Beyond Events, Inc.

On Saturday May 22,2010 Beyond Events Atlanta teamed up with local event planning company Lilly White Events to produce the first annual Slappey & Sadd Family Fun Day. The event was created as fundraiser for the Sandy Springs Police Department’s Benevolent Fund. The Benevolent Fund is to benefit the surviving family members of fallen police officers. The money in the fund is used for a variety of purposes including; burial/funeral costs for the officer, to assist the family with unexpected bills or costs associated with the loss and the future needs of the officer’s children. The event was attended by over 500 Atlanta residents and over $3,000 was raised! Some of the attractions provided were a Rock climbing wall, a moon bounce, face painting and live musical performances. Delicious barbeque was provided by Slopes BBQ and juicy hotdogs were flame grilled by the experts from Pigs-n-plugs on their massive commercial grill. It was a joyous event for a great cause. The Slappey and Sadd Law Firm intends to repeat the event for years to come, return to the Beyond Events Atlanta Blog for information of the future of this FREE event.

In the past Rehearsal dinners were traditionally small, intimate events the night before a wedding that only the wedding party and immediate family of the bride and groom were invited to. This is no longer no longer the case; trends are headed toward more unique and laid-back rehearsal dinners. Here are a few ideas to make help make your rehearsal more personal, memorable and fun:

1.) Choose a familiar place;this could be the first restaurant you dined at with your fiancee, your parent’s backyard, your favorite cozy cafe or anywhere else that means something special to you.

2.) Capture the memories by hiring a professional photographer: this will be the night before one of the biggest days of your life. With all the excitement and emotion swirling in the air taking quality pics may be the last thing on any of your guests’ minds. By hiring a pro you are sure to get some great shots, and if you make these plans early on you may be able to negotiate a good rate with your wedding photographer since he or she will already be working with you and your fiancee.

3.) Keep it low key. There are several ways to keep your rehearsal dinner informal and fun. Start of by inviting whomever you want. Break tradition by inviting long term family friends, a close neighbor or anyone else you’d like to include. Another way is do a ‘pot-luck’ or a BBQ. Just make sure nobody near and dear gets stuck cooking or cleaning up all night.

4.) Make a toast to your guests; at your wedding you and your fiancee be the guests of honor. Many people will say lovely things about you and your union. At the rehearsal dinner take the opportunity to acknowledge the friends and family that helped you work toward the big day, tell ‘em what they mean to you.

On Sunday, May 16th, Social Lilly held the first of many wedding events that are sure to take Atlanta’s weddings by storm. This was not your run of the mill ‘wedding event’, held at one of Atlanta’s finest private mansions (Lion’s gate) on Powers Ferry Road “The Designer Bride” event was chic, unqiue and captivating. Several of the vendors provided interactive demonstrations; a workout demo by Feline Fitness, a cooking lesson by Noorish Catering and a Spray-Tanning demo by Pure Sol Bronzing. And the fashion show was worth mentioning, several heads were turned when they brought out the models wearing lingerie, by Livi Rae Lingerie. The picture above is compliments of Jill Calafete photography. For more photos check out: www.socaillilly.wordpress.com

Most brides think of their wedding day as one of the most important days in their life. In order to look your best on the big day weeks, months and sometimes years of preparation is put into the event. An area that is usually of specific interest for most of my brides is their personal appearance. To achieve this goal it is essential to start planning months in advance. If you are looking to slim down, tone up or just get in overall better shape you may consider hiring a personal trainer. One of Atlanta’s top personal training companies is Atlanta In-home Personal Training. They offer an initial evaluation to determine your unique fitness/weight loss goals, perform several formulas to find out your body composition (muscle vs. fat) and offer training in the privacy of your own home. No longer do you have to go to busy commercial gyms and wait in line to get on a machine. Atlanta In-home personal training brings the equipment to you or will meet you at the facility of your choice. They offer several affordable pakages and if you have friends or family that want to work-out too, the hourly rate decreases as the number of people increases. If you’re getting married and want to be in the best shape of your life, contact Steven Lewter of AIHPT today to make looking your best a realitistic possibility for your wedding day.

