Real Weddings: Ashley and BJ

In honor of Ashley and BJ's one year anniversary, which took place a few weeks ago, we have decided to use them as the couple of choice for our #RealWeddings post. We hope Ashley and BJ continue to enjoy married life and we will continue to enjoy these fabulous photos taken by Shelby Street Photography.

Vendors:

• Epitome Bartending
• Prime Time Party Rental
• The Flowerman
• Vertigo Catering
• Afterhours Entertainment DJ

Real Weddings; Allison & Rob

One of the many things that makes The Center so special is we are able to be the venue for both the ceremony and the reception, meaning, we get to take part in the entire day! We love following the bride as she gets ready to walk down the aisle to when she departs with her new husband at the end of the night. By being there each step of the way, we feel as if we share a certain bond with the couple as we celebrate with them for the whole day.

Allison and Robert were one of these couples. We rejoiced as they exchanged rings and danced (behind the scenes, of course) as DJ Toad started the party. Their wedding was filled with gorgeous flowers and white draping that would make any guest stare in awe. Take a look at how they were able to turn The Center's blank canvas into their very own work of art.

Click Here to Watch Allison & Robert's Wedding Highlight Video

Vendors:
John Hinger, Quince & Quinn
Goodwin Lighting
DJ Toad
Cake Rack Bakery
Eat Well Celebrations and Feasts
Fyrefly Photography
True Artists Studios

Blossoms & Blooms; Flowers for the Wedding

Oh no! Your bridesmaids are carrying the flower that represents jealousy, the corsage on your mom's wrist gives off the connotation of danger and your future hubby is wearing a flower that means grief?! Stop right there! With a little help from Kaitlyn Farmer of Oberer's Flowers, we are about to provide some blooming advice on the haves and have nots of wedding flowers.

First, a little bit about the business that helped make this post possible. As Oberer's Flowers continues to grow, after 92 years in the biz, this company has a lot of flower power to share. Not only do they know what the flower trends are in Cincinnati, but they also have shops in 5 other locations, including Columbus, Louisville, and Carmel, Indiana. Whether you're the bride looking to create your own DIY pieces, or you need more of a helping hand, Oberer's is there every step of the way to make sure your blooms are rocking at the reception!

And this season, according to Kaitlyn, the rocking trends include the colors choices of blush, peach, mint green, or Tiffany blue. We have already seen so many of these colors in The Center. From Allison & Robert's (spoiler alert: you will get to see more pictures from this gorgeous wedding in an upcoming Real Weddings post! Make sure to keep an eye out for it!) to Emily and Chris's, we definitely know why these colors are trending. They make The Center look awesome!

Photograph by Amanda Donaho Photography. 

While these colors may be in full bloom, the types of flowers used in the ceremony and reception also make a statement. According to The Knot 's Complete Guide to Weddings; different flowers have different meanings. For example, Baby's Breath means "innocence," Anemone means "expectation" and Calla Lily means "magnificent beauty." Take a look of some other meanings behind flowers that are in season right as we speak!

• Carnation -- pink means "boldness," red means "love" and white means "talent"
• Chrysanthemum -- "wealth," "abundance" and "truth"
• Lily of the valley -- "happiness"
• Orchid -- "love" and "beauty"
• Rose -- red means "I love you", white means "I am worthy of you"

If meanings behind flowers are important to you, then be sure to stay away from these Negative Nancy's:

•  Lavender -- "distrust"
• Yellow Rose -- "jealousy"
• Marigold -- "grief"
• Raspberry -- "remorse" 
• Striped Carnation -- "refusal"

Although flowers each mean something different, don't let that sway your judgment. If yellow roses are your favorite flowers just because they're pretty, then by all means who cares what the meaning is and go for the rose! In Kaitlyn's words, "My best advice for choosing flowers is to go with what you want and not what other people are telling [you] to get."

Now one of the obvious ways to use flowers in the ceremony is with the bridal bouquet, but how else can you incorporate flowers into your walk down the aisle? "For the ceremony, we are seeing a lot of petals for the aisle way," Kaitlyn confessed. "Alter pieces for the Church, vases on columns in front of a gazebo or arch piece, [and] chair or pew clusters of flowers are huge right now!" Kaitlyn went on to say that garlands are also super popular right now when placed on gazebos.

