It was Vintage, it was a Country Fair Theme, it was Colorful and it was their Wedding!

Ok, so I promised, a fun Vintage Country Fair Themed Wedding, so here it goes!

Bride and Groom

Young twenty something couple that are both in med school, in a long distance relationship, but determined to get married this summer.

Potential Challenge

They wanted a wedding that does not feel like a wedding, in fact they wanted it to feel like a fun down to earth party and to feel organic, with a vintage feel and like they were literally at a country fair having this party with 150 friends and family.

Location

A family friend's gorgeous estate in Concord, MA.

Here are the pictures of what we came up with and what was ultimately their kick-ass, Vintage Country Fair Themed Wedding!
I hope you enjoy them as much as we enjoyed putting it together!

First, here are just a few of the many details!

Old containers, and all manner of antique items and replicas were used as part of the centerpieces.

Everything was mismatched to create an organic feeling to the space and the event. In lieu of actual wild flowers which were not in season at the time, we used varying flowers to create the feeling of wild flowers that had just been gathered from the fields.

The colorful runners and vintage goblets were used to add color to the space.

On the personal side, some of the items used as part of the centerpieces were literally collected from the bride's family's home and by that I mean right from the living room and all the way down to the basement, old treasures were unburied! Her Mum who is an amazing artist made the favors which were wine cork chairs she made for her kids when they were little and used as fun decorations at the dinner table during holiday dinners!

The tables were mis-matched farm tables and a mix of mismatched chairs, benches and old pews were used for dinner seating.

We created some extra casual seating around the tent in lieu of a lounge! For this we used, a few cocktail tables made out of old wine barrels along with a mix of chairs, wine barrel stools and some gorgeous garden wooden chairs that we got from the bride's family home and that were made by the bride's Mum herself!

The bride expressed a love for old vintage signs, so we used some vintage signs to create the bar area which was a self serve! We combined various signs including some aviation ones for the groom who loves planes.

The guests enjoyed a clam bake and yes, lobster was on the menu!

Friends of the couple played some great jazz music through dinner!

Some bonus moments with the bride and groom when they saw the space for the first time!

The best compliment we got that day was from the groom when he said 'This is exactly what I would have pictured my wedding to look like.' The bride and I in unison asked 'Really? ... she and I gave each other a high five!
Oh and I did get changed into something more appropriate after showing them around, I promise :)!

It was a great day, a great project and an honor to work with them! They were very happy which makes me and everyone at CWS very happy! Congratulations to Sarah and Harrison! It was a great pleasure and we wish you countless years of love and happiness!

For more pictures from this event and for more of our work, check out our website at Creative Wedding Solutions

Credits:

Design and Decor: Creative Wedding Solutions
Flowers: Creative Wedding Solutions
Event Rentals: New England Country Rentals
Photography: Courtney Stockus
Tent Rental: A Tent for Rent
Bittersweet Bench: Nancy Reilly

We are participating in the Lovesick Expo!

As usual, I will start off by saying how long it has been since I posted on here. I would give you reasons and apologize, but then you have heard them all before. So instead, I will say, I am glad to be back and have some fun updates for you and will continue to attempt to blog more regularly than I currently do. In the event that I don't though, I can promise that when I blog, I will make it worth your while, so stay patient with me and for that I will always thank you!

Now on to the fun news! We have been busy this season, have done some fun weddings which I will post about as soon as the pictures are available, and will also be working on a couple of none wedding related events which is very exciting for us! I will keep you posted on them all as they come in but in the mean time, the fun news I have is that we have been chosen to participate in the coolest bridal expo ever! Lovesick Expo is the non-expo expo! And by that I mean that it is unlike any other bridal expo you have ever seen! It is primarily exclusive to all things that are considered non-traditional in weddings! It will be our first time to participate and we are very excited to have been chosen for it!
We actually get to be in two of their shows one in New York City and the other in Boston, so it should be fun. In the event that you or a friend or family member are planning a wedding, this will be the expo to attend especially if you are hoping to have a non-cookie cutter wedding (not that there's anything wrong with that if it is your thing!)

For more information, check out Lovesick Expo at their website and find out more to see if it might be your cup of tea! Either way, we are thrilled to be a part of it and will keep you posted on how prep is shaping up as well as how the expo itself goes!

Stay tuned for my next post on a wedding we did in Concord, MA, with a vintage country fair theme!

Cheers!

How to enjoy your Wedding Planning process and avoid stress

One of the most common questions I get as a wedding planner is if it is possible to enjoy planning a wedding. My answer is always the same. Yes it is and here are some tips on how to do it!

