Cruise Annapolis

You guys! Nora and I had the opportunity a few weekends ago to hop aboard one of Cruise Annapolis' catamarans for a few hours and it was FANTASTIC. We sailed with some friends, including the lovely Hannah from HannahLane Photography, and just had the best time. Being out on the water is paradise enough, but discovering that we would be sailing on a three-bedroom catamaran was the icing on the cake.

Ready. Set. GO!

It's officially official! The new NoLo Weddings & Events' website has hit the world wide web. After months and months of selecting colors, deciding on layouts, choosing pictures and working on a new logo, it's done. Whew.

Website Preview!

Aren't previews the best? They really have a way of getting you pumped about something. Whether it be an upcoming movie, a new fashion line or say…. NoLo's new look… previews are fantastic! So, as a sequel to last week's logo preview, I now bring you a preview of the upcoming website!

Logo Preview!

The next few weeks are going to be pretty exciting over here at NoLo! We are SO excited to be rolling out some updates that we have been working on for the past few months. Our branding is changing a little with a fresh new logo and website. But don't worry, everything you love about NoLo will stay the same!

Nostalgia, Mini Road Trips & Aaron Carter

Why hello, Monday. Although I appreciate your bright sunlight and chilly fall weather, you've come way to soon. After a weekend full of nostalgia and mini road trips, I wasn't quite ready to wake up.

Rainbow Birthday Cake

Ok! So I'm not always the best at creative food-related projects. I tried those piñata cookies from Pinterest once-- Didn't quite work out. It might have had something to do with the fact that I tried to turn a cookie made with a sheep cookie-cutter into a donkey. But that's besides the point.

This little creative endeavor I am SO proud of! Back in March it was Eryn's (You know Eryn, she's the fabulous designer that I've mentioned before! Feel free to check her stuff out here!) birthday and I wanted to make her something fabulous to celebrate. I saw a picture of a crazy colorful birthday cake and about fainted-- It was perfect!

Now I'm not going to lie, this takes a lot of time and a lot of patience for someone who is not a skilled cake decorator (me), but it was so worth it! Here's my step-by-step instructions if you want to make your own :)

You'll need:

• 2 boxes of cake mix
• 4 containers of icing (3 have to be vanilla)
• Food coloring
• 6 sandwich-sized plastic bags or icing bags
• Star decorating tip (any size, depends on how large you wants the stars)

1. Bake 2 (2-layer) cakes, any cakes, per the instructions. You'll want to have 4 layers total when you are finished. Of course you can use less to make a smaller cake but 4 (8 inch) layers will give you the size above. I chose to mix it up and used both chocolate and funfetti!
   
   
   
   
   
2. After the cakes are done cooling, level them. You can do this using a knife (which never works out well for me) or this fun leveling tool. This will make them sit flat when you stack them and you will have cake pieces to snack on!
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
3. Stack the 4 layers, putting icing in between each as you go. Do your best to make sure the cake edges are even with each other. If you have any small holes from the cake sticking to the pan, don't worry-- Just patch them up with icing!
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
4. Use the vanilla icing and food coloring to mix whichever colors you want for the stars. You will need about 1/2 of a standard sized icing container for each color. I used the neon food coloring that you can find in the baking isle to get the 6 bright colors!
   
   
   
   
   
5. When finished mixing, put your icing into the icing bags with the star tip. You will probably need to refrigerate the bags for about 20 minutes to stiffen the icing a little.
   
   
6. Start icing with the first 2 colors! I chose to do 2 colors at a time, to prevent having to rotate between all 6 bags at once (and I only had 2 star tips of the same size). I simply started with one star of each color next to one another and left an adequate space to fill in the other 4 colors between each of the sets.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
7. Repeat with all colors.
   
   
   
   
   
8. After using all of the colors, go back and fill in any spaces with a random color. You'll especially need to do this on top. I way underestimated how many of each color to put on the top of the cake the first time around. Filling in spaces will also make the cake color look random, as opposed to a pattern.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
9. Cut & enjoy!

Happy Friday :)

I'm Baaaaaaack!

What a whirlwind April was for me! My blog took a spot on the back burner with everything else going on but, man was it a great month! Josh and I were married on April 20th (more on that later) and spent a relaxing 8 nights in the Caribbean, but the weekend right before I had a wedding and an open house to do for NoLo so I spent the majority of April planning for all 4 events!

Erica & Nick's wedding will be up on the blog tomorrow, but in the meantime I just felt it necessary to do a quick post so that you all know I'll be picking things back up :)

And here's a preview of what's to come tomorrow!

