holly tripp event design

Same Day Wedding Video!

hollytrippeventdesign — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 00:04:13 +0000

The amazingly talented team at Hakim Sons Films surprised Rachele and Gordon with a same day edit on their wedding day. They were able to include moments from the bridal and groom’s prep all the way into the beginning of the reception at Union Station. We were excited to share the final piece within an hour of the couple’s first dance and …

Needless to say, EVERYONE was blown away that they were able to produce this in such a short time, then be able to show it right after cake cutting! (It was set up on the dance floor, as the bride and groom were cutting the cake on the other side of the room. After cake cutting, we led them to the dance floor where two chairs were waiting for them to sit and view their surprise.) Just one of the many fabulous parts to this gorgeous event!

Wedding Invitation Dos and Don’ts

hollytrippeventdesign — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 18:46:44 +0000

As many brides are in the process of ordering invitations for their spring and summer weddings, I thought it would be a good time to address some important considerations for ordering and mailing these special stationery items.

Invitations Dos:

~ Order extras! Order at least 25 additional envelopes, or 10% of your total number of invites, to allow for addressing mistakes. It is MUCH cheaper to order extras now, versus placing an order later, when the pricing will be as if you were placing an new order. Also, remember to account for extra invitations for names that get added later (it always happens!), as well as several for the scrapbooks.

~ Always request a proof! The cost is minimal compared to the time, money and stress of having to have them re-printed. Double-check all spelling. Have your parents, maid of honor and wedding planner check your proofs as well. It is surprising what can sometimes slip past a couple of people. The more eyes to proof, the better! Be sure to also check spelling of names and addresses on your guest list as well.

~ Use the phrase “request the honor of your presence” for a ceremony in a house of worship; use the phrase “request the pleasure of your company” for a ceremony in a secular venue, such as a home or hotel. Be consistent in your spelling — if you choose to use the more formal “honour”, then also use “favour”.

~ Do spell out numbers in the date and year — “the seventh of March, two thousand eleven” as well as in times — “half after five o’clock in the afternoon, eleven o’clock in the morning”.

~ Think about where you want your response cards sent. Who will be tracking the responses? Bride or her parents? This is often the address guests will use when mailing cards and gifts, so keep that in mind, as well.

~ Allow plenty of time! Plan on mailing your invitations 6-8 weeks prior to the wedding. (Eight if no save-the-date sent, six is fine if they have sent the save-the-date information.) Also, allow extra time if mailing out of the country. Remember to allow time for addressing, ordering, proofing. To back out of the timeline….mail 8 weeks, add a month for addressing, add a month for delivery once ordered, allow a couple of weeks for the proofing process…so, plan on choosing your invitation a good five months before the wedding. This will ensure you have plenty of time and no stress!

~ Check postage! Take a completely assembled invitation to the post office and have it weighed, before you buy the stamps. You don’t want them returned due to incorrect postage. Weight of the invitation and enclosures obviously affect the cost, but also size of the envelope and whether it is flexible or rigid. I have had very stiff invitations (due to the paper choice) that cost more, as they can’t be put through the same mailing process as regular flexible mail. And finally…ask the post office if they will hand-cancel your invitations. Some will for free, some will charge, and some won’t — it really just depends on the post office branch (and sometimes just who you talk to!). This will help prevent torn and dirtied envelopes, as a person will individually hand-cancel each envelope. Soooooo worth it after you have put so much time and money on these items…which will set the tone for your wedding!

Invitation Don’ts:

~ Never include your registry or gift information. Let your parents and wedding party spread the word about where you are registered. You can even put it on your wedding website and include with shower invitations, but do not put on (or in) the wedding invitation.

~ Do not put “No Children” or “Adult Reception” on the invitation. This is by far the question I get the most! I know it is a challenge, but please don’t do it. :) Again, spread the word via family and friends if you are very concerned about guests showing up with their uninvited kiddos. The way an invitation is addressed dictates exactly who is (and who is NOT) invited to the wedding. If you are a guest, please pay attention to this, as well!! If the invitation is addressed to “Mr. and Mrs. Dustin Tripp”, then only the parents are invited. IF you children are included, then their names will be listed too! As in: ”Mr. and Mrs. Tripp”, then on next line “Miss Sally Tripp”.