The picture above was taken from www.weddingchannel.com, where I first heard of this new trend. Having your bridesmaids wear non-matching dresses is a great idea for 4 compelling reasons: 1.) It is completely unexpected to dare to have your ladies wear different colors. Different styles in the same shade of color had been going on for awhile, but differently styled dresses in different colors; unheard of and sure to turn quite a few heads as your attendants walk down the aisle. 2.) Because they have the final say-so in the dress choice your bridesmaids can choose a dress that is totally flattering on them from how it hugs their curves to selecting a shade that works well with their skin tone. 3.) There will be no stress of anxiety about choosing a dress that is out of some of your girls’ price range, they get to set the price tag. I cannot tell you how many bridesmaids I’ve witnessed trying to maintain a smile and composure when a bride told them how much their dress cost. 4.) They will absolutely wear it again!(And there will be no snickering after you say that!) Because they picked out the dresses they are sure to love everything about them. Of course all of the dresses should flow and reflect your wedding colors and the final decision should still be yours. This is a innovate idea that you bridemaids will love you for and your guests will be surpised by. Not to mention that is takes away one more thing you have to worry about.

For a cake stand that is sure to be noticed, Raise the Cake is the company to contact. Their beautiful, light-weight and durables stands are perfect for one time use and to add the perfect touch to any wedding cake. They offer pre-designed stands that you can order as well as the option to custom design your own cake stand on-line. All of their stands are covered in a matte-satin, then lined with a satin ribbon, you can even choose to add a little bling (buckles, flowers and several options are offered). Take a look at their website to see various options and pictures of the cake stands they made in the past: www.raisethecake.com .

A recent trend in wedding accessories that I am especially fond of is Pashmina Shawls. These stylish little wraps are ideal for wedding day adornment, not only are they chic and colorful they are also a great way to keep your bridesmaids warm while they’re wearing strappy or sleeveless dresses. Pashminas are ideal for those between season months (like March/April and October/November) when the weather is starting to change and there is a 20+ temperature degree range that is possible from week to week. They can also be given as wedding party gifts. Because of their shape and versatility they can always be worn again and are a gift that your bridesmaids will surely appreciate, both on the wedding day and for months or years to come. A great source to order these shawls is: www.dessy.com With a wide variety of colors and shades you are certain to find the hue that best suites your wedding color palette.

Many people know that all wedding photographers do not provide the same quality of work; they range from amateurs like somebody’s uncle or friend that took a photography class 10 years ago who volunteered to shot your wedding for free to high-end professionals that have packages at high at $10,000.00 But, there is a new wedding photography gem in Atlanta. A few months ago I had the privilege of meeting Catherine Tolbert of Adore Amore Photography. With an established photography business in Greenville, SC she decided to branch out and extend her service area to Atlanta. Adore Amore offers wedding photography and life style portait session (engagment sessions, maternity pics, etc.) and all of their pricing is at a very reasonable rate. You no longer have to sacrfice quality in order to stay within you wedding photography budget. And on top of the great deals and quality photos, Catherine happens to be a delightfully easy-going person. On your wedding day you’ll want to be surrounded by professional vendors that you can trust and that will keep you grounded. Catherine is exactly that type of wedding photographer. To check out her work go to www.adoreamorephotography.com

Looking for a Wedding planner, vendors or venues? All of these and more can be found through this new multi-media, comprehensive source for Atlanta’s brides. Social Lilly hosts a website (www.sociallilly.com) that brides can click through to find wedding specialists/ vendors, upcoming wedding related events and even offers an insider card (their featured wedding specialists offer discounts through this nifty little card). In April of 2010 Social Lilly will Launch their first annual print edition, this will be a fusion of a magazine and a coffee table book. Keep an eye out for the new publication at your favorite vendor locations in the next few months. Locations are to include Studio Wed, Beyond Events and many more. Their launch party is tonight, I’ll report back soon and give you all an update on the event!

You’ve got to check out these beautiful faux pearl bib necklace, by Ranjana Khan, for sale at hsn.com. They are all the rage on the runways right now. Not only will they look great with your wedding gown they are perfect for dressing up any casual outfit and serve as an eye-catching accessory/momento of your big day. When I first saw this necklace I couldn’t keep my eyes off of it, the shine and sparkle are almost mesmerizing.

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