Truckin 4 Troops - An Amazing Organization

First of all, I apologize for my lack of blog posts the last couple of weeks. We're getting down to the wire with wedding finalizing, and the ladies trip to Florida this weekend, and the little free time I've had has been devoted to spending time with my friends and family. However, I have been collecting stockpiling great blogging material so there will be some excellent upcoming blog posts once I get back on track. Everything from wedding invitations and projects to a STELLAR birthday cake that I'm incredibly proud of. Let that be your teaser!

Anywho-- Before I leave for a sun-filled weekend in Daytona, I just wanted to take a few minutes to tell you all about an AWESOME organization that was brought to my attention this past week.

As many of you may know, I have a part-time job at an event venue, mainly handling their websites, social media, fundraising and event marketing. This past week, Scott Mallary, the founder of Truckin 4 Troops, came in to set up a bull & shrimp feast to raise money for one of their projects and my heart has been so warmed by this foundation. 

Truckin 4 Troops has been helping our military's veterans since 2010. What started as an effort to raise money for veterans turned into working with wounded warriors from Walter Reed and took on a life of it's own. Currently, Truckin 4 Troops provides transportation to wounded veterans, including quad and triple amputees. Their latest project (and what their bull & shrimp feast is raising money for) is the Land 4 Heroes Project. They are working towards purchasing property in Maryland for 4 of the wounded warriors and their families, who would like to remain close to Walter Reed. When the project is complete, each family will have a house on their own private lot in a small community.

Seriously, what an amazing organization! Scott and his family have spent so much time with these guys and their families and his dedication shines through every time he speaks about his foundation. If you'd like, you can visit their website here or "like" their Facebook page here to learn more about what they do. 

And here's the flyer for their bull & shrimp feast if you are interested in attending. 100% of Truckin 4 Troops' proceeds go towards the Land 4 Heroes Project!

I'm so thankful that there are people in this world so passionate about helping others :)

Don't Forget to Invite Mickey & Minnie!

As you may (or may not) know, I am a HUGE fan of Disney. That being said, when I heard that you could mail Mickey & Minnie a wedding invitation, I was game. So I gathered up all of my invitation supplies and made sure to make a couple of extra.

My invitation to Mr. & Mrs. Mouse went out a couple of weeks ago, and although I have not heard back yet, I will be sure to tell you when I do! (From some online research it seems that you get a congratulatory package in the mail, complete with "Just Married" buttons!)

If you want to mail your own invitation to them, here is the address:

The Magic Kingdom
C/O Mickey and Minnie Mouse
1675 N. Buena Vista Drive
Lake Buena Vista, Florida 32830

You can also mail it to them at Disneyland. (I chose Florida because although I've been to both, I've grown up going to Disney World!)

Mickey and Minnie Mouse
The Walt Disney Company
500 South Buena Vista Street
Burbank, California 91521

But wait... there's more. You can also mail an invitation to Cinderella and Prince Charming for another package of Disney gifts!

Cinderella and Prince Charming
The Magic Kingdom
1675 N. Buena Vista Drive
Lake Buena Vista, Florida 32830

Fingers crossed I get a present in the mail soon :)

Happy Wednesday!

Purple Friday

I'm not sure that I've expressed this via my blog yet, but I am an AVID Ravens fan. I've spent my entire life living within 20 minutes of Baltimore and followed in my dad's football loving footsteps long ago. That being said, I am obviously PSYCHED to see them going to another Super Bowl!

In honor of Purple Friday, I thought I'd share a little video for my fellow Raven's fans. Bonus-- The girl in the video is a seagull (just another reason to love the fact that I graduated from Salisbury University)! And even if you are not rooting for the Raven's, you have to admit they did an excellent job!

Here is their video from the last game!

Happy Purple Friday!

Book Honeymoon-- Check!

Warning: This may be my longest blog post yet!

I, of course, am no travel agent. But with Josh and I recently booking our honeymoon-- yay :)-- I thought I would share my advice! I know a lot of people have absolutely no idea where to start and although I have done my fair share of traveling, I remember the feeling of being completely lost when I booked my first vacation! Since for many couples, this is the first "big vacation" either of them have gone on, it's important to make it a good one!

