties and table overlay. The room looked amazing.

The cake was provided by the hotel, with the flowers from showstoppers.

Guests enjoyed a fabulous dinner provided by the hotel, cocktails and dancing courtesy of Jam N Sounds.


The wonderful photographs were done by Sedona Bride.


As the night came to a close and guests were heading to their hotel rooms, they were lucky enough to see a few Elk eating the grass just outside the Reception hall; it is after all a wilderness area!



Thank you Chelsea and Brian for choosing Peak Events to be part of your special day.



Jen

Vendors

Venue & Reception: Shoshone Point and Thunderbird Lodge

Event Planner: Peak Events

Floral: Events by Showstoppers

 

Entertainment: Jam-N-Sounds - Andy

Photography: Sedona Bride

Fabulous Wedding Websites To Check Out

For weeks my brother has been bothering me to check out http://www.stumbleupon.com/. I don’t know if any of you readers have ever visited the website but I decided to stumble upon wedding stuff… These are some awesome sites and things that I found:


Anthropologie is creating a bridal line!


That’s right—the store that we all love is launching a bridal line this spring! Anthro will be selling jewelry, dresses, and bridal inspired household items! Vintage wedding gowns will range in price from $750 to $5000. Not only are they launching a site but they will also be opening bridal stores in some cities.

Love & Lavender
This is a website created by two women that love everything about weddings! The site is a summary of inspirations, projects, and weddings that they wish to share with you! As I searched through this site I found a blog called “Ceremony Signs” and fell in love! Check out the link for some really awesome and creative photographs at different weddings!

 
 
TOMS Shoes are Walking Down the Aisle
We have all heard about TOMS shoes and their movement to provide outside countries with shoes. They have a great idea “one for one”, this means that for every pair of shoes sold TOMS will give away one pair of shoes to someone that needs it. Since the TOMS movement they have added wedges, apparel, botas, and now a wedding styles collection too!
You can buy men and women shoes for weddings. They are nicer styles, fabric, and come in different classy varieties. Sizes and styles are available for all roles in your wedding party whether it be bridesmaids, groomsman, the flower girl or the ring bearer. Now not only can you purchase the shoes to help the TOMS movement but you can also turn it into your wedding theme.

TOMS has created a “tool kit” to help you include TOMS in your wedding. On their website they provide you with ready-to-print place seating cards, table number cards, double sided post cards, and invitation inserts!
There are so many outside the box things that can turn your wedding experience into a one unlike any other!
Belle

Creative Wedding Invitations

Our intern Belle, came across this great creative wedding invitation. We just had to share it!

Peak Events is featured on Style Me Pretty!

Rustic Arizona Wedding!

Featured on Recycled Bride

Jennifer & Matthew's Wedding!

We are so excited that Peak Events is featured on Recycled Bride for Jennifer & Matthew's wedding! Thank you to cameron + kelly studios for taking such amazing photos!

Northern Arizona Weddings

Weddings – aren’t they fabulous? I love weddings and I love working with couples who are excited about their future together. I’m lucky enough to work with two such people on a wedding less than three weeks away! You can almost feel the excitement in the air……

The Peacock Wedding is what I’ve named this one – after all, our bride LOVES the Peacock motif and since the Peacock Theme was the hottest trend of 2010 and she got engaged in 2010 – how LUCKY am I? I’ll be honest, I’ve never done a peacock themed wedding, but now that I’m in the middle of it – I’m completely on board.
So, the question becomes, how do we honor the peacock without feeling like the wedding has gone to the birds??????? Less is more. So many brides can get carried away with peacock feathers, that they forget the real reason they picked it. So, Google peacock and this is some of what you might find: In Greece, the peacock is believed to be sacred to Hera, the queen of heaven and lawful wife of Zeus -- a pair of them drew her chariot --, and they were kept at her temples. In the Roman Empire, peacocks depicted on coins symbolized the females of the ruling houses, the lineage princesses. Maha-Mayuri, is the Buddhist wisdom deity associated with the peacock who protects against calamity especially drought. In the old Chinese bureaucratic system, members of the third highest level displayed a peacock as the emblem of their rank. In Christianity, it stands for immortality and the incorruptibility of the soul.
I’m meeting with my bride tomorrow to discuss linens! Woo Hoo – we’ve got gorgeous white flowers because of her love of Calla Lilies, and I’ve found some linens that will make this wedding POP! I’ll let you know what we decided soon…… Oh what fun!!!

Debbi

My First Flagstaff Wedding Expo

                I was warned.  I had heard that wedding expo's are composed of company booths with brides running around, like chickens with their heads cut off, trying to plan their weddings within 2-4 hours.  So that is what I expected when I pulled into the Radisson parking lot.  What I found when I walked in the doors though was unlike anything I presumed.  