Moving away from the ceremony and into the reception, there are so many center piece arrangements to choose from. Tall, small, square or round are just a few options. Kaitlyn recommends using elevated pieces for venues with tall ceilings (cough, cough The Center). She also states that using 2-3 different types of centerpieces help create definition in the room. The more tables you have, the more centerpieces you should think of using. 

"Oh jeez," is what you're probably thinking; more arrangements mean more money. Don't worry; Oberer's Flowers can make anyone's budget work, "from $200-20,000," Kaitlyn confirmed!

Want to learn more about what would look good on your big day? Contact Kaitlyn at Oberer's Flowers at weddings.oberers@gmail.com or call 513-333-7435 to get your questions answered today!

Or didn't get enough flower meanings? Check out this article from The Knot to decipher the messages your wedding flowers bring.

Pictures provided by Oberer's Flowers. 

Real Weddings; Cecilia & Ryan

One of our very first weddings to kick off the 2014 wedding season at The Center was Cecilia & Ryan's. We had the honor of being the venue for this beautiful couple's reception.

Cecilia and Ryan were able to make this day their very own by focusing on the details. Their caterer, Happy Valley Dim Sum & Asian Cuisine, flew in from Atlanta to serve delicious traditional cuisine, while engagement photos of Cecilia and Ryan were displayed throughout The Center, making it a truly personal environment. Not to mention, all of their wedding pictures turned out adorable!! and we mean ah-dora-ble! They were captured by Thomas Nguyen Photography.

And if you thought it couldn't get any more precious, it can. Take a look at their video montage created by Studio 213.





Some other vendors that helped make this magical day come to life:

• Sonic Sounds DJ
• Atmospheric Productions DJ and Lighting
• The Secret Garden

We wish Cecilia and Ryan a long and happy marriage!

Blossoms & Blooms: Boutonniere Cheer

We're diving into boutonniere details in today's blog post. Guys we'll give you a hint...if you're looking for a "manly" boutonniere to add to the big day, you'll want to keep reading!

While grooms understand what centerpieces and dessert tables are, boutonnieres are one of the few things that leave grooms saying "huh?" Marti Heard of Marti's Floral Designs also understands that roses, peonies, and lilies aren't very macho. 

When discussing how to create a great boutonniere Marti starts off by saying, "I recognize that men typically hate flowers and the smaller the thing is, the better." So there you have it, to impress the husband-to-be, it may be a good idea to incorporate smaller flowers in the boutonniere. 

"A rose is a bit big and boring for my taste. I just try to put it in my head 'Would I wear this and is this too big that I will constantly be looking at it out of the side of my eyes?' Yes, you will typically find me walking around my shop wearing personal flowers or carrying a bouquet to try it out for size," Marti admits. This may be why Marti's Floral Designs received the Best of Cincinnati award this past year for boutonnieres. 

Not only does Cincinnati think she makes awesome boutonnieres, but the groomsmen appreciate all the thought she puts into this tiny floral arrangement as well. "One of the best compliments ever was from a groomsman commenting on how 'manly' my boutonnieres were."

So how does she make them so manly? "Most of the time, the flowers I gravitate towards are ranunculus, succulents, craspidia, berries, and textural greens. You also have to take into account flowers that are going to stand up a bit longer. The boutonnieres have a long day ahead of them and I try to encourage ordering two for the major wedding players of the day like the groom," Marti explained. "They typically start pictures earlier in the day and they are pooped out by the time of the wedding. I try to remind people that they are flowers and flowers have a shelf life." 

Pictures provided by Mike Bresnen Photography

The groom isn't the only man of the house who gets to put a flower on his jacket. Groomsmen, fathers, grandfathers, ushers and ring bearers also get the privileged of showing off their flower pride. 

While men don't usually have a choice to skip the boutonnieres, unless they prefer to do a pocket square instead; the options for corsages are endless. Opposite from the boutonnieres, corsages incorporate large flowers in similar sizing to a rose. They can also include textured greens and berries. What's currently in style for the mothers are small posies to carry. "Let's be honest, corsages and wrislets get in the way of a beautiful dress or fabulous jewelry," Marti admitted.  