First of all, come up with a list of things that are important to you. We had quite a few, and that's fine! With all of the vacation options out there, it's much easier to choose when you can greatly narrow it down. Here are the things we came up with:

• Caribbean-- We were not too picky on which island but wanted to go somewhere warm, with gorgeous crystal clear water and sunsets.
• All-Inclusive Resort-- This was extremely important to us. We didn't want to have to worry about carrying money around or budgeting in extra cash for food and drinks. We also knew we wanted an actual resort, not a cruise. (Just our preference!)
• Multiple On-Site Restaurants-- This was another one of my biggies! I knew we were going to go for at least 7 nights and if I'm going to be somewhere for that long, I don't want to eat at the same restaurant over and over again.
• Excursions-- We wanted to have the option to go on excursions away from the resort. While some resorts are far away from activities, others have a TON to choose from. We definitely wanted days to do nothing and relax but we also had zip-lining and a catamaran in mind!
• Jungle-like Feel-- We knew we wanted to be somewhere lush, and laid-back as opposed to a city with high-rise buildings (like Cancun).

{These are obviously just the criteria that we came up with! There is nothing wrong with wanting to be in a large city, not wanting all-inclusive, etc. It's completely up to personal preference and I'm not suggesting that those are the things you look for!}

Next, look at the weather! Any tropical island might seem like a good idea but keep in mind that some have rainy seasons. Some places may also be in hurricane season during your stay while places up North could have the threat of huge snow storms keeping you stranded. Depending on the month that you will be traveling, temperatures in some areas may be different than you would expect. I looked up the weather in April for every island in the Caribbean that I could think of and temperatures and rain alone narrowed it down to 4 places, with many of the being much cooler than I would have thought!

If price is a factor, make sure you check local festivals and events. If there is a popular event during your stay, chances are prices are going to be much higher than usual. Much like going to Ireland during St. Patty's Day or New Orleans during Mardi Gras!

Lastly, visit a travel agent. Especially if you don't like research. They can clue you in to the best places based on everything that I've listed above. They also tend to know which places will have the best deals and what will be in your price range without even having to touch a computer. We did all of the research ourselves but visited a travel agent when it came to the actual booking because I like the security of booking through a travel agent for big vacations. I also wanted it to be known that we were on our honeymoon (Hint-- A lot of places will give honeymooners a free upgrade at check in!) and a travel agent can put that in when he or she books your vacation. Our travel agent even matched a cheaper price that we found online! Luckily, we were on point with selecting the best resort based on everything that we wanted. And it met all of our criteria above! There are even some luxurious amenities at our resort that were not on our criteria list. So be picky-- It's your honeymoon :)

Here are two resorts that I can absolutely vouch for as fabulous, just in case you need somewhere to start!

Dreams Punta Cana

Riu Caribe in Cancun

Frohes Neues!

Happy New Year!

Like many people around the world, I like to make a New Year's resolution. I know I know... most people don't keep them, it's a cliche, blah blah blah... Regardless of what everyone says, I'm still doing it. 

The last couple days I've been thinking about the one change I want to make this year. What one thing have I complained about the most? What have I been the unhappiest with? Believe it or not, I actually had a really hard time coming up with something-- Until today. Today it hit me. The thing I've been the most unhappy about is my own happiness. That might seem extremely general, but there have been so many times this past year that I've wished I felt happier. 

I'll be honest, I get bored easily. Looking back on 2012, I've found myself in a rut numerous times. You know, one of those for-no-reason off moods that you can't seem to shake. And those get to me because the one thing I hate more than being in a bad mood is not knowing why I am in a bad mood! After thinking about it, and thinking about it, and thinking about it, I've decided that my main problem was getting stuck in routines. I would often just find myself bored and annoyed with the fact that I'm always doing the same things. So this year, my resolution is to make changes. I plan to go out and try new things, not watch the same TV shows on the exact same nights every week, go on adventures and tackle some things on my bucket list. I'm also done with worrying about the past (and the future, to an extent). It's time to start living in the moment more. Because what better time do I have than the present... and a brand new year!

What's your New Year's resolution?

Keep Calm and Deck the Halls!

I don't know about you guys, but I love pulling out the Christmas boxes and jumping right in to decorating my house the week after Thanksgiving. So for myself and all of those who will be putting up tons of decorations this week...

I found it while browsing Etsy and couldn't resist :)

Happy Monday!

Election Day-- Yay!

You know...As I was standing in line to vote this morning, I got to thinking--We really do have a lot of freedoms as an adult. This may seem 100% random but it stemmed from Abby's blog post from yesterday about hosting her own Thanksgiving and how "grown up" life has it's negatives but it really has it's freedoms too.

