Whether you’re planning a spooky soiree or a black-tie event (with a focus on the black, of course) Halloween weddings are loads of fun. The best part? Even the most quirky of ideas can be made classy if that’s what your bridal couple desires! Here are some of our favorite Halloween wedding finds. From cakes to invitations to fashion Halloween weddings are the best kind to show off your couples’ styles!

Sources: 1 - Amy Atlas Events; 2 - Brides.com; 3 - Sugar Sugar Custom Cakes (The Hamptons); 4 - Purpletrail.com (online invitations); 5 - The Knot; 6 - Pink Cake Box Specialty Cakes (New Jersey); 7 - Martha Stewart; 8 - The Knot.

Sources: 9 - Nataliya Cole Weddings (Los Angeles); 10 - Funtasma; 11 - Martha Stewart; 12 - The Knot; 13 - Martha Stewart; 14 - The Knot; 15 - The Knot; 16 - Masterpiece Pumpkins (Scott Gerber Design)

Lisa Smith began planning special events when she was a high-school junior. From homecoming dances to the junior and senior proms - if there was a planning committee she was on it. After her graduation from high school in 1991 it was no surprise that her passion for planning special events followed her to Fairmont State College in Fairmont, W. Va. It was there in 1992 that she planned, coordinated and designed the First Black Student Union Ball. In addition she planned and promoted a concert for an at the time little-known band named Hootie and The Blowfish.

In 1996 Lisa returned to Michigan and began working for Wintor- Swan LLC, the largest African-American owned printing and bindery company in the United States. Lisa planned her first paid full-service wedding in 1999, and from that point she began giving advice and planning, coordinating and directing weddings for co-workers. In 2000 she began working for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Michigan, and it was there that she really began to cultivate her event-planning passion. During this time her husband began to notice the huge amount of time that Lisa was spending on planning weddings, and he came to her and together they decided that she should pursue it as a full-time career. With the full support of her husband, Joseph, Lisa left Blue Cross in 2007 to start her own business. She proudly earned and received her distinguished designation as a certified wedding planner and became a proud member of the Association of Bridal Consultants. During this time Gabbi Grace Events was officially launched.

In 2009, almost two years after completing her certification, Lovegevity’s Wedding Planning Institute received a recommendation from Lisa’s former instructor, Narketta Sparkman, the president of the Detroit Chapter of ISES, to be her replacement as an instructor with LWPI. Lisa began her journey of teaching one of the things she loves most - planning weddings and special events - at Macomb Community College in Michigan.

Today, Lisa continues to teach for LWPI, and she is excited and looks forward to teaching Preston Bailey’s Signature Wedding and Event Design Course. In addition to being a speaker and hostess for the Association of Bridal Consultants Michigan Chapter, she has volunteered her time and experience for Jazz on the Vine, which benefits Gilda’s (Radner) Club, a nonprofit cancer-support community. Not only is Lisa an educator in the wedding industry she continues to remain a student by attending industry-related seminars, workshops, conferences and monthly association meetings.

“Becoming a certified professional wedding and event planner has been one of the best things I could have done. Not only did I learn a lot of new things it has also afforded me the opportunity to teach something that I truly love, which is celebrating love and life and helping clients customize their events. I look forward to teaching people how to set up and run their wedding and event-planning businesses so that we can continue to have a wedding and event-planning industry that is reputable, and have clients hire certified professional wedding and event planners who they can trust to share in planning, coordinating and execution of their event.”

Fall has arrived in full force, and regardless of what region of the country you live in there is a change in the air. Many of us are heading to corn mazes and pumpkin patches (which we think would be a super cute place for a rehearsal dinner, by the way!) Mums decorate our porches, and the smell of pumpkin pie and spices fill the air. Today we’re offering a roundup of some of our favorite fall-inspired wedding ideas. We’d love to hear your idea for a perfect fall wedding, too! Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter or leave a comment below. We can’t wait to hear what you come up with!

When it comes to fall wedding decor pumpkins immediately come to mind. Paired with rich chocolate linens, and some bittersweet vine placed just right, you have the perfect setting. This beautiful pumpkin image comes from Charlotte Geary Photography of Northern, Va. Be sure to visit her blog for some more great fall wedding ideas!

We found this adorable caramel-apple setup at Hostess With the Mostess, who also recommends such great favors as small burlap bags filled with apples or nuts, or Mason jars filled with homemade preserves. Homemade favors - especially if they’re localized - are sweet favors that all guests can enjoy!

Fall wedding flowers are easy to come by because oranges, reds and yellows are so prevalent in the flower world. Fall brides have tons of blooms to choose from, and you can never go wrong with red roses, orange calla lilies or yellow sunflowers. This beautiful bouquet photo comes from Murakami Photography of Dorset. (Destination wedding, anyone? We think we’ve found your photographer!) Check out more of their amazing work and get more great fall inspiration, too.

When it comes to centerpieces there are millions of ideas out there. Pumpkins. Candles. Berries. Apples. You can go tall and modern and full, or low and simple and sweet. This beautiful candle photo comes from perfectweddingday.com. We love its simplicity. For an even larger roundup check out this page.

