Bye, Bye Blogger!

Dear followers, friends & family,

Recently, we transitioned from our existing website to a fancy WordPress-based site - which can be found here. We are excited for this transition because it will allow us to keep our website more active and updated with photos and all sorts of other goodies!

Please check back early and often at the new site for news and updates on the ongoing YNI fun!

Much love,

Leanne

Summer in Review: Samantha's Graduation Party

This spring, Samantha graduated from college and her family wanted to celebrate the occasion - so on June 9, 2012 we helped them throw a two part shin dig. With a small luncheon for close friends and family at Shaw's Crabhouse in Schaumburg, followed by an open house at the home of the graduate for the rest of her family and friends, we had a blast getting things together for this Pretty in Pink celebration!

The inspiration for this event was "Pink!" and sparkles.

Our centerpieces were simple: bottles of pink moscato, lots of candles, and pink rose petals.

Place settings included folded black napkins, framing custom menus and then adorned with a single pink rose.

We added extra interest to the tables with these mini bud vases, each holding a pink blooming rose and accented with silver sequins.

We hand made three colors of glittered champagne flutes for the guests to take home.

Each flute had a tag asking guests to use the flutes to toast to the graduate!

A custom guest book had envelopes in the colors of the day, with tags and slips of paper for guests to write well wishes for the graduate.

Our dessert table with a balloon display and a custom cake.

Sparkly cake toppers with the graduate's initials.

Mimosa Bar! Peach, strawberry and traditional mimosas.

After the luncheon, we moved the part (and the decorations!) over to the graduate's home.

Salads and desserts were on this table - with a buffet line with italian beef sandwiches on the kitchen counter.

Pink chocolate chip cookies!

Pink champagne cupcakes by Peace of Cake!

We brought over the guest book for the continuation of the party.

Bringing our party colors into the open house with colorful plasticware.

Custom pink party punch served in simply decorated plastic cups finished off the options for this event.

 

Geneva Wedding: Sweet Treats!

by John Fern

On a chilly Monday, Sarah and I had our meeting at Graham's Chocolates in Geneva. Throughout my busy workday and drive to Geneva, all I could think about were the famous truffles I've heard about so much. Sarah and her family have visited the Geneva area often and have devoured boxes of Graham’s chocolates throughout the years. I wasn't as privileged to such delights, but was fortunate enough to taste Graham’s peanut butter cups last year at Sarah’s family Christmas. Naturally, if the peanut butter cups were the best I have ever had then the truffles had to be amazing! And, they were nothing short of that.

We arrived and met with Jayni, the daughter of Bob Graham, and quickly began discussing the vision for our wedding. Sarah showed her our wedding colors and she ran to the back and matched 3 truffle boxes with ribbons to our theme. After mixing and matching the boxes with ribbons, Sarah and I agreed on what was going to look the best for our tablescape - black boxes, with silver bows accented with purple-monogrammed ribbon.

Now was the fun part…. The feast! Jayni brought out a large tray with 2 of every truffle flavor for Sarah and I to try. Truffle flavors ranged from mint to raspberry, vanilla to hazelnut, and even jalapeno, each covered in milk, dark or white chocolate. Since the truffles were so rich in flavor, we decided to share each piece. Just like most sweets, Sarah and I have very similar tastes and picking out two flavors was relatively painless. Which ones did we pick out, you ask? I’d rather not say. Preferably, we would like you to go to Grahams and try them all yourself and then guess which ones we chose! One hint: we chose one of the newest (and tastiest) flavors along with a complimentary classic truffle.

After finishing our feast (and dinner!), Jayni was kind enough to wrap up the extras and add a few more so that we could continue to enjoy them for the next week. But who are we kidding, they barely lasted two days!

77 days and counting… We can't wait to share the wonderful Graham's truffles with our friends and family on 12-12-12!

Geneva Wedding: The Dress has Arrived!

by Sarah Hamparian

Much to my surprise, my dress already arrived! Sara from The Crystal Bride called Wednesday to tell me the great news and set up my first dress fitting appointment. Even though my first fitting isn’t scheduled for another week, I got to try on my dress today. It was everything that I remembered and more. I wish that I could show you all the pictures, but if you squint really hard maybe you can see a sparkle, ribbon or detail outline behind the bag!

Geneva Wedding: Capture the Moment

by Sarah Hamparian

In a small, picturesque photography studio off of State Street in Geneva, John and I met with our photographers, Caitlin (of Hazelton Photography) and Tom (of Tom Nicol Photography), yesterday to go over photography styles and ideas for our wedding day. We did not have time to research different styles before our meeting, however that was not necessary. Caitlin and Tom took us through various ideas, from a “romantic” to “vintage” feels, and even discussed different lighting and how that effects pictures. What amazed us the most was that to capture the uniqueness of every couple, both photographers wanted to get to know us personally. This way, our photos from the wedding day are going to be a reflection of who we are as a couple and not necessarily what is the hottest trend of that year. After an in depth meeting, they both showed us samples of their work and the only thing I kept thinking is, “WOW! I can’t wait to see our pictures after the wedding!”