1. Get clear on what you want your planning process to feel like.
2. Be intentional about enjoying your planning process
3. Mentally prepare for the process by being honest about the possibility of stress
4. Be honest about what you can and cannot handle and then proceed accordingly
5. Avoid stretching yourself thin
6. Agree as a couple on who is in charge of what
7. Do not be afraid to switch plans if the original plan is not working the way you hoped
8. Be clear on the things you are not willing to negotiate on
9. Don’t take yourself too seriously - find humor in the unexpected
10. Be kind to yourself
11. Be quick to right your wrongs
12. Choose to enjoy yourself

For a more details on these tips, take a look at our video Tips on how you can enjoy your wedding

For more videos on wedding planning tips, visit our youtube channel at CWS Boston and subscribe for updates and additional videos.

Do you really need a Wedding Planner?

Here are a few tale tale signs to look for when trying to determine if you really need a wedding planner. Truth be told, some people just don't need one! See if you may or may not be one of them. Either way, nothing has to be anything, this is just a way to help you determine which course of action might be more helpful to you!

Image borrowed from 'The Write at home blog'

You know you are very likely to benefit from enlisting the help of a wedding planner if:

1. You have a busy job and spend a more than average amount of time at work

2. You have a tendency to get overwhelmed with multitasking

3. You prefer to focus only on one thing at a time

4. You have trouble managing your time

5. You have no idea where to start when you think of planning a wedding

6. You are indecisive and generally have trouble making decisions

7. You don't really know what you want or just don't feel sure you know

8. You hate large projects

9. You really couldn't be bothered and would just rather not think about planning anything let alone a wedding

10. You want a large and elaborate wedding/event

11. You want a celebration that includes a lot of personalization and details

12. You don't know how to get the kind of event you want within the budget you have

A good way to measure if you fall in this category:

There are obviously many more tale tale signs but a good way to measure for yourself is to consider that if you feel negative emotions when you think about your wedding - for example, overwhelmed, confused, afraid, stressed, frustrated etc...It is usually safe to assume that you need help with your wedding planning. Do yourself a favor and contact a planner for help! If they are the right fit for you, you will have increased your chances of enjoying the process of planning your wedding significantly!

Leave me a comment with any other indicators you can think of that may be a sign that you need help!

Cheers, Happy planning and Be Free to be You!

For more information on how to know if you really need a wedding a planner, check out our video here.

DISCLAIMER: These are just guidelines and are not an absolute measure of whether you will be best served by hiring a wedding planner or not. Be sure to take into account all other relevant details that may affect your decision.

Unique Engagement Rings

It is that time of year again and some gentlemen and ladies out there will be planning a proposal to the one they love! While this is usually a one person job, we thought we would help by giving you some ideas of really cool engagement rings we found while looking around.

These all range in pricing and are from two separate stores in the wonderful world of Etsy which we are big fans of. So take a look and see if any of these inspire you! We of course have included the links for you to visit each store incase you decide to get one of these or to see what else they carry! We highly encourage you to take a look at their stores. They are so worth the visit!
Happy scouring, finding and proposing!

Brilliant Earth Inc
Ethical and eco friendly Jewelry

Check out more of Brilliant Earth's gorgeous engagement rings here

Steve Lee Jewelry

These are just really cool and there were quite a number of unique pieces to choose from!

Visit Steve Lee's Jewelry shop on Etsy to see what other goodies you may find here

Let us know how you faired by leaving a comment for us!
Cheers!

All photographs belong to the store owners.

You are engaged, now what? Five things to help your wedding planning journey!

1. Breathe
Give yourself permission to take it all in and to experience the feeling of having just got engaged

2. Schedule a planning date
Determine when you would like to start planning and schedule it. Do not start planning until that date arrives.

3. Determine what you want your wedding to feel like
Once the date to start planning comes, take some time to think about what you would like your wedding to feel like - your feelings never lie. They always tell you the truth about who you are and what you want. You just have to trust them and listen to them.

4.Be honest with yourself about what you really want and how you feel about what you want and then make peace with those feelings.
This will help you to avoid feeling conflicted which is the source of a lot of unhappiness and stress for couples when they are planning a wedding.

5. Be honest about how you really feel and about who you really are.
This will be your guide to having the wedding you really want, and to having a pleasant experience with the planning process.

Now you are able to approach planning your wedding from a more authentic and free space and to enjoy it because of the lack of conflict.

Next, start determining the obvious things like where you would like it to be, how many people you would like to have at your wedding, what you want it to look like, what dress you think you would like to go with and the rest is the obvious. You will find that you are more able to make good decisions that are not governed by fear or pressure of any kind but that are governed by your truth which is all you need to enjoy any experience.

I hope these tips were helpful and I wish you some happy planning!
Be free to be you!

Check out our video for more information on how to prepare for your wedding planning journey here