Oh, how we love etsy! And handmade items! And wedding details! Afterall, it’s the details that can really set a wedding apart. We have fall on our minds these days so we decided to see what kind of fall wedding items etsy designers have available. Here are some of our favorites! Do you have any favorite etsy finds to share?

1. Harvest Maple Fall Wedding Boutonniere 2. Fall Wedding Bouquet Hair Comb Set 3. Fall Wedding Crocheted White Shrug/Bolero 4. Fall Wedding Hair Clip 5. Fall Wedding Flowergirl Dress 6. Fall Flowergirl Hair Wreath

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7. Fall Wedding Gold Twisted Necklace 8. Fall Wedding Mason Jar Lanterns 9. Fall Wedding Marshmallow Pop Favors 10. Plantable Paper Fall Wedding Favors Kit 11. Fall Wedding Pumpkin Flowergirl Basket 12. Fall Bridal Shoe Clips

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13. Fall Wedding Custom Wedding Directional Arrow Sign 14. Fall Wedding Signature Tree Guestbook Alternative 15. Fall Wedding Oak Leaf Wine Charms 16. Autumn Wedding Cone Favors 17. Autumn Wedding Russet Cork Garland 18. Autumn Wedding Invitations

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Saying thank you to wedding guests is one of the most important things for couples to do, and it’s made a lot easier when a little creativity is involved! Here are some of our favorite thank-you card ideas. Do you have any to share?

Photo Courtesy of Louisa Marion Photography of Minneapolis

Photo Courtesy of Three Blondes and a Camera of Maryland

Photo Courtesy of Ben Godkin Photography of Austin, Texas

Photo Courtesy of Chantel Marie of Salt Lake City, Utah

Photo Card Courtesy of Zazzle

When it comes to interviewing possible bridal clients there is one thing every certified wedding and event planner must be: prepared. Being prepared means being on top of new and exciting wedding trends, and it means that planners must anticipate the questions brides-to-be are going to ask. Here are some of those questions; how would you answer them?

. How long have you been a planner?
. Are you a certified wedding and event planner?
. Is this your full-time job?
. How much do you charge?
. How many weddings have you planned?
. How many clients do you take on at one time?
. What is the largest wedding or event you have planned?
. Will you be at the wedding?
. Are you willing to travel to another region on the day of our wedding?
. Do you bring a staff with you?
. What are the best venues that fit our budget?
. (Once they choose a venue) Have you worked with this venue before?
. Can you help us with venue contracts?
. Can you get us discounts with vendors?
. Are you willing to stick to our budget and not guide us in a direction we can’t afford?
. How, and how often, may we contact you?
. Do you also plan honeymoons?

Suffice to say - brides are likely to add numerous questions to this list, but these are some common ones that every planner should expect to answer, and answer well. Remember that brides want to feel comfortable and feel heard. They’re likely going into this interview with a very specific vision in mind, and although your ideas may enhance their dreams - they’re still the clients’ dreams!

It’s important to remember, also, that although you’re the one being interviewed it’s a good time for you to get to know potential clients and try to figure out if you will work well with them. Trying to figure out how to say no? Read this great column by LWPI instructor Amanda Allen of MMD Events in Tampa, Florida: Insight from the Wedding Planning Institute: Saying No. To do a great job and end the day with a satisfied client you have to make sure your personalities mesh well!

What other important questions would you add to this list?

We’ll be the first to admit that these are ideas we’ve never seen in person. Fake wedding cakes? Rental wedding cakes? That being said, we can see the need for these in many bridal situations. Wedding cakes can be very expensive, and some couples just don’t see a reason to spend so much of their budget on dessert. Chances are, however, that they still want cake-cutting photos even if they want to forgo a traditional cake! What to do, then? Here are a couple of nontraditional and unexpected ideas that certified wedding and event planners can work with. Brilliant or bonkers? You be the judge.