For grandmothers and other elders (including the readers, soloists, and officiant), however, stick with a traditional corsage, as this is what they're used to. "It really is a tradition," Marti said. "It marks their importance." 

From one extreme to another, the flower girl tradition of dropping rose petals from a basket is going out of style. According to Marti, many brides are now choosing pomander balls, a floral crown, or one of Marti's specialties, the purse corsage. "It is basically a flower that can be placed on any purse." This tends to be a popular choice, not only with flower girls, but with mothers and grandmothers as well.

Surprisingly, when Marti asks if a individual would like to wear flowers, most people say no. Having alternatives for corsages is a great way to bring uniqueness to the wedding, while keeping with traditional wedding flowers. 

Contact Marti's Floral Designs to get more great tips and tricks for manly boutonnieres and corsage alternatives at 513-238-2677 or email martisfloraldesign@gmail.com.

Pictures provided by Marti's Floral Designs. 

Vendor Spotlight; Capstory

You may remember a certain past Bachelorette's engagement party we were obsessed with a few weeks back. After tweeting, blogging and instagraming about this extravagant affair, we were approached by the company who put it all together.

Meet Capstory, a photography company that allows guests to send in pictures taken throughout the bride and groom's wedding process via text. These pictures are then stored in a capsule, which are later edited and polished to create a post-wedding slideshow and a photo keepsake book. One of the coolest things about Capstory? These pictures submitted by friends and family can be projected on a live slideshow at the reception!

In the words of Capstory, "every guests' perspectives of your love story will be captured and submitted." And in the words of our BFF, Des, "When your maid-of-honor snaps photos of you getting ready, laughing, crying, hugging family, and enjoying your special day, you will want to see those moments."

We had the chance to sit down and talk with Dustin Studer, Co-Founder of this growing company, to find out more about what Capstory does and how it worked it's way to Desiree Hartsock. Check out our Q&A sesh!

Tell us a little bit about Capstory. How did the idea for this company come about?

Capstory started after we heard over and over the stories of brides wishing they had more photos from their wedding and, especially, all the events and moments leading up to that day. We've built a simple-to-use way for family, friends and guests to submit all their photos into one private place for other guests and the couple to enjoy. We like to think of it as capturing the story behind the story. We love working with pro photographers to get all the candids that they may miss and to collect the unique perspectives of loved ones.

What types of services/packages do you offer brides?

Currently, we offer one all-inclusive package for brides ($495). This package includes: a private webpage where guest content is uploaded, professional retouching of the best 120 images, 2 keepsake photo books and a video slideshow recapping the events of the wedding journey. Most exciting for brides, we include a live stream option in the capsule -- any computer hooked up to a projector or TV at the reception will show guest photos being sent in real-time! Interested brides can contact us for custom package pricing if they would like to vary these options.

What sets this company apart from any other type of photography/Photo booth company?
Capstory is based off of text-messaging, we are not another smart phone app. When your guests arrive at your wedding celebration, there is nothing for them to sign up for, nothing for them to download. As long as they know how to send a text message on their phone, they can easily share their pictures into your capsule's unique texting address (the private webpage where your pictures end up). Capstory is an excellent compliment to professional photography allowing couples to get photos from those events when the photographer isn't around (rehearsal dinner, bridal showers, dress fittings, cake tastings, etc.). This way they can capture the entire wedding journey, not just the photos from the one day.

So far, what has been your favorite part about working weddings?
The best part of working weddings is knowing that Capstory gets to enhance such a special day of our clients' lives. Our brides love Capstory, and getting to hear that feedback of how awesome this was at their event keeps us coming back to work every morning.

Any additional information you'd like our readers to know about your company?
Aside from our mentions in People Magazine and from ABC's Bachelorette, we're proud that brides can ask any of our past clients and get a great feeling for what Capstory adds to the wedding experience. If brides have any questions about Capstory, they can contact our team at "hello@capstory.em". We're excited to work together with The Center to host and remember some amazing weddings to come!

Thanks, Dustin. We're excited too! To learn more visit their website at www.capstory.comhttp://www.capstory.me/, call them at 614-416-8010, or email them at hello@capstory.me.

Photos provided by Carla Ten Eyck.