Let's Hear it for the Girls!

Last week we talked about how equally important and difficult it can be to purchase thank you gifts for the groomsmen or males in your wedding party... but we can't forget about the lovely ladies! The ladies who have spent the entire time leading up to the wedding listening to all of your ideas, thoughts, frustrations, excitement, hopes, and fears deserve a very special "Thank You"!

There are so many ways to demonstrate your gratitude through gift giving, which is why it is vitally important to choose a gift that is personal and significant to the recipient. Additionally, we recommend avoiding the use of stereotypical gifts that have been over-exposed by the wedding industry. Don't get us wrong, flip-flops for the reception or jewelry to wear with their bridesmaid dress does get the job done... but these gifts pale in comparison to a unique gift that is thoughtfully selected.

That's where we come in! We love to help our brides put their thoughts into action by suggesting beautiful and thoughtful gifts ideas for the wedding party that will truly communicate how much each individual is appreciated.

Here are a few fabulous gifts ideas that our brides have used... all of which were such a hit with their friends!

If you're going to give jewelry, make it something personal, beautiful, and something they will cherish for years! This monogram cuff bracelet is the perfect combination of class and fashion... a gift that your friends really will wear and appreciate for years to come!

Adding a monogram to any gift shows that you went the extra mile to make it personal. This beautiful spa towel and slipper set is something that any of your friends would love to receive. This gift is timeless, functional, thoughtful-- and completely adorable! Function is a key consideration with your gift selection. Every time your girlfriend uses this cozy set, she will think of how much fun she had when she stood by you on your wedding day!

Personalized, hand painted wine glasses! We all love a wine night with our girlfriends, right!? This gift has it all... function, style, creativity, and class! And what great pictures you will have if your bridesmaids all use the glamorous glasses at your reception!

Celebrate your friendship with a personalized bottle of champagne! You can customize each bottle for every bridesmaid by writing individual messages that are etched into the glass, creating the most priceless keepsake long after the bottle is popped! What a heartfelt and fabulously fun way to say "Thank You!"

We hope you enjoy these ideas... but there are many more where these came from!

Allow us to help find the fabulous gifts that your bridal party deserves!

Great Groomsman Gifts!

Sometimes the greatest challenge that any bride and groom will face as they near the end of their wedding planning adventure is what kind of gift they will give their wedding party. They need to find the perfect gift that says, "Thank you for supporting me and standing by me on the most important day of my life... a day that I have video and photographical evidence of, and that I will commemorate with my spouse every single year of our lives"... no big deal, right? WRONG! This gift is sincerely important to many couples, and they want to make sure the gesture is thoughtful, enjoyable, and demonstrates a proper amount of gratitude.

As if this task isn't challenging enough, it gets even more complicated when selecting a gift for the males in the wedding party. Finding an appropriate gift that will be truly enjoyed by the guys, as well as one that WON'T break the bank can really be a problem!

This is where we come in! We have an endless list of ideas for groomsman gifts that we share with our brides and grooms to make this part of the process as easy and enjoyable as possible, while still maintaining the thoughtfulness and importance of the gesture!

Here are just a couple of our favorite ideas…

*Enjoy!*

Guys typically enjoy one of two concepts for gifts: funny/entertaining or functional. These mustache glasses are both! Our groomsmen enjoyed posing for silly pictures with these hilarious glasses as much as they enjoyed the beverage poured inside! These are memorable and make for amazing photos. They're also an item that your groomsman will keep and use again, which really adds value to the gift. A true win-win!

Channeling his inner Charlie Chaplin!

What professional male would not enjoy the functionality of a stainless steel USB drive key-chain? There are endless uses for these little devices, and adding a personal touch by engraving the cap with the groomsman's monogram shows that the gift was not randomly selected. This gift is functional, thoughtful, and will most definitely be used long after the wedding festivities have concluded.

Do you have a few sports fanatics in your wedding party? In that case, there would be few better gifts than a cooler in the color of their favorite team that is personalized with their name or monogram! Not only is this gift functional and thoughtful, but it's something that a guy would probably not purchase for themselves. Most of them probably tailgate with an old plastic cooler, but they will appreciate and enjoy having something personal and nice looking! You can even add some adult beverages inside the cooler for an extra surprise! SO cool!

For more ideas, contact us! ...We're here to help! :)

Sensational Send-Offs!

First impressions are important, but last impressions are a MUST!

How you choose to make your exit should truly be the icing on your magnificent, wedding-cake-filled day! Sure, bird seed, bubbles, and flower petals are timeless classics that will always be used as a way to celebrate the send-off of the bride and groom... but let's turn up the volume! Why not get creative by employing the elements of surprise and delight with new and exciting ideas that will *WOW* your guests and make for priceless photos?

Here are some sensational {{Shenanigans approved}} send-off suggestions (say that 5 times fast!) that will leave your guests mesmerized by the all-around fabulous-ness of your event... from beautiful beginning to extraordinary end!

Ribbon wands create just the right amount of whimsy on your perfect day! Not to mention, the beautiful color-coordinated streamers look stunning in photos!

Sparklers are jut simply beautiful! They make for some of the very best exit photos and they're a hit with guests of all ages. What's even more exciting, there are special types of sparklers that are slow burning, allowing for enough time to make your exit, as well as colored sparklers that coordinate with your wedding colors!

Dance your way into the night with a musical exit! Using instruments such as a trombone, trumpet, guitar, or many others to lead the way creates a fun and exciting element of surprise!This kind of exit is sure to keep the energy alive right up to the very last minute!