And of course we have to end our fall-inspired wedding roundup with the piece de resistance of every beautiful wedding reception: the cake! How gorgeous is this one? The spun sugar is such a fun yet elegant touch, and we’ve never seen anything like it! This photo is courtesy of brides.com. A big chocolate cake covered in apples, or a white cake filled with chocolate swirls would also be absolutely stunning.

Fall is a lovely time of the year to get married, not to mention a less-expensive time, making it a good choice for brides on a budget. We’d love to hear about fall weddings LWPI’s certified wedding and event coordinators have planned in the past. What were your favorite details?

Do you love weddings? Are you interested in working for yourself? Would you love to plan weddings and other events? If so - and you live in one of these communities - classes through Lovegevity’s Wedding Planning Institute are starting this week! Register today. Or tomorrow. Or the day after. Want more information? Contact us or take a tour of the course to learn more.

Monday, October 18, 2010:

Sauk Valley Community College Wedding & Event Planning Classroom Course
Foothill De Anza College Wedding & Event Planning Classroom Course
Elk Grove Adult and Community Education Wedding & Event Planning Classroom Course
Wagner College Wedding & Event Planning Classroom Course

Tuesday, October 19, 2010:

Lehigh Carbon Community College Preston Bailey Event Design Course

Planning a wedding or an event can be the most stressful thing to do. From choosing the reception site, to the church, to the dress, to the music, to the cake, to who is going to be in the wedding party. But the very first thing that a bride HAS to do is: PLAN A BUDGET. This is going to determine how much she can spend on the reception, dress, music, cake and ultimately the number of guests.

I see so many people come into my office with such elaborate ideas and then we sit down and start talking about MONEY, and they soon realize that they can’t afford the huge reception with open bar, top-shelf liquor and top-of-the-line food for 300 people. They realize that they HAVE to scale back tremendously.

Everyone has a different idea of a dream wedding. Some want a huge lavish wedding with all the bells and whistles. Some want a small intimate wedding in a backyard or garden. Whichever wedding is for your bride, be sure to make it a wedding that she wants and is happy with. She has to be happy with the wedding or event to truly enjoy it. When planning an event you want to take into consideration what is important to your bride. Is it her dress, the cake, the reception, the ceremony, or the food?

People will spend the most money on what is the most important them. If it is the dress then she might validate spending a large amount on it because that is the most important part of her wedding. The same goes for the cake, the music or anything else. I will offer these key pieces of advice:

1. Plan a budget.
2. Make it realistic.
3. Stick to the budget.
4. Determine what is important to the bride.

Do you have any tips to offer couples planning a wedding on a budget?

Be sure to visit Shafonne’s website, follow her on Twitter, and read more about her in this LWPI Instructor Spotlight. Lovegevity is excited to welcome Shafonne to the blog! Check here for more exciting news about her partnership with LWPI.

Weddings are a lot of fun, but they’re also a lot of work. Lovegevity’s Wedding Planning Institute is devoted to setting aspiring wedding and event planners on the right track, and Nicole Brennan of LovelyGirls Weddings in Wilmington, Del., is the perfect example.

According to her website, Nicole: “Once would have described herself as ‘retro modern chic’, but was most recently told she had a flair for the vintage! ‘I love bold colors, strong contrasts, and patterns. I always look for something different,’ says Nicole. ‘I am not afraid to blend different styles – modern can co-exist with vintage, traditional can mingle with elements that are more funky and off-beat.’ She lives by the rule that if your showing a lot of leg, then you might want to cover up the top! She feels that her events should have the same feel. Nicole attended the University of Delaware while majoring in Fashion Merchandising and just currently received her Wedding Planning Certification from the Wedding Planning Institute in the Spring of ‘09.”

In this new LWPI feature, Real Weddings from LWPI Graduates, we want to showcase some of the hard work - and absolutely breathtaking designs - of some of our graduates. We’re starting today with Nicole. All of these photos are courtesy of Laura Novak of Novak Photography. We’re super impressed with Nicole and LovelyGirls‘ work! Aren’t you?

Some of our favorite details from Kara and Marc’s wedding at Appleford have to be first, the color choices. Pink and green is such a classic yet always fresh combo for spring weddings. We know that engagement season is about to begin; many brides receive their diamonds during the holidays! And a lot of them will be planning spring weddings so Nicole’s details are great inspiration for you wedding planners who will be designing those upcoming spring weddings.

We also love the black and white touches, such as the damask on the invitations, votives, table numbers and wedding cake. The same pattern is also repeated in green with several details, tying everything together. What are you favorite details from this gorgeous wedding?

Interested in having one of your weddings featured? Contact our managing editor for more information. And for more on the vendors used in Marc and Kara’s wedding see the following links.