Lucky enough for us, we aren’t going to wait until after our wedding to start seeing pictures! Tom surprised us with an engagement photo shoot in just a couple of weeks and we couldn’t be more excited!! John and I have never had professional photos taken before, so this is going to be a new adventure that we can’t wait to have unfold. I am just hoping for a good hair day (fingers crossed!) and to hopefully find complementary outfits in somewhere our closets (there has got to be something, doesn’t there?).

Please keep posted for our photos from our engagement shoot in a couple of weeks and check back next week as we get to go “smell the roses” at the florist meeting!

Geneva Wedding: Finishing Details

by Sarah Hamparian

Now that my dress was safely within the Geneva town limits, it was time to pick out accessories at Veiled in Elegance! When I walked in and looked to my left, my eyes lit up with excitement. Rows of earrings, bracelets, necklaces, pins, brooches and belts sparkled with beauty and I couldn’t wait to put the finishing touches together for my wedding day.

Kathy lifted the wedding dress from my arms and whisked me away to the back to try on one of the biggest statement pieces first: The Veil! Clearly, this boutique is named Veiled in Elegance for a reason. There were veils everywhere! From short to long, pearls to crystals, the veils glistened on 4 different stands around the store. 

Once I put my on wedding dress, Kathy asked me about my vision for veils and accessories. After explaining my preferences and looking at the detail on my dress, she asked me to hold one moment and disappeared. Less than a minute later, she emerged from the back room with the perfect veil! It had exquisite detail and was the ideal length. Kathy placed it in my hair and as my Mom’s eyes began to swell with tears, I knew this veil was the one.

Next came the glitz and glamour with jewelry. Since there were so many pieces that caught my eye when I walked in the door, Kathy brought a whole array of items to try on. I quickly put on the largest earrings, 2 bracelets, a necklace, headband and hairpiece. The light reflected on all of the jewelry as I looked up and even I thought it was necessary to reconsider this many pieces. I appeared to be one giant crystal.

Kathy helped me tailor my choices and made sure that it balanced with my dress and veil well. This time, as I turned around on the podium with my dress, veil and accessories, my eyes began to sparkle and the biggest smile emerged. This was it! It was the exact vision that I had for my wedding day and I couldn’t have done this without Veiled in Elegance. Thanks, Kathy!

Geneva Wedding: A Note from the Groom

by John Fern

Hello Geneva Wedding World!

My name is John and I’m the groom in this giant event. Since this is my first post, I want to give a personal thanks to everyone that voted for us. I wish I could invite everyone to the wedding, but I don’t know many venues that hold 3,600 people. We were blown away by the response we received and can’t thank you enough!

But let’s move on to the topic of this post, the invitations. Normally you would think that the bride would be writing all of these posts, but invitations are in my ballpark since my career is in graphic and web design. Therefore, when it came to the invitation look, layout and style I had no problem taking the lead.

After meeting with Tina from Riverside Receptions we strolled over to Invitations by Design and met with Tara. She has a small shop right next to Riverside that puts out unbelievable and truly original work. When walking in, shelves of invitation samples surround you, which help to gather inspiration and showcase their work. I won’t go into tons of detail, but just know that whatever the invitation you’re looking for, they can do it with perfect execution. Tara is the owner and she is very knowledgeable and easy to work with. Once we sat down, the three of us chatted for a couple hours going over different layouts, colors, designs and even fonts. Tara helped us narrow down a style we liked, showed us examples of previous work and then customized it to our liking. We really think that these invitations are going to “wow” people when they see it.  Think sophisticated, yet fun and inviting. They are the perfect entrance into our wedding day and I can’t wait to see the final layout. I am going to save the unveiling of the colors and design for Sarah, but I think everyone will look at these invitations and be excited for the wedding that is about to come.

Within a week or two, Tara should have a mock-up of our invitation completed. I don’t really have to mention that I’m a little excited… but I will anyway. I’m a little excited. Invitations by Design is extremely talented, so when they take the vision we had, and materialize it; I know it will be great! Please check back soon for the final design and color reveal.

Geneva Wedding: Sarah says "YES!" to the dress

by Sarah Hamparian

As cliché as it may sound, I officially have said “Yes to the Dress” at The Crystal Bride and couldn’t be more excited about my decision! Normally, I would go into great detail describing every bead, ribbon and layer on the dress, however I want to keep it a surprise until the big day. So, simply put, it is picture perfect and exactly what I envisioned for our wedding on 12.12.12!

Here are details about my day that I can divulge:

• Rebecca was so sweet, patient and definitely knew her stock of dresses! All the credit is given to her for picking out the perfect dress for me. 

