This picture was taken from one of my favorite weddings. It's a great example of knowing how to focus your expenses on the right things. The venue for the reception had a large beautiful stone fountain in the center of the dance floor. It's size really made an impressive view as you walked in the front door of the reception site. So, to make a stunning entry way, the bride chose to focus more of her floral budget for the reception on a large fountain piece. all the tables had very simple floral or candle arrangements to allow for the fountain piece to really stand out from everything else. Sometimes it's nice to really go all out on one thing and scale other things back as you want your reception to be different and stand out from the last wedding that your guests attended.

a few tips for a bride...

• Go for small or home businesses. They typically charge less as they have less overhead costs.

• Make sure you get a signed contract from each of your vendors.

• Get a wedding planner (like Conrad Gibson designs and events :) ). They may cost a little extra, but they normally have relationships with other vendors around the city which means discounts for you!

• Don't go overboard with your theme. It's easy to over-order things that you don't really need in the first-place.

• Trust your vendors. If they offer suggestions, listen! They have done events before, and are normally experts in their areas. They know what works, and what doesn't.

• Don't do it all yourself. You will be exhausted by the time you get to your own wedding. Delegate tasks to bridesmaids and relatives that you trust and know can get the job done without you having to worry about it getting done.

welcome to conrad gibson designs and events

I got my start in floral design and wedding planning in the spring of 2008 when my piano teacher asked me to do the flowers for her wedding that summer. Prior to her wedding, I had no experience with floral design or weddings except for helping out at a few friends weddings who went the "do it yourself route". After months of planning and multiple nightmares that everything would go wrong because I really had no clue what I was doing, it was the week of the wedding. Much to my ( and everyone else's) surprise, everything turned out great! After the wedding was over, I had two new brides contact me after seeing my work at Liz's wedding. After that I gained several clients from each wedding and my business spread rather quickly through word of mouth. This year alone I completed around 20 weddings and still have several to go! From full scale wedding and event planning and coordinating to just ordering table linens, Conrad Gibson Designs and Events is in full swing. Be sure to check back often to read tips and tricks I've learned over the past few years or to find inspiration or great ideas for your wedding.