Wedding Planners: LovelyGirls Events
Floral: Beautiful Blooms
Photography: Laura Novak of Novak Photography
Videography: Blue Hen Video Productions
Invites, Escort Cards, Table Numbers, Favor Tags (all stationery): Greenleaf Paperie
DJ: Timmy D Productions
Caterer + Cake: Jack Francis Catering
Hair: Perry Anthony Salon + Day Spa
Make-Up: Evoluer Image Consultants
Bridesmaids Dresses: Watters and Watters
Bridal Shoes: Nina Bridal Collection

Do you love weddings? Are you interested in working for yourself? Would you love to plan weddings and other events? If so - and you live in one of these communities - classes through Lovegevity’s Wedding Planning Institute are starting this week! Register today. Or tomorrow. Or the day after. Want more information? Contact us or take a tour of the course to learn more.

Monday, October 11:
Macomb Community College Preston Bailey Event Design Online
University of Richmond Wedding & Event Planning Classroom Course

Wednesday, October 13:
Lehman College Corporate Event Planning Classroom Course
Lehigh Carbon Community College Wedding & Event Planning Classroom Course

Friday, October 15:
Brooklyn College: Preston Bailey Signature Wedding & Event Design Course

Shafonne Myers is living her dream by helping others realize their dreams. While attending Mary Baldwin College she coordinated all social events on campus through her direction of the Baldwin Program Board. That experience helped her further develop the leadership, creative and organizational skills she brings to her clients as well as to her classroom students.

Since graduating from MBC, Shafonne founded and is president of Making Your Event Special, a top wedding and event consulting firm in Richmond, Virginia, and now Indianapolis, Indiana. Continuing her tradition of bringing people together, she organizes socials and workshops to provide couples with tips and tricks to help plan their weddings as well as wedding and event planners looking for continuing education. She also offers consultations to couples and aspiring wedding and event planners through face-to-face meetings, phone calls, emails and Twitter.

As a Certified Wedding Planner and instructor for Lovegevity’s Wedding Planning Institute, Shafonne tells her students and future planners to “Just get out there and live your dream”. In addition to her expertise, warm and bubbly personality, and meticulous attention to detail, she also offers internships to graduates of the program and helps any way she can to ensure their success.

“So often students come through the program and doubt themselves, not thinking that they can make it. It is hard, and it will be tough, but I reassure them that if they got this far, then it is meant to be,” she says.

Shafonne and her staff at Making Your Event Special pride themselves on providing superb customer service as well as helping the community and future wedding planners achieve their goals. She is the author of several articles on wedding planning, which have been featured in many local and national wedding-industry publications, and runs her own wedding blog, Divas and Weddings. She loves sharing her knowledge as well as providing real-life experience with her students, with the hopes that they will accomplish their dreams as she did.

Are you interested in becoming a wedding and event planner? Take a moment to check out a tour from Lovegevity’s Wedding Planning Institute. Lovegevity also offers a Signature Wedding and Event Design course from Preston Bailey, and a Green Wedding Planning course. Combination classes are available, too, as well as online courses. You can meet our instructors and see a list of some LWPI partner schools here.

We hope you’ve been following along with Preston Bailey as he works with Lilith, one of his biggest fans, to design her wedding. It’s been a great video series with a lot to teach certified wedding and event coordinators who are ready to take their business to the next level. In this fourth and final installment of The Preston Touch Preston has one last surprise for Lilith. What is it? You’ll have to visit his blog to check out the video to find out! Missed the first three episodes? You can see them all here.

And if you really want to learn the ins and outs of having an amazing event-planning business like his, consider signing up for Preston Bailey’s Signature Wedding and Event Design course through Lovegevity’s Wedding Planning Institute.

A green wedding is a celebration of awareness. At a green wedding, a couple is not just affirming their commitment to one another, they are also affirming their commitment to a sustainable life together - one that takes the needs of the environment and future generations into account. A Certified Green Wedding Planner has the knowledge and resources to help couples make eco-friendly choices throughout the planning process. The LWPI Green Wedding Planning course teaches the planner everything needed to help clients make the decisions that lead to a better world for all of us.

The four-week online course, written and instructed by Kate Harrison, the founder of the Green Bride Guide, will teach wedding professionals how to incorporate eco-friendly wedding solutions into their clients’ events to help lower costs and save the environment. Harrison graduated from Vassar College with a major in Environmental Conservation and Sustainable Development. She holds a J.D. from Pace Law School and is currently finishing her master’s degree in Environmental Policy, Law, and Economics from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. She wrote The Green Bride Guide after she and her husband Barry planned their own green wedding in 2007.

Here are some interesting statistics about green weddings from Harrison:

1. 48 percent of couples are committed to incorporating eco-friendly elements into their wedding.
2. In a year when wedding spending fell 25 percent, green wedding spending actually increased 6 percent.
3. Green weddings are a top 5 wedding trend.

This all goes to show that green weddings are here to stay and that there is a need for qualified, certified professionals to help bridal couples reach their “green” goals!

Want to know more about this class? Read our recent interview with Wendy Dorsey of Essential Sage Weddings and Events. You can also take a tour of the course and register today.

And if you need another push to sign up, how about a $100 back-to-school tuition discount? Just enter the code GBGWPI100 when you enroll.