Not to mention, I love the laid-back vibe  they are going for at their wedding. Lindsay and Dave are having a daytime ceremony followed by heavy hors d’oeuvres at the Rembrandt Yard this coming October. They want the day to be beautiful and a fun party for all of their family and friends. And I have no doubt that is exactly what their celebration will be!

Check out some of their engagement pics (courtesy of their photographer, Mike Carrizales), including a cameo of their adorable dog Stubbs. I can’t wait to be a part of their special day in just a few months!

Brooke Hill
Owner & Principal Event Designer
The Celebration Studio

This couple has really gone out of their way to create a fun-filled wedding weekend for all of their guests, fusing Lynn’s Chinese heritage with Sreek’s Indian background. The fun begins on Friday night, where they’ve planned a welcome dinner at Sherpa’s Restaurant. Wedding day consists of an outdoor ceremony and lunch reception at The St. Julien Hotel & Spa. But the day doesn’t end there. Lynn & Sreek are continuing their celebration during a post-wedding pizza party at BJ’s with all of their friends. Sreek proposed to Lynn atop Mount Haleakala in Maui, and afterwards they stopped to grab a bite to eat at ….. you guessed it, BJ’s Pizzeria. What a fun way to bring the proposal full circle! Sunday morning, guests will be treated to a farewell brunch at Moongate Bistro.

Fun, right? I can’t wait to share pictures from their wedding, which is guaranteed to be beautiful! In the meantime, here is a sneak peek of the happy couple!

Brooke Hill
Owner & Principal Event Designer
The Celebration Studio

Brooke Hill
Owner & Principal Event Designer
The Celebration Studio

Want to make your wedding more green but not sure how? Here are a few tips to help to ensure that every aspect of your celebration is planned with respect for our planet.

VENUE

• - Choose a venue with a commitment to green/eco-friendly practices or one that is LEED certified
• - Look for venues that practice “Farm to table” if they will be catering your event
• - Consider having both the ceremony and reception at the same location to reduce driving
• - Choose a venue that offeres compostable/recyclable options

CATERER

• - Choose a caterer that uses locally grown food, as well as food that is both seasonal and organic
• - Work with your caterer to donate any leftover food to a nearby soup kitchen

FLOWERS

• - Choose flowers that are locally grown, seasonal and organic
• - Stick with Veriflora Certified flowers (VeriFlora is an agricultural sustainability certification and eco-labeling program recognized as the gold-standard in the floriculture and horticulture industries)
• - Donate your centerpieces to a hospital or nursing home after your wedding so that they can be enjoyed as long as the flowers are in bloom
• - Or better yet – choose centerpieces such as candles or lanterns that don’t use freshly cut flowers
• - Consider using potted plants as centerpieces and then giving them to guests to take home as favors

INVITES

• - Choose invites with seeds in them that can be planted
• - Print your invites on recyclable paper
• - Print your invites on paper made from 100% Post Consumer Waste
• - Incorporate fewer envelopes and tissue papers into your invitations
• - Utilize Evites, Paperless Post and/or a wedding website to reduce paper
• - Ask your guests to RSVP via your wedding website in order to save paper and envelopes

CAKE

• - Use a local bakery
• - Consider a baker that uses all organic ingredients
• - Choose a Zero Waste Bakery
• - Consider using cupcakes instead of cake – this will allow you to reduce the number of plates & utensils used

WELCOME BAGS/FAVORS

• - Fill your welcome bags with goodies from local companies
• - Incorporate organic treats as favors or include them in welcome bags
• - Use reusable bags to wrap your favors or for welcome bags

ALCOHOL

• - Purchase alcohol from a local liquor store
• - Serve locally produced beer, wine or liquor
• - Consider serving organic beer, wine or liquor

MUSIC

• - Choose a local band or DJ to reduce driving

PHOTOGRAPHERS

• - Choose a local photographer to reduce driving
• - Choose a photographer that uses a digital camera instead of shooting with film

DECOR

• - Choose a local rental company
• - Consider using LED lights to save on energy
• - Consider using candles to save on energy
• - Consider using vintage or recycled tableware

GIFT REGISTRY

• - Register for an Environmental Non-Profit
• - Register for a CSA Subscription
• - If gifts are given, ask guests to forego wrapping paper

WEDDING DRESS

• - Purchase a wedding dress second-hand
• - If you decide to buy a new wedding dress, consider donating or selling it afterwards so that it can be worn again
• - Choose a wedding dress that can also double as evening gown or that can be shortened and worn again
• - Purchase a dress made with eco-fabrics
• - When choosing wedding party attire, choose something that can be worn again