~ Do not dicate dress. According to Peggy and Emily Post, “It is incorrect to put “black tie” or “white tie” on the invitation to the ceremony. If it seems essential to include this direction, it can be added only to the invitation to the reception and is placed in the lower-right-hand corner. Avoid writing “black tie invited” or “black tie preferred”.“

~ Do not use labels! You may hand address the envelopes yourself, hire a calligrapher, or even use computer calligraphy (which is becoming more common and offered by many invitation companies in a font to match your invitation).

There are certainly more “Dos and Don’ts” than I have listed here, but these seem to be the areas where I get the most questions. When in doubt, ask a professional — the invitation company, your wedding planner, Emily Post’s Wedding Etiquette, and Crane’s Wedding Blue Book. :)

Brides of North Texas Tablescape at Heritage Ranch Country Club

hollytrippeventdesign — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 23:09:53 +0000

We were honored to have our design ideas selected to be featured in the new Spring/Summer issue of the Brides of North Texas magazine…see how our concept turned out below…

Special thanks to all the wonderful vendors who made our vision come to life:

Edmonson Photography – Branching Out Events – BBJ Linen – Imaj Design Group – Jackson’s Home and Garden – Heritage Ranch Country Club – POSH Couture Rentals – M&M Special Events

hollytrippeventdesign — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 19:56:01 +0000

The new Spring 2011 issue of Brides of North Texas hits newsstands next week…here is one of our brides whose winter wedding was featured as a fabulous 5-page spread. Congratulations to Emily and Danny Canete! It was such a beautiful wedding … shot by Kevin Jairaj of KJ Images…so talented! Other members of our dream team included:

Todd Events – Floral

Marcus Rollins – Entertainment

Soulbox — Video

Ceremony – Highland Park United Methodist Church

Reception – The Mansion on Turtle Creek

Wedding Cake — Dallas Affaires Cake Co.

Gown – Stanley Korshak

Hair – James DeFrange

Makeup – Lenore Caulton-Downey

(Click on the pics below to enlarge.)

Adorable Custom Stamps

hollytrippeventdesign — Sat, 27 Nov 2010 06:14:00 +0000

Check out www.ModernArtStamps.com for these super-cute custom rubber stamps! You could use them for your save-the-date cards, return address, thank you notes….the list goes on and on! Love these!

Romantic Reception at 333 First Avenue

hollytrippeventdesign — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 18:35:38 +0000

They say it takes a village to raise a child, and sometimes it takes just that to execute a wedding. We were thrilled to be one of the first events in the new downstairs area at 333, and thank Kaylah Key for all of her help and guidance as we learned the ins and outs of the new space. A huge thank you to Stacey at The Wildflower, with help from GLOSS, POSH, Ducky Bob’s and BBJ Linen, who pulled together a stunning pink, silver and dove gray “understated elegance” statement that was a perfect match for our sweet, elegant and always poised bride. Absolute Lighting truly outdid themselves with their attention to detail as their lighting finished out the statement to a ‘T’ and took the guests breath away as they entered. The details continued with beautiful escort cards, station cards and table numbers from the very talented Nicole, The Left Handed Calligrapher. Elena’s Cakes were certainly as beautiful as yummy, with the groom’s Harry Potter cake being everything he dreamed of and more, especially since the chocolate eyeglasses actually fit him and he was able to wear while cutting his cake! CN Catering’s scrumtious food was a hit. And a huge applause for CUVEE! As our lovely Mother of the Bride put it, “I swear every guest asked me where we found them. No one could believe how amazing they were.” And of course, having our friend Julian Leaver of the Rosewood Crescent Hotel as a groomsman and brother of the groom was just icing on the cake. Here are some shots we took Saturday evening, and look forward to the ones from the pros, our new friends at Lauren Larsen Photography and Andrew Hudson Videography. Cheers to Laura and Bryan and Congratulations!Click to view slideshow.