Fake the Cake, of California

Fake Wedding Cakes. How many times have you been served a piece of wedding cake that tasted, well, just not so good. Fake wedding cakes solve that problem. They can be gorgeous - filled with details and flowers and everything that wedding cakes are known for. Fake wedding cakes are gorgeous in photos, too, and they’re less likely to get ruined on their trip to the venue. There’s just one thing: You can’t eat them! If you have a friend willing to decorate your cake for free this is a good option. They save time by using styrofoam, and you save money by skipping the bakery. But what about your guests? They get a slice of sugary perfection - straight from a sheet cake hidden in the venue’s kitchen.

Rental Wedding Cakes. Don’t have a friend with handy decorating skills? No problem. There are companies with fake wedding cakes to rent. That’s right. You get to choose a cake that matches your theme. They set it up for you at your reception, where your friends and family ooh and ahh over it. Then it’s whisked away (your guests, once again, get a piece of sheet cake), and the rental cake is off to amaze the guests at another bride’s wedding. You can’t get more budget-friendly than this!

So what do you think? Is the wedding cake a disposable part of the overall wedding budget? Have you ever seen these options where you live? We think they’re a smart option, if done right.

This month’s Real Wedding comes from Randi Lawrence Moore, the owner of Randi Lawrence Moore | Couture Wedding Gown Salon in Atlanta, Georgia. You can read more about Randi in her Instructor Spotlight (Chattahoochee Technical College - North Metro Campus), and she has a few articles available at The Wedding Report’s Wedding Tips and Trends blog. Today she gives us some of the details of the wedding she planned for Michael and Tomeka Stevens.

“Working with this couple was a joy. Who says love doesn’t come later in life? With this being their second marriage, Michael and Tomeka wanted to go out with a bang! The love they share is so sweet and innocent, and they wanted to celebrate in style! Their tropical theme was wonderful, and their acrylic invitations set the tone. It was a great wedding with wonderful vendors in the Atlanta metro area. Their inspiration was: The Second Time Around is With the Perfect Person, My Best Friend!” How cute is that?

Are you an LWPI graduate or instructor? Are you interested in having one of your weddings featured? Contact our managing editor for more information, and for more on the vendors used in Michael and Tomeka’s wedding see the following links.

Wedding Planner: Randi Lawrence Moore
Wedding Gown: RIVINI
Photographer: Sapphire Photography
Drapery: Event Drapery
Wedding Cake: Perfect Wedding Cake
Venue: Ventanas
Ceremony Location: Hilton Garden Inn
Ceremony Decor: A Legendary Event
Videographer: Creative Video Moments
Florist: Fuji Floral Design
Stationary: Sandi Spells Design
Ice Sculpture: Ice Sculptures Unlimited
Catering: Epicurean Drama Events
Linen: BBJ Linen
Singer: Treble Clef Sounds

LWPI’s Real Wedding this month comes from Jennie Wiegand, a graduate of LWPI and the owner of Beautiful Day Planning, a wedding- and event-planning company in Detroit, Mich. This beautiful affair was filled with Filipino traditions and a large wedding party. The groom had this to say about Jennie’s work, “At first I had no idea why we needed a wedding planner and now have no idea how we would have succeeded without you. Invaluable. Essential. Perfect. Thank You.” You can find Jennie at her company website, on Facebook, and on her blog. She is also in the running for Best Wedding Planner at Detroit A List. Be sure to vote for her before the contest ends!

“I recently had the privilege to be involved as a day-of coordinator for the nuptials of a truly loving couple. Beth and Patrick celebrated their union on July 30 with a traditional Protestant ceremony at the beautiful, 200-year-old Central United Methodist Church in downtown Detroit. The stunning setting matched the couple, who radiate love. Their ceremony left few in the church with a dry eye, myself included!

The ceremony also honored the groom’s family by including the Filipino traditions of the arras ceremony and veil and cord ceremonies. In addition to five attendants each, the rather large procession included four primary sponsors, two veil sponsors, two cord sponsors, a Bible bearer, a ring bearer, a coin bearer, two veil bearers, a cord bearer, and one infant flower girl in her very own wicker baby carriage. (Phew!)