I'll be honest, the last couple of days I've been a little off. My life was filled with "grown up" things like Josh having surgery, getting a cavity filled (I've never had a cavity in my 24 years of life and I was pretty upset/ nervous about it), trying to figure out some paperwork issues with buying a house and re-working my weekly budget after not working much last week. But, between reading Abby's post yesterday and realizing how awesome it was that I was in line to vote today, I started thinking about all of the greatness that surrounds being an adult. First off, I get to vote! Then there are the small things, like not having to be in bed by a certain time, no homework waiting to be done, deciding that I don't have to eat things like meatloaf, and the big things, like choosing to go on vacation when I have free time, feeling like I can actually make a difference in the world and deciding where to live. So yes, being an adult has tons of freedoms, and I am going to do my best to focus on those the next time that I'm having some off days thanks to "grown up" things.

Josh may have had surgery, but he is perfectly great and has two weeks to relax and that's more time we can spend together. I had a cavity filled, but it was itsy bitsy and I made it WAY worse in my head than it actually was. The paperwork is frustrating, but we are buying a house!!! And yes, my paycheck will be a little short this week thanks to hurricane Sandy, but I also had a mini vacation last week thanks to those days off. Life is what you make it my friends.

Happy Tuesday, and more importantly, Happy Election Day!

What Happens in Vegas-- The Wedding MBA

Ah... Vegas. I'll have to admit, it didn't quite live up to the movie-like expectations I had in my head. After dark-- AMAZING. During the day-- kind of blah. Just a bunch of buildings in the middle of the dry, dusty dessert. But, I guess most people go to Vegas for the nightlife and casinos, so the daylight doesn't really matter. However, when you go to Vegas for a 2.5-day wedding conference, you don't have much of a choice but to experience Vegas in the daylight-- the 6am, bright, sunny, morning light.

That being said, the Wedding MBA that took place in Vegas last week was fab-u-lous. Tons of seminars on wedding how-tos. How to avoid disasters. How to make an entire theme out of one simple word like "lipstick". How to master social networking. Every seminar was jam-packed with wonderful tips and tricks and the speakers could not have been better. If you are a wedding professional, I would definitely check it out. I'm so glad that I decided to attend this year, it was 100% worth the time and money!

My Tips for Vendors Wanting to Attend:

• Book your flight. Now. If you can afford to go, don't hold back. I had been wanting to attend this conference since I heard about it in 2008. It took me 4 years but I finally made it, and I should have made it sooner!
• Monorail monorail monorail. Stay at a hotel located on the monorail-- it's so easy to get around and you can purchase a multi-day pass! We stayed at the LVH, and it was unbelievably easy to get to the conference during the day and down to The Strip at night. (We also got a fabulous rate, over 60% off. Shop around and keep an eye on prices until they drop! Do the same with flights. It definitely makes going more affordable for new wedding professionals.)
• Go to as many seminars as you can. I don't know about everyone else attending, but I went to a seminar during every single time frame. The only break I took was the lunch break when no seminars took place. It made for a couple of long days but it was oh so worth it and I feel like I came home from Vegas with as much valuable information as possible.
• Don't judge a seminar buy it's title. There were a couple that I ended up going to on a whim and they ended up being some of my favorites!
• Go to AT LEAST one seminar by Sonny Ganguly. So informative and so much fun! He is the CMO at WeddingWire and gives valuable information on social networking, websites, SEO and the like.
• Make friends! There are so many people attending that do what you do and there is no better place to make friends, get advice and share ideas! You'll also have more people to hang out with in the evening. I personally left Vegas with a great friend from Australia!

P.S.You also go home with a ton of freebies. And as we all know, who doesn't like free stuff?!

Helloooooo Vegas sunshine.

Last day of conference and with our new friend, Elodie!

3 of 5 t-shirts handed out at Sonny's seminars-- told ya there's freebies!

Being a tourist...

 Don't know why, but I loved this!

 A friendly reminder at the airport departure terminal...

Getting in Shape: Wedding Dress Workouts

You've got the ring. You've picked the venue. You've purchased the dress. Now you want the workout.

I've heard about it time and time again-- brides purchase a dress and all of a sudden need to go on an extreme diet or start some extreme workout routine. And I'll admit, I thought it was kind of ridiculous. But now I get it. Kind of. 

After purchasing my very own wedding dress, of course I do want to tone up a bit, so I get that now. But this doesn't mean I'm  planning on dropping 10 pounds or starting some ridiculous diet where I only eat tofu. I'm not doing either. I simply want to tone up my arms, etc and get back some of the muscle I had in my cheer-leading days. Fun fact about me-- I'm a HUGE slacker when it comes to working out. And I mean HUGE. I get myself to start a workout plan, do it for about 2 wees and then get too "busy" and decide it's not really necessary since I'm not looking to loss weight. It's part of my charm, I know. But I'm tired of the slacking and I really do want to tone up a bit, not just for my wedding dress, but to also just get into a healthy exercising routine. 