WEDDING RINGS

• - Purchase rings made out of recycled metal
• - Choose to buy a Conflict Free diamond

TRANSPORTATION

• - Reserve hybrid vehicles or a hybrid bus/shuttle to transport guests
• - Suggest that out of town guests carpool from the airport
• - Consider purchasing carbon offsets to neutralize the carbon emmissions created by your guests travel

ACCOMODATIONS

• - Choose accomodations that are close to your ceremony and reception in order to reduce the amount of driving
• - Choose hotels with a commitment to Zero waste or ones that are LEED Certified
• - Choose hotels with a committment to recycling and/or composting

HONEYMOON

• - Choose a honeymoon location that offers eco-tourism
• - Consider purchasing carbon offsets to neutralize the carbon emmissions created by your honeymoon travel

Brooke Hill
Owner & Principal Event Designer
The Celebration Studio

Manzanitas are also a great for DIY event design. There are a several sites that allow you to purchase manzanita branches online. Some of them even offer complete kits to make your own manzanita centerpieces. A few of my favorites are:

Blooms and Branches

Nettleton Hollow

Save On Crafts

Here is some inspiration for ways you can incorporate manzanitas into your wedding or event design!

Brooke Hill
Owner & Principal Event Designer
The Celebration Studio

Pink Monkey is a full service event design and production boutique that specializes in décor, lighting, custom fabric work/draping, and sound. With locations in both Vail and Denver, they are ideally situated to service events both in the mountains and across the front range.

Pink Monkey Solutions believes in the power of transformation. As they put it: “An event is a celebration. An event is a time to escape from the mundane. An event is a time to let your imagination run wild. We believe that no space is beyond being able to be transformed and that every event merits a transformation. The thing we love most about our job is the privilege to bring our client’s imaginations to life. Nothing makes us happier than when the client walks in to the finished space and says, ‘I can’t believe this is the same place!’ ”

The company also believes in meticulous attention to detail. ”Creativity, combined with an exacting attention to detail and our passion for perfection is what sets us apart, and makes The Monkey truly unique.”

Check out some pictures of their fab design capabilities and you’ll see what we mean about the power of transforming a room!

Brooke Hill
Owner & Principal Event Designer
The Celebration Studio

And here’s what Megan has to say about Josh: ”Josh is wonderful, sweet, funny, and possibly the most sarcastic person I have ever met.  Having a bad day?  He’ll say something to make you smile, even if the joke is in bad taste.  Everyone he meets loves him.  He charms them with that sarcastic sense of humor we all know so well, and that made me fall for him.  He has accomplished so much within himself, and has so much he still wants to do.  He wants nothing more than to make everyone around him happy, so much so that sometimes he forgets about himself.  It is all of this and so much more that I can’t put into words that makes up Joshua Paul Prins.  I wouldn’t trade him for anyone (even Aaron Rodgers).  That’s a good thing, because it just so happens that we’re getting married, in case you hadn’t heard.”

I mean seriously? Could I be working with a sweeter couple? Here is a preview from their engagement session, with pictures of their beautiful wedding coming soon!

Brooke Hill
Owner & Principal Event Designer
The Celebration Studio 

- Have your guests sign bottles of wine that you can save and drink on special wedding anniversaries

- Have your guests sign pieces of fabric that can be made into a quilt

- Have your guests sign Christmas Ornaments

- Create your own, personalized mad-lib guest book

- Reserve a photo booth and have guests take goofy photos and sign them

- Have your guests sign a pair of vintage skis (for all of you outdoorsy brides)

- Have your guests sign your favorite musical instrument (for all of you music lovers)

- Have pre-stamped and addressed post cards available for your guests to write you a message. Let them decide when to drop the postcard in the mail to you…. it’ll be the never-ending guest book with messages that just keep coming!

- Create a recipe book for guests to sign – instead of detailing their favorite dishes, have them dish out opinions on recipes for a successful marriage

- Have your guests sign a book about your honeymoon destination, and then enjoy reading their special messages during your honeymoon

- Hang a large chalkboard for guests to write messages on – this one is great for a vintage/rustic outdoor wedding

- Have your guests sign their names on river rocks and place the rocks in your backyard garden

- Have guests sign a record of your first dance song

- Have your guests sign a platter from a make-your-own pottery store and then have the platter glazed with all of the signatures on it – it will be a great piece to use while entertaining!

Obviously this list is not complete, but hopefully it’ll get your creative juices flowing, and help you realize how much more personal a guest book can be if you put a little thought into it!

Brooke Hill
Owner & Principal Event Designer
The Celebration Studio

1.) The Question Game.  Send a list of questions to the bride’s fiancé in advance of the party, and ask him to answer them. Then ask the same set of questions to the bride during the party – the difference in answers is always entertaining!

