“.

“To a Stranger” by Walt Whitman
Passing stranger! you do not know how longingly I look upon you;
You must be he I was seeking, or she I was seeking (it comes to me, as of a dream).
I have somewhere surely lived a life of joy with you.
All is recalled as we flit by each other, fluid, affectionate, chaste, matured;
You grew up with me, were a boy with me, or a girl with me;
I ate with you, and slept with you–your body has become not yours only, nor left my body mine only;
You give me the pleasure of your eyes, face, flesh, as we pass–you take of my beard, breast, hands in return;
I am not to speak to you–I am to think of you when I sit alone, or wake at night alone;
I am to wait–I do not doubt I am to meet you again;
I am to see to it that I do not lose you.

“Hope Is The Thing With Feathers” by Emily Dickinson
Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune without the words,
And never stops at all,And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.

I’ve heard it in the chilliest land,
And on the strangest sea;
Yet, never, in extremity
It asked a crumb of me.

“To Be One With Each Other” by George EliotWhat greater thing is there for two human souls
than to feel that they are joined together to strengthen
each other in all labor, to minister to each other in all sorrow,
to share with each other in all gladness,
to be one with each other in the
silent unspoken memories?

“A White Rose” by JB O’ReillyThe red rose whispers of passion,
And the white rose breathes of love;
O, the red rose is a falcon,
And the white rose is a dove.
But I send you a cream-white rosebud
With a flush on its petal tips;
For the love that is purest and sweetest
Has a kiss of desire on the lips

Hope these inspire you to find one that works for you!

Located at 916 Joseph E Lowry Blvd in the heart of downtown Atlanta, the facility was originally built in 1921, and The Foundry at Puritan Mill was constructed and operated by Puritan Chemical Company. Puritan soap and other cleaning products were manufactured and stored in the building until they were shipped on the neighboring Atlantic Coast Line Railroad. The site served as the Atlanta headquarters for Puritan Chemical Company until 1996. In 2000, the location was purchased by Urban Realty Partners and Weaver & Woodbery Company to be restored and converted into a mixed-use facility. Call them today to book the space and tell them we sent you!

So to celebrate this season I want to share with you one of my favorite carols of the season.  It is one I loved to sing when i was in my university choir.  Here is “Carol of the Bells”

Even though some larger resorts across the globe offer you a list of “preferred” vendors that may meet all your wedding-day needs, there are two specific vendors you should always take with you regardless of where you’re getting married, no questions asked. Those are your consultant and your photographer. Your consultant has been planning your special day with you from the very beginning, and it is their job to make sure all the hard work pays off for you on your wedding day.

It is also crucial that you take your photographer with you as they are someone you trust to meet your stylistic expectations. More importantly, the person capturing your special day on film should be someone you are comfortable with.  Now we say, get planning that special day abroad and when you pack that swimsuit and the dress – don’t forget to pack your planner and your photographer.

Some planners like us offer brides the great option of planning their international weddings for free.  That’s right I said Free!  We will plan your international wedding for free.  All you need to do is to cover airfare for two planners and provide hotel accommodations for 4 days (2 prior to the wedding for planning, the wedding day and the day after to ensure everything has been wrapped up.)  In most cases, if you have guests going with you and you are utilizing 15 or more rooms in the hotel  they will provide one complimentary room which can be used for the planners.

Our goal as event planners here in Atlanta was to create a division to the company that will allow our brides to see all the details they want to see and samples of our work without burdening them with having to search the site to find what it is that speaks to their needs.  To steal a well known tag-line…they can now have it their way!

We invite you to have a look, pass it on and tell your friends to log on and request a quotation today!  Click HERE to be taken to the site.

Cheers!!

Being wedding planners in Atlanta, we immediately felt that this was the perfect wedding for Piedmont Park because they not only have great outdoor spaces, but amazing indoor facilities as well!  The tour was EVERYTHING we wanted it to be and more!  The park is ideal!  If you are looking for the quintessential Atlanta venue that combines traditional with a twist, and will give you amazing vistas – great photo ops and the facilities of a full service hotel – then we suggest you put the Park on your must see list.

We toured historic Magnolia Hall, breathtaking Dock & Visitors Center and we got a sneak peak at the upcoming Greystone facility – which used to be the old bathhouse!  IT IS TO DIE FOR! It will be ready for Summer 2009!

