We are super excited to share this guest post with you today!! It has great wedding day prep tips for the Bride AND the Groom!! Thank you to Capri and her team over at Hims for this informative post!!!

Your wedding day is fast approaching! You have spent hours thinking about the perfect day with everything from the flowers, to the venue, to the food. Pinterest has been your best friend during the planning process as you’ve been thinking of ideas for decorations and centerpieces. All of the details have been thought over and decided on, but sometimes there are a few things that might slip your mind - and they start with you! There are some not-so-common wedding prep ideas that will get you and your fiancé ready for the best day of your life!

Long Hair, Don’t Care
You want to look your best on your wedding day, and it all starts with having great hair. Hair grows about ¼ of an inch on average over a month. When you are going meeting with your stylist to get a trim, keep this in mind. Take a look at hairstyles months in advance, so you can have an idea of how long your hair should be to achieve the look you’re going for. Hum offers hair gummies, which are packed with vitamins to help promote healthy hair follicles and growth, making your locks shiny and full. Grooms want to feel confident too when they get to see their bride walking down the aisle, and ⅔ of men by the age of 35 will start to have some sort of hair loss. Get ahead of your thinning hair and try Finasteride, which treats male pattern baldness. If you are noticing thinning or balding around your crown and middle of scalp, you’ll notice thicker hair and slower loss when you start taking the medicine. With a telemedicine company like Hims, you’re able to chat with doctors online and they can send you the prescription right to your door. No awkward convos or long office wait times. Your hair will be looking lucious for your big day and you’ll look great in pictures!
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​Glowing And Showing
It is important to remember that pictures last a lifetime. With that being said, many people get nervous to try expensive products on their face if they’re unsure of how their skin will react. If you are looking for healthy alternative ways to keep your skin looking good, simply try switching up your diet. Walnuts are packed with collagen and are high in omega-3 fatty acids, which helps to improve the elasticity in your skin and prevent sagging. Your skin will stay plump and youthful. Kale is a fantastic leafy green and a superfood. It is rich in Vitamin A, which is a main ingredient in Retin-A, a medication that helps to fight acne. Here are some kale recipes to try out if you are looking for ways to incorporate it into your daily meals.

Happy news here at Private Weddings and Events...Our Ashley is getting married!!!! We are so happy for her and her fiance Sam. She is planning a Winter 2019 wedding and she will be taking you along for the ride in a new series of blog posts about her planning!!! Here is the first installment!!
Enjoy!!!!

Always the Wedding Coordinator, Finally the Bride
Is he? Oh wait…..he is definitely proposing right now!
The title to this post was inspired by the exact thought going through my head as my boyfriend was standing in front of me, trembling, a perfect diamond in his hand, with snow falling and my family and closest friends standing around me giggling and filming the moment for all eternity on their cell phones. I’ve known my now fiancé (woah, fiancé!) Sam for about two and a half years. He was a student, then employee, at a local EMS company that frequents the diner where I also work. At first I wasn’t at all interested in dating anyone, never mind a fast talking EMT, fluent in the language of sarcasm, from a little bit of everywhere, but mostly from Missouri. But he grew on me and after pestering him for a solid, and I mean SOLID, few months I got him to ask me out (ladies and gentlemen-he’s cute but not overly aware). We spent our first date drinking cool craft beer he’d packed, at a pond trying to, and failing miserably, catch fish. We spent our second date in his second home, the emergency room, after my brother split his head open playing soccer. He’d been awake for 36 hours minus a few naps at that point and still refused to cancel on me, even if our location had changed to a bay in the ER with my bleeding teenage brother. I knew right there in that emergency room I’d marry him someday. This story takes its turn at my 30th birthday, my sweet, kind, loving and incredibly nervous boyfriend was asking me to be his wife. I think I was so excited and overwhelmed by emotion I actually forgot to say yes for a few minutes! Once I remembered I had to accept (poor guy was sweating that one out!) and he placed the perfect ring on my finger, we headed off to finish celebrating my birthday and our engagement and call loved ones! As soon as the news went on social media we immediately began fielding questions about colors and dates and bridal parties and showers. People kind of assume, not entirely incorrectly, that because of working in the wedding industry that I must have had the entire event planned already down to the color of stationary font and that Sam is totally fine with me calling all the shots. I’ve gotten a really good idea these past five years, I’ve met a ton of amazing professionals who have become friends and I have a fiancé who is cool with making decisions about what he wears and what we eat and leaving the rest up to me. The more questions I was asked the more I realized I just wanted to relax and be engaged. I love helping in the planning process and seeing an event come together. I just found myself wanting to sit and stare at my ring and be excited. To any just engaged couples, I know the questions can seem overwhelming but just sit back and take it all in for a little while. There is plenty of time to hammer out the details and there are professionals to help you every step of the way - believe me we can help! Just remember the one person you love more than anything just asked you to do life with them, to be your partner in whatever comes your way, your always teammate and the person who will be in your corner no matter the battle. I look forward to blogging our experience of wedding planning and sharing it with everyone. Next up the beginning steps of planning a wedding and making sure my fiancé doesn’t invite the entire EMS and fire community to our wedding, as much as we’d both like to have them!
xoxo ​ASHLEY