1. - What did you do on your first date?
2. - What was your fiancé wearing on your first date?
3. - What were you wearing on your first date?
4. - Who initiated the first kiss?
5. - Who said, “I love you” first?
6. - Where did you go on your last real date?
7. - What is your favorite drink?
8. - What is your favorite meal or food?  
9. - What is your favorite color?
10. - How old were you when you got your first kiss?
11. - How many children do you want? 
12. - What is your fiancés favorite quality about you, and what is your favorite quality about him?
13. - What is body part of yours is your fiancés favorite?
14. - What is the sexiest thing that you wear (in your fiancés opinion)?
15. - What word do you think your fiancé would use to best describe you?

2.) The Calf Game.  This one is great for a Jack & Jill shower! Blindfold the bride. Have her feel the calves of 5 different males at the party, one of which is her fiancé. Then have her guess which calf belongs to her fiancé!

3.) The Panty Poem: A Funny Clothesline Underwear Rhyme.  The presentation of this panty poem requires 8 pairs of panties:

1. - Bridal white for the first night
2. - Sexy lace panties for the honeymoon
3. - Red for Valentine’s day
4. - Leopard print for the 1st anniversary
5. - A pink pair AND a blue pair for first baby
6. - A sexy full cut pair for 25 years of marriage… and finally…
7. - A big giant pair of bloomers or granny panties

You could have a clothesline (or something similar set up)to hang each panty on after the reading of the corresponding verse, or you could just hold up each pair during the reading and then give them to the bride-to-be.  If all of the bridesmaids are in attendance at the party, have  all of them read the opening verses together and then each one can recite a verse that corresponds with one particular panty.

The bridesmaids have a secret to share
About our little bride
She is obsessed with underwear
And that we cannot hide

So for our little panty queen
We gathered up some twine
And working as a friendly team
We made a panty line.

Alternate verse if no clothesline available:
So for our special panty queen
We’ll make her feel just fine
By working as a friendly team
To form a panty line.

(Bride’s name) these undies are to last you
All throughout your life
And (groom’s name) will be pleased to say
He has a sexy wife!

So listen up to hear about
Your lifelong panty plan
These underwear, we have no doubt
Will last your whole life span

The first are for your wedding day
Of course they are pure white
We know (groom’s name) will shout, “Hooray!”
When he sees you on that night

The next are for your honeymoon
They’re sexy and all lace
We hope you’ll leave your hotel room
‘Cause (honeymoon destination)’s a gorgeous place!

On Valentine’s you’ll wear this pair
Before you hit the bed
Cuz Cupid’s arrow in the air
Shoots tushies that are red

After a year has passed you’ll face
Anniversary number one
With these you’ll surely have a blast
‘Cuz leopard’s so much fun!

Then when the time is right for you
And don’t be saying, “Maybe”
You’ll wear your little pink or blue
In honor of your baby

And when your years of wedding bliss
Become the big 2-5
Don’t worry – you’ll just slip this on
To keep the sparks alive

When finally you’re old and gray
With these you can’t go wrong
‘Cuz sorry (Bride’s name) but at that age
You just can’t wear a thong

4.) The Hot Dog Game. You’ll need string, hot dogs and plastic cups. One at a time, each guest will tie a piece of yarn around her waist and leave enough yarn (after knotting) to reach her upper thigh. Then, a hot dog is tied to the end of the yarn and the cup is placed on the floor at her feet. The guest must straddle while trying to see how many times she can dip the hot dog into the cup in 2 minutes. Whoever gets the hot dog into the cup the most times in 2 minutes wins. You could have the winners of each round go against each other until a final winner emerges. It’s a great quad exercise as well as being hilarious!

Brooke Hill
Owner & Principal Event Designer
The Celebration Studio

Instead of a “place setting for the table” you could receive a “romantic honeymoon dinner” or a “sunset sailing cruise” as a wedding gift. A honeymoon registry is is so much more personal than asking your guests outright for cash – guests will choose something special that they would like to give you as a wedding gift. Unlike getting envelopes with checks in them at the wedding and leaving the next day for your honeymoon trip, a honeymoon gift registry allows you to know ahead of time what you will have available for extras and upgrades on your vacation.

Many companies that offer honeymoon registries also have travel experts on-hand to help registered couples book their dream honeymoons. And companies such as The Big Day don’t charge a fee for your registry if you end up booking your honeymoon through one of their travel experts.

Hello paradise!!!

Brooke Hill
Owner & Principal Event Designer
The Celebration Studio