How to pull off black and white...

Black and white weddings are all the rage, but there's a key to pulling off this classic combo with style. Want our secret ingredient? Use black and white as a pattern, but then pull in your favorite color to make the black/white pattern pop! Need inspiration? See below...

Your Fantasy Affair is *NSYNC with the Holidays!

At YFA we do all we can to give back. This year, we took it upon ourselves and our interns to help families in need and the Fatone Family Foundation. We brought in new toys, gift certificates, and cash for the foundation along with donating our services to one lucky bidder. Parties are our fortay, so we had a great time helping out our favorite *NSYNC bandmates!

YFA coordinators Sarah Pickar Sleeth & Sharia Riley with *NSYNC member, Joey Fatone

Sharia & Sarah with *NSYNC bandmate, Chris Kirkpatrick

Pick a color, any color!

Love bright colors? Don’t be scared to use them in your wedding color palette! A bold color can brighten up any room and look amazing in your photos. Plus, any color can be chic if your wedding planner knows how to use them. And of course, the gals at Your Fantasy Affair are the masters of color!

Finding Inspiration

Just recently, Sarah and I were talking about how wedding designs are born and if there is ever a point, after planning hundreds of weddings and events, when you "lose" the magic. I know a huge part of keeping the magic is keeping styles fresh and even more importantly, finding inspiration.

Every wedding is like a blank slate. After getting to know who the couple is, what they enjoy, and what sparks their fire, I start envisioning every detail that embodies the couple's dream wedding. Being honest, it takes a couple days for me to really have that "big picture" in my mind. But.....when it hits me, it HITS me! Usually when it does, it comes from a little piece of inspiration that is completely foreign to the wedding world.

The "ah ha" moment has overcome me in the most interesting of places. When planning Jamie & Jeff's winter black tie wedding, I designed every element based upon a wall painting I saw in a model home while shopping for my new house. The moment I saw the painting I knew exactly where I wanted to go for Jamie. Our fun and funky bride, Jessica, has a wedding inspired from a sample bedding display AND a lamp often seen on the Ruby Tuesday commercial! The patterns and contrasting colors sparked fireworks for this fabulous, bubbly couple. (Keep checking back to see how this all comes together!)

Every bride should look for inspiration in what gives them that tingling feeling inside. I always suggest to not only browse wedding magazines. Peruse home decorating magazines, fashion magazines, and leisure magazines. A favorite spot I go to for inspiration is the mall while window shopping. :) Window displays have beautiful setups that are often unappreciated.

Transforming your wedding look is easy with a little inspiration!

Happy Birthday Christina!

A very happy birthday to our favorite Rosen School of Hospitality Management intern,

Christina Acosta!

(photo by Castaldo Studio)

Christina has been working with Your Fantasy Affair since August, and is learning what it takes to become a celebrity event planner and designer.

A Green-Come-True Wedding!

Our society has become environmentally conscious and is taking a stand to go green! We have also witnessed this shared belief among our earth-friendly brides. Green weddings are the hot new thing! With eco-friendly weddings entering the mainstream, there are thousands of resources that present all things natural, organic and recycled. Don’t let the idea scare you, here are some helpful tips from the ladies of YFA…

Eco-Friendly Invites
Contribute to a better earth with 100% recycled paper invitations and thank-you notes. Search for stationary that utilizes an eco-equipped printing studio. Earthly Affair specializes in just that, http://www.earthlyaffair.com/. Other alternates to consider are to skip the extras, minimize your mailing and creatively seat your guest paperless.

Go Green Décor
You can still create that ambiance with candlelight by using soy candles. Not only is it romantic, but its energy efficient. They are made from a renewable source and burn longer than regular candles. You can find them in almost any size, scent, shape and color.

Food
When choosing a caterer, consider an organic company that uses locally sourced ingredients; you will be supporting local farmers. And for that flair, you can serve up your signature drinks mixed with organic wines and spirits. When you're done, donate any unused food to shelters or food banks. Check out http://www.localharvest.org/ and/or http://www.slowfoodusa.org/.

Transportation
It might sound cheesy, but set up a vanpool from the hotel for out of town guests to ride to the ceremony and the reception. Share with your guest your go-green mission and they’ll be sure to appreciate your vision, along with them saving some gas dollars. Another element of weddings, that is most stressful on the environment, is carbon emissions from your flight travels and long distance drives. Consider purchasing carbon offset credits to mitigate this.

Try these ideas and your wedding is sure to be Naturally-Ever-After!!!

Hot Trend of the moment...

Here's a hot trend we have to share: At your wedding our next major event, consider booking a photo booth. Brides, grooms, attendants and friends will have a great time taking cute and funny pictures. And here is the clincher -- you get a copy of everyone's silly photos! Now you don't have to worry if your photographer will capture a photo of each of your guests.

The newly married Mr. & Mrs. sneak away for a private photo session...

their guests keep the good times rolling with cigars in the photo booth...

and are able to take their own photos home as a souvenir...

and the bride doesn't miss an opportunity to pose with her brother...

...and even the YFA team jumps in on the fun as a special surprise for the bride and groom!