Summertime Wedding at the Four Seasons

hollytrippeventdesign — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 02:31:42 +0000

Elhan Kosar and Dallas Webb were married at the fabulous Four Seasons Resort in June. A huge thank you to Miss Angela Bates at the FS for all her help — she is the best! The bride and groom lived in Turkey, as did the bride’s family, and the mother of the groom lived in Louisiana, so all planning was done long-distance for the most part. Mrs. Webb made several trips to Dallas and was so instrumental in creating this magical day for her son and daughter-in-law! It was great to see it all come together, as guests from all over the world joined them for this happy occasion. Beautiful romantic decor was courtesy of Stacey at The Wildflower, String Quartet, Lighting and Band from Brenna at Absolute Entertainment, Cakes from Fancy Cakes by Lauren, Video by Summer Satterfield and of course, these fantastic photos were taken by Greg and Laura of Greg Blomberg Photography!!

Tiffany-Blue Winter Wedding

hollytrippeventdesign — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 16:25:29 +0000

A stunning winter wedding took place on February 13, 2010 for Katie Ruggeri and Nathan Nelson. Here are some highlights of the day, as told by the bride:

The wedding took place the weekend of the 12 inch record snowfall in the Dallas area. Despite lots of stress and many flight changes, we ended up with only 6 guests that missed the wedding due to the weather. We had to change our rehearsal dinner location hours prior to the beginning of the rehearsal because the original location, the Cantina Laredo in Inwood Village, didn’t have power. Our church regained power mere minutes before the rehearsal. A blessing considering the church wedding coordinator called me earlier in the day informing me to tell everyone invited to the rehearsal to wear heavy jackets! We were sad that some of our friends and family were unable to attend the wedding due to Snowpocalypse 2010, but the blanket of snow turned out the be a beautiful backdrop for a beautiful day!! Not to mention we have some great stories to tell our kids!!!

One of the groom’s brothers is in the Army and was deployed to Afghanistan days before the wedding. The bride surprised the groom and had a recorded toast from his brother that was played during the reception.

Thank you to all the vendors that made it so fabulous! Photo – VIM Studio, Video – Soulbox, Floral – Fete des Fleurs, DJ and Lighting – Marcus Rollins, Band – Signed Sealed Delivered, Cakes – Panini Bakery, Church – Christ the King Catholic Church, Reception – Union Station, Hair – Sonia Trevino, Makeup – Mayra Rams-Sanabria.

Tablescape Featured in Brides of North Texas Magazine

hollytrippeventdesign — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 15:17:24 +0000

Check out our lush green, white and khaki tablescape that was selected to be featured in the the Fall 2010 issue of Brides of North Texas magazine! We were thrilled to work with the Fete des Fleurs team, Laura Kelsey at Posh Couture Rentals and Susan and Courtney at Simply Personal. Nine Photography was wonderful to work with and they took all these fab images. Our gorgeous backdrop is outside the ballroom at the Westin Galleria — a huge thank you to Patricia Massar and the staff at the hotel for making us feel so welcome! If you haven’t checked out the hotel since the renovation a few year ago, you need to — it is a great space for your upcoming wedding!

Skinner – Moisan Wedding

hollytrippeventdesign — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 03:22:54 +0000

Love was definitely in bloom at this gorgeous winter wedding! The second Skinner wedding we have been blessed to help orchestrate was about “dancing the night away” and lots of romance. Suzanne and Dan wanted a 30′s/40′s dinner club vibe for their reception — dancing was very important to them and finding the right band was a priority. During their first (and last) dances — and throughout the evening — you could just sense how in love they were! Luke and David Edmonson captured some fabulous images of their dancing, as you will see below. A phenomenal team, as always, makes the event go that much smoother — thanks to each and every one!

Photo: Edmonson Photography

Video: Soulbox Productions

Floral: Fete des Fleurs

Band: Ricki Derek Band – via Absolute Entertainment

Lighting: Marcus Rollins

Cakes: Dallas Affaires Cake Co.

Vintage Rolls: Blue Diamond Limos

Linens: BBJ Linen

Gown: Neiman Marcus

Tuxes: Culwell and Son

Hair: Sonia Trevino

Makeup: Lenore Caulton-Downey

Ceremony: First Baptist Church

Reception: Fairmont Hotel