When it's time to GO, it's time to GLOW!!

Glow sticks are such a fun and unique way to make your exit. They can be ordered in huge quantities of any color, they're relatively inexpensive, and guests love them!

Fireworks! Need we say more? Nothing has quite the same WOW-factor as an illuminated sky full of brilliant, sparkly colors. This is not only entertaining, but also sets the scene for the most stunning photos!

Photo courtesy of Google Images.

Light the way with these stunning driveway flares! Your guests will stare in awe as your get-away car whisks you and your new husband away into the night and disappears into the glow of these sparkling flares! How incredibly romantic... and let's be honest, it's picture perfect!
Photo courtesy of Google Images.

Fabulous Flower Girls!

Any little girl would be overjoyed to be a part of your big day, wear a princess dress, and have her moment in the spotlight as she walks down the aisle just before the bride. But why not make the experience even more exciting by adding something unusual and, well... fabulous!

Several of our beloved brides have searched for exactly that-- something to make their flower girl stand out from the norm and add the element of surprise and delight to their special day! With the help of our team at Shenanigans, dreaming up these ideas and making them a reality is a cinch!

Check out some of the fabulous flower girls and flower girl accessories from the weddings of our dear brides...

These lovely little ladies had a great time with this super fun sign! Not to mention, it made for a very grand and memorable entrance for the bride!

Another shot of the precious sign...

Flower girl baskets made of real flowers! The girls LOVED them and had fun showing the guests their unique totes all night!

This Pomander Ball is a very beautiful accessory for a flower girl, and it's a nice change from the traditional basket of flowers! In addition to looking beautifully chic, these are very easy for the little ones to hold on to!

What flower girl wouldn't love her own Flower Wand? This accessory adds just the right amount of whimsy to your wedding, and serves as a prized possession of any flower girl!

Radiant Gradient

Have you been stressed about your color selection for your event or wedding because it's so difficult to find everything you're looking for in just the right shade? Of course that can add stress! Not everything is made in the perfect shade of Lemon Citrine or Roseberry Pink. That's why we're happy to share with you a major trend that we have been noticing lately...
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{Shades of Color!}
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Instead of sticking to one specific shade of each color, why not employ a beautiful gradient of one or two colors? It's a very easy way to give your wedding a well branded, cohesive look without stressing about how you're going to find two hundred napkin rings in "Relax Blue" or eight bow ties in "Fresh Green".

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Look at these stunning options for a gradient themed wedding using the color pink... with several shades of the same color, your choices and possibilities are endless!

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*Photo courtesy of Google Image Search
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*Photo courtesy of Google Image Search

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*Photo courtesy of Google Image Search
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*Photo courtesy of The Knot.com
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Allow us to help you select a beautiful gradient of colors to relieve stress and add beauty to your wedding day!

D Magazine "Bridal Buzz" Feature!

Exciting News!

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One of our lovely couples was recently featured in the very exclusive "Bridal Buzz" section of the D Magazine website. The story includes beautiful pictures of the wedding day and all of the gorgeous details. This was a very fun wedding to be involved with because the bride and groom were both very passionate TCU fans, so we were able to incorporate a lot of purple pride in the details to make it all their own!

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We love that every wedding is different, and they each say so much about the bride and groom. Perfecting the details to personalize your event is something we take seriously! We will discuss your ideas, passions, hobbies, and interests, then collaborate them all together to produce an event that is 100% YOU.

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Here are some great pictures from the feature & see below for the link to the full article...

Allow us to help with the details of your special day so it can be uniquely and fabulously *yours*.

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Click here to see the feature of our lovely bride and groom!

A Grand Exit!

There is nothing more exciting than the grand entrance of the bride when she takes her first step down the aisle. The energy of the whole room is shifted, first at the bride to see how glowingly beautiful she looks on the most cherished day of her life to date, then to the groom to get a glimpse at his reaction, then back at the bride for the rest of her trek down the aisle. It's a moment of awe for all guests, and can completely set the tone of the wedding. So, naturally, everyone tends to prepare for this magical moment with careful song selection, ample photographers positioned in strategic locations, and perfect timing of all elements to ensure a flawless departure for the bride as she walks down the aisle in her last moments before becoming a Mrs.
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...But what about the departure of the bride and groom after the day concludes? Now, this is something that tends to be an afterthought.... but WHY? A grand exit is just as memorable, if not more, than the grand entrance. This is the last memory that your guests will have of your wedding day and, if executed properly, it can make for some incredible photos that you will adore forever!

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Sure, you're thinking... all I need to do is buy a couple hundred sparklers, bird seed, bubbles, or rose petals and the guests will know what to do from there... how hard can it really be to coordinate an exit?!

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{This where things start to unravel.}

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You would think that your guests will know what to do when they are handed these objects, but if they do not receive direction, timing, and a proper position, the end result will be a very sub par use of your props for an incredibly anticlimactic ending to your magical night. Coordinating 100+ people to do a specific action at a specific time can end up in chaos if it is not handled with the right amount of authority and organization (especially when the guests have enjoyed the open bar all evening, and they want nothing more than to play with the sparklers or bubbles as soon as possible)!

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If this grand exit is a miss, then you will also be missing out on one of the most beautifully candid moments of your entire wedding day.

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Your exit is a one-shot kind of moment...

So let us coordinate your grand exit so you can have the pictures that you'll cherish for a lifetime.

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Take a look at some of the beautiful photos that have been captured as a result of a perfectly executed exit for our beloved bride and grooms...

{Enjoy!}

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