• The Crystal Bride’s selection of dresses is unbelievable. I was worried that they wouldn’t have something that flattered me and I would have to "settle" for a dress since my wedding is just a few months away. This was not the case at all! I went through racks and racks of dresses, pulling styles that I liked the best. Overall, I probably tried on 10 dresses and Rebecca pulled my perfect dress after she saw what my preferences from each previous dress. She was attentive, paid attention to details and made my dress selection day remarkable. I just can’t thank her enough!

• When I put on the dress, I knew it was the one. The icing on the cake is when you get “jacked up” with the veil, jewelry and your smile that lights up the room. It is one of the best feelings in the world, especially since I got to share such a special moment with my Mom and Aunt.  

119 days and counting until I marry my soul mate while wearing the most gorgeous dress imaginable :) from the Crystal Bride in Geneva, Illinois!

Geneva Wedding Winners: Sarah & John!

 by Sarah Hamparian

“And the winner is, drumroll please, John and Sarah!” This phrase has been echoing over and over in my head since Thursday, August 2. Sometimes, it still doesn’t seem real, perhaps I am dreaming. How am I lucky enough to not only be engaged to my perfect match, but also have won our Perfect Geneva Wedding on 12.12.12? But then, as my cheeks start aching from grinning ear to ear, I realize that this is not  a fantasy, it is my reality. Together, John and I won!

Let’s rewind a little bit to the beginning of Thursday night. John and I arrived at Wildwood early hoping to calm nerves and visit with friends and family before the festivities began. It was evident that other people had the same idea because the room was already filling up with the 3 couples “cheering squads” and vendors. Clearly, excitement was building in the room for what was to be an unforgettable evening.

Promptly, at 6:15pm the Newlywed game began. Each couple sat back to back in chairs and had dry erase boards for their answers. The questions ranged from “What is your favorite food?” to “Where will you be spending Thanksgiving this year?” and each person had to write down what they thought their fiancé would say. This was an extremely close round. Amber/Patrick won and pulled out in the lead with an extra 15 points, while Trisha/Patrick and us were tied for second.

Next was the interview round. Amber and Patrick chose to interview first since they won the newlywed game and a coin toss determined that Trisha/Patrick would interview second and we would interview last. Time passed slowly as we watched the other couples enter and exit the interview with the judges. Finally, our names were called and behind us cheers erupted. Our family and friends clapped and whistled for encouragement and that is exactly what we needed. It reminded us that, no matter what the outcome, our family and friends always supported us and our love for one another.

Now, I know everyone is interested in what we were asked in the interview, but, honestly, I do not remember specific questions. There were 6 judges sitting on the other side of the table and I know we talked about how we met, our proposal story, and difficult times in our relationship, but the exact questions escape me. I just remember sitting there, holding John’s hand and being excited for this opportunity. Quickly, the 20-minute interview was over and last was the announcement of the winning couple.

Scores were tallied by the judges, gorgeous bouquets of flowers appeared, gift bags stuffed to the brim sat on the table and the room went dead silent. Now was moment that everyone had waited for, the announcement of the winning couple. The MC stood up front, recapped the exciting evening and detailed the wonderful prizes in the bags (Champagne, toasting flutes, flowers, and amazing coupons from all of the vendors) for the runners up. For the winning couple, they would receive a romantic dinner for 2 at Wildwood that night along with an amazing sketch portrait by Rosemary Fanti to capture the big night. Finally, the MC announced, “And the winner is, drumroll please, John and Sarah!” and tears quickly began to flow down my cheeks as I bounded into John’s arms for a hug. Our families’ cheers exploded as they rushed to our side to embrace us with hugs. I was shaking with excitement, eye makeup smeared and smiling from ear to ear realizing that in less than 5 months I would be marrying the love of my life in a picture perfect wedding in Geneva on 12.12.12!!!

And now, the wedding planning begins! Colors need to be chosen, dresses selected, invitations created, guests lists made, cakes tasted, rings fitted, flowers picked, etc. but, thankfully, our wedding coordinator, Leanne, at You Name It Events will be guiding us through the process.

Megan's Bridal Shower

This spring I got to attend a bridal shower for my cousin, Megan, at a local country club. I thought the shower was super cute - even though it was kept simple. Here's some pictures of how to make a room fun without going over the top! Nice work!  Props to the bride's Aunt Karen for her cute ideas and bringing everything together.

Peachy pink tulips were paired with giant tissue paper pom poms mounted on pixie sticks for the centerpieces.

Simple, elegant place settings were brightened up with flowers direct from Hawaii!

Striped pink paper straws make even drinking water with lemon fun!

Mini cupcakes from Crumbs bakery!

These were Cosmopolitan flavored cupcakes, topped with bedazzled ring pops. Love it!

Can't go wrong with a Mimosa Bar!

Finish things off with a nice meal and some present time!