I feel super lucky to be able to plan weddings for couples in the Lakes Region of New Hampshire!! Here are some of our favorite couple shots on the shores of our great lakes including Lake Winnipesaukee and Squam Lake!!

Your engaged!! Congratulations!!! 
Get ready for a barrage of questions from family & friends!
When are you get married? Where are you getting married? What are your colors? etc....
Chances are you have thought about the answers to these questions, but haven't really discussed them with your fiance and parents, so feel free to answer those questions with a simple
"We will let you know when we know!!"

Follow these first steps to start your planning off right!

1. BREATH! Take some time to be in the moment and enjoy this special time in your life!

2. Create a guest list- It is so important to know how many people you will be inviting. Give your parents a chance to go over the list and add to it, so there are no surprises down the road. 

3. Discuss a budget limit- This is sooo important. Discuss with your fiance how much you will save and contribute, then schedule a time to sit down with your parents and have a serious conversation about what they can contribute. Please don't just spring this on your parents, let them know you are coming to discuss the subject. It can be a difficult conversation to have, but trust me you will feel relieved to have it out of the way at the beginning of your planning process. Make sure to discuss how the payments will be handled. You can expect to pay about half of your wedding budget at the beginning with deposits.

4. Create a budget breakdown- You will need to breakdown all your wedding expenses to determine what you can spend in each category. There are some formats you can follow online, but you will need to adjust to your area, type of venue, etc. It is best to hire a professional to help you with this. 

5. Choose some dates- Get the parents and other VIP's in on this discussion. Pick a year (discussing the budget will help with this, if you need another year to save up for the wedding of your dreams!) Then decide what season you want to be married in and pick some dates that look good to you. Send those dates to your parents and possible bridal party members to be sure there are no conflicts! It's best to have a few dates in mind so your will have a better chance of getting the venue and vendors you want!

If you follow these steps before rushing out to book a venue or buy a dress you will have a much better planning experience!!!

Happy Planning
Mindy

Ahhhh! The Bouquets!!!
They are one of my favorite things to see arriving on a wedding day! I think Brides always have a little voice in their heads wondering if the bouquet, the flowers, the decor will all be what they pictured. I can't even explain the anticipation and excitement I feel when I see the floral designers show up!! I know it's only moments away that my bride will see their vision come to life!! I know each one will be overcome with joy when they realize it's is not only what they envisioned, but so much more!
I am so confident in the teams of vendors we put together, that I grab my tissue's, because I know somebody's crying with happiness! And yes, I will be shedding tears as well!

Here are some of our favorite bouquets of 2015

Hannah's free flowing fall bouquet was designed by Lotus Floral Designs. Photograph by Erika Follensbee. (Above)

Hannah's flower girls carried small bouquets of baby's breath, which also was used to make these adorable head wreaths.  (Below)
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See more of Hannah and TJ's Rustic Barn Wedding here.

Molly's late spring bouquet was beautifully designed with pops of color to compliment her Haley Page Wedding Gown. The bouquet was gorgeous, unique and stunningly perfect just like the bride herself.
Floral Design by Lotus Floral Designs. Photograph By Mon Petit Studios. 

We are proud that Molly & Jim's lakeside wedding was featured in the Spring/Summer Edition of The Knot New England magazine.

See more of Molly and Jim's Lake Winnipesaukee Wedding here.

