Wedding Wednesdays: Elopement Inspiration

Watching Shameless from this past Sunday, along with a post by Green Wedding Shoes, truly gave me the inspiration to share ideas about eloping. Spoiler alert, Fiona marries a musician after seeing each other for about a week. They print a marriage license applications off of the internet and head to the courthouse, get married, and Fiona heads back to work at the diner an hour later. Talk about a whirlwind wedding! We appreciate their sense of urgency but also want to share another way of eloping that includes a little bit more planning.

There are tons of couples today that are getting so much push-back from everyone involved in their wedding planning that it can turn into a true nightmare. If we could give our couples any piece of advice, its to stay true to yourselves and have the wedding day that encompasses who you are as a couple; from the season to the style, to the format. There is no one specific way to have a wedding besides just being yourselves and having the most loving day of your lives, even if it means just doing it with only the two of you present!

Today the term "elopement" is colloquially used for any marriage performed in haste, with a limited public engagement period or without a public engagement period. Some couples elope because they dislike or cannot afford an expensive wedding ceremony, or wish to avoid objections from parents, or religious obligations. But we are here to say it can be a little more put-together than this definition. Check out this lovely winter elopement for inspiration!

We love the idea of a veil for the courthouse portion of the elopement!

Then the romantic reception starts..

Table for two..

Incorporating winter details..

Under some candlelight..

Sharing this special moment with love and laughter..

And with a little cake!

So if eloping is right for you, just remember to stay true to yourself whether you are inspired by Fiona's story or by these photos. However you choose do it, don't forget to devour the details!

Donations for Dottie

This post is close to my heart. My Auntie Dottie was diagnosed Stage 3 Squamous Cell Carcinoma the first week of December. After a few more tests, her diagnosis only got worse. Doctors confirmed it was actually Stage 4 (involving more than 2 lymph nodes in her neck) and that the cancer actually originated behind her tonsil. An emergency tonsillectomy followed on January 2, 2015. And this is just the start to my Aunt's journey.

She will begin her road to recovery with 7 weeks of daily radiation treatments and 7 weeks of Chemo-Therapy. During this time, my Aunt will have to have a feeding tube placed in her abdomen because the radiation will burn her throat and as weeks go on she will not be able to swallow. This will be followed by surgery to remove any remaining cancer or dead cells in her neck.

In preparation for this treatment course, my Auntie Dottie has had to have several CT scans, PET scans, day-surgeries, and dental procedures, including seeing an oral surgeon who has removed 3 of her teeth. She now has to replace one of her front teeth with a partial bridge.

Throughout this time, she has continued working not only a full time job in Medical Records at Kindred Hospital but also a part-time job in the evening at Ana Jacques Hospital. My Aunt works extremely hard to provide for her family, including making monthly college tuition payments for her 20 year old son Sean, and 18 year old daughter Holly. As you can imagine, working through this diagnosis is extremely trying and my Auntie Dottie has already had to leave her part-time job at Ana Jacques due to the time constraints that preparing for treatment has caused.

Along with this loss of income, she is now financially responsible for several costly co-payments from procedures, diagnostic tests and office visits, owes money to the oral surgeon and still has to worry about where the college tuition money will come from. In a few weeks she will be too sick from chemo and radiation to continue working and she will have leave Kindred as well. This added stress will only make her journey unnecessarily bumpy. And now, our family and her friends are working to smooth everything out by sharing her story.

So, if you could find it in your hearts to support this brave woman, we ask that you make a donation to her GoFundMe page. Every penny helps in reaching her 15K goal. We are also hoping to host a fundraiser in her honor sometime this spring. My family and aunt's friends also ask that you keep her in your thoughts and prayers. All positive vibes throughout this time will help!

Not only will my Aunt kick cancer's butt, she will also devour the details of this journey one strong step at a time! We love you Auntie Dottie!

FUN Enterprises Inc.

Cue the Duck Boats, Patriots win the Super Bowl! I celebrated by working an event for Mix 104.1 at Kowloon in Saugus. The Mix Morning Show hosted a Super Bowl Party where listeners won the chance to watch the big game with the on-air crew and eat as much Chinese food as possible. There was also a contest, a photobooth where attendees could take amazingly funny pictures that were later posted on the Mix website, and an awesome airbrush artist who customized pennants however you wanted. And that's who we will be shining the spotlight on today!

FUN Enterprises Inc. is a full service events company. They provide unique entertainment programs of the highest quality to corporate, educational and private clients nationwide. They own and operate all of their programs which include everything from hands-on programs to live-performers, artists to photographers, and everything in between. Mix used FUN Enterprises Inc. at the Super Bowl Party and had the pleasure of working with their airbrush artist, Justin Swimm.

Justin is an experienced airbrusher. He has been doing art like this for thirteen years. It was truly impressive and amazing to watch him create a different design pennant after pennant. Attendees and Kowloon's staff huddled around him all night, watching in awe. Justin was super easy to talk to and attendees felt comfortable sharing their ideas with him. It was a great feature to incorporate into Mix's party! Here's a little more about the airbrushing..

FUN Enterprises’ airbrush artists will create a true keepsake for you with our unique products. Our trained artists can personalize a wide variety of products with a design, your name or your caricature. We can personalize the item with your name as well as your favorite color. What an exciting piece of art to show your family and friends. Along with our products, we offer airbrush tattoos. With a vast selection of tattoo designs, our artists can make your look like you have “the real thing”. These activities allow your guests to take home “a gift to remember”.

One of our most requested products, Airbrushed Pennants. The Fun Airbrush artists will design pennant banner with your name and a choice of colors. Whether you like black and white or a rainbow of colors, each is personalized to reflect the individual at the event. These programs are great for college orientation and high school all night parties as well as private and corporate functions.

 

With so much to offer, FUN Enterprises Inc. really knows how to contribute to an event. If you need a unique way to devour the details, I highly recommend checking them out! And be sure to ask for Justin!