                The Northern Arizona Wedding Expo was the complete opposite of what I imagined.  Yes there was lots of people and certainly some brides on a mission, but I found it to be enjoyable... maybe even a calm enjoyment. 

                There were cake samples you could die for, floral arrangements that you wanted to take home with you, fun photo booths like you see in the mall, and beautiful wedding decorations that would drop your jaw. 

                If you missed it this year... don't next year!  Honestly, what bride could ask for anything better than being able to walk around eating cake and drinking champagne while meeting all the contacts that would create their dream wedding!

 -Belle

P.S. Did I mention the FREE cake?!

Katie and Casey get Married at Texas Old Town

Katie and Casey got married at Texas Old Town in Kyle, Texas. It was a beautiful day and an amazing location.


Ceremony & Reception: Sage Hall, Texas Old Town

 Event Coordinator: Jennifer Grogan, Peak Events
 Colors & Themes: Texas Rustic with a blend of the fall colors; sangria, persimmon, tangerine & brown

Photobooth: Action Photos



Photography: Griffin Photography (Sarah Griffin & Matthew Johnson, second photographer)

 Caterer: Pok-e-Jo’s BBQ

Wedding Dress: Alfred Angelo

Bridesmaid Dresses: Alfred Angelo

Cake: Blue Note Bakery

DJ: Iron Rod Productions


Personalized Wood Ring Box & Heart Signs: Etsy

Carmel Apple Favors: Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory

 Bridal Party...

2011 Event Trends

In just a few weeks will be the end of 2010 and the beginning of 2011. As with all new years, there are resolutions abound and new trends galore! 2010 was a year of thriftiness and learning to be creative with what one has. Whether that was having a rustic themed event in a spacious back yard, having your bridesmaids wear mismatching dresses (that they happened to already own), or even choosing the same style table throughout your event, everyone was becoming resourceful. With Twenty-Eleven on the way, here are some event trends to help ring in the New Year:



~Details – Every little detail should be looked at! Make your event personalized, in the end all the little detail create a HUGE difference!


~Vintage Photography – Creating a backdrop to look like wedding albums from the 1950-70’s. It makes semi-old look new again!


~Multiple bold colors with black – Choosing a few bold colors instead of the normal one accent color is going to be a fast spreading trend. Also pairing them against black will allow the bold colors to shine that much more.


~Eco-friendly – Local foods and recycled paper invitations are just a few of the ways your event can begin to go green.


~Social Media – Just like Peak Events, everyone has a Facebook or blog. In 2011 these hotspots aren’t going anywhere. Use them to keep your guests updated on every detail of your event!


Though 2010 is coming to an end, there is still one trend that will be popular, outdoor events. In Flagstaff, it would be a shame not to use the beautiful scenery around us. Though with this snow, I would much rather be looking out upon it from a well heated room! 2011 is a brand new year with glorious things to come, so get ready, they’re almost here!

Stephanie

New Years Eve

We are now 23 days away from the New Years Eve Open House. I’ve decided to start the event at 6:00 pm – I have a lot of friends who want to stop by, but also want to go downtown for the annual Pinecone Drop at 10:00. This way I can have people meandering in and out with the ones who really want to celebrate at midnight, coming by around 10:00 pm.



Since I promised to talk more about the decorations and how I do them here we go. The large ice sculpture sounds much harder than it really is, but you will need a large freezer. We happen to have an upright that I put all my food in and then a chest that I plug in when needed. It’s time to plug in old Betsy and make a couple of ice sculptures. First look for boxes that are the size and shape you’d like to have for the base. It’s pretty easy and can be as simple as a wine box, a long flower box (check with local florists for this one) or any box will work. Next step is to line the box with a garbage bag. The smaller the box, the smaller the bag, because every crease in that bag will show in the ice. I usually like to find the “front” of the sculpture and tape everything around so the back side is the one that shows the imperfections. I also like to add a little decorations to my ice blocks, so what I’ll do is get a slightly smaller box, wrap the outside in plastic wrap, spray with cooking oil and once again tape a garbage bag so the fronts line up and place the smaller box inside the larger box. Next step is to add the water to the inside box first – only filling it about 1/3 of the way and then the fill the outer box with a strand of outdoor lights and some pine boughs, making sure I keep the plug coming out the backside of my block. Keep filling like this until it’s full and set it inside your freezer. It’s going to weigh a ton, so get help. Plan about a week for the water to freeze completely and if the days and nights are below freezing find a shady place and you can keep it outside covered with a tarp.


Once my base is done I’ve decided this year to place a large white candle on each bases. This adds to my fire and ice concept and with the lights in the base will be a nice welcome for my guests. You can also use food coloring to tint the ice, however it tends to get a tad “watered down” and not very vibrant – use latex paint and you’ll get great color, just make sure you’ve got a container that will keep it from melting into the ground. Now that I’ve got my outside decorations dialed in, next week we’ll work on how to bring fire and ice indoors!

Debbi