So although I still don't understand the extreme dieting and exercise, I do understand feeling the need to work out better after you've spent what seems to be an arm and a leg on the perfect dress. You want to rock it! 

I stumbled upon The Knot's "Getting in Shape" page this morning. So I wanted to share it with those who, like me, didn't know it existed. I've been using other tools on their website, but just hadn't thought of seeing if they had workout plans-- it actually never crossed my mind that they might! They have a BMI calculator, calorie counter, checklist and plenty of exercises! So if you're looking for some quick workouts or a free and easy tool, definitely check it out. I have not used it yet, since I've just found it today, but it looks like a great tool!

And a side note-- For those of you who do have a realistic goal to lose weight for your big day, do yourself a favor and don't buy the dress yet. I know it may seem like a great motivator to have already purchased the smaller size, but a miscalculated size could lead to a lot of money in alterations. If you still feel like you need the motivation, print out a picture of the dress, but hold off on swiping the card!

Happy Thursday :)

Lancaster Adventures

Over the weekend we had the opportunity to kill some time and explore Lancaster, PA! We decided to head downtown and I'm so glad we did because right there, in the middle of downtown, is the Central Market. One of my absolute favorite things is a good farmer's market-- go figure. Something about the local produce, fun trinkets and crowded atmosphere just calls my name. I'm really not hard to entertain! I've also decided that "within 10 minutes of a farmer's market" will most definitely be a requirement when it comes to purchasing a house (Josh is totally on board).

Below I present you with some of our findings!

Blue crabs... in PA... who would have thought!

Sunflowers :)

The Central Market

Locally grown veggies!

A waterfall smack dab in the middle of downtown, hidden in an alley.

Who doesn't love a bathtub full of soap?!

Speaking of soap... wedding soap. How appropriate!

One of my favorite things- stumbling upon a wedding photo shoot!

And last but certainly not least, an old fashioned Micky D's sign. How I love vintage things.

Now go create an adventure of your own-- It really soothes the soul! Happy Tuesday :)

NoLo E-Newsletters: Headed Your Way!

I'm so excited to tell you guys about a new project I am working on for NoLo!! Starting this month we are sending out monthly e-newsletters. They feature a main article every month along with a vendor spotlight, ask NoLo, proposal story, recaps of last months weddings and congrats for the month's upcoming couples. And I'm sure we'll throw in a few surprises here and there! Since I was a yearbook editor in high school, this is right up my ally, and I'm absolutely thrilled about where it can go!

If you want to sign up for the newsletter, go here and subscribe to our mailing list. You'll also be the proud owner of fun promotions and coupons every now and then (bonus for brides who still need a wedding planner)!

Have a wedding question that you want to be featured in the Ask NoLo section? Leave it in the comments below or email me!

Here is the first issue :)

Pinterest Favs!

Oh Pinterest...what did I do before you existed took over my down time?

I just thought I would share some of my recently added, favorite pins (wedding and non-wedding) with you. Happy Friday Eve :)

(Click on the pins to get to my pin board and the original source!)

Birthday cinnamon rolls - why have I not though of this?

I love Gossip Girl. I love inspirational quotes. Win!

I'm always trying to find cute party ideas. Now all I need is to purchase a house to have said parties.

How great is this?! Such a nice note to leave for your wedding guests.

Vegas or Bust

It's official. I have decided that I will absolutely be attending the Wedding MBA Convention this year in Las Vegas! How exciting?!

I have dreamt of attending this convention since 2008 when I decided to start NoLo Weddings & Events with Nora. Every year I have received the postcards in the mail, gotten the emails about early registration and read all of the reviews and articles online. But this year I'm saying good-bye to the dream and hello to the reality :)

I'm sure all of you wedding professionals out there get it, but for those brides who don't know what the heck I'm talking about, it's a 3-day convention in Vegas about all things wedding. How to run a business better, how to organize better, how to market better, how to connect with brides better. Basically, take anything wedding related and by the time the convention is over, I'll be doing it better! I'm just so thrilled to finally have the opportunity to listen to some amazing speakers that have been in this industry awhile and to better myself as a wedding professional. And what better place than Vegas!

Oh, and over the weekend, we caught a bunch of these bad boys. So all around, I'm starting off my Monday well. Hope you're having a fabulous one too!