After the ceremony the couple and their attendants took photos around downtown while the guests retreated to a cocktail hour at the fantastic Cherry Creek Golf Course in Shelby Township. The reception had a secret-garden feel, complete with wildflower centerpieces with trailing vines, hundreds of candles, and seating cards affixed to old-fashioned brass keys. Holding to their fun-loving attitude, the groom decided to introduce himself and his bride during the grand entrance and had a groom’s cake shaped like an Adidas shoebox. Guests enjoyed a touching toast delivered by the bride’s son, who acted as best man, and a fantastic dinner followed by dancing and a traveling photo booth.

The evening was made even more enjoyable for me because I was surrounded by wonderful vendors. Thank you to everyone who helped make this wedding a truly beautiful day!

Photos – JLB Wedding, Photography by Jeffrey Lewis Bennett
Videographer – Fairy Tale Productions
DJ – Mike Staff Productions
Venue - Cherry Creek Golf

No matter where you turn these days you bump into some sort of social media, and weddings are no exception. From the engagement, to the shower, to the honeymoon, couples are using technology and social media to share the details of their new life together. But just how prominent is technology in weddings and wedding planning? This month LWPI is polling its certified wedding and event planners about how bridal couples are incorporating technology into their big days. Are most of your brides setting up wedding Websites? Are they accepting RSVPs through their Website or email? Have you ever seen a bridal couple live Tweet their nuptials? Take our Social Media survey, and continue the conversation in the comments section or on Facebook!

Certified wedding and event planners are obviously expected to keep their brides and grooms happy. But there are others to think about, too, especially during the hot summer months. Don’t let the heat bum out the wedding guests - or the wedding party! Keep them cool and refreshed with these great ideas:

* Have the caterer set up an ice-cream bar at the reception. You can keep it simple by having several flavors of homemade ice creams, or you can go all out with a sundae bar, replete with candies, syrups and fresh fruits. We’re also loving the idea of a gourmet ice-pop cart! The King of Pops, Steven Carse, who is based in Atlanta, will come to you!

* Various colors of lemonade are a fun way to add color to the affair, and guests love to sample flavored teas, especially when they’re sweet and served over ice! Summery cocktails are always a nice touch, and they keep guests refreshed (and happy!) during a hot summer evening.

Photo Courtesy of Martha Stewart Living

* When it comes to the food think cool: gazpacho in shot glasses; individual servings of chilled banana pudding; shrimp cocktail; chilled oysters; and fruit “salad” skewers. We also absolutely adore these sorbet “wedding cakes” from Martha Stewart that serve as a palate cleanser and a guest chiller! The possibilities are endless!

* Outdoor weddings are parties so treat them as such. Steel-drum bands and ukelele players create the perfect music for weddings during the day or those that take place under the stars. The music will remind guests of breezy Hawaiian beaches, which could be very helpful on a hot August afternoon!

* Offer double-duty favors: Fans are always welcome during an afternoon wedding, and they can also serve as the ceremony programs. Specialty drinks, such as the sodas from P&H Soda Co., are colorful and fun. Coordinate one flavor with the colors of your wedding, and make sure the bottles are chilled. The guests can grab a drink and relax while they wait for the wedding to start, or for the wedding party to finish the picture hour.

You Might Also Enjoy:

Summer Wedding Myths Busted, From The Knot
Going to a summer wedding? Here’s how you should dress.

The celebrity weddings keep rolling in, and celebrity brides are pulling out all the stops. They’ve had some major celebration footsteps to follow, after all, with Prince William’s Royal Wedding earlier this year in England and Prince Albert’s nuptials recently in Monaco! Certified wedding and event planners are likely to have brides following the details of every celebrity celebration so they know what The Next Big Thing is in the wedding industry. Here are some of our favorite celebrity wedding details of the past few months.

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Sara Rue: Every bride knows how hard it can be for her and her fiance to choose a wedding-cake flavor. That’s why we love the route Sara Rue took at her May wedding: She had three cakes! “I’ll be having one of each,” Rue told PEOPLE of the three wedding cakes planned for the nuptials, including a red velvet and a pumpkin caramel confection. How fun is that?