Amy's favorite color is red so she wanted it to be the main color for her Fall wedding on her family's Squam Lake compound. Mary at Lotus Floral Designs incorporated blush tones to compliment the reds and whites of the dresses and linens.

Amy was in awe of her whole wedding!! J. Harper Photography captured the very moment she saw everything!! Can't wait to share that with you in our upcoming post The Reception Flowers of 2015.

See more of Amy and Alex's Lake Squam Fall Wedding here.

Abigail wanted to incorporate hues of purple and silver into her Spring lakeside wedding in Meredith, New Hampshire. 

Lotus Floral Designs created beautiful bouquets that smelled as lovely as they looked!  Photographed by J. Harper Photography.

See more of Abigail and Jay's Wedding here.

Melissa was a classic bride who wanted mostly white flowers with a touches of  green of navy blue to compliment her bridesmaids dresses. I designed an all white bouquet for the bride with a navy blue lace stem wrap & mostly white with touches of green for the bridesmaids. The flower girls adorned daisy floral crowns, making them feel like princesses for the day!

See more of Melissa & Freddie's New Hampshire Barn Wedding featured on The Knot here.

Photographs by Mon Petit Studio

Our final bouquet is Amanda's designed by Lotus Floral Designs. Amanda wanted a wildflower style bouquet with pops of yellows complimenting the navy blue (a popular color for 2015!) of the bridesmaids dresses and rest of the design we created.

See more of Amanda & Nick's Wedding Weekend, complete with a 5K race the morning of, by Ron Kolias Studios here.

We can't wait to see what 2016 brings!! Thanks for stopping by!!
Happy Planning!!
​Mindy

We would love to hear your thoughts!! Leave a comment below!!

Well folks we are half way through the wedding season and its already been another super fabulous year!!! We are still busy planning away for the rest of the season and 2016, so we don't have much time to blog, but I wanted to share with you some images of the amazing weddings so far!! More to come soon!!



First up is Abigail and Jay who were married on May 23 at a private home on the shores of Lake Winnipesaukee!! Images shot by my gal pal J Harper Photography!! We provided Month of Coordination and Design services for Abigail & Jay and Lotus Floral Designs created gorgeous centerpieces that made us all swoon!!

Stef & Tom were also married on the shores of Lake Winnipesaukee on June 6. We provided Month of Coordination for them and helped being together their vision of a NY sports team themed wedding!! These two were a blast!!!
Images by Taylor Paige Photography!!

This next wedding was something out of a fairy-tale. We worked with Molly & Jim to plan their Lake Winnipesaukee wedding for over a year and wait till you see the results!! Molly has a super fabulous unique style and Jim is an avid hunter. We incorporated them both into this one of a kind wedding!!

Images by Mon Petit Studios

Flowers by Lotus Floral Designs

Catering by Common Man Inn-Plymouth

Stay tuned for the full story and list of vendors.

Our most recent wedding was Melissa & Freddie who were married at Longlook Farm. We provided Month of Coordination, Design and Florals for this quintessential New Hampshire barn wedding.

Images by Mon Petit Studio

Videography by NH Images & Videography

Can't wait to see more!? We can't either!!! As soon as we get all the final images from these amazing photographers and we have a little time to breathe, we will post the full stories!! Hope you enjoyed this little sneak peek!!!

Mindy

I'm trying to get better at blogging more, so I am going to start posting sneak peeks of our weddings!!! I can't tell you how excited I get waking up after a long wedding weekend to see the photographers have posted a sneak peek!! It's better than Christmas morning!! How lucky was I that the first wedding of the 2015 season was with the super talented J. Harper Photography ??!!! Here is a little taste of whats to come!! Stay tuned for the extended version!!! 

May 23, 2015
Lake Winnipesaukee
Meredith, New Hampshire

Abigail and Jay are super busy career professionals that hired us, a few months before their wedding, to help them tie up loose ends, find the perfect photog, design the overall vision of the wedding and be there the week of to manage rental deliveries and Day of Coordination.
When Abigail explained how she wanted her wedding to look we knew that we had to get Lotus Floral Designs in on it!! Recommending J. Harper Photography was a no brainier as well!! 
Here is a sneak peek of this gorgeous wedding!!!

