The Finishing Touch — Weddings, Events, Design, Paperie

Recently we shared some tips with (201) Bride on how to select a venue for your wedding day! Check out some of the ways you can narrow down your options to find the perfect location to say ‘I Do’.

Create Your Budget. You certainly need to have an idea of the overall budget for your wedding before securing your venue. A good way of generating an estimate of the amount you will spend on the venue is by splitting your budget in half. Having this number will help eliminate the venues that may be out of your price range and will allow you to focus on those that fit your budget accordingly. Working with your planner to find the location of your dreams and stay within budget is always key!

Ask Yourself, Where and When? Have you always dreamed of a wedding on the beach? Exchanging your vows atop of a mountain? Whether inside, outside or somewhere in between, the date and time of your wedding definitely plays a factor. When booking a venue, know that prime wedding season is April through June and September through November. Pricing is generally higher during peak season and these dates tend to book quicker. If you are working with a tighter budget and are flexible with your date, consider asking the venue if they offer any value dates. These may be limited dates they have not booked in the coming months and may be able to offer a discount.

The Travel Factor. If you are planning to have your ceremony other than at your reception venue, be sure to keep in mind that travel will be involved. This may help eliminate venues on your list that are a bit too far for traveling in a large group. If you have a lot of out of town guests, be sure to allow enough time for travel before and after the ceremony.

Do Your Research! Once you finalize your budget and have a general idea of location and time frame, take some time to do your research. Visiting every venue in the state of New Jersey would be overwhelming – and time consuming! Narrow down your options by discussing how you both envision your day and collaborate. Share your vision with your planner and allow them to offer you some recommendations. Working with your planner to find the best location is a plus as they have experience working with many venues and can recommend locations based upon what you want.

Check out more on (201) Bride’s ‘Getting Hitched’ blog on Bergen.com!

We had the pleasure of working with Domenique & Ryan for their amazing wedding in April at the beautiful Mallard Island Yacht Club on LBI. For their invitations, we created a two-layer invitation in cream matte and navy stock. This custom design featured a seahorse logo adorned with a pearl embellishment.

Three coordinating enclosure cards on textured matte stock included a directions/accommodations card,  reception card featuring an image of Mallard Island Yacht Club, and response card all printed in color laser. Coordinating outer envelopes in textured cream matte stock were created with the return address printed on the back flap.

We look forward to sharing more details from their amazing wedding day on April 14th – stay tuned!!

Special thanks to Yaskovic Wedding + Portrait for these great photos!

We have all seen the film 27 Dresses by now, and we know how it can be to have a closet full of bridesmaid dresses and nowhere to wear them all.

No need to worry!

Dessy Group has launched a new website called NewlyMaid.com where you can send in your old bridesmaid gowns and receive credit toward new ones. You simply request a prepaid envelope from NewlyMaid.com, package it according to the directions given and send over your old dress inside of it. Your dress can be designed by almost any brand, and as long as it is not damaged you will receive anywhere from 30-50% off towards one of their six black dress styles. After the discount, the six black dress styles cost around $75-$100 each. Your old bridesmaid dress will either be broken down and recycled or donated to Clothes4Souls.

This is a great chance to do some shopping, and help others and the environment all at once!

The Finishing Touch wishes a very Happy Anniversary to one of our amazing couples, Jenn & Eliu!

We had such a blast working with this super fun duo and we still love sharing all of the details of their big day.

Best wishes from the gals at TFT!!

Check out this highlight video from their beautiful destination wedding in the Dominican Republic:

We had an absolute blast helping plan and design a fun circus themed 3rd birthday bash! Our good friend Damon from Absolute Media Productions reached out to TFT to help put together a fabulous party for his adorable daughter, Lilia. We were so excited and went straight to work! For the invitation, a 4 x 9 1/4 custom 3-layer invite was created in red, white and teal. A teal RSVP ticket was printed and attached with red & white bakery string and mailed in a deep red envelope.