Daniel Craig and Rachel Weisz: While we love a big, beautiful wedding as much as the next planner we also love sweet, intimate events. Not many details are known about the Craig-Weisz nuptials, but the idea of saying “I Do” in front of only your children and officiant strikes us as super-sweet.

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Dylan Lauren: When your dad is famed fashion designer Ralph Lauren there’s no question who is going to design your wedding gown! “I wanted to just give her something that she’d really treasure, give her something that would be really amazing, and I wanted her to feel fantastic,” Lauren told Oprah, according to People. And of course Dylan, the owner of Dylan’s Candy Bar stores, put her own touch on the dessert bar!

America Ferrera: We’ve all fallen in love with America as we’ve watched her grow up on television and movies so it’s so sweet to see her fall in love and have the wedding of her dreams in real life! America married her fiance on a Monday, and our favorite detail? Her dress and styling. How gorgeous is she?

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Niecy Nash: If you’re a TLC fan you already know all about Niecy’s wedding because of her show, Niecy Nash’s Wedding Bash. If not, however, you might not know that Niecy took a moment to sit down with each of her attendants before the wedding. She tells Essence.com, “I had a little time with each one of my bridesmaids… they just kept coming to my room, one by one, and we had conversations about our friendships, and what kind of woman they think I am and I was just like, ‘Oh my God!’ I was so overwhelmed that women I hold in such high esteem thought so highly of me. I definitely had to lay down for a little while and put ice on my eyes because I was so emotional.” This has to be one of the sweetest wedding moments we’ve ever heard about, don’t you agree?

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Prince Albert and Charlene Wittstock: This wedding, a calm, religious ceremony, took place in a palace courtyard because of the large guest list. We loved all of the traditional details, down to Albert’s cream-colored summer uniform of the palace guards. But our favorite parts? The couple exchanged vows in French, which the bride religiously practiced before her big day. And second? The couple rode to their reception in a Lexus hybrid - showing their green side! We wonder if they had a Green Wedding Planner working behind the scenes…

Do you have a favorite celebrity wedding moment?

Today’s post comes from Sally Lorensen Conant, who is also known as the Gown Care Lady. Be sure to visit her website, the Association of Gown Preservation Specialists, too. Having this kind of information available to potential bridal clients is a good idea for certified wedding and event planners. Plus, contacting this type of business expands your vendor contact base. Sally says:

Make getting dressed in your wedding gown, from head to toe, go smoothly on your wedding day. Most bridal shops press and stuff your wedding gown to prevent wrinkling, but here are some tips about what to do once you take your bridal gown home.

1. Take your bridal gown out of the garment bag if the bag is plastic and hang your bridal gown where it will be safe from children or pets. Wrap it in a clean sheet to protect it from light and dust.

2. Make a list of everything you will need the day of the wedding–including things for emergencies. Look here for ways to treat spills on your wedding gown the day of the wedding. If you are dressing in your wedding gown away from home, double-check your list before you leave the house.

3. Several days before the wedding, look over your wedding gown and wedding accessories and make sure everything is ready to wear. Hang your veil near the shower to smooth any wrinkles or let a Specialist help you. Visit here to read about free pressing for your wedding gown from a Specialist.

4. Wear your shoes around the house so you will be comfortable the day of the wedding. You might even rub the soles against a sidewalk or other rough surface to make them less slippery.

5. Arrange for someone (two “someones” are even better) without a fresh manicure or dark polish to help you dress in your wedding gown. Or hire a professional dresser who will take responsibility for your bridal gown all day and make sure you are dressed perfectly in a bridal gown that is not creased or wrinkled and is bustled properly.

6. Make sure you know how to bustle your wedding gown and show whoever is helping you dress how to do it, too. Pin five or six safety pins to the underside of your wedding gown. They will not show, and you will be glad they are handy if your bustle loops break.

7. Allow plenty of time to get dressed in your wedding gown. Allow even more time if it is raining.

8. Worth repeating–allow plenty of time to get dressed in your wedding gown. Allow even more time if it is raining.

9. Most important, remember to relax and enjoy every minute of your special day because your wedding day will go buy all too quickly!