Vendor Love
Day of Coordination: Private Weddings and Events
Venue: Private Home rental
Photography: J. Harper Photography
Florals: Lotus Floral Designs
Specialty Decor: Private Weddings and Events
Tent and Rentals: Lakes Region Tent and Event
Hair and Makeup: Zen Glow
Band: Club Soda Band
Rehearsal Dinner: Lago
Restrooms: New England Restrooms

Tory Kauer and Wesley Mateo were married on October 5, 2014 overlooking beautiful Lake Winnipesaukee. They contacted us to help them plan their Destination Wedding, as they live in Ohio and all of their guests would be coming from out of town! When I met them I fell instantly in love! Not only are they exceptionally good looking, but they have two of the kindest hearts on earth! It was truly an honor to get to know them and be a part of their special day. 
I know that they will be a part of my heart forever!!

We put together the perfect team for Tory & Wes's big day starting with photography. It is super important that couples are personally compatible with their photographers. You will be with them all day and need to feel comfortable to look your best!! I knew that the husband and wife team of Birch Blaze Photography would be perfect for Toy & Wes!! In fact, they liked them so much, they flew them out to their engagement party in California!! (see those pics in a future blog post!)
Another husband and wife team, Hindsight Wedding Films, was also an obvious choice, for videography!  
Sperry Tents and New England Country Rentals provided rentals to create the ultimate rustic chic decor the couple was looking for andLotus Floral Designs topped it off with their gorgeous floral arrangements!
Red Blazer and Ooo La La Creative Cakes kept the guests tummies full and happy!! Main Event DJ Kibar kept the party rockin' all night long!
Now on the the final product....ENJOY!!

The decor for the tented reception consisted of vibrant fall colors and rustic elements creating a perfect Rustic Chic style!

Please excuse our lack of posts lately! We are busy planning many fabulous 2015 & 2016 weddings and events. We will be back soon with lot's of tips, tricks and trends!!
MINDY!!

With destination weddings becoming more popular, couples are hosting several events the weekend of their wedding!

Here’s a fun idea for the wedding party & families to do before the wedding day! Host a pre-wedding Field Day! Go up to your nearest park or your backyard, set up obstacle courses, races, and games. Split everyone up into teams and have a little friendly competition! This is a great way for everyone to get acquainted with each other while, creating many fun and exciting memories.

Here are just a few ideas that a couples can do for their pre-wedding Field Day! There are some many game options the possibilities are endless!

Have a water balloon toss
Pair up the wedding party. Fill the balloons with water and hand one to each pair. Line up one partner about 10 feet and the other partner on the other side. Count down and then the partners will throw their balloons to their partners. The pairs that balloon break will be out, but the pairs whose balloon made it through the first toss will back up a couple feet and repeat the toss. Keep tossing and backing up until the last pair whose balloon did not break.

Sack Race
Match up in either pairs or teams. Get burlap sacks and hand them out. Race from one end, to the other. If there are teams then keep racing back and forth until all your members have gone back and forth.

Outdoor twister
Paint a twister mat on the grass and play twister outside!

Bean Bag Toss (a.k.a. Cornhole)The game can be played with singles or doubles. When playing singles, each player throws at the same board. These two opposing players battle by throwing four bags alternating after every bag to complete a round. After each round, the players go to the other side and throw. When playing doubles, each player’s partner is directly across from them competing against the other team’s partner.
 > Earning Points - To earn points, you must outscore your opponent for the round. The difference in score is your earned points. Points are scored by throwing the bag:
    - On the board - 1pt
    - In the hole - 3pt
    - In the slot - 5pt 
 > The player/team that earns points in one round goes first for the next round. 
 > The player/team to earn at least 21pts by the end of a round wins the game. If there is a tie, another round is played until the tie is broken.
 > Dead Bags - Bags can not touch the ground. If a bag hits the ground and then rolls onto the board, that bag is dead and may be removed. 
 > Skunk - If a player/team is winning at least 13pts to 0pts by the end of the round then that team wins the game. This rule is intended for casual play and not tournaments. 
 > Set and Match- A set is the best of three games. A match is the best of any number of sets (generally 3, 5 or 7).

Add a personal touch and DIY your own boards! Click here for easy instructions. 

Make sure you get some gift bags or trophies for the winners!!! Don't forget to provide food and water to keep everyone hydrated!

Have fun!

Happy Planning!
Mindy