Before long the big day was here! As guests entered, the room was covered in red and white pipe and drape along with circus caricatures and figures provided by Audience Pleasers. Rectangular tables featuring linens in red and white were adorned with balloons attached to popcorn baskets and surrounded by vintage tickets. At the children’s tables, a variety of coloring books and crayons were placed at each seat. While guests arrived, they signed a guestbook by taking photos in a booth provided by Shutterbooth! After taking their photos, the pictures were attached to a scrapbook for the birthday girl to keep.

After guests enjoyed a delicious buffet luncheon, our friend Arlene from Celebrate with Music came for some musical fun. All of the children (and some adults!) were on their feet dancing and singing to some classic tunes. They also played games like Limbo, Ring A Round and much more!

Once all of the dancing and singing was over, it was time for dessert! An awesome circus tent cupcake creation was made by our good friend Missy at Cupcakes by Missy. The cupcake tower featured cute designs like clowns and tents accompanied with a giant tent cupcake on top adorned with a flag made by TFT. We also had the chance to design a custom candy bar table featuring kisses, M&Ms, pixi stix, whirly pops and more.

We had such a fun time working with Damon, Denise and Lilia on this awesome party – we’re already looking forward to next year!

Check out this fun highlight video from Damon to see the party in action!

Special Thanks to all the Fabulous Vendors:

Venue: Union Beach Fire Co.

Catering: Giusseppe’s

Photography: VeroLuce Photography

Videography: Absolute Media Productions

Decor: Audience Pleasers

Photo Booth: Shutterbooth

Entertainment: Celebrate with Music

Cupcakes: Cupcakes by Missy

We had the pleasure of designing custom invitations and stationery for our super fun couple, Alyssa and Stephen. This beautiful invitation was a 5×7 pocket in shimmer navy that was complemented with a shimmer quartz panel. The invitation design included modern fonts in navy print with yellow accents. Enclosure cards placed in the back pocket included the RSVP, directions and reception details and were printed on coordinating quartz paper.

Coordinating with the invitation design, custom menus were also created for each guest. For the reception, escort cards doubling as favor tags were made in a matching design and attached to caramel apples (yum!).

We wish all the best for Alyssa & Stephen!!

Special thanks to Yaskovic Wedding + Portrait and Captured by Izabela for these great shots!

We have had the pleasure of working with our lovely bride-to-be Rosemarie over the past year in bringing her big day together – so when we were asked to provide some decor for her beautiful bridal shower we were beyond excited! The TFT team created a custom candy bar and signage to complement the pink, sage and gold theme. It was an amazing event to be a part of and it was so great to see the bride-to-be so happy. Check out some pics of the dessert table and signage designed especially for Rosemarie’s bridal shower!

Wishing all the best for Rosemarie and Robert and looking forward to their big day on June 16, 2012!

Glam-o-rous!

We loved designing this elegant glam invitation suite for our clients Marissa and Jeremy. We created a three layer invitation featuring their colors of purple, silver and white with black laser addressing.

The invitations were adorned with a silk ribbon and an ornate crystal teardrop that added to the design by creating a dramatic, elegant look. A coordinating two layer reception card and response card were also created to complement this stunning design. Vertical envelopes were designed with the ametrine shimmer and were sealed with white label bands.

We also had the pleasure of designing coordinating programs, menus, table numbers and favors for this glamorous couple – stay tuned for more details from their big day coming soon!

Special Thanks to Rob Yaskovic of Yaskovic Wedding + Portrait for these great shots!!

The Finishing Touch is proud to announce its inclusion on New Jersey Bride’s “Love It” awards, a list of the companies in the bridal industry the magazine loves. The Finishing Touch was selected in the category of Best Wedding Planners. Editor Molly Tully says, “Our ‘Love It’ list is indispensable for any bride planning a wedding in New Jersey, making it the premier go-to bridal resource. These are all the professionals—grouped together all in one list—who we truly love and trust to create the wedding you’ve always dreamed of. We want New Jersey brides to love every detail of their weddings, and these are the people who will help make that possible.” With more than 250 companies on the “Love It” list in more than 40 categories, the list is a great resource for New Jersey brides.

Click here to check out the full list!

Best Wedding Planners