The reason we also loved the Park as a venue is because the park is run by the Piedmont Park Conservancy which is a nonprofit organization, working with the City of Atlanta for the preservation of historic Piedmont Park. Since 1989, the Conservancy has raised and invested more than $23 million in private funds to transform the once dilapidated Park into the most visited in green space in Atlanta. In addition to raising funds for capital improvements throughout the 185-acre park, the Conservancy manages more than 90 percent of the Park’s daily maintenance care and security.  What is more amazing is that every dollar spent on your special day goes back into preserving the park and helping the conservancy do the amazing job they do every day!

Why the park is also amazing is because unlike most venues you will get your chairs (and I do mean lovely chiavari chairs) and tables!  So less rental fees will be incurred!  The rental cost are also on par with any major venue in the city so there is no massive outlay of cash!  They work with amazing vendors on site – many of whom we also work with regularly, and of course – they are amazingly accommodating to event planners and for us that is a joy!

Do yourself a favor, go see the park!  I guarantee you that you will fall in love with it as much as we did.  it is the wonderful gem right in the middle of Atlanta with great views, open spaces, amazing facilities a dedicated staff and you will be a part of the green movement!  What’s not to love!  I tell you as a planner in Atlanta, its a venue not to be missed! Here is the link to their website!

Anna and Spencer are a married couple who are also business partners in a wedding photography business.  What we loved instantly about them was their great personalities and then we saw their work!  WOW!  If you want a photographer who understands that your wedding is more than just about  those posed photographs with Aunt Tilly or those often time over styled shots of the bride and groom posed in the most unnatural positions – then this is the team for you!  They are definitely not your typical photographers!

They capture what we like to call the quiet moments.  Those shots when you think no one is looking and its just tender, and warm and you can feel the love coming through the lens.

Click on  Anna and Spencer! and go have a look!  They also were kind enough to take some terrific shots for us at a recent corporate event we did and they were amazing!  In fact, the shot at the top of our blog was at that event and taken by them!  We will be posting a case study of that event shortly so you can see what we did and how it turned out!

I promise you will fall in love with their work!  I am putting three of my favorite shots here so you can see what I mean when I say – they GET IT!  (Can you tell we love them to pieces!!)

Trash The Dress

A Look Back

Pure love and joy!

See what we mean!  They totally get it!  Their site is annaandspencer.com!

We do that by integrating your environmental principles into your big day. The average cost of a wedding is approximately $28,700 and that number would suggest that weddings leave a huge footprint, both ecologically and economically. Going green doesn’t mean we all wear vegan clothes and eat alfalfa sprouts.  Here are my top favorite tips for greening your wedding

Source in your local area
Almost anything you need for your wedding can be sourced locally in your area.  Food and beverage is a great place to start, as that is also invariably your largest cost.  If there’s a good farmers market down the road, why use up the earth’s precious resources trucking in a keg of your favorite produce.  Do you really need that imported beer from Mexico or Germany?  Why not try the one from the micro-brewery in your neighborhood.   And not only will these items be fresher, you will be financially supporting local suppliers!

Minimize your wedding’s size
No matter what other choices you make, the biggest factor in your wedding’s footprint will be its size. The fact is that every person you invite means more miles traveled, more food consumed, a bigger venue, and sadly more waste at the end.  We are not saying that you should not invite those near and dear to you – but do you really need to invite the lady who lived down the street from you when you were 4 months old? Really??  A nice courteous announcement should suffice.

Think eco-logical invitations
An invitation sets the tone for your wedding, so you don’t want it to look inappropriate, but you also shouldn’t have to compromise on your green principles. The good news is that in every city there are a number of eco friendly suppliers of recycled, handmade, or “tree-free” invitations.

Source with green in mind
Everything you buy or rent for your wedding has an environmental and social impact, so keep this in mind when planning a green wedding.  Encourage your vendors to use organic products where possible.  Rent you linens, tables etc.  These items are used over and over again and therefore are green friendly.  Same with a rented Tux!  It’s the greener way – as opposed to spending money on an organic suit and then never wearing it again.

Make it personal
While you want to have a great time and throw one great party, that doesn’t mean you need to go over the top. Why not create a scrap-book to which friends and relatives can add poems, drawings, pictures, or anecdotes. Or a great decorated old hat box where they can place their written best wishes for your happiness in at the ceremony.  These are the things that your guests will remember most fondly.

Those are just a few of the many green tips out there that we at F & G Events wanted to share with you and as you can see by taking a look at the bigger picture of your wedding, you can move beyond the norm  to create a truly personal and more importantly sustainable celebration that